I have seen the photos rife with processions of tech-starved consumers lasting 12 blocks. I have shaken my head in disbelief when people by the dozens head to my local Apple Store because it has suddenly converted to some kind of tech Mecca, rather than a place of business. I have watched the crowds avidly pursue the latest and greatest iPhone, iPad, iPod or other device with a tiny dotted vowel at its helm. No thanks, not I.
It isn’t the lines that turn me off. It isn’t the scads of people with restless leg syndrome and Starbucks breath. I just don’t believe in buying new tech. In fact, I will never buy new tech because I stand for two things: the bottom dollar and the bottom line.
All me to explain.
Recently, there was a rumor about the latest and greatest yet-to-be-released iPad. According to tech savvy reporters at the latest and greatest geek wet expo, Apple is working on the iPad 3, scheduled for release in March of 2012. If that wasn’t enough to make you salivate with all things little “I” the home based genius bar is also rumored to have an iPad 4 scheduled for debut in October; just in time for Christmas, again.
While I find it highly unlikely that Apple will release two new tablets on a back-to-back schedule, I can only look people who scrimped and saved to be the first iPad 2 owners last Christmas as if they were a complete and total suckers. Because, they kind of are.
Cost Breakdowns
You see most people who bought the iPad 2, laid down round about $500 for the privilege –and that’s if they stuck with the budget model. These are generally the same people who had to go and get the iPhone 4GS with Siri on its release date and probably dropped another $400 for the sought after computerized girlfriend (I am not judging you). If you’re doing the math, that’s $900 in 12 months.
Now, just a few months later, these will be the same people who go and spend $500 more dollars on an iPad 3, bringing their total expenses to $1,400, in all of about a year and a half. Granted, the likelihood is that these same tech junkies are buying other kinds of pixilated heroin while waiting for the newest Apple release, but I’m not going to wax speculative. I’m all about the bottom line, remember?
I wait. I win.
I wait. In fact, I am a serial waiter. I wait because I know I am going to get the best price, after emerging tech ages by about six months. You see, unlike fine wine, which gets better with age, tech becomes obsolete within half a year of its inception. Tech dies before most humans reach infancy. Yet, old tech to me is sexy. Once that gadget reaches geriatric age, that is when the price drops, usually significantly.
Take my iPhone 3G for instance.
I waited it out. I got the iPhone 3G when the 3GS was released. As opposed to my tech-starved have-to-have-it-right-now counterparts, I paid $35 for my phone, not $399. Now, as the price of the iPhone 4 continues to plummet, I lay in wait once more. I know the price hasn’t bottomed out just yet, but it will, and it will real soon –in about three more months, to be exact.
I did the same thing with my iPad. I didn’t move to strike (buy) my iPad until Apple released the iPad 2, and I saved nearly $200 for my patience. Between my iPhone and iPad, I saved $663 on compared to everyone who had to have it “right now.”
What did I do with my $663?
I invested it in Apple, of course. I made my last purchase a few days before Steve Jobs released the 4S and right after the stocks dropped. At the time, I had no idea Jobs was going to pass away just a few weeks later, but I knew Apple stocks never stay down for long. They didn’t disappoint. While Job’s death caused a slight downward spike, the stocks went right back up thanks to Siri. When the stocks improved, so did my bottom line. I made over $1,000 in just a few days. That would buy a brand new iPhone and iPad. Yet, I wait, and I invest some more.
I play the same game as everyone else. The difference is that I play to win. I look for long-term financial advantages while everyone else is seeking instant gratification. So, while you might have the best tech, I get the last laugh.
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