It is always difficult to buy a computer peripheral once you’ve
decided that you need one. The hardest part is knowing where to start.
Do you go to a store or do you check online? Well, there’s a method that
works for me and I thought I’d share it.
First of all, I must tell you that I am obsessed with excel sheets. Almost every decision I have made in my life has involved an excel sheet somewhere in the process. So you will be privy to one I made for my printer quest, you lucky bastards, you! But the excel sheets are only step 3 of the process. Let’s start step by step.
Step 1
Make a list of essentials you want in your printer, the must-haves that you won’t compromise on. Here were mine: (1) print, copy, scan; (2) duplex printing; (3) color printing; (4) wireless.
Step 2
Go to 3-4 stores. It’s not about the “comfort of a brick-and-mortar shop” for me coz I am equally comfortable buying stuff online. The problem is this – when you look online, you tend to come across a lot of non-Indian sites that show you a lot of awesome printers, but guess what, you can’t buy them in India because either they have not been launched or they have been discontinued here. So to get the first look and feel of a printer, go to a store. I usually will visit a Croma, a Vijay Sales, an e-Zone and a local computer store to see what’s in store. When you go to the store, ask the attendant for your must-haves and let him show you printers that fit your ask. Start narrowing down from now itself, removing the printers that look like shit (and you will find a few that look like shit, trust me). For the rest that you like, note down the make, model numbers and price.
Step 3
Using the model numbers, go to the Indian website of the printer brand and check out their specifications. It’s important to know the services of the printer – does it have a USB port, what are the print speeds, what is the optimum monthly printing usage, etc. This is when you start building the excel sheet. Put down each parameter and see how each printer stacks up against them. You will get the best information from the product sites. Additionally, you will find printers on the site that you didn’t see in any store. You should add these to the comparison only after checking if these are available to buy online in India. Check sites like flipkart.com, shopping.rediff.com, naaptol.com, etc. If they aren’t available to be bought anywhere, you’re wasting your time comparing them.
Step 4
For each printer, find the best price available. Some printers probably have some offer going on in a brick-and-mortar store (Croma and e-Zone usually have some credit card offers going on that might be to your benefit) so the effective price is very good for the customer. I have noticed that usually, though, flipkart has the most competitive prices. Don’t forget to mention where you got the price you’ve noted from. Else, you’ll be wasting time searching through all sites again when you’ve chosen your printer, looking for where you got that price!
Step 5
Summarize online reviews. Amazon.com has the most comprehensive reviews for almost all printers and you get experiences of people around the world. It has a summary rating on 5 that can be noted on your excel sheet.
And then you’re done! You have all the information necessary for you to pick your printer. Make an informed decision and then buy from the place with the lowest price. This is my excel sheet (as on 4th April 2012). You’ll notice that there are only HP printers here coz I made a call to buy HP since the options for home wireless inkjet printers were very few in other brands (both in stores and online in India).
First of all, I must tell you that I am obsessed with excel sheets. Almost every decision I have made in my life has involved an excel sheet somewhere in the process. So you will be privy to one I made for my printer quest, you lucky bastards, you! But the excel sheets are only step 3 of the process. Let’s start step by step.
Step 1
Make a list of essentials you want in your printer, the must-haves that you won’t compromise on. Here were mine: (1) print, copy, scan; (2) duplex printing; (3) color printing; (4) wireless.
Step 2
Go to 3-4 stores. It’s not about the “comfort of a brick-and-mortar shop” for me coz I am equally comfortable buying stuff online. The problem is this – when you look online, you tend to come across a lot of non-Indian sites that show you a lot of awesome printers, but guess what, you can’t buy them in India because either they have not been launched or they have been discontinued here. So to get the first look and feel of a printer, go to a store. I usually will visit a Croma, a Vijay Sales, an e-Zone and a local computer store to see what’s in store. When you go to the store, ask the attendant for your must-haves and let him show you printers that fit your ask. Start narrowing down from now itself, removing the printers that look like shit (and you will find a few that look like shit, trust me). For the rest that you like, note down the make, model numbers and price.
Step 3
Using the model numbers, go to the Indian website of the printer brand and check out their specifications. It’s important to know the services of the printer – does it have a USB port, what are the print speeds, what is the optimum monthly printing usage, etc. This is when you start building the excel sheet. Put down each parameter and see how each printer stacks up against them. You will get the best information from the product sites. Additionally, you will find printers on the site that you didn’t see in any store. You should add these to the comparison only after checking if these are available to buy online in India. Check sites like flipkart.com, shopping.rediff.com, naaptol.com, etc. If they aren’t available to be bought anywhere, you’re wasting your time comparing them.
Step 4
For each printer, find the best price available. Some printers probably have some offer going on in a brick-and-mortar store (Croma and e-Zone usually have some credit card offers going on that might be to your benefit) so the effective price is very good for the customer. I have noticed that usually, though, flipkart has the most competitive prices. Don’t forget to mention where you got the price you’ve noted from. Else, you’ll be wasting time searching through all sites again when you’ve chosen your printer, looking for where you got that price!
Step 5
Summarize online reviews. Amazon.com has the most comprehensive reviews for almost all printers and you get experiences of people around the world. It has a summary rating on 5 that can be noted on your excel sheet.
And then you’re done! You have all the information necessary for you to pick your printer. Make an informed decision and then buy from the place with the lowest price. This is my excel sheet (as on 4th April 2012). You’ll notice that there are only HP printers here coz I made a call to buy HP since the options for home wireless inkjet printers were very few in other brands (both in stores and online in India).
