Top 7 Tech Items You Should ONLY Buy Online - Gear Up^

Compared to shopping at retail, buying items online offers several benefits -- you don’t have to fight traffic to drive to the mall and circle the parking lot; online stores are open 24/7, you can shop in your pajamas; it’s easy to compare prices between multiple online retailers; product selection is vast; and of course, things are shipped right to your door. What’s not to love? Hey everyone, welcome to Gear Up, the WatchMojo series that looks at the latest in gadgets, gear and games. I’m Marc Saltzman, and in this video, I’ll tell you the top 7 tech items you should ONLY buy online. After all, stores often markup tech items and have to use those margins to pay for rent, utilities, staff, and so on, but you can often find things MUCH cheaper online. Not listed in any order, the first thing to ONLY buy online is… 1. Cables. Stores overcharge for cables all the time. When a 10-foot HDMI cable could be $30 to $40 in big box stores, you can find HDMI cables online for as low as $3 plus shipping, believe it or not. In some cases, it’s the same brand names while in others, it’s not, but many home theatre enthusiasts will tell you it doesn’t matter as you can’t tell the difference in video or audio quality. When you’re talking about a markup for 10 times, avoid buying cables at retail. Same goes for USB cables, Lighting cables, and others. 2. Phone and tablet cases Since you don’t need to try it on to make sure it fits -- so long as you know your phone and tablet model, of course – you can save a mint by buying phone cases online, whether it’s through a marketplace like eBay, Craigslist or Kijiji, or on Amazon. There’s so much competition and they want your business, so you can get cases for only a couple of bucks apiece instead of paying $20 to $30 for them at a kiosk in the mall or a store. 3. Computer mice If you want an example of how much cheaper it could be to shop online, look no further than computer accessories. For example, Logitech’s MX Performance Mouse costs $79 at Best Buy but only $32 on eBay, plus shipping or over $50 on NewEgg, with free shipping. Compared to $79 at the store, you’re better off with either online option here. The Logitech MX wireless mouse features Darkfield Laser Tracking for greater precision, along with four programmable thumb buttons you can assign commands to. 4. Memory cards. Talk about a mark-up – retailers know you might pop into the store in a panic to buy another memory card for your camera or smartphone, and you might be paying more than you need to. But so long as you don’t mind waiting a couple of days to get a memory card shipped to your door, you’ll no doubt save a lot by shopping online. Case in point: I recently bought a Verbatim-branded microSD XC 1 – Class 10 card with 512 gigabytes – that’s half a terabyte on something the size of my fingernail – and it came with two adaptors, one is a full-sized SD card and the other a USB Drive adaptor – all for $16. Yes, that’s right. Bought it on the Wish app and I got it in 3 days, too. Comparable cards could be well over $100. 5. Digital cameras While retailers often have seasonal sales or bundles with accessories, you often can find digital cameras cheaper online. Use a shopping comparison engine like PriceGrabber and you’ll be able to find who has the lowest price and with free shipping. As an example, the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TS30 – a ruggedized weather-proof camera just in time for the summer – can be found for as low as $137 with free shipping, or by buying direct at Panasonic.com, for that matter or a retailer like B&H Photo. But in store, at Office Depot, for instance, I’ve seen it for as much as $179 – that’s more than $40 more. 6. Smartwatches If you go buy a premium smartwatch from your local tech store, you could be looking $275 and up for Android Wear or $329 for a Series 3 Apple Watch. But here’s a tip: I picked up a sweet smartwatch from Wish.com for $20 and it’s surprisingly awesome. The Q18S pairs with iPhone or Android, and has a large color touchscreen, camera, speaker and microphone, support for a SIM card, expandable microSD storage, fitness tracking, and more. And did I mention it’s only $20? While close, as long as you don’t except the same level of quality and battery life as you do the watches that cost 15 times more, you wont be disappointed. 7. Video games, books and movies While many still prefer media that's tangible — such as a DVD, Blu-ray disc, paperback book, or music CD — remember prices are generally better if you buy that media digitally. Therefore, a book lover who owns a Kindle or Kobo should download books digitally (or borrow for free via your local library’s website). Same goes for video games – such as a download from PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo or a PC platform like Steam – prices are generally better than buying it on plastic at retail and you don’t have to leave home. Streaming video services like Netflix and Amazon Prime also give you more bang for your buck for about $10 a month for as many movies and TV shows you want to watch, compared to buying it individually. Hey, thanks for watching Gear Up; I'm Marc Saltzman. Let us know in the comments section if you want to add to our list of 7 tech items to ONLY buy online. Or feel free to let us what you you’d like to see more of going forward on Gear Up. And for more tech-tastic lists, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com. Ciao for now.