Summer sales went bye-bye sooner than expected.  For some of us in certain parts of the nation, we are still waiting for summer’s arrival.  However, go shopping  and not only has the season past, but beginning the first part of July, retailers were already setting up for Back-to-School! Having given up on the lackluster sales of summer, stores needed to recoup losses with early sales of school supplies.  Markdown Mom usually waits until after school has started to get the best bargains on school supplies because even with suggested lists given out by the schools inevitably the lists are wrong and then you end up with a lot of unnecessary supplies at full price.

However, having said that there are  exceptions.  One exception is buys on computers.  This month you will see great deals on computers–desktops, laptops, and notebooks.  As a student or buying for student, computer manufacturers and retailers will be going all out to salvage a lackluster year not only with great bargains but special packages bundled with computers.  If you are a first-time computer buyer your best bet is a laptop because of its’ versatility.  Although mini or netbooks have increased in popularity, they lack the CD disk drive or DVD, therefore,  mini books should be auxiliary equipment to your present desktop or laptop  or notebook computer system.

You can get a desktop computer at major retailers like Wal-Mart under $400 and laptops for under $500. These special prices typically aren’t seen again until the holidays, and are not off-brand but include major computer companies.  Shop around for the best package to meet your needs, remember you’ll pay more for the lastest innovations with all the bells and whistles, but you’ll be surprised by just how much you get with these baseline packages.