A week ago I was pricing out Wii consoles along with different package deals, for a friend. He wanted rechargeable batteries and hardware so two people could play at the same time. Since then he called me and asked me to buy it for him.

At the time those requirements were met in a package deal from Best Buy for $299.98. So a week later I went back to buy it. Best Buy no longer offered that same package deal. Immediately, I thought I was going to have to call my friend, and tell him he would have to spend another $25.

Before I made the call, I started to reprice the individual parts, again. At first I thought my math was off. This time it added up to just over $280. That was less than the original package deal of $299.99. So I gathered everything up in a shopping cart and headed for the check out.

It turned out that when I had gone through the check out, I saved $18.04. That was what I would have spent in sales tax. I was happy. My friend was happy when I delivered the Wii and the price tag.

Shopping for the best deals is sometimes like trading on the stock market.  You never know when a that deal is the best deal or a better one will come down the road. It all boils down to timing, and knowing trends.

I know this guy, in California, when he buys just about anything, wait a week, and it will be at a lower price. At the time he makes his purchase, it is at the lowest price, but it seems to always drop in price a week later.

Christmas shopping is about the same thing. Prices cane go up and down in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Different combinations of games along with a game console is very common to see. The trick is to buy that special item at the best possible price.

I have even seen where a store would jack its retail price up 10% or 20% for a couple of weeks, then drop it 25% in the last two weeks before Christmas. That is why you need to watch trends of what items you want to purchase. The more and item cost, the more you need to watch for longer period of time before planned purchase date.

Tags: Best Buy, Christmas Deals, sales tax, stock market, Wii