MrDealio’s Guide on How to find a cheap iPod

How to find a cheap iPod

The iPod is one of the most sought after gadgets available online.  People comparison shop to no end to find the ultimate bargain on an iPod.  These expensive little sound machines are available from a variety of merchants for a variety of prices.  MrDealio takes a closer look at which merchants offer the best deal.

While it is unlikely you’ll find a "cheap" iPod, you may find a good deal.  We tracked prices for the Apple iPod Video 5th Generation 60GB Media Player from the following merchants:

• Beach Camera
• Best Buy
• Circuity City
• J&R Music and Software
• OnSale
• PCMall

Prices were tracked over a one-week period in early May 2006.  The frequency of prices changes may surprise you and certainly indicate that pricing is a ‘fluid’ game.  When searching for a deal on an iPod, be sure to evaluate current as well as past prices to determine whether you are getting a good deal today.

On May 6th, PCMall offers the coveted iPod at the lowest price among the six competitors.  If you were to look the following day, you’d find Beach Camera now offers an even lower price, $368, for the iPod.  On May 8th, Beach Camera ends its one-day price drop and returns to $399.  PCMall is once again the lowest priced competitor until OnSale drops its price on May 13th, giving consumers a choice of low-price merchants.

If you had limited your search to the two bigger players, Best Buy and Circuit City, you may conclude that the iPod you desire is $399.99.  By looking at the prices more closely across a variety of competitors, you’ll find there are deals to be had.  Other merchants are jockeying for position as the ‘low-price merchant’ and may offer you a better deal than you’d otherwise expect.

View current Deals on iPods

All data gathered using MrDealio.com.