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Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the holiday season are upon us, and you might be gearing up to buy presents for your loved ones, your friends, and yourself. Here at Pocketnow, we always do extensive research, and testing to find the best products and the best deals on them, but there are times when you need to do your own research and take things into your own hands. In this guide, we’ll take a look at the tools and services I use in the UK, and how I usually save anywhere from £1 up to hundreds of pounds.
It’s worth noting that many of these services are also available in the US and Canada, and we’ll try to offer similar services, where available. Samuel Martinez, Pocketnow’s Senior Editor, and Deals Guru, has also written an excellent piece about how you can score the best savings, using his techniques.
Pocketnow Deals
Before we mention any other services, we must mention our own, Pocketnow Deals page and posts. Our deals editor, Samuel Martinez, has been posting amazing deals on a daily basis for years, and he knows a thing or two about a good deal when he spots one. Pocketnow posts daily deals on some of the most popular tech products, including new Mac, Windows, and Chromebooks, all the smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, earbuds, and headphones you can think about.
Pocketnow is also the go-to place for millions of people during big events, such as Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday, festive events, and more, as we cover all of the amazing deals in one single place, in an easily understandable and well-represented format. If you’re based in the United States, we want to believe that Pocketnow should be one of your first choices to visit on a daily and weekly basis to find the best deals.
Amazon & eBay Daily Deals
Amazon Daily Deals is a great way to save money on everyday essentials, and popular gadgets. The platform often discounts popular products and has a large selection of items in demand, priced lower than other competing stores. The Lightning Deals section also frequently houses some of the best limited-time deals, and it’s a great place to watch out for, before visiting other online storefronts.
eBay is also a perfect place to find amazing deals, letting you save money on not just electronics, but fashion & beauty, home, garden, and many other necessities. eBay also has a Sales & Events category, focusing on the best cost-saving deals possible, and it’s worth keeping an eye on this tab while searching for presents and tech.
OEM deals
OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) deals are often overlooked, though, they should always be considered. At times, they’re the best at providing the most amazing deals, and additional goodies that could otherwise set you back hundreds of pounds.
In both the UK and the USA, Samsung is likely the best at providing deals that entice users into giving the company their hard-earned cash. Samsung often does mind-blowing trade-in deals in the US, offering insanely high prices for old and broken devices. The company is also generous and usually gives out free wireless flagship-level earbuds, Google Play and other gift vouchers, and free accessories with its flagship devices. Samsung’s midranger phones also often receive price cuts, and are sometimes eligible for free goodies.
The other OEM is likely Google, as the company often has price cuts on its flagship devices, and Google Nest smart home products, including speakers, cameras, smart displays, thermostats, and more. Google also often gives out free goodies in a bundle, and this year, the company gave all Pixel 7 Pro owners a Google Pixel Watch as a gift for pre-ordering the device.
HUAWEI (UK) also deserves some credit here, as the company is often advertising its flagship and midranger smartphones with its smartwatches, and wireless earbuds. HUAWEI is also one of the most generous companies, and it’s worth looking out for them as they offer some mind-blowing deals every once in a while, and some run for months and throughout the year.
Sony also gives away some goodies, and the company often throws in its flagship wireless headphones with its flagship devices.
Carrier deals
Most people buy their devices from carriers, and unlike the US, the UK requires all carriers to sell unlocked devices, allowing every customer to switch networks at any point – assuming the person is happy to pay the remaining balance in full. Carriers provide great deals on devices, and most of them also have a trade-in option, offering deals on used phones, smartwatches, and tablets.
Some carriers offer better deals than others, and since we can’t pinpoint the best, you’ll have to do manual research into comparing the offers yourself. There are also many carrier deal comparison services that allow customers to compare and find the best deals with little to no effort.
CamelCamelCamel
If you’re an avid Amazon Prime subscriber, then you might have heard of the free service that lets you track price changes on Amazon. CamelCamelCamel is available in the UK and the US (as well as Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain). It lets everyone see the price changes for nearly all the products available on the Amazon marketplace.
Users can check the graph for the price history and changes and set their desired price to receive email notifications when deals and discounts are available. This service has helped me save hundreds of pounds in the past few years, and it’s one of the best tools you can use if you often shop online.
Honey extension
The Honey browser extension tool likely needs no introduction. Still, if you live under a rock, it lets you apply coupon codes, and track price changes on various platforms (including eBay, Amazon, and many other stores). The free browser extension also rewards users with points, which can be collected and withdrawn for PayPal cash or other vouchers that could be used towards purchases. It’s a neat little tool, and it’s completely free.
Hot UK Deals
Hot UK Deals is a platform that’s powered by users like you and me, avid shoppers, and Hot UK Deals staff members. The service offers voucher codes, freebies, heavy discounts, and various deals and bundles from first-party and third-party retailers. The platform has various policies to ensure that users receive the best deals possible, and the heat/cold voting system allows offers to be picked up, or rejected, based on how appealing it is to its users. The better the deal, the hotter the offer will appear.
Users can also track products on this service, and receive notifications when certain deals are voted as hot. It’s a great way to stay in the know, and get notifications when there are matching deals to your query.
PriceSpy
PriceSpy is similar to CamelCamelCamel, and Hot UK Deals, but it lets you see individual platforms with their own deals. For example, looking for the Google Pixel 7 Pro will show deals from selected platforms such as eBay, Amazon, Currys, Very, and other reputable businesses.
PriceSpy also lets you track the price of individual devices, and set up notifications when it sees a bundle, or a good deal is available. It’s excellent if you don’t want to spend hours searching individually on these platforms, and it can save you a lot of money in the long term.
Student Discount
Whether you’re in school, college, or university, or perhaps you’re a teacher or work in the education field; you’re eligible for student and teacher discounts. Many companies, including Apple, Dell, and Samsung, offer various student discounts to eligible students. Platforms like Student Beans and UNiDAYS collect and offer direct student discounts to eligible members.
Did we miss anything? Do you know any other services, and tools to find even better deals? Share it in the comments down below!
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