How to Score A Cheap Apple Watch

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If you’re like me, you’re probably charging your Apple iPhone right now by plugging it into your MacBook while you read this article. Maybe there is also an AirTag in your wallet so you don’t lose it again under a pile of laundry. Perhaps, even your iPad is sitting nearby and playing a YouTube video while you look into scoring another bonafide Apple product to welcome into your home. 

By this point, saying that Apple has revolutionized how we interact with technology is kind of like saying Netflix has started making some good TV shows lately. Apple is everywhere. It has made our lives better and in a lot of ways easier. My “Reminders” and “Notes” app has completely eliminated the need for physical calendars and paper notepads. I don’t even need to remember doctor’s appointments anymore because I can set a reminder 24 hours from the appointment with increasingly frequent alarm reminders as the time to leave the house approaches. 

The only problem I had was that I still had to check my phone every time it buzzed during an important staff meeting, or I’d have to fumble for my phone to turn off an alarm that had been slicing through the near-dead quiet of the early morning commute while I took a quick city-bound snooze. What if there was a way to make all this even easier? 

Enter: the Apple Watch. 

Why Buy an Apple Watch?

The Apple Watch is a great accessory for the tech enthusiast on the go. Not only can you check the time at a glance (obviously), but your text messages and emails can pop up in real time on the screen. You can turn off alarms and even take calls from your phone through your watch. I don’t know about you, but talking to someone through your watch is fun, and it kinda makes me feel like a secret agent or, better yet, Dick Tracy. 

The Apple Watch will always surprise you with what it can do. It came as a total surprise to me that I could control the camera on my phone through the watch too, which was particularly handy when trying to take a group picture. 

6 Ways to Find a Cheap Apple Watch

Chances are, if you are here, you won’t need much convincing about why you need an Apple Watch. You probably want to know, “Where can I buy a cheap Apple Watch?” Don’t worry, we are here to give you some advice and quick tips to help you score the perfect cheap Apple Watch for all your tech needs. 

Of Course, Always Check for Amazon Apple Watch Deals

Amazon.com is always a good starting place when looking for a cheap Apple Watch. Amazon’s prices are always some of the best around, and while certain retailers may be able to beat Amazon’s prices from time to time, this will give you a good baseline for what a good deal is for a cheap Apple Watch on sale. 

On Amazon, you can see all of the different models and varieties to compare and contrast the one that’s right for you. Amazon will also list other Apple products like AirTags and AirPods if you’re looking to add even more tech to your routine. 

“Amazon is an excellent place to buy affordable Apple Watches,” says David Lynch, the content lead for Payette Forward, Inc. “Amazon is also a good place to purchase refurbished Apple Watches. They’re just as reliable as brand-new watches, but they don’t cost as much!”

Consider Older Apple Watch Models

Right now, the newest and most advanced Apple Watch on the market runs over $500, and that’s not including any alternate bands, screen protectors, extra chargers and anything else you think you will need. But the truth is that the top-of-the-line watch may have more bells and whistles than you actually need. 

As Apple releases newer models, the older models will always drop in price to something that’s probably more friendly to your budget. Despite the lower price, older models are still brand new and unopened when you buy them. So while they won’t have all the perks and capabilities of the current model, you will still be pleasantly surprised with what these old watches can do. The best part is, you don’t have to go to an old secondhand store or discount retailer either. Several major retailers (including Apple) stock older watches at almost 50% off the more expensive models.

“People definitely can save money by purchasing an older model,” says Lynch. “It all depends on what you want to use your Apple Watch for. I primarily use mine to track my workouts, so I haven’t had much of a reason to upgrade from my Apple Watch Series 3.” 

But you may also wonder if your older model will be too out of date for the current operating systems. Thankfully, this won’t be an issue in terms of the more recent OS updates. “Generally speaking, a model becomes “out of date” when it can no longer support watchOS updates. According to Apple, the Apple Watch Series 3 and newer models will be compatible with watchOS 8.”

Walmart.com is a pretty reliable place to find a discount on older models of Apple watches, too. When it comes to older models, you can usually get a discount of about $30 over other competing retailers. These watches are all brand new and are only sold at a discounted price because of their age. 

In fact, this is exactly how I got my first Apple Watch at Walmart. I was able to buy an Apple Watch Series 3 watch for less than $180 and it fit perfectly with my needs at the time. It didn’t have all the frills of the later models (the fitness tracker I found was good enough for my degree of … um … let’s call it exercise) and I absolutely fell in love with it. That was until I lost it just around the time my son was learning to walk on his own and was fascinated with the concept of putting things in the trash. We may never know what happened to it.

Look Into Open-Box Apple Watch Deals

Now you may only be open to buying a brand-new cheap Apple Watch and that is totally okay. We don’t blame you. Who doesn’t love the satisfaction of peeling off the plastic wrap and sliding your brand-new watch out of its box?

But for those of you open to … well, open box, then you can easily find a cheaper Apple Watch. Open-box items are products that have been returned to the store in near-mint and resellable condition. These products work just like new, but for one reason or another can’t be put back on the shelf as new. Open-box sales also usually come with a generous warranty or return policy if the product is broken or stops working suddenly. 

Bestbuy.com even lists their open-box prices right beneath the brand-new price for each style and generation of Apple Watches. Of course, open-box stock can be very unpredictable, and if there isn’t an open-box price listed, there aren’t currently any open-box watches in stock for that style. 

As a quick word of warning, open-box items are very popular and can disappear quickly. Over the course of writing this article, I saw a great deal ($30 off the full price) disappear literally overnight that I had considered buying. 

Wait for a Big Sale Day

Apple Watches (come to think of it, let’s just say all Apple products for that matter) notoriously never go on sale. The only exceptions might be major retailers hoping to sell off their stock of the current generation after the next-gen watches are announced and are on the way to their store’s shelves. However, around big holiday sales (think Black Friday and Cyber Monday), some major retailers will bundle the watch at full price with a store gift card or other related items. So while you’re still technically paying full price, the included gift card is basically free money you can use during the expensive holiday season. 

And you might even get lucky — last year, we saw the then-brand-new Apple Watch Series 6 on sale discounted at Target on Cyber Monday.

I don’t need to tell you what a big deal the holiday season sales are for stores, but it is worth pointing out that since these sales get bigger and bigger every year, major retailers are going to want to draw you into their store specifically for your midnight gift-a-thon. So take the time to do your research and compare deals around this time of year to find the best cheap Apple Watch on sale and at the best price. 

Refurbished Watches Through The Apple Store

A refurbished watch is one that was previously owned (or was displayed in stores as a floor model) that has been cleaned, wiped and had any broken parts replaced. Think of it this way, someone buys a new watch and for some reason, the battery doesn’t hold a charge. So that person would return the watch to exchange it for a new one. Well, where does the broken watch go? In this case, Apple would replace the battery, test the watch to make sure it’s working, wipe the watch of any old user data, repackage it in one of their own boxes and sell it to you as a refurbished model. 

As far as you could tell, the watch would look and act brand new, with the lower price being the only giveaway that it had been refurbished. This can equal big savings for you, especially when you’re looking into the newer watch models like the Apple Watch Series 6. You can save anywhere from $40 to $180 based on the series number and watch model. 

Best of all, since you are purchasing the watch through Apple, you can be confident that your watch was refurbished by a genuine Apple technician using the best Apple parts. Plus, it also comes with a warranty that helps minimize your risk that the watch doesn’t work right. 

Being flexible with how “brand new” your watch is means you’re likely to bring home a great cheap Apple Watch. If you’re interested in browsing their listings, here’s where you can find Refurbished Apple Watches.  

In the End, It Comes Down to Patience and Research

I get it, Apple Watches are a cool and incredibly useful accessory, and you want to have one delivered to you, like yesterday. (All this talk of watches even has me thinking I need to replace my lost one now too!) But the most important thing that you can do is figure out which model best suits you, then wait for a good deal so you can buy a cheap Apple Watch on sale. 

“The main thing people should look for are the Health features they need,” says Lynch. “Fall Detection and ECG testing are supported by the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer models … If you don’t need any of these major Health features, you may want to take the discount and purchase the Apple Watch Series 3, which will still support the latest version of watchOS.”

Finally, if you are reading this even remotely close to Thanksgiving or Amazon Prime Day, wait just a little longer, and you will almost certainly find a bunch of cheap Apple Watches. They say patience is a virtue, but in this case, it can also be quite lucrative too!  

If you want to go even lower in price, consider these cheap Apple Watch alternatives.

The post How to Score A Cheap Apple Watch appeared first on The Real Deal by RetailMeNot.

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