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To many people, we are already in the post-COVID era, yet in reality, COVID-19 is still a scare; so much that the government won’t let business, educational and religious activities run normally. That has led to the earnings of many Ugandans being negatively affected thus the need to save every penny possible.
In this article, I would like to share with you 8 ways to get the best price when shopping online, or even offline, in Uganda in 2021.
- Know what you want. In searching for a good price you ought to be sure of what you want otherwise you might end up wasting the same money you’ve been saving, on something you actually do not need.
Make a list of at least 3 kinds of the item you want before you get started. E.g. Gas Cooker with gas or electric oven, not exceeding between Ush 1.5million and Ush 2million.Do not go price-hunting before making up your mind on what you actually want to buy.
- Choose the right platform depending on what you want to buy. Niche platforms tend to give the best deals for the category they focus on. Check out www.kweli.shop for premium home appliances, 2ambale for clothing and footwear, 2fumbe.com for cookware and kitchen appliances, Sage Buyers for used iPhones, Famunera for agriculture inputs and Jumia for groceries and phones, and Wena Hardware for construction materials and home improvement products.
Choose the right platform for the right product.
- Buy at the right time. Black Friday, Techweek, Anniversaries (like Jumia Anniversary), and more are seasonal promotions that online shopping apps and websites run with reasonably higher discounts. Always look out for them and don’t let a deal pass you if you need the item of course.
Some days are luckier than others; don’t let the lucky ones pass you. - Take your time, compare prices. The beauty about online shopping is that you can compare prices of various vendors without spending any money or moving an inch; do it.
Take your time visiting various websites and comparing prices before you make a purchase. - Choose free delivery. When looking at saving online shopping consider everything including the cost of delivery. For example, a retailer that doesn’t give free delivery may mislead you into thinking that you are saving some money, only to end up spending more to get the items home.
Kweli.shop offers free delivery on all its products in Kampala, Wakiso, and Mukono districts. Jumia also offers free delivery of supermarket products up to certain volumes or order amounts. Many other online traders offer free delivery in Kampala. Use those. - Mind about quality. Cheap things are expensive in the long run, they say. It is hard to be sure but one rule of thumb is; buy from a retailer you trust to avoid a headache.
Unregulated marketplaces such as Jiji may give you seemingly good discounts but the platform cannot guarantee the quality of the products for you. What you ought to do in this case is verify or take with you someone who can help ascertain the quality of the product you want to buy. - Negotiate. Unlike supermarkets, most other retailers online and offline are willing to give some discount when approached by a serious customer so try your luck.
- Take note of the warranty. When looking for the best price, always be mindful of the warranty associated with the product, especially if it’s electronics/appliances, phones, and the like. This is because however good a deal might be, it doesn’t make sense if you’ll have to part with the very amount you had saved when buying the item, to service it when it breaks down.
The author, Stephen Obeli Someday, is the founder of Kweli.shop; Uganda’s largest counterfeit-free appliance store
