GREENSBORO, N.C. — Just how widespread is remote learning? Sixty-six percent of North Carolina students will be remote learning at some point this year.
Add in all the other students nationwide that are remote learning and you understand why you're seeing sold out, sold out, sold out in stores and online. Retailers can't keep up with the demand.
So, what do you do?
Nicholas de Leon, Consumer Reports Tech Editor said, "See if you can find an equivalent model for the one that you're shopping for. You may also want to consider buying used or refurbished. And depending on where you buy it from, it may come with its own warranty”.
Consumer Reports stresses a warranty is key, you have no protection without it. Check the return policy. Some problems take time to surface. Buy from a retailer that gives you at least a month to return the product.
Some bigger retailers, like, Target and Walmart, will send you an email or push notification when certain items you're looking for are back in stock.
And third-party sites like NowInStock.net and Zoolert.com check inventory across multiple retailers and alert you when an item is in stock.
Another trick
for finding that device needle in a haystack is looking at websites of electronics retailers: Fry’s, Micro Center, and Newegg. Adorama and B&H Photo, which specialize in digital cameras, have a wide selection of computers, too.