Dog Beds for Less

A friend of mine is in the market for a new dog bed at the moment (for his Great Dane) and was asking me yesterday where he would be able to pick up dog beds for less money than they cost in a typical high street store.

I had found myself in a similar situation a couple of years earlier when I had been made redundant from my job at the car plant where I specialized in custom paint jobs, mainly for the overseas market. I was needing to cut back my expenses as much as possible but still needed to buy life's essentials, which in my household includes basic supplies for my dogs.

I found three tips very useful in sourcing my new dog beds. I used them to get the best possible deal for my own dogs and mentioned them to my friend yesterday who is in the process of applying them to his own situation.

I thought a few people might just find these tips helpful in their own search for reasonably priced dog beds, so I'll share them here today in this short post.

Cheap Dog Beds Don't Have to be Poor Quality

The first thing that I would emphasize is that you really don't need to spend a lot of money on a bed for your dog in order to get a good quality piece of furniture. Sure, you don't want it to fall to bits within a month, and that can be a problem when shopping at the very low end of the market. But there's no need to go overboard with your wallet either.

A lot of people think that they have to buy a particular brand of bed for their dog because of the marketing hype that has been generated. You know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the "designer brands". I don't want to name any of them because they are generally very good quality and they often look great as well. However, you must remember that the bed is first and foremost for the benefit of your pet and he really doesn't care whether his bed has the latest designer label on it or not.

So take my advice and go for something that is relatively basic. That does not mean it should be low quality, just don't pay the premium for the designer name tag.

Dog Beds on Sale in the Showroom or Online?

The second tip that I have is something that a number of people think is a bit underhand. It even has a name these days because so many people are taking advantage of this particular tactic.

I'm talking about showrooming. If you don't know what showrooming is, there is a good explanation of it here, but basically it is the act of popping down to the high street stores to get a good look at all of the products that are available, chatting to the salesman about the benefits, maybe even trying a few items out to make sure they are a good fit for you. Then you say, "thank you very much", to the salesman, walk out of the store, drive home and make the purchase at a discounted rate from an online retailer.

This means that you get the best of both worlds, having tried out the goods you intend to purchase and then taking advantage of the often discounted rates that online stores are able to offer due to their lower operating overheads.

It's up to you if you are comfortable doing this or not. But, personally, I don't see any problem with it whatsoever. It's all about getting the best deal for you. All you are doing is seeking the best information about the product, which the bricks and mortar store is perfectly happy to provide, because after all they could convert you into a sale there and then (and this has been the case for me from time to time).

It's a cut throat world and the customer is king, so dust off that crown and get showrooming for the best deals, safe in the knowledge that you are buying the product that is best for you (and your dog).

Discount Dog Beds from Other Pet Owners

This last tip is probably the biggest one in terms of saving cash. Everyone knows that you can save money by purchasing goods second hand. The retailers refer to these goods as "used", or pre-owned, but I prefer the terms "pre-loved".

Corny I know, but I use this term because actually a lot of the goods that fall into this category are in excellent condition. You might be forgiven for thinking that these items will be a little damaged and show other signs of use.

However, nothing could be further from the truth. What many people don't realise is that Amazon only permits items in the pet category to be sold if they are brand new. However, if you do a search for "used", you will find that many products are displayed, such as the one above. I don't understand how this works but it does seem as though these products are available at a lower price and yet they are still new.

This little trick might not work for long, but it is working as of the date of this post, so I reckon you could grab yourself a bargain if you act quickly!

So there you have it, a few little tips that will hopefully point you in the right direction for getting what you want at a reasonable price.

Click on one of the links on this page to grab yourself a bargain today!

If these tips helped you buy your latest dog beds for less money, I would love to know, so please leave a comment below and tell me all about it.