Saving Money when buying new things

When you want something new, do you just go to a familiar shop to buy it, or do you shop around. If you go onto the internet and compare the prices in different shops you can often save yourself a lot of money. Sometimes it is cheaper to buy online and pay postage than it is to go into your nearest shop, especially with expensive purchases.
You might also consider getting the item second hand as often they can be as good as new and at a fraction of the cost.