It's happened to everyone. Right in the middle of the Golden Globes your TV starts smoking. Or mid-wash, the laundry machine starts making a terrible sound and refuses to drain. Everyone has shopping emergencies...the question is how do you deal with them and maybe save a few bucks in the process?
My first and most important piece of advice on dealing with shopping emergencies is to plan ahead for them. Everyone should have an emergency fund that can be used for true emergencies like a pipe bursting or minor emergencies like needing a new tv. Because the last thing you should do is go into credit card debt because of a shopping emergency. So, if you already have an emergency fund, great. If not, read my post about how to save $1000 in a year and start saving a little at a time! And if your shopping emergency comes up before you've got your fund built up, look into retailers that offer deferred payments (i.e. "No Payments until 2012"). Be careful about those kinds of deals because they can end up costing you quite a bit in interest/late fees if you aren't able to pay them off on time. If worse comes to worse and you simply can not afford to replace the item, then you may just have to do without for a while.
So, now, you've got a shopping emergency and you've got the money to cover it, but you want to make sure you are getting a good deal. The problem is you don't have the luxury of shopping around for a few months, looking for deals, doing extra research on every available make and model. You need that TV/Washing Machine/Stove/Fridge NOW! There are still things you can do to save a few bucks.
First, take a spin through your local stores to see what you can find. You may get luck and find a TV 50% off at Target or a special deal on a Washer/Dryer at Sears. But if no deals are falling into your lap, break out the computer. When our TV went out last week I checked out the selection at Target (none on clearance unfortunately) and then did some price checking online. I found the same makes/models on Amazon for cheaper with free 2 day shipping thanks to Amazon Prime. And even shopping at Target.com would have been cheaper because by going through Shop at Home, I could have gotten 5-10% cash back, which adds up to a nice chunk of change on a large item like a TV. (Definitely always consider a cash back site like Shop at Home when you are making online purchases...it's free money back, just for a couple of extra clicks!)
Even if you don't end up buying online, take some time to do a little bit of quick research before you buy, even if you are in a hurry to replace an item. You don't want to rush into a purchase and buy the cheapest item only to find out that it doesn't perform up to your expectations. Make sure that anything you buy has good reviews (Amazon is a good place to find consumer reviews) and also make sure that the price you have found, whether it is online or in an actual store, is the best price. Do a search for online coupons or discount codes that you could use, and also for rebates.
If you are buying in person, you can try to negotiate with the salesperson for large-ticket items...you may think that it never happens, but you would be surprised! Many times sales people are authorized to take 10% or more off the price in order to make the sale. It never hurts to ask! Or ask if you can buy the floor model at a discount.
Another way to save is to look at second-hand items. Search Craigslist to see if anyone in our area is selling the item you are looking for or check your local consignment shop. Even posting on Facebook to see if anyone has an extra XYZ lying around may yield results.
The bottom line is that emergency purchases don't always have to be full-price purchases. Take some time to look at all of your options and hopefully you can save a few bucks on the things you need, even if you need them FAST!