As I was walking through Walmart this weekend, I noticed an interesting addition to the displays: Christmas decorations are already being prominently featured in the store.

I should know by now that as soon as Halloween ends, the winter holiday items usurp the shelves of the costumes and candy -- letting everyone know the "season to be jolly" is on the way. Soon enough, holiday music will be playing in most stores to put people in the giving mood.

But this year, especially with the instability of the economy, people need to think first, buy later. Money is a horrible thing to waste, so it's always a good idea to get the best bang for your buck. How do you do this? Easy -- don't give in to the product placement or the word-of-mouth effect.

I've fallen for this before and it's had disastrous repercussions for on my day-to-day life. During my sophomore year, my parents agreed to purchase a laptop for me -- and it would be the last laptop they purchased for me. Of course, I decided to go all out with my choice and decided to go with an Alienware computer which, through word-of-mouth, I heard this was the crème de la crème of computers. They are custom built for gaming, have the No. 1 tech support in the country and basically are long-lasting powerful machines.

For those who do not know what Alienware computers look like, maybe you should look at what the computer hackers in Live Free or Die Hard or what the gamers of Stay Alive use to try and save themselves.

With an awesome reputation and some pretty epic onscreen appearances, I decided to create a custom system, totaling about $3,000, and live the life of a super-computer owner. Little did I know, if I just did some online research prior to my purchase, I would have learned this was a TERRIBLE decision. The specific type of laptop I "created" had known issues of overheating, causing crashes and, in some cases, file loss. I also would have discovered that the customer service was less than lackluster, and sending my laptop for repairs was basically inevitable.

So for the two-ish years that I have had my Alienware laptop, I've dealt with the same overheating problems I could have warned myself about and lost a ton of files in the four times so far my system has gone berserk.

And because of this, I've been without my laptop for close to a month now as I wait for the "excellent" customer support that I once heard about to repair my system.

The moral of the story is to ALWAYS do your research before making a significant investment on a gift this holiday season.

Looking back, I could have been happier with a laptop that cost a third of the price of my Alienware computer, and it would have lasted longer. So this year, I urge everyone to take the time and do a quick search on some of the gift ideas you may be thinking of purchasing for a friend or loved one. Had I just taken an extra five minutes to search for "Alienware laptop reviews," I would probably have an extra $2,000 floating around somewhere, and I wouldn't have to use a public computer to check my e-mail or write a paper.

Companies want you to give into the strategic movie product placement and positive word-of-mouth -- they got me. Be an educated consumer, and find out if something really is up to par. Don't waste your money on a product that's just going to break on you after a few months.

Chris Bickel is a senior majoring in public relations and is The Daily Collegian's Friday columnist. His e-mail address is cdb5067@psu.edu.