LoganRunner Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 I truly hesitate to ask this question because it may start a totally unfounded rumour spreading across the GPS community but here goes anyway. Fact: Garmin released the 60C nearly 18 months ago - February 2004 Fact: Magellan recently released their Explorist line 100, 200, 300 in the last quarter of 2004 and the 400, 500, 600 in the first quarter of 2005 just a few months ago. Fact: Garmin is offering $50 rebates on their 60C/60CS, 76C/76CS, and LegendC/VistaC lines of handheld mapping gps units. Fact: This rebate offer ends July 5, 2005 Speculation: Could Garmin be very close to the release of a new line of handheld mapping GPS units? If they were would they not want to keep it very hush hush to prevent a slowdown in sales for their present units? Would not they want to help out their retailers by helping them to unload their present inventory by offering a rebate on units whose sales would be hurt by their new product line? Some might say that the Garmin rebate is a strategic move by Garmin to increases sales due to loss of markent share by Magellan (on the high end) and Lowrance (on the low end). However this explanation falls short for 2 reasons. First - the rebate offer ends at a specific time after which they would presumably be in a worse strategic position. If they wanted to increase sales then why not just lower prices? Second - This rebate is only being offered for a specific set of handheld units. I am going to buy a color mapping GPS for hiking. After reading a great deal on the internet I was going to buy the Magellan Explorist 500. It is more accurate, has better sensitivity especially in wooded areas, and it has expandable memory. However, due to my suspicions I am going to wait a few more days to see what happens. Does anyone here think I'm crazy? Could I be on to something? If Garmin does come out with a new unit I'm virtually certain I will go with them, if not then I'll go with Magellan. Quote Link to comment
+Cache Viking Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 Do not know if I should agree or not. However I am still waiting for a good replacement for the Garmin V ... so I wait and I wait and I wait and I wait .......... Quote Link to comment
+Rubberhead Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 I believe that it's got more to do with the Explorists 500 and 600 series than anything else. Quote Link to comment
tttedzeins Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 It is apparent that there are no marketers in this thread. I bought my MeriColor over a year ago and they had been out for quite some time, Magellan were offering the same deal. To get the money back you have to fill out a form with your name, address, store you bought the unit from and some other details. this provides the manufacturer with some invaluable information. Lets face it you are not about to give them the wrong address for $50. This offer also boosts sales a bit as the unit is now $50 cheaper. This info is used for future sales drives and demographics. In other words you have just been paid to fill out a survey. Quote Link to comment
ImpalaBob Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 I agree with ttedzeins! Its good marketing and a way to determine sales demographics as well as assure product registration. I just bought a 2nd 60C for the household and got it in within the rebate time. ImpalaBob This rebate has been happening for a long time so it is not a ploy to dump units! Quote Link to comment
+Jamie Z Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 (edited) Where's DaveA now? Must be because they're not selling well. Jamie Edited July 3, 2005 by Jamie Z Quote Link to comment
+Sputnik 57 Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 I'll throw out some marketing gibberish from my college class long ago. Lots of manufacturer (especially of electronics) practice "skim" marketing, offering new units at a high price, knowing that earlier adapters of technology will pay a premium. Once most of those dollars are collected, they cah lower the price and try for larger market share from those who want the technology, but not at a premium. The mail-in rebate phenomonon serves the dual purposes of getting marketing info from buyers, and taking advantage of the fact that not everyone will bother with the paperwork, or fill it out correctly. You can offer the after-rebate price and still collect the full price for many sales. So why is the rebate ending? You want to encourage those on the fence to act now. Just because this rebate offer is ending doesn't mean that they don't have a new pricing strategy ready to deploy on July 6. It might include a new line of units, but just as likely will involve a price reduction or new special offer (software or accessory bundle?) I guess we'll find out soon. Quote Link to comment
LoganRunner Posted July 16, 2005 Author Share Posted July 16, 2005 Eureka!!! I hate to say I told you so but... I told you so! Garmin just announced 5 yes thats right 5! new products today check em out: http://www.garmin.com/pressroom/ I like the look of the Quest 2 myself but the m3 and new i-series look very interesting too. Quote Link to comment
+Alan Ellis Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 New products: Not much there that I'm interest in. Heck, they are still trying to work out the bugs of the 60 series. Sounds like they are trying to compete with Magellen rather than introduce new units. Quote Link to comment
tubemonkey Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 That certainly explains the price drops for the Quest. Costco went from $475 to $370. Another example in the field of consumer electronics just happened a few weeks ago. XM Radio had a program offering a free XM Roady2 ($100 value) if you bought any XM satellite radio and signed up for 3 months of their family plan. The rebate ended Jul 2nd and right after the rebate ended, they dropped the price of the Roady2 to $50. Hmmm ..... You never can tell what they're up to, but I really start to get suspicious when prices drop or when Costco starts to carry an item. Chances are, a newer model is about to be released. So I wait a bit ..... Quote Link to comment
+Cherokeecacher Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 There are more coming down the pipe too. I heard that color Rhinos are due with in 6 months. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 Eureka!!! I hate to say I told you so but... I told you so! Garmin just announced 5 yes thats right 5! new products today check em out: http://www.garmin.com/pressroom/ I like the look of the Quest 2 myself but the m3 and new i-series look very interesting too. Those are all units designed chiefly for automobile use. It wouldn't explain the rebates on handheld units meant for the trail like the 60 and eTrex C models. Quote Link to comment
genivx Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 I can't wait till a Vista C size unit from garmin comes out that have say 100+ megs of storage or a SD or mini SD or mini XD card slot to add memory. I love the Vista C just hate it's limited 24meg memory and no way to add more memory. and if they can fit all the features and functionality of the VIsta C on a Geko size unit that uses AAA battery and have the memory card reader I'll be in heaven. Quote Link to comment
Team Hatfield Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 I bought my Garmin 76 C/S in mid Decenber of 2004, and I took advantage of a limited-time $50 rebate that was offered then. I didn't bother to try and figure out why there was a rebate. It sounded like a good deal, and it was. I ended up paying $400 for a unit that, at the time, had a MSRP of $500. However, since then I've seen $90 Magellans perform as well (and sometimes BETTER) as my 76C/S. Go figure. Slim from Team Hatfield Quote Link to comment
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