Some opinions on best places to buy handheld gps

[kroppy]

Brand new geocache member. Have never owned a gps and see there are plenty of threads for that topic (which gps).

 

Did not see any topic (maybe i missed it, sorry) on best retailers (online or brick).

 

If any would like to share their opinions i would be grateful.

 

Thanx

[tlhutch]

Amazon.com has the consistently best prices I've seen.

Edited December 5, 2007 by tlhutch

[+coggins]

Brand new geocache member. Have never owned a gps and see there are plenty of threads for that topic (which gps).

 

Did not see any topic (maybe i missed it, sorry) on best retailers (online or brick).

 

If any would like to share their opinions i would be grateful.

 

Thanx

 

Join REI:

 

The REI 100% Guarantee

 

Sure, you can find a place to pay less, but you get what you pay for.

[eaparks]

Regardless of who you buy from just be sure they are an authoried Garmin Dealer, they will display the Garmin gold seal, usually. This way if you were to encounter any problems with the unit you won't encounter any problems getting the problem resolved, unlike some of the bad experiences some have brought up on this forum. I have had several authorized Garmin dealers price match other authorized Garmin dealers.

 

With a little research you can usually find an authorized Garmin dealer that will sell you the unit for almost the same as what a non authorized distributor is selling them for.

 

You can see a list of authorized dealers on Garmin's website.

 

Walmart always a good comparison, but you'll also pay sales tax

 

GPSCity.com

 

MegaGPS.com

 

TheGPSStore.com - personally one of my favorites. Located in NC and what ever they tell you they have the authority to stand behind it. Are a brick and mortar store and have price matched for me.

 

REI

[gpsblake]

walmart.com

 

One huge advantage of using them is if there is a problem within 90 days (I think it's 90 days), you can return the unit to any walmart store for a refund.

 

REI also has some pretty good sales from time to time & a good reputation around here , like the Explorist 100 for only $69.83

http://www.rei.com/REI-Outlet/product/767520

[+Hynr]

offroute.com generally does a good job for me.

It has no shop in California (where I live) so I am not charged for sales tax.

It is in the next state over (NV), so the product comes to me fast even if I don't pay for faster delivery.

Offroute.com used to be a sponsor of geocaching.com some years ago so I became a customer then and have consistently found the prices they charge to be within a few dollars other discounters.

[CacheNCarryMA]

It depends on your personality and whether or not you're willing to gamble that the GPS won't have any problems. Most of the time, it won't have any issues.

 

Are you the type of person that purchases the extended warranty on products? If so, buy the GPS from REI or L.L. Bean. If your a member of REI, you'll get 3% back at the end of the year. Both places have great return policies.

 

Otherwise, just use Froogle or eBay and buy from the seller with the lowest price.

[+village-idiot]

Until sometime after the first of the year, if you sign up for Cabela's club you get up to $100.00 off of any purchase of $500.00. Garmin also has a $50.00 rebate until the end of the year, so you can save up to $150.00. It took me about 6 weeks to get my rebate.

[+ICHTHYS]

I have bought from Cascade GPS a couple of times and have been very happy with their prices.

[+JSWilson64]

Money no object, the best place would be a locally-owned merchant (or at least not mega-corporation) who'll let you come in and try stuff out, return it if you don't like it, etc. etc. Whole Earth Provision Company here in TX is one example. Factoring price in, I dunno 'bout the best place, but I would not buy one from NewEgg, due to their restrictive return policy on GPSrs. For that matter, I'd check the return policy with any online merchant before I buy anything.