GPS Units For Sale On Ebay

[greatcache]

I recently had an opportunity to get back into geocaching and really had fun with it, but need a new unit. I notice so many of them on Ebay and they're pretty pricey. Looking for good basics and don't need the best...thanks very much for any and all thoughts

[+The Yinnies]

I am also looking for a cheaper Garmin that I can load Topo on for part of my state. What I have been doing is to Google the model and I have been finding good prices.

[+Mudfrog]

I have often went to ebay to check out pricing on units i was interested in to see what they were going for and have never found any deals that i was satisfied with. You can find them but from what i have seen, they are hard to come by. I highly recommend checking amazon.com or one of the more dedicated online gpsr stores before you make decision to buy. There's a good chance that one of them will offer better pricing, sometimes free shipping, and you can be relatively sure that you are getting a new (unless it's stated refurbished), not stolen, and fully warranted item.

[+Mudfrog]

And to answer your question about which unit,,, there are plenty to choose from but i've been caching since 2002 and have had good luck with the Garmin line. They offer a wide variety from basic to top of the line, almost pda like, units. You can't go wrong with the 60cx or the 76cx (csx if you want electronic compass and altimeter). These have basically the same guts but have different cases with buttons in different places to please different folks. There are cheaper units that have alot of the same features but i'm not very familiar with those. I'm thinking some of the Etrex with an "h" extrension units but someone more familar will have to verify that. Magellan and Delorme offer units as well but again, i don't know alot about those.

 

I'm sure lot's of people will chime in but until then, have fun with your research and goodluck with finding the perfect one!

[+user13371]

Here's a quick way to figure out what a "good deal" is:

 

Suppose you're looking for an eTrex Legend HCx. Look on Amazon.com first; reputable and usually has fair discounts. Today that eTrex is around $192 with free shipping from Amazon. Then look on eBay. Simplest search:

 

http://search.ebay.com/etrex+legend+hcx

 

shows lots of hits -- but if you sort by price you'll notice many are higher than Amazon. If you're willing to pay that much, buy from a big name like Amazon than an unknown vendor on eBay.

 

BUT -- sometimes you do find bargains. As I type this, there's one on eBay bid up to only $151 (+ 7.50 s/h). That would be a good deal, but the auction still goes for a day or so and it might go higher. SO... bid the most you're willing to pay -- and don't get tempted to re-bid even if someone goes higher. Eventually you'll hit on one within your price range.

 

AND...

 

When shopping in the "Garage Sale" here (or Craigslist if it's big in your area), you can also use eBay to help figure if something is a good deal. If you have an eBay account, you can look at the final prices for COMPLETED auctions. Using that etrex example again, the search for completed auctions is:

 

http://search-completed.ebay.com/etrex+legend+hcx

 

..and you'll see a couple have sold recently for around $150-$160 delivered; none lower. So that and anything lower could be called a fair bargain - and if you're willing to wait and bid carefully, you can find them for that price.

 

AND FINALLY...

 

In this Garage Sale forum, people very often post ridiculous, above-retail asking prices for used gear. And they get very offended when anyone (usually me) makes a low-ball offer instead or points out what the going price for stuff really is.

 

Don't fall for it. Those sellers don't deserve politeness, though saying something like "you must think we're all stupid" is probably going a bit overboard. Trust me on that

Edited September 22, 2008 by lee_rimar

[+Moosiegirl]

When I'm looking for prices, I always include the phrase "best price" in my Google query. There are several shopping sites you can check to get a bunch of prices all at once, and you can also check reviews and ratings on the store if you don't know anything about them. THAT'S CRITICAL when shopping on line.

 

Another thing ... always check walmart.com ... sometimes it amazes me how low their prices go. That's where I got my hubby's 60CSx. And they "ship to store" for FREE.

 

Remember to check Craigslist in your area, too -- it's getting where my favorite eBay saying applies to CL as well ... "if you are patient, you can find ANYTHING on there!"

 

Happy Trails!

Candy

[+pswith5]

my advice... keep it simple. Grab a pen and paper or maybe a pda for your notes and go with the 12 channel h series etrex. cheap but the H stands for High sensitivity. There are expandable color gps's out there but the high sensitivity is the key!!

[+Chuy!]

If you don't need auto-routing maps, I recommend the Venture HC as the lowest model to look at.

 

If you think you'll be getting maps in the future, I recommend the Legend HCx.

 

I also vote for Amazon, or offroute.com. I have bought from both and am pleased with both customer service depts. From Amazon, be sure you're buying an item from their warehouse, not one from a 3-rd party vendor Amazon allows to sell through their website. The best thing I like about Amazon is they will make availabe a downloadable SASE slip if you decide to return the item.