is there a better alternate to buying a nuvi from amazon?

NewEgg, CostCo, Sam's Club, Staples, sometimes BestBuy all are reputable retailers that offer Garmin Nuvi units, sometimes at sale prices.

I found that there are usually good prices on WalMart.com, but I even found better deals from www.tristatecamera.com and at tristate they even have deals with 3 year extended warranties.

I'm not shilling for Amazon but I do buy a lot from them. When I compare prices I always look at the fact that Amazon does not charge me a Sales Tax and (unless I'm in a BIG hurry) I don't have to pay for shipping for items over $25.00.

Have bought 3 GPSr's thru them.

Since some of the other places such as Sam's, Best Buy etc are a decent distance from me I would also burn up $3-4 in gas plus the "valuable time of a retiree" to go and shop. (and have the Better Half find something else to buy)

On a hundred dollar item it would save me $ 6.50 in sales tax and say $6 in auto costs. OK - that's about 12.5 % less for a $100 item.
Have always had good luck with them and only have had to return one item to them in about 5 years - which they replaced "no problem".

Just one shopper's input !

GPSNOW, MEGAGPS, J&R.......many good places out there.

Stay clear of Tristatecamera they have a pretty bad rating. See some of the reviews of them on this review site that I always check with before ordering from anyone on line I do not know.

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/TriState_Camera_Video_a...

whats wrong with amazon?

Some people use it and like it. I've tried to buy two things. Each order ended up being canceled by Amazon (or their agent), even though they accepted my credit card information and charged my card (refunded several days later). And while they never sent me the items ordered, they now had my email and sent me so much spam that I had to block them. So I personally avoid them.

I might try to buy somethings from them again, although that would require using a different email address that I didn't have a block on and could abandon if the cycle repeats itself. I don't have the disgust for Amazon that I do for the Electronic Bay of Theives, which I will never use. But if you try to buy from Amazon and the price seems especially good, be prepared that they just might cancel the order and you might miss an alternate deal elsewhere. If I want an item that I see on Amazon but can also buy at an alternate source for around the same price, I get it from the alternate source.

There's nothing wrong with Amazon. I just bought a Digital Voice recorder from them and it will be here tomorrow (according to the USPS web site). I got a good price, no shipping charges and it should be here 2 days earlier than predicted.

It just pays to shop around and try to be as savvy as you can can be.

And, you must be able to recognize a real deal from a reputable seller. I was shopping around for Windows XP and found SP 3 at Newegg for 79 bucks. A very good deal. Well I did not order it right away and lost out, because it was a weekend only sale price. Haven't seen it under 139.00 since - nor have I looked, because I bought it anyway at the higer price. Lesson learned.

I've bought tons of stuff from Amazon.com, including 16 GPS units for my company. I've never had a problem with them.

I have bought a heap of stuff (including my Nuvi 760)from Amazon due to low price, no shipping and no sales tax.
I even bought my 42" Sony 1080i LCD HDTV and had wonderful 'white glove' service at no charge.
I usually only buy the item if it is SOLD by Amazon NOT one of it's affiliates.

Nothing that I've ever seen. I just got my eTrex Summit HC handheld and Garmin Topo 2008 from them. I took the free shipping and still got them in 4 days. I've never had an issue with Amazon, and from things that I've read, when anyone did have a problem with something they bought, getting it replaced was never a problem.

Provantage has solid prices at times.

korndogg27,

My answer to your question is NO. While I always check competitor's prices prior to a purchase, I seem to end up back with them.

One of my "failed" purchases was a Canon printer. After arriving and not working properly, I called customer service and requested a replacement. Before the bad unit was on its way back, Amazon already had another on the way. Second arrived and had a different issue. Talked to Canon tech support (again) before calling Amazon to ask for a RMA number. For me this was enough and Amazon refunded my purchase price and again paid to have the unit shipped back.

Anyway, If you find a better delivered price on another website, keep us posted.

I've bought tons of stuff from Amazon and Newegg. Mostly books and videos from Amazon and computer parts for my business from Newegg. I just bought two Nuvi 255s from Newegg with no complaints. I've had flawless service from both. Both go out of their way to remedy the rare problems with merchandise. They are my "go to" online retailers. I'm always a little apprehensive when I have to order the rare item from someone else.

Amazon is a very good place to buy your electronics items. Amazon is legitimate and very reputable. Check prices elsewhere and compare the bottom line, which should include shipment price and notification of when your item should be expected at your door. I am sure Amazon will be better than most of the place you compare the site to.

... try macmall.com

--

it's the dog's fault

Yes, I have purchased from Provantage a couple of times and had very positive results.

I just bought a Garmin GDB 50 MSN receiver
from amazon got a good price and the free
shipping

I have purchased my Garmin's from Costco because of their prices when on sale and their return policy... But I am already a member of Costco, if I wasn't, Amazon would probably be my choice..

I have bought all of my pc parts while building my computers ,cameras ,Wii ,camera lens, you name it I buy all of my electronics from Amazon and never once had a problem.
I did all of my Christmas shopping there.
I`ve been a customer of theirs since they started.
Sorry about you bad experience with them.

I have bought 2 GPS's from Amazon, a 765T for me and a 265WT as a Christmas present for my daughter, and have been very pleased with both of them. I always shop around for the best deals when making a major purchase, but no one could touch Amazon's prices at the time.

I have bought several other items from them including a glass TV stand, speaker stands, many books and DVDs and have not had a problem.

Check Sam's Club, Costco, NewEgg and TigerDirect amongs others for prices and compare to Amazon.

Also, keep a frequent eye on Amazon's GPS prices, they can change hourly.

www.newegg.com -- listing a Nuvi 250 for $99 with free shipping.

While newegg is mostly computer stuff (they also show a 1tb disk drive for $99 on special -- that's $0.10 per gigabyte!), they're carrying more stuff such as GPS, LCDs, MP3 players, and the like.

Quick shipping and good order tracking. I've bought stuff from them in the past and not had problems.

How about Locally, then you can man handle them all and check the features you want or don't want.

But a Nuvi 250 for $99.00 from Newegg is a tough one to pass up. still check them locally then decide what you want and where to buy!

when ordering from Amazon, read carefully to make sure if Amazon themselves is actually selling that product or if it sells it through another vendor. I'm watching closely at the Nuvi 205w and it is very strange that one week that product is sell from Amazon and another week that product is sell from through another seller. In that case if it is sell from another seller and if something wrong with your order, you have to deal with the other seller.

I had no problems at all with this company. I ordered the GPS along with the 3 year extended warranty expecting to have the GPS in about 5 days. It came in 2 days after I ordered it regular shipping and they even called me before shipping to see if I needed a SD card to go with the unit. Unlike most extended warranty's that run along with the manufacturer warranty and are really shorter than advertised, this one starts after the manufacturer's ends and is for three more years. It is also through a third party and not TriState Camera.

First let me say that I like Amazon and buy on it a lot. The only thing I hate is when you need an item for about $20 and can't get free shipping. In this case I try to find the item I need with free shipping from Newegg or Buy.com.

I'm somewhat weary of Buy.com. They don't have very good ratings on reselleratings.com and I had a problem with them in the past that I don't think they handled well. Lately though I've ordered a few items from them and they've been good. When I did need to return a defective item they paid for the return shipping, something not all online vendors will do.

That being said, I bought my GPS at Beach Audio. They were the lowest at the time. They advertised the unit as having a feature that it really didn't have. They were very helpful, had me return the unit, and they paid for shipping. Then processed a full credit card refund very quickly. When I ordered the replacement at a later time from them, they paid for shipping. They should have bent over backwards for the false advertising, but I found their customer service very helpful and would definitely buy from them again.

Another vendor I have bought electronics from in the past and had very good results from is Beach Camera/Buydig (no relationship to Beach Audio).

it's not perfect but i wonder if there are competitors out there. recommended to me is crutchfield.

There are many choices, just google the model your looking for, find the online stores, find the best price,then be sure to check out the user feed back.

If needed ask here, in this community if anyone has used them before, user feed back is important.

I bought thing from buydig.com crutchfield.com,JR.com,zipzoomfly.com,newegg.com.by far amazon.com is the best

best return policy with no shipping charge ,30 day price protection ,free shipping,no restocking fee,no TAX in most states

I was going to buy mine at Sam's club because everything is supposed to be cheap there, right? Well not on everything. I spotted mine on Amazon, free shipping and no sales tax plus a free dash beanbag mount and it was still cheaper than anywhere else. Bought lots of things from Amazon and have never had a problem.

Search, search and search for the lowest online deal or store deal. That's what I do. However, I don't always pick the lowest price. If a vendor offers the lowest price but has so many bad reviews, I'd rather give my money to other trustworthy vendor, even if that means a few $$$ more. There are so many bait and switch vendors out there. It's just nor worth saving a few bucks if I have to go thru the headache dealing with shady vendors.

I frequently surf www.techbargains.com searching for deals.

eBay from a reputable seller.

let buyer feedback be your guide.

I bought a 765t from Amazon a week ago and all was perfect with the exception of a single dead pixel on the display. I could have lived with it but thought I'd just see how they would do. I called Amazon customer support and within 5 minutes I had a new unit on the way, free expedited shipping and a call tag label for the old one. They were not the absolute cheapest but they've always been tops on all counts for me.

Just wanted to chime in with my Amazon story. I could check my account history to be more accurate but off the top of my head I've been using them for at least 5-6 years. Everything from sending birthday presents to relatives across the country to my ever increasing electronics collection. ALWAYS been 100% happy. My best story of them is the following.

Bought an espresso machine in July 2006. It had a drip tray that melted and became difficult/impossible to remove and replace within a month or so. Amazon sent me a replacement unit, no charge. ELEVEN MONTHS later, same thing happened again. On a whim, I emailed them for help, assuming I was well out of any warranty. They emailed me back explaining that they had had other complaints of the same issue, this product no longer met their quality standards, and they would be refunding me the entire purchase! Within a week or so I had a 100% credit on my card.

I will ALWAYS buy from Amazon when possible.

phxflyboy

Just got my 750 from Amazon last week. No problems. I went with the Super-Saver free shipping... they quoted me about 9-14 days for delivery. It came in just 2 business days!

I bought my 760 from them and it arrived quickly and without any problems. I've also bought books and other media from them with the best prices and fast shipping. I've never had to return anything, but most people I've talked to have had very positive experiences dealing with them. Definitely check who the seller is though. If they have a popular item that is being offered by multiple vendors (including themselves) they will list the item on one page and whoever has the lowest price at the time of your search will get put in the primary display. One minute it may be Amazon, the next it may be another vendor with shipping charges and a poor return policy.

I always prefer to buy sonething of this value locally myself and rid the hassles of returns, RMAs and downtime. Unless it saves me a substantial amount of $$, I may order online after thorough reviews and feedback routines. I just purchased my nuvi 255w at American TV & and Electronics for under 180. Currently BB has the same deal, maybe a deal for the model your looking for? Although Amazon is a highly respected website along with newegg, done alot of business with both.

Ive bought 3 GPS unit from TVNAV.com. No problems, quick shipment. no sale tax.

rearnold

We've ordered hundreds of items from Amazon. They're a 1st class operation. I always check them first for pricing. Even if they aren't the absolute lowest, I still may go with them since they are a known commodity.

There are also three or four electronics/camera shops in Metro NYC that I have the utmost confidence in and typically receive items next day.

I have also bought lots of items directly from Amazon or other merchants on the Amazon site without any issues (including my Nuvi 255W).

low price, free shipping, next day delivery, non-open box.
That is all I need and I have from "mail order" vendors.

I've used Amazon (not regularly or anything) for at least ten years and have never had a problem. Well - if I didn't always have 20 to 30 items in my "save for later" cart for years at a time, it wouldn't be a problem. My current oldest "saved item" has only been there since 2003. More of a wish list, I guess.

Also, we don't keep our credit card information stored on their site. We only use a debit card that changes from time to time, and only have a minimal amount of money in that account. We try to practice Safe-Shopping.

I know others that would not use Amazon even if it were the only choice available.

As with others, I've purchased online from many retailers as well.

I think the only thing we *don't* do any more is keep gift cards for stores or restaurants - which has something to do with going on vacation in a remote area a year or two ago, and coming back to find out that 60 some dollars worth of Bennigan's gift cards were immediately no good, as the chain filed for bankruptcy that week.

I do not mind using Amazon for small cheap items like used books... but for anything electronic, there are only a few vendors I trust, buy.com, Newegg, geeks.com, ZipZoomFly... or if I need it right away I can usually find what I need at the local big box stores.

My most recent purchase from amazon was a laptop keyboard that needed replaced before I sold it, and I did not trust the fleabay for the same item.

make sure you read the fine print. New vs Refurbished.

I bought my nuvi 750 from Tigerdirect.com almost two months ago. I did a ton of research, didn't care if it was a "discontinued" model, and for $1.99 shipping it was right in the price range I wanted.

At that time I paid $199.99 plus shipping, it went down some after my purchase (of course!).

I have bought several electronic items from tiger direct and haven't had any issues yet. Shipping estimates are right on and their prices are always comparable.

When I bought my 760 I got it from Amazon because it was the best deal. That said prices change daily and you need to look at other stores and web sites mentioned here for the best price.

I saw a "coupon" in the costco coupon book that they sent my wife for an 855 at costco.com from May 11-20 for $200... I think it was a net of $299. It's available online only. I don't believe there were any neccessary codes, etc.

No free traffic, though you'd get different perks.

ive bought from amazon for years and have always found them to be a reputable place to do business with.never have had an issue and as another member stated not pushing them.i like buy.com/newegg also as online dealers.amazon is usually the place i start looking when im buying to get a price baseline.i also have purchased my 2 garmins from them.
mike

I, too, start my shopping with Amazon, but this time I was surprised to see that Walmart.com had a better price on Garmins and .97 shipping.

JHD