Where will you buy your next gps?
Sat, 06/15/2013 - 6:50am
    15 years
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Without a doubt, I think of amazon.com, but I am resistant to the collection of sales tax, which begins 7/1/13 in my state. They are so big imho they will collect in all states sometime in the near future.
Where will you buy your next unit?
new versus refurb
If the unit is a new one I shall probably buy it at Amazon, and if a refurbished seems likely it will be from Walmart. Last year I bought four refurbished 3790 LMT's from Walmart. There were some problems with units (both large dents in the backside and actually some functional problems) which has made me a little more skeptical of buying refurbished, but Walmart's handling of the return and prices were both excellent.
Even when buying new there seems to be an appreciable risk of getting a dud, so it makes good sense to buy where you believe the policy on return, repair, or other adjustment is suitable to you.
personal GPS user since 1992
Amazon is Unlikely
I've tried to buy two things from Amazon. Both times the price looked very good. Both times my credit card was charged and I received an order confirmation. Then both times I received a notice from Amazon that they had canceled the transaction and were issuing a refund to my credit card. Not the only emails I got from them though, once they had my email information they started spamming me with plenty of not so great offers for things that I was not interested in, until I finally blocked emails from Amazon.
Not saying that I wouldn't try Amazon again if the deal looked good and I couldn't find it elsewhere at the same price. But my trust and expectations for them are pretty low.
The GPS store
I've had good luck dealing with thegpsstore.com, I haven't bought a GPS in awhile but when I bought my last one they had the best prices and seemed to have good customer service.
Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.
Mostly Amazon For Me
If the unit is a new one I shall probably buy it at Amazon, and if a refurbished seems likely it will be from Walmart. Last year I bought four refurbished 3790 LMT's from Walmart. There were some problems with units (both large dents in the backside and actually some functional problems) which has made me a little more skeptical of buying refurbished, but Walmart's handling of the return and prices were both excellent.
Having had a really bad experience with a purchase from Walmart I would never set foot in any of their stores, no matter how low the price.
Sounds like you got open box units and not refurbished which doesn't surprise me in the least.
I'm sure there are many happy customers, this is just my personal opinion.
Amazon is my choice, I never had a bad experience and always had to pay sales tax on my purchases.
As far as shipping goes I think UPS is the best, I'm not a fan of Fedex since their tracking system is not as good as UPS's. My biggest gripe with them is they never ring the bell, they just leave the package at my doorstep. This is not an isolated incidence by a particular driver, various drivers have done the same thing.
My mailman and regular UPS drivers are very efficient, I make sure to show my gratitude at Xmas time, I’ve never had a lost shipment from them.
I recently bought a 42" 1080P LED TV from Amazon, shipped Fedex, after tracking I was waiting for it on the scheduled delivery date. Sure enough the driver drops it on the doorstep and walks away without making any attempt to ring the bell or knock on the door.
I live in a modest community with houses surrounding me, the house is exposed and not up some winding driveway hidden by foliage.
I also do buy from Costco and BJ's Wholesale, but many times they don't have the model I'm looking for.
Nuvi 2460LMT 2 Units
Shipping story
I bought an item for our Florida trip. It did not arrive for two weeks. I filed my inquiry with UPS. They replied that the driver had left it on my steps. I filed for a refund with the shipper. Then I received a robo call that it was found and delivered. Not so says I. We left for Florida without the item. When we returned, the package was in my garage. The vetinarian had received my package along with their stuff. His employee delivered it to my house. My niece drove by and put it in my garage. UPS had left a message that someone at my house had signed for the package. LOL
1490LMT 1450LMT 295w
Next GPS Purchase
Most likely Amazon, but always do a search for the best bargain.
UPS
spokybob, your UPS story doesn't surprise me at all. I've had several similar bad experiences with them. They have often claimed they delivered stuff when they didn't. One time they even stated that the driver had left the package at the side door. My house has no side door. The last time that this happened I was even told that they have GPS in their trucks and that the GPS records would tell exactly where my package was delivered, but that THEY WOULD NOT LOOK UP THIS INFORMATION FOR ME! Instead I was told that the shipper had to submit a written tracking request with them, something that the shipper, for whatever reason, was reluctant to do. Finally a compassionate local UPS driver figured out where it had been delivered to and got it for me, but the whole process took so long that the price of the item had come down and I could have bought it and had it delivered faster by other means or gotten a better model at the same price, not to mention all of the time and frustration I wasted trying to get UPS to fix their error.
If I have multiple choices of where to buy at the same price and one of them uses UPS, I go with the seller who does not use UPS. (Although I prefer not to use the ones who ship through a shipper like UPS or DHL, who then waste time storing it for several extra days in one location and then finally hand it of to the USPS for final delivery.)
Next Unit
Both of my units came from ebay GPS retailers, and were delivered in days
1300 for rental cars when travelling
760 for the truck
The road less traveled is a great road to be on, and it often has someone stuck on it Big Red Private Transport to the rescue
Where
A phone store...
Using Android Based GPS.The above post and my sig reflects my own opinions, expressed for the purpose of informing or inspiring, not commanding. Naturally, you are free to reject or embrace whatever you read.
Where Else
Best Buy
3790LMT; 2595LMT; 3590LMT, 60LMTHD
Costco.
Fair price and convenient.
Amazon
for the price!
TomTom built in and Garmin Nuvi 1490T. Eastern Iowa, formerly Southern California "You can check out any time you like...but you can never leave."
Amazon
Amazon
Val - Nuvi 785t and Streetpilot C340
Somewhere online......I'll
Somewhere online......I'll just look for the best price on the model of choice and BAM!!! it's mine....But I'll have to check New Egg first.
Amazon and Costco are the two>>>
I always source first.
"You can't get there from here"
Your daughter's neighbor is a real>>>
I have so little confidence in USPS, UPS & FedEx to deliver a package to the correct address and on time, that for a pricey item like a GPS unit, I'll pay the sales tax at a local B&M store rather than spending days waiting and fretting over delivery.
We frequently get someone else's mail, and I'm sure that someone else has gotten our mail.
My daughter just ordered a vacuum cleaner and FedEx delivered it to her next door neighbor, who used it before the mix-up was discovered.
We have had a package stolen from our front door this past year.
Returns are easier when the item is purchased at a B&M store.
Even though we have Amazon Prime for free shipping on many items, I just don't have the confidence in the various delivery services and would rather pay a few extra bucks in sales tax.
5h1tbird...sometimes people just need a beat down...the "mixup"???? I guess your daughter' name on the package wasn't a good enough clue!
"You can't get there from here"
not open box
Last year I bought four refurbished 3790 LMT's from Walmart.
Sounds like you got open box units and not refurbished which doesn't surprise me in the least.
Nope--the packaging on the refurbs is quite a bit different from the retail packaging--these were refurbs as prepped by Garmin.
personal GPS user since 1992
Walmart Refurbs?
Last year I bought four refurbished 3790 LMT's from Walmart.
Sounds like you got open box units and not refurbished which doesn't surprise me in the least.
Nope--the packaging on the refurbs is quite a bit different from the retail packaging--these were refurbs as prepped by Garmin.
That's surprising, all the posts I've read about receiving refurbs by Garmin were like a new unit and nobody said the units they received with any dents as you described. Maybe this is another reason I may add for not shopping at Walmart.
Nuvi 2460LMT 2 Units
Costco
has good prices and return policies.
Cosco: Pay in order to be their customer
has good prices and return policies.
Cosco wants me to pay them in order to be their customer. The only way that I would do that is if I was buying something expensive and I could save enough against the other discount places that I shop that it would pay for the membership. So far that has not happened.
Wherever it is the cheapest.
Wherever it is the cheapest. I have no qualms about ordering from eBay or whatever have you as long as I'm comfortable that the sellers are reliable.
My Garmin Nuvi 760 I got it for $150 brand new on eBay during the Bing cash back heyday a few years back which gave 30% off any eBay purchase and also combined it with a 15% off eBay coupon.
It was retailing for $350 brand new then, if not more.
Most likely will be the Google Play Store since I have no need for another standalone GPS unit given my current one has no problems.
Nexus devices all the way!