good place to shop

Amazon.

... test drive the unit hands on, and then take advantage of their annual members' dividend. That dividend applies to most things purchased there year round. That's how I purchased my Oregon 600, hiking boots, ...

I just purchased a nuvi 3597LMTHD factory refurbished from theGPSStore.com. In the past I have purchased from Amazon, but I just couldn't pass up the price at theGPSStore ($239, free shipping). They shipped the same day I ordered and I had it in less than a week, and everything was good.

Right now Amazon has the 2597 $181 and the gps store is $199. Amazon has free shipping if you take regular delivery.

So I think the point is that you really need to first decide what brand/model of GPS you are looking for, then shop around for the best price.

My wife and I swear by Amazon. I've bought several GPS's (and other things) from them and have never been disappointed. Whatever we order seems to arrive in two or three days, free shipping. (Full disclosure: we have Amazon Prime that offers several benefits at a modest annual cost.)
True story: My wife's e-mail on her Kindle Fire HD stopped working. She got on to Amazon and one of the options was for an IMMEDIATE call back. She chose that option and in TWO SECONDS (not one minute, not thirty seconds) the phone rang with a customer service person on the other end. Fifteen minutes later the problem was resolved. Pretty good service I'd say.

Phil

I agree that Amazon is always the best place to look first and I have bought tons of stuff from Amazon, including GPS's. Unfortunately, this time they didn't carry the factory refurb for the model I wanted, and their price for a new unit was $80 more. So I went with theGPSStore.com, saved the $80 and got great service.

I too think Amazon is the best for a comapany that stands behind their products.

This past summer I ordered a portable air conditioner from them. The unit was a big disappointment in it's cooling ability.
I called Amazon for a return authorization and was promptly given an RMA number and they issued a UPS call tag. The next day UPS arrived at my door for the pickup and carted it away. The unit weighed 108 pounds and Amazon paid for the return shipping.
What other company offers service like that?

The GPS Store is also a good place to buy GPS's especially if you can get a Garmin Factory refurbished unit. They are just like a new one with no defects and carry a full warranty at a dent savings.

If you're looking for a refurbished unit, MAKE SURE it states it is Factory Refurbished.

The best place is the place that has what you want for the price you're willing to pay. Figure out the features you want at places like Amazon or the GPS Store then put the model number of the one you choose in a search engine and check out the prices and terms.

I did this when looking for some pipes for my motorcycle and with a little patience and a thorough search I found the pipes I wanted at a leather shop of all places for $150 less than anyone else. Turn out the guy had the pipes and never put them on and was just looking to unload them.

That said, Amazon does have the best return policy of anywhere I've shopped online.

Garmin sells some items including some refurbs on an eBay store. Don't know how good their prices typically run, but at least sometimes they are very good.

As Alandb, I too got my 3597 refurb from The GPS Store and could not be any happier.

I have gotten my 2495 a while back from CostCo with the HD receiver at the same price, ~$195, from other places but with the standard RDS traffic.

I have gotten many items from Amazon too.

CostCo has the most liberal return policy among the three. You can also return it to the local store if you happen to have one nearby.

As stated in several posts before, shop around.

you can usually get it fairly cheap on eBay.

I got my 2797 from GPS city. Like their instructional videos especially in advance of a purchase. Their tech advice is usually dependable. Waiting for garmin's release of their new dash cam 20, so I can get a virtual hands on with GPS city videos, before I make a buying decision.

Costco is where I bought the last 2. Never had any problems with the GPS units yet.

P.C Richard.. They have a good return policy. We bought a cheaper model for them, they liked it so much that after 2 weeks they took it to the store and "upgraded" the model and only paid the upgrade fee.

I purchased mine through Amazon. My second choice would be Costco. Both have excellent return policies.

The last one I bought was my 3790LMT and got it from Wal-Mart on line for about $150. They have a great return policy also if you do not like the unit after you receive it and you can return it to any store they have.

www.factoryoutletstore.com

Factory Outlet Store is where I got my dezl560LMT for about 140 bucks cheaper than retail.