Mys Terry wrote:
On Thu, 01 Jun 2006 18:20:33 GMT, "Dennis Pogson"
wrote:

boomerswims wrote:
My husband has been using a garmin GPS12 for years. It is a basic
older monochrome handheld unit. We now use it as a back up for our
fixed mount standard horizon GPS. I would recommend a Garmin unit.
Hand held of small fixed mount. I have found their units very user
friendly. They also have a good warranty. When looking around, know
that West Marine has a price match guarantee. You just have to bring
them either the ad, print out, or quote of a new item. West Marine
also has a Product Protection Program. You can get up to two years
after the manufacturers warranty. Plus, it is always nice to walk
out with product in hand then wait for it in the mail.


A number of US Ebayers advertise brand-new GPS models on the UK Ebay
site and are doing good business because of the dollar/pound
situation. I bought a GPS MAP60CS (Garmin) from a retailer in San
Diego for what seemed a ridiculously low price, 2 day delivery,
brand new, and it had European maps ready installed. My point in
posting is that you don't just get secondhand Garmins on Ebay, but
new stuff too, and I am sure the prices will be discounted for US
buyers. Worth a look.


A word of caution is in order. If you buy a gray market GPS, it may
not have the basemaps and firmware for the part of the world you are
in, and it also will not have any warrantee. Garmin knows serial
numbers, and if you get one through a less than legit source, you
could end up with a paperweight. Same goes for buying the mapsource
Bluecharts. If the code that comes with the CD has already been used,
it won't work to unlock the disk.

You can certainly find good legit deals on ebay, but you need to be
very cautious.

I guess it happens often enough that Garmin has warnings about it on
their website.

That implies that Garmin control not only the price at which retailers sell
their products, but also with whom they are allowed to advertise. Is this
legitimate in the US? Surely sellers with their own websites can compete
with each other? Do Garmin regard Ebay as a flea market?