J and H products/ Hummingbird 45/55

[fishin_spooge]

Just wondering if anyone has any experience getting one from this HSOforum? They sell the 45 for 345 and the 55 for 413, which are two great deals. I'm wondering if I do get one of these and something happens to go wrong, do I go to customer service? I wish somebody local would price match an internet site, I'd even add in shipping.

Justin

[aanderud]

Haven't used them specifically, but I have to say in this particular instance, I'd buy from someone local for the small price differential.

I like shopping online more than probably anyone I know. I'm all about finding the best price. When I bought my trolling motor I saved over $200 this way (over 20%). But, in this case, by the time you add shipping to the $413, you're over $430. Pro fishing supply has it for $450. That means the local guy is charging LESS THAN 5% more than the cheapest online place you can find it. Pretty dang close if you ask me.

If you're worried about customer service, then I'd say paying 5% more to go pick it up from your local guy is a no brainer.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect your small local shops to match every fly-by-night online store that puts a price out there on the internet. If they're close, I go with it, if they're way off, I'll try to get them to get close. But you can't blame a guy for making a buck. In this case I'd say they're very close.

I just weigh my options - weigh the price differential against things like convenience, customer service, etc. When the price differential outweighs the other factors I go online, otherwise I shop locally. Usually when I end up going online instead of locally, it's because the price differential is on the order of 10-20% (or even more). But when the price differential is less than 5%, things tilt in favor of the local guy.

[Dave S]

I'll second going through Pro Fishing Supply. If there's any questions or concerns, I hear Humminbird CS is top notch. But for the small difference in price, I would definitely keep my business local.

Without going into too much detail, my dad has an Ice-45. He couldn't get it to work right so he called Customer Service, they put a new finder in the mail with the things needed to ship the old unit back, NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

I must add, the issue was no fault of Humminbird. After Ed Carlson posted about a seminar he attended, it was clear the problem was operator error.

I say Kudos to Humminbird and the great customer service.