So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

They all carry the same stuff, they all charge the same prices and
I assume they all have the same ability to stick an address label on
a box and hand it to the UPS guy.

So, other than the obvious need to minimize sales tax, what
contributes to your decision?

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

I pretty much stick to the local Ham Radio Outlet -- if any problems they
take care of it

--
CL -- I doubt, therefore I might be !






"Bert Hyman" wrote in message
...
They all carry the same stuff, they all charge the same prices and
I assume they all have the same ability to stick an address label on
a box and hand it to the UPS guy.

So, other than the obvious need to minimize sales tax, what
contributes to your decision?

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

"Caveat Lector" wrote ...
I pretty much stick to the local Ham Radio Outlet --
if any problems they take care of it.

Same here. I appreciate having a storefront in my town and
I support it by shopping there. I haven't had any problems,
so I don't know how they take care of it?

So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

They all carry the same stuff, they all charge the same prices and
I assume they all have the same ability to stick an address label on
a box and hand it to the UPS guy.

So, other than the obvious need to minimize sales tax, what
contributes to your decision?

Locality. I live and work within about ten miles of an HRO outlet.

On the down side, buying from them does involve state sales tax.
That's true even if I were to try to order through one of their
out-of-state outlets.

On the positive side, there's a lot to be said for having responsive
and near-immediate after-sale support. On a couple of occasions, when
I've been sold a radio or antenna which developed a problem within the
first few weeks after purchase, they've been quite willing to do an
over-the-counter exchange for a replacement rather than requiring me
to ship the product back to the manufacturer for warranty repair.
I've had enough *bad* experiences with warranty repair on electronic
equipment over the past thirty-plus years to find this to be a very
real and tangible benefit.

It's also a great place to run into people and hear interesting
conversations. They'll also give a small discount on accessories to
hamclub and ARES/RACES members, which makes up for part of the sales
tax on these items.

I do buy some stuff (small antennas, connectors and adapters, etc.) at
the local ham-oriented flea markets or at local electronic-surplus
stores.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

Word of mouth ( Internet reviews ) is a good way. I've been doing
business with Amateur Electronic Supply for over 30 years with no
complaints. HRO is also excellent to deal with.


Ed K7AAT

So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

"Bert Hyman" wrote in message
...
They all carry the same stuff, they all charge the same prices and
I assume they all have the same ability to stick an address label on
a box and hand it to the UPS guy.

So, other than the obvious need to minimize sales tax, what
contributes to your decision?

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

No store nearby. Last time I bought, I went for price since they all do NOT
have the same price. There are specials. You can, of course play the "but
so-and-so will-sell-it-fir-$x, how-about-you? ploy. There is consideration
for supporting the local guy or your favorite, however, if you have one.

73, Steve, K9DCI

So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

I haven't bought from AES, but I've bought from HRO both by phone and in
stores when I've come across one. My impression is that HRO tends to
have good prices on the big items but tries to make up for it by having
higher prices on the accessories.

I've made on-line purchases from Universal Radio and from R&L -- based
on prices of the items I wanted. I've also purchased small items from
Lentini in CT and from KJI in NJ -- in-store purchases in both cases.

"Perce" (aka Alan NV8A)


On 06/06/06 12:30 pm Bert Hyman wrote:

They all carry the same stuff, they all charge the same prices and
I assume they all have the same ability to stick an address label on
a box and hand it to the UPS guy.

So, other than the obvious need to minimize sales tax, what
contributes to your decision?

So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

I sure with HRO had the same quality type catalog that AES has. I must
admit that the catalog is a big reason I still purchase most of my ham toys
from AES instead of HRO.


Ed K7AAT

So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

I compared retailers advertising in ham related publications and web
sites and chose GigiParts in Huntsville, Alabama. They have low
prices, great service, and their web site is easy to manuever and use.
Two of my antennas and a dual-band mobile radio were purchased from
them.

Monte
Nashville, Tennessee USA

On 06 Jun 2006 16:30:20 GMT, Bert Hyman wrote:

They all carry the same stuff, they all charge the same prices and
I assume they all have the same ability to stick an address label on
a box and hand it to the UPS guy.

So, other than the obvious need to minimize sales tax, what
contributes to your decision?

So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

In article ,
(known to some as Bert Hyman) scribed...

They all carry the same stuff, they all charge the same prices and
I assume they all have the same ability to stick an address label on
a box and hand it to the UPS guy.

So, other than the obvious need to minimize sales tax, what
contributes to your decision?

For me, it's the application, the overall quality of the radios
involved, and how self-repair friendly it is. Price is about third or
fourth down on my list of considerations.

Part of the issue is that I'm an engineering tech for our state's
patrol agency. As such, I have need for radios that are legal to use on
commercial frequencies (as in Part 90 type accepted) as well as amateur
repeaters.

Motorola Spectra units filled the bill nicely. Durable,
programmable, reasonably inexpensive on the used market, simple to
operate once programmed, and perfectly legal for both Part 90 and 97
operation.

For HF, I usually go after the best I can possibly afford in terms
of retired commercial gear. Sunair, Collins, and Harris are all
favorites of mine.

I'm not keen on most of the dedicated amateur gear manufacturers
because you practically need a microscope to even see the components on
the circuit boards, let alone service them.

Keep the peace(es).



--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, KC7GR)
http://www.bluefeathertech.com -- kyrrin a/t bluefeathertech d-o=t calm
"Salvadore Dali's computer has surreal ports..."

So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

no store within 300 milesof me... I watch the hamfests, and know what
suppliers will be there (I prefer Memphis Amateur Supply), I will call them
and give them a "shopping list" for the hamfest... I pay the hamfest prices,
don't pay sales tax or shipping. I got a TS-480HX for $900 like that. Its
also a good idea to peruse the other suppliers web sites about 3 weeks
before Christmas for sales also... Got 3 Yeasu FT-7800R dual banders for
$225 each, and free shipping to boot.

-n6ojn

"Steve N." wrote in message
...

"Bert Hyman" wrote in message
...
They all carry the same stuff, they all charge the same prices and
I assume they all have the same ability to stick an address label on
a box and hand it to the UPS guy.

So, other than the obvious need to minimize sales tax, what
contributes to your decision?

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

No store nearby. Last time I bought, I went for price since they all do
NOT
have the same price. There are specials. You can, of course play the
"but
so-and-so will-sell-it-fir-$x, how-about-you? ploy. There is
consideration
for supporting the local guy or your favorite, however, if you have one.

73, Steve, K9DCI

So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

Not having a store anywhere nearby, nothing is nearby in Northeast Montana,
I not only need a good price but a place that can service what they sell.
Have always had good prices and great support and service from Burghardt's.
They always seem to have what I need, new radio or parts for older stuff.
Terrific staff that is always willing to answer questions or give advice.

Just my two cents worth.

So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

Hi Bert,

For the small stuff (books, coax, replacement whips for my
HF mobile antenna, etc) I buy from our local store, Texas
Towers. For the big stuff, to avoid paying 8.5% sales tax,
I shop the 1-800 numbers and web sites. I generally end up
buying from Ham Radio Outlet (low price, excellent service,
and free shipping on orders over $100). I bought an Icom
756 Pro 3 earlier this year from Marc's Amateur Radio in
Florida for $2,850 (best price I could find that week). If
I'd bought that rig locally, the sales tax would have been
$242! I like to support the local shops, but the tax is a
killer. Besides, stores like Texas Towers do a lot of mail
order business from people like me in other states who don't
want to pay their local sales tax. They aren't hurting in
that regard.

73,
Dean K5DH


In article , says...

They all carry the same stuff, they all charge the same prices and
I assume they all have the same ability to stick an address label on
a box and hand it to the UPS guy.

So, other than the obvious need to minimize sales tax, what
contributes to your decision?

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

Bert,
Wait for a hamfest to come around, find out what suppliers from out of your
state are supposed to be there, call them and give them your shopping list.
They should have it at the hamfest for you. no shipping, no tax, and the
"discounted" hamfest price. :-)

-n6ojn

"Bert Hyman" wrote in message
...
(-=H=-) wrote in
:

I bought an Icom 756 Pro 3 earlier this year from Marc's Amateur
Radio in Florida for $2,850 (best price I could find that week).

Now, that's an interesting piece of info because it's the 756ProIII
that I'm looking at.

I'd checked every on-line dealer that I could find and every one that
advertised a price on line (almost all do) showed exactly the same
price of $2999.99, although a few didn't explicitly mention free
shipping.

I'm in no hurry, so I guess I'll search harder :-)

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

On 06 Jun 2006 16:30:20 GMT, Bert Hyman wrote:

They all carry the same stuff, they all charge the same prices and
I assume they all have the same ability to stick an address label on
a box and hand it to the UPS guy.

So, other than the obvious need to minimize sales tax, what
contributes to your decision?

For me, bigger is better -- I figure they got big for a reason.

Amateur Electronic Supply in Minneapolis ships promptly when I put an
order in -- I get the gear in days.

They pack it well; nothing's ever been broken.

And when I recently bought a $300 antenna tuner that did not perform
as I had hoped, they took it back, minus 20% restocking.

Besides, they also put out a gorgeous catalog that's free.

The local guys, besides the sales tax there, they don't advertise
their prices on anything, and don't appear to keep anything in stock.
So why let them mail order stufff for me, and add on the state sales
tax? Doesn't make sense.

bob
k5qwg

So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

So, other than the obvious need to minimize sales tax, what
contributes to your decision?

Motorola Spectra units filled the bill nicely. Durable, programmable,
reasonably inexpensive on the used market, simple to operate once
programmed....

Our local police are talking about getting all new radios "real soon
now", which means their old ones may become available.

But can we ordinary peons get the programming software?

--
--Myron A. Calhoun.
Five boxes preserve our freedoms: soap, ballot, witness, jury, and cartridge
PhD EE (retired). "Barbershop" tenor. CDL(PTXS). W0PBV. (785) 539-4448
NRA Life Member and Certified Instructor (Home Firearm Safety, Rifle, Pistol)

So, how do you decide where to buy your gear?
 

In article , (known to
some as ) scribed...

So, other than the obvious need to minimize sales tax, what
contributes to your decision?

Motorola Spectra units filled the bill nicely. Durable, programmable,
reasonably inexpensive on the used market, simple to operate once
programmed....

Our local police are talking about getting all new radios "real soon
now", which means their old ones may become available.

But can we ordinary peons get the programming software?

For conventional Spectras? Heck, Motorola will sell it to anyone
willing to sign their Draconian software licensing agreement. Last I
looked, conventional Spectra software was down to about $175.

Keep in mind, though, it's not just the software. You also need a
RIB (Radio Interface Box -- anywhere from $25 to $100, depending on
where you get it and which one you get). Programming cables for the
Spectras are easy enough to make.

Worst case (shameless plug alert), there are guys like me who
specialize in conversion of such radios to amateur service, and have all
the tools necessary for programming and checkout. ;-)

Happy hunting.


--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, KC7GR)
http://www.bluefeathertech.com -- kyrrin a/t bluefeathertech d-o=t calm
"Salvadore Dali's computer has surreal ports..."