Deals at Airventure

[jimbo]

It appears that vendors for Garmin avionics are tied in to using Garmin specified pricing-everywhere you look seems like prices are the same. Maybe a vendor will throw in free shipping but thats it.

Do vendors at Airventure offer deals for panel mounted radios and avionics-specifically Garmin products? If so, what is somewhat typical? I know deals for hand held GPS units are often available, especially when older models are pushed out by newer models.

Jim
RV9a

[Neal@F14]

In the past four years that I've been attending, I've never found any kind of substantial "deals" on brand new avionics of any brand.

I did buy a used portable GPS there from an avionics vendor, but the price was not really any better than typical fair market value of that particular model, and within $10 of competing vendors' prices for the same unit.

I've gotten a modest discount on a brand new Stewart Warner oil cooler there last year, but it was nothing to get too excited over.

[SteinAir]

The best things to buy at airshows are typically pilot supplies, headsets, handheld radios, portable GPSes and stuff. Panel mount stuff not so much....you're likely to get a better deal outside the show anyway. Sometimes people ask me if I can match company "X's" show specials...to which I usually reply that I'd be happy to, because they often are higher than what we'd charge anyway!

My 2 cents as usual.

Cheers,
Stein

[David Paule]

The main thing is that it's one of the few places you can evaluate many brands and types all at once.

Whether that's worth the hassle is another matter.

[FlyingArcher]

The real deal for me has been the free workshops I could attend, with teachers like Sam James or Mike Busch, not to mention meeting with a bunch of people I use to talk with on this forum. We had a nice 9/9A gathering where I could make some friends.

And on top of that, coming from France, everything I could buy and carry back with me was worth it, because I saved on taxes and shipping charges.
I arrived with a big empty luggage and went back home with 70 pounds of "stuff"
YMMV