BlueSkyNick
Well-Known Member
I have thinking about a couple of RL70CRC's since the Boat Show. As Raymarine have brought out the new E-series, the prices on the RL's have dropped from 2 grand down to £880. Being tight, skint and not planning to leave the confines of the E-channel, the old gear will suffice for at least a couple of years.
On E-bay recently there have been 3 cases of what I would call some dodgy gear. I get the impression that a lot of the RL's have made their way straight onto the second hand market, bypassing the dealers.
Case 1 - A brand new RL70, bundled with a couple of other Raymarine items was at £550 until one minute from the end, I submitted a bid for £560 and was outbid with 4 seconds to spare. Forgot all about it until the next day E-bay send me an e-mail saying the seller was suspect, the deal was removed from the system and recommending not to accept any direct approaches.
Case 2 - another RL70 appeared a few days ago, starting price £750. I dropped the seller a note offering some friendly advice that it might be on the high side. No problem he replied, he has sold about 15 of these for about £1200 recently. Not this one he hasn't, it has just crept up to £770 today.
Case 3 - yet another with 'Buy It Now' for £879 - 'This normally sells for £2300 in the shops'. Not this year it hasn't, all the authorised dealers are selling at £879 and I would rather buy direct, myself.
So in summary, if you are in the market for one of these, make sure you are buying genuine gear at a reasonable price, and not getting tempted by a deal which seems to be too good to be true.
On E-bay recently there have been 3 cases of what I would call some dodgy gear. I get the impression that a lot of the RL's have made their way straight onto the second hand market, bypassing the dealers.
Case 1 - A brand new RL70, bundled with a couple of other Raymarine items was at £550 until one minute from the end, I submitted a bid for £560 and was outbid with 4 seconds to spare. Forgot all about it until the next day E-bay send me an e-mail saying the seller was suspect, the deal was removed from the system and recommending not to accept any direct approaches.
Case 2 - another RL70 appeared a few days ago, starting price £750. I dropped the seller a note offering some friendly advice that it might be on the high side. No problem he replied, he has sold about 15 of these for about £1200 recently. Not this one he hasn't, it has just crept up to £770 today.
Case 3 - yet another with 'Buy It Now' for £879 - 'This normally sells for £2300 in the shops'. Not this year it hasn't, all the authorised dealers are selling at £879 and I would rather buy direct, myself.
So in summary, if you are in the market for one of these, make sure you are buying genuine gear at a reasonable price, and not getting tempted by a deal which seems to be too good to be true.
