Todd in NY

You would think so. But that one employee tried to convince me that those sale items come from a different warehouse, not from the stores. Heck, why would I pay $699 for the 698 SI model when I could've spent another $100 and got a new Helix 9 DI GPS model? Some of these retail places have lost their minds.

The employee that told me there were 4 units in the store, and that they don't honor the web site sales, I asked him where the FF would come from if I purchased it online and had it shipped to the store for the free pick-up. He told me that Gander would ship it from a warehouse at the sale price instead of filling the order with one of the units already on hand. That same employee has given me a line of BS a few times in the past. This Humminbird 698 is the 3rd FF I've bought at the Watertown Gander Mountain in the last 10 months (I've had to outfit 2 boats), and they've all been on sale on the web site, but the store was advertising full price. Being able to use a smart phone to prove that it's not limited to online sales has been a big advantage. Am I starting to see a trend here...? I don't remember having that problem at any other sporting goods store, to include Dick's.

Thanks Frogger! According to the Humminbird web site, they appear to be keeping only the Helix models, the Onix models, the 500 series and lesser models. So it's just a matter of time before they sell all of their remaining inventory of discontinued 1100, 900, 800 and 600 series fish finders. That's also why I've been keeping an eye on hummingbird sale prices.

I'm posting this because the sale ends tomorrow, and it has a happy ending. I do a lot of bass fishing with my 16ft Sears row boat, and I've been looking for a fish finder with side imaging and GPS. I found a Humminbird 698ci HD SI on sale on Gander's web site. The sale price was $399, when normal price is $699. The sale was NOT limited to online purchases, so I called the Watertown store to see if they had any in stock. They told me all they had was the display model and that it was $699, not $399. I drove to the store anyway and spent a half hour talking to 2 different employees about the sale price. One guy scanned the FF tag and said there's four units in the store, then went on to tell me that they wouldn't honor the web site price in the store. I then showed him the sale ad on their web site to show him that it is NOT an online sale price. I finally got to talk to the store manager, who found me a boxed FF (the one I went there for) and he gave me the sale price without any fuss at all. I didn't get the managers name but he was extremely professional and had no problem honoring the sale price. The sale ends January 27th, so if you're in the market for a new FF with side imaging and GPS for a fair price, Gander has them for $399 for one more day.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Much appreciated! I'd rather deal with blow back than a blown rigger, especially if there's an expensive probe dangling down near the bottom.