Humminbird 997 bargin

[robman]

Hi Breamers,
I am looking at buying a 997 Humminbird side imageing sounder combo. Has anybody negotiated a good deal on sounders in Austraila,so I can at least give the locals a go at supplying before I look off shore. Who would you recommend to try for a good deal?
I have been told that BLA has restructured the pricing on a lot of Humminbird stuff. Does anybody know if that is the case?

Regards
Rob

[trout_bum]

Hi Rob,

The 997 through BLA recently dropped in price to reflect the weakened US dollar (few months ago). I picked one up about a month ago in Oz for $3400 delivered with spray deflector. Have heard of them going for $3100 but this was just web chatter and has not been confirmed in advertised prices.

Walked through JV Marine/DohDohDoh the other day as they were the only place open and glanced at the price in there which was somewhere around $4500. You can get a 997 landed from the US for about $2100 USD but of course the readings are in miles and Fahrenheit and any warranty issues have to go back to the states.

Competition is fierce in the US though at the moment and you could get it better than that I reckon. FYI there are ways around the import duties on goods above $1000 if you are bold enough to ask the seller; but if you wish to discuss this we can do so privately.

For the record, I purchased mine locally for two reasons. 1/ warranty issues and 2/ because I actually like the guys at the shop where I purchased it. While I probably could have gone in heavier for a better price, they look after me and are good blokes, hence the willingness to purchase locally. I think their price was actually pretty good as well.

Cheers and good luck.
TB