Best Time to Buy Ice Fishing Electronics

After years of being a guest of others with Vexilars, etc. I think it’s time for me to take the leap and purchase my own ice fishing underwater unit. I realize that finally making that decision right in the middle of ice fishing season doesn’t scream “genius” but hey I’m trying.

Anyway, I’m looking to see if any of you know a good time of the year to buy them. Judging from some of the posts on here some members have gone through a few of them over the years and I was wondering if you had any ideas or past knowledge of good sales, end of year vs. beginning of year, offseason, etc. I’ve made it this far in the 2014-2015 winter so it’s not urgent that I get one soon, I can wait awhile, even into next season if need be, if it makes a difference on what places (Cabela’s, Bass Pro, etc.) have the best specials.

Any advice is more than welcome. In addition, if you find yourself replying and have a few more seconds to spare and want to recommend a certain unit/model that would be extremely appreciated. I’m leaning towards the sonar/transducer units but I’ve also given look at cameras like Aqua-Vu because being able to see underwater structure seems like it would help.

Thanks for reading.

From now to the end of the season prices will drop at the big box stores and usually the smaller ones too. By the beginning of Feb is about as cheap as you will find typically. The problem with waiting to long is you might not find the unit you wanted.

St. Paul Ice Show has been about as cheap as I have found them, but as dbright said there are bargains to be found as the season winds down as well.
Off season is not a good time to buy new units, but I do think you can find deals on craigslist and pawn shops.

The Ice Fishing shows seem to be a good place and time. If not looking for the latest and greatest, a gently used one might become available.

I got about 30% off of a Marcum LX9 in mid Jan last year at a small sports shop. Seems they do not EVER want to carry anything over into the next year and are willing to deal. Check out those small shops and make the owner an offer. They just may take you up on it.

I would say finding a really big discount on flashers is pretty rare, you might luck into a big sale somewhere, but for the most part you are looking at $50 off at best, MAYBE up to $100 off.

In my honest opinion, I’d rather have one now and use it for the rest of the ice season(and catch a lot more fish as a result), than wait for 3 months, 6 months, 8 months just to save $50.

Have you thought about going used? You can usually find an LX-5 on craigslist in that $325-$400 range, which is a better discount than you’ll find in a store.

What kind of deals are made at the ice show. Can someone give an example of what kind of discount they are getting there. 2 years ago I wanted the LX7 and google searched it almost daily trying to find a deal. In the summer I was able to find one for 510 dollars. I actually didn’t like it so I sold it for 550. My point is you have to be diligent, but more than likely you will come across a good deal.

Tonka wrote:

What kind of deals are made at the ice show. Can someone give an example of what kind of discount they are getting there. 2 years ago I wanted the LX7 and google searched it almost daily trying to find a deal. In the summer I was able to find one for 510 dollars. I actually didn’t like it so I sold it for 550. My point is you have to be diligent, but more than likely you will come across a good deal.

It seems as though the more you buy or package into one purchase and one store, the discount gets steeper. Does that make sense?

FDR

Tonka wrote:

What kind of deals are made at the ice show. Can someone give an example of what kind of discount they are getting there. 2 years ago I wanted the LX7 and google searched it almost daily trying to find a deal. In the summer I was able to find one for 510 dollars. I actually didn’t like it so I sold it for 550. My point is you have to be diligent, but more than likely you will come across a good deal.

If you bought an lx7 for $510 you pretty much beat the deal at the ice show. No one was going to sell an lx7 at that price. Even when you sold it for $550 you’ve also sold the deal.

Depends on which unit you want to buy……Reeds has the the Vexilar fl-8 for $280……320 every where else…..

I found that late last ice season that Cabela’s ran a special if you had a Club Visa. I bought an LX-7 for about $650 with free shipping. I then was able to use my club points which was another $110 to put the unit around $540. After I sold my Vexilar fl-20, the deal became even sweeter. Long story short, I love my LX-7.

Ice fishing show typically has good deals. and remember you can’t catch em if you don’t Marcum.

Vexilar sell’s refurb units on there site, you can pick it up in at the factory as well.

http://shop.vexilar.com/en/reconditioned-products-1

In the upper midwest, most spring goods will ship out to stores in March. So most dealers will look to have big ticket items out of there inventory by mid February or a little sooner.

Waiting on year end blow outs is all risk/reward. You can keep an eye out for the one you want, but so are hundreds of other guys. Some get lucky and pick up a sweet deal. Many others aren’t so lucky.

Also, most manufacturers operate with MAPS agreements. So even when a dealer blows them out, the deals won’t be advertised

The place that I have found that has the best clearance prices at the end of the season is Dicks Sporting goods. They typically have %20 off all their ice fishing gear, even electronics and augers. Couple that with a Happenings/Entertainment coupon and you get a great deal.

Last week wally world had Marcum LX-6’s without a battery for $424 w/ free shipping…. I’ve never seen that before though and it appears to be gone already.

Yeah, I’m the one who initially found out about that price in Walmart and let others on another site know about it. I have placed 3 separate orders. One was cancelled after a week and the other two keep getting delayed. I don’t think Walmart isn’t going to ship any out. It’s from a 3rd party selling through Walmart.