Hi campers... I'm hoping someone could give me some idea of how prices for your camping goodies fluctuate depending on the time of year. Obviously I know that buying out of season would be generally cheaper. But I have a dilemma.
We had our first camping trip at whitsun which was a roaring success. Now we're going to book up again to go in late July. Except this time the in laws are coming who are first time campers with no equipment except a tent. There'll be seven of us in total. Now we've only got a double burner / grill at the moment which I don't think is suitable for cooking for that many people, so Mrs Homerclees has decided that she wants a Cadac Carri Chef Deluxe combo which at the moment are going for about the £130 mark. Should I just go out and get one now or if I leave it until mid July? Will the prices tend to come down as the camping season wears on? Or should we just struggle along with our double burner / eat out and pick one up in the winter?
Cadac's tend to stay the same price year round - unless they alter them slightly from year to year.
Towsure work out about £126 if you are in CC or C&CC and use membership discount
If willing to use Ebay, I have noticed the best time to buy camping gear is in the run up to Christmas. I probably spent as much on camping gear as on presents last year as hardly anyone else was bidding on the things I was keeping an eye on, so could get them for half the price they were in the shops.
from what I have notice (from only 12 months of looking for camp gear) is that
some gear varies very little, eg Cadacs, windbreaks, carpets, hiking/mountain tents
some gear goes in the sale as the season progresses, so right now cookers, kids camp gear and sleeping bags seem to be at good prices
and other gear goes in the end of season clearance - often bulkier things like furniture or tents the dealer wont want to store. Seems to me the delaers know which tent models are changing the following year by August/Sept and price accordingly
Gumtree seems good from End of August but year round the prices can be good as people selling dont always know what the stuff might be worth - or they might want rid of it (or it might not have been theirs to sell . . .)
Thanks for the advice folks..... Tesco Direct are doing the Cadac Carri Chef Deluxe for £139 with double clubcard points. BUT.... There is a promotion on at the moment where you can enter a discount code for 20% off that price. Works out to just over £116 delivered. That's nearly £20 cheaper than I've seen anywhere else. So now might be a good time to browse through their website if you're after something.
Some gear stays about the same price all year round, but stuff like tents and sleeping bags drop quite a lot especially at Christmas time. Put together a list of what you definitely need and what you can put off and wait for. For the stuff you need now try Amazon, you will be surprised what you can find as well as the prices you can find it at.
Also keep an eye on Lidl, Netto and Aldi, you will be surprised at what becomes available but with places like these if you see it and like it then buy it, it doesn't stay around long and they do not get second deliveries when it's gone it's gone. Keep checking the big outlets websites (Go Outdoors, Outdoord Mega Store etc) again if something comes up in one of their sales then grab it,even if it means putting it up until next year.
------------- Steve
Look into my eyes, not around my eyes but into my eyes