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We have an  old Outwell colorado that has served us well for the last 8-9 years.

 We are looking to replace it with a new tent with sewn in ground sheet because we have dogs and i prefer the security knowing they cannot escape!

Looking at the Montana 6 as a replacement but gee they are expensive now! If we had bought last year we could have got for £100 less! Whats going on? Is the 2009 tent really worth £100 more than the 2008 version? I know camping has become very popular in the last few years - we never had to book campsites in the past! Is this why prices are going up?

Okay so do we wait and make do this year and see what offers are on end of season? The Montana seems to be same standard price everywhere at the mo but guess its the busiest time for tent buying.

I think October is a good time to buy.  Lots of tent displays come down then and it goes quiet until after January. If you don't get a good deal then look again from February onwards as you may get this years model cheaper because the dealers are going to be making room for all the 2010 models.  I know we have been promised a good summer but when have the weathermen ever got it right?  Lots of people have been buying tents that they aren't going to use or will use once and then they will all be up for sale.  If you don't mind 2nd hand then some of them will be up for sale at the end of the season or about this time next year.

hth

Hi sweetcake.

                    I would hang on untill end of season, although you have to do your home work, and phone round the dealers rather than just use the tinternet, this plan worked for me, and I bagged a bargain, due to the dealer not stocking the brand of tent that I purchased, for the following season, so he put a flyer out end of season, the prices were so good I did not even bother hagling, very unlike me, although I did haggle on the additional Sun Canopy, which had to be made special as there was no UK stock left, and it took 11 weeks for the Canopy to arrive from France, no problem with that as I was not planning to go Camping till this year anyway, the final outcome was a whopping saving of £695 on this years list price, for Tent and additional Sun Canopy, combined list price for 2009 is now £1474!

Having looked through some of last years posts i can see that the outwell tents have gone up considerably and ( i think) i understand the reasons!

If the weather is good we can manage with our old tent but last year was soooo windy and damp and our tent was not very snuggly!!!

Quote: Originally posted by beefysmum on 30/4/2009

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how about the royal bordeaux, 2008

£329

The royal bordeaux looks perfect! Thanks for that Beefysmum.

Has anyone got one? i need to check out the reviews me thinks!

 

 

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Hi Sunvalley Sue

As you said I did say that prices would rise and rise...(I know, no one likes a smart arse lol) I feel i have a good understanding of whats going on and i doubt the sort of deals that were around last winter will be around this season.

Stock is already looking short... i feel by the time jul / aug come around campers will just have to get whatever they can, the more popular ranges will be sold out by the end of the summer thats for sure. Vango and Outwell are already saying to us retailers that some of the more popular models will be out of stock with them by june...

Regards

Gary Cross

Retailer

Quote: Originally posted by Cross Camping on 01/5/2009

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Vango and Outwell are already saying to us retailers that some of the more popular models will be out of stock with them by june...

 

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I think maybe it would be damage limitation as many manufacturers have had 2 bad seasons in a row with the weather and banks being more cautious with lending.

Hi,

Couple od things, first of all I would hang on in purchasing a tent at the moment, firstly because it is so close to the start of the season and secondly the credit crunch will bit everyone if sales don't go up this year including manufacturers and retailers.

Secondly most manufacturers manufacture their tents in China and there have been a few reasons why the prices have gone up. Main reason is most items are purchased from China in US Dollars and whilst we have had a couple of good years on the exchange rate it has now started to drop, hence the rise is price. Neither has this helped with the Euro being so strong.

The final part of this is connected to the huge disaster with the earthquake in China. Due to the severe displacement in people the Chineese government had to find 5 million tents to house people and whilst they had huge reserves they decided that they would replenish them in case of another. As such they have made the manufacturers concentrate on this and therefore the supply of leisure tents has been slow. As a result the shops are holding limited stock or are awaiting resupply, therefore they are not holding a lot of new stock and can keep the prices up through supply and demand.

So a number of things have conspired to stop you getting a good deal / price, so my advice is to hang on a little longer, if sales don't rise and the backlog of stock starts to arrive in bulk then expect a mid season sale

Garry

Sales are not always good for everyone........

After 2 bad years in a row weather and sales wise it must be difficult for some retailers to continue. The costs of having a large display of tents both inside or outside for people to look at and feel the material and imagine themselves having a holiday in against just looking at it in a catalogue must be massive. Tents suffer from UV degregation and many dealers have to change their display 3 - 4 times a year with those tents being scrapped. Added to the fact that the season is short with people expecting retailers to have everything in stock makes for cash flow issues.

There will be a shortfall of tents this year for many different reasons and if the summer turns our like many people are predicting i think the sales of tents will be good and retailers will at last have a good year. If people insist on not going to their local dealers and surporting them through sales i forsee a few retailers going to the wall and that means less places to see tents on display. that would mean buying on a picture, added expense driving looking for a dealer with tents on show and even worse not having years of experience to fall back on. When was the last time you asked a Tesco/lidl/Aldi/Morrissons shop assistant about a tent or accessories and got a reliable sensible honest reply?

Surport your local dealer or risk losing them.

yes I am a new tent retailer and i speak from experience in retail, manufacture and design of tents.