Experiences with online retailers

[cbrunny]

Hi all,

I've been thinking about upgrading, and I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on the Galaxy Nexus. The problem is where to buy it from.

I live in Canada, so I can't get it direct from Google. I'm on a contract with Bell, and their price is an outrageous $649. Looking at other options.

Wondering if anyone has any experiences with companies like these:

hi-mobile.net - posted at $365 plus shipping for i9250 model, but says it will not work in "CA" (assuming Canada). No idea why it would say this, as its the same model as Bell has. (http://www.hi-mobile.net/samsung-phones-i9250-review)

Expansys.ca - seems to get regularly strong reviews around, but priced at $425 (http://www.expansys.ca/google-nexus-prime-android-smartphone-unlocked-16gb-224148/)

canadagsm.ca - "Samsung Galaxy Nexus Prime i9250" with some specs that dont look quite right to me. Also Bell is the only carrier not listed that I know of. Priced at $375, but I think I'd pay tax on that one, so its more like $424. (http://www.canadagsm.ca/SAMSUNG/Samsung-Galaxy-Nexus-Prime-i9250/)

then there is ebay.ca, which has a few options with comparable pricing.

Any others I may be missing, feel free to tell me about them. I'm not overly interested in a used phone - just my personal preference.

Thanks

 

[cbrunny]

I should also add that I could get one in store at Factory Direct for $399 + HST, so $451. But it'd be a refurb. Pricing seems way off there.

Edit: Also found IntegronTech.com: http://www.integrontech.com/Samsung-Galaxy-Nexus-i9250-16GB-Unlocked-Black-p/sam-i9250.htm. $379, no tax and free shipping. Too good to be true?

 

[cbrunny]

Well, I pulled the trigger & went with hi-mobile.net. So far, everything seems to be going as planned. The checkout process used Paypal (unexpected but no big deal), I've received a shipping confirmation, and should have it soon.

That is, if FedEx can figure out what they're doing. I'm following the tracking as of this morning, and it seems they've got times mixed up a bit:

Sep 17, 2012 7:40 PM - Left FedEx origin facility - TSUEN WAN HK
Sep 17, 2012 6:01 AM - Clearance delay - Import - MISSISSAUGA, ON
Sep 17, 2012 5:44 PM - Picked up - TSUEN WAN HK
Sep 17, 2012 4:20 AM - Shipment information sent to FedEx

Looks like my package has done some time travelling! All times are destination times, which is EDT.

Strange. I wonder where it actually is...