PSA Garmins at Amazon inc 530 for £160

Well mine's back in the box and about to head back to Amazon. It was sold as a new unit but still arrived in an unsealed box, and I'm not sure I want to risk getting another in that state. To be honest, I think I'm just about done with Amazon altogether now.

The 530 seemed like a nice little device, but on reflection it was just another thing to remember to charge. I'm just going to carry on using WorkOutdoors on my Apple Watch for shorter rides, and my phone (plus a battery pack) for longer rides that need a map.

Oh well.

Weird. That’s pretty concerning.

Mine is fine… as far as I can tell it’s 100% brand new. All the bags were sealed and the unit never looked like it had seen daylight before. I can’t remember if there was a plastic tape over the box or not, but it appeared brand new to me anyway. No issues with the buttons or anything.

Sorry to hear of the grief you guys are having with yours.

To be fair I don't think any of my Garmin products have had a seal. Certainly I'm looking at both my Vivoactive box and my 520 box and neither have any seal on them or it would still be there as i always use a knife to slice them. They were both bought from a shop as well and not Amazon.

My 530 seems to work perfectly though I haven't used it in anger yet as I'm down with the Covid - its just that the buttons are not as good as on my 520 - the up down buttons especially are just a bit spongy but they work fine.

Hmmmm - to return or not?

I actually ended up with two, as I’d just bought one from Decathalon when I saw the Amazon deal. Both appear identical - neither box sealed, screen protectors a bit “bubbly”, so I’m not sure that the Amazon one (at least mine) was anything to be concerned about - just I prefer the Wahoo UI.

Edit - the buttons on both felt a bit naff, I think it’s just how they are.

To be fair, the box was unmarked with no damage, despite having no seal. All the accessories were unused, and were still in sealed bags. The screen protector looked new (I think).

I'd definitely have kept it if the buttons had been ok. The crunching/grinding as you pressed the 'down' button, and the amount of force you had to use to register a press on it, made it feel like that button especially wouldn't have lasted long at all.

There was definitely something up with this particular device.

Tried out my Edge 530 yesterday. I'm really impressed.

Spent a bit of time this week getting the data on the screens how I want. Went for a little 90 minute bimble on the roads. Transferred a course (best to work out how to use the navigation when you don't need it rather than realise it isn't right when you do need directions).

It's all rather neat I like the way the turns come up before you get to them, the mapping is good. Had some Garmin climb notifications pop up at the bottom, disabled that though I think I will have a look at the Strava live segments at some point.

Transferring courses on, and rides off the device is just seamless. Got Connect and Strava linked up now and get a little notification when the activity is sync'd with Strava.

I guess most of you people are used to this but I've avoided all this until now.

Stuff has certainly moved on since my old Edge 500.

PS My box wasn't sealed either.

PPS Is it worth buying a screen protector from Amazon?

I fitted a screen protector and have managed to chip/crack it. The screen is still readable so I've not replaced it yet.

Is it worth buying a screen protector from Amazon?

I would think so, if only to have a matte instead of a glossy screen. The difference in visibility between the gloss Garmin screen and the Matte Wahoo one is noticeable

I just 'spoke' with amazon as it's still not received.
They said it's showing as delayed potentially lost.

Reckon they can't send a replacement, only issue a refund. And now it's gone up £50.

Is that normal. / ok? The thing is available to buy but they won't replace a lost one...

They’re offering to give you your money back, so yes absolutely

Amazon seemed to threw a wobbly with payment for mine, I tried, then tried 5 more times then gave up yesterday, funnily enough they accepted the same card for other stuff...

I reckon the deal got hammered and they ran out/low on stock.

Anyway, it's probably for the best, I don't really need another Garmin device and I expect there's going to be an Edge 540 along soon enough.