Every time I've tried to get in on a "heck of a buy" at Niagara, I never got the merchandise and Niagara only refunds the money when you ask for it back. Sometimes I think they're using these too-good-to-be-true deals as a way of managing their cash flow.

I ran the Marathon XR for 5000 miles across the country without a single flat, and they still look new. The XR is now discontinued, but I'd definitely spring for the XR-replacing Dupreme over the standard Marathon.

I would not buy the boat anchor known as the Marathon Plus.