I'm looking at buying a hybrid bike. Right now, REI has the Marin Kentfield on closeout for 280 USD but I have to pick it up at an REI store to avoid the 70 USD shipping fee. Problem is, I can only head over to the Virginia REI store around early October (I'm living in upstate New York right now). That means I will effectively only be able to really start using the bike next season (snow starts mid October to early November). I don't really intend to ride the bike during the dead of winter so is the deal good enough that I should pull the trigger now or will I find similarly good deals on comparable bikes come early spring? For around the same price, I can buy a Trek 7000 from the local bike shop which I would be able to use right away. Is there an appreciable difference between the Marin Kentfield and the Trek 7000? Thank you very much....as you can tell, I am a newbie.

i don't know about the differences between those two bikes, but i'd suggest never buying anything expensive if you can't use it right away! between now and next year, a million things could change. if you end up not being able or not wanting to to ride the bike very often, you'll probably end up selling it (for way less than you paid) or keeping it in the garage for a few years and then selling it for WAY less than you paid. someone could steal it from your garage, you could run it over with your car, or whatever, and you wouldn't have even ridden it one time! by next year you could want a totally different bike, especially if you read cycling websites a lot (trust me on that one ).
if you really want that bike, maybe it'd be worth the $70 to have it shipped. it'd be like paying $70 to use it for the next month or two before you have to put it away

that's just my opinion. i've bought stuff that i had to wait to use before, and then a lot of times it ended up being a total waste of money. you may be totally different!

I agree with Wild....but it depends on what you can afford. The fact that you are in the market for a new bike from REI which isn't normally a low cost outfit...I would think the other $70 won't kill ya. The real question is, is this the bike you really want? And if it really is....is it worth it to start riding it very soon rather than waiting for next season?

One other thing...I assume you have a back up bike now. I also assume it's serviceable. So I'm not convinced that you really NEED this bike at this time. Is your want strong enough to depart with an extra $70? Only you can answer that.....

In my opinion, I'd never spend $70 on shipping for a $280 item. Paying 25% of the price on a decently expensive item just doesn't seem right. Unless of course it's ebay (I make sacrifices for ebay, I know you do too!)

What about a related question:

Should I wait to buy a new road bike in the winter when this year's gear goes on sale? I'm getting started in cycling and I'd like to buy something new at a LBS. How do I know when to get the best deal?

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm a student and I really had to scrape together the money so that's why I am so loath to spend the bucks on shipping. I agree that a lot may change, as 'wild animals' said, but I know I will need a bike for the next few years for getting to classes, etc. The only question in my mind is: is this REI deal worth getting now or are there sales before the spring season as well? In other words, is the REI deal killer or just another sale? Thank you again for your help. Oh, BTW I don't have any bike at all right now.

don't forget to factor in the cost of travel to the store in Virigina, if you spend $40.00 for gas to get there you have saved only $30.00 by picking it up at the store as opposed to shipping.

The kentfield is only 20% off. I have seen some bikes starting to sell for 50% off or more now that it's end of season. What size are you looking at?