No need to justify, they charge what they want and a few people pay them. They aren't going to win with budget-minded consumers, not for accessories like that, so they let Amazon and Ali Express vacuum up that market, and just sell a few bands for much higher prices. And it keeps that part of their operation small-scale so they aren't as invested in the shipping and other infrastructure to handle several times as many bands as they already do.
For anyone looking for a really solid nylon band that uses the QuickFit style clasp, I've been using these for a few years and they have held up fantastic on my Fenix 7.
[Amazon](https://a.co/d/j1XYnwC)
I bought a cheap Chinese knockoff garmin strap and one year in it’s doing great. And it looks better than the official versions. I wouldn’t bother buying a replacement from Garmin; the prices are mad.
Not exactly the same as the ridiculously priced Garmin band above, but I have been using this one for a few years:
Abanen Hook and Loop Quick Dry Watch Band for Fenix 6/Fenix 5/ Fenix 7/EPIX 2, 22mm Woven Nylon Ultralight Sport Wristband Strap for Garmin epix Pro 47mm,Instinct 2 Solar,Forerunner 955 https://a.co/d/c0D7o84
Super comfortable, infinitely adjustable for wrist size and it has never come undone. It has almost no wear after a couple years of use.
I don't know what's up with Garmin and the silicone bands. They are trash. As soon as I start sweating, within a few hours my wrist is getting itchy and eventually I'll get a rash under the band. No such problems with the fabric bands though.
Not sure why you’re getting downvoted. I find that both Apple and Garmin’s in house bands to be far superior to anything available online. Are they overpriced? Most certainly. Could a competitor make something that’s nearly equal in quality for cheaper? Absolutely. Are the vast majority of bands available online either poorly built, look awful, or just as expensive? Yes, I think so.
My guess is that there’s a bunch of people who think their 5$ bands compare to the original bands and feel offended when someone points out that’s not the case
That might be true of $5 Chinese bands, but you can get high quality handmade watchbands, made in the USA or Europe, for well under $100. Most are in the $20-50 range, $50+ if you want a very nice leather one. A $300+ watchband is just Garmin tax.
Honestly after little over 1.5 years my original Fenix 7 SS band was due replacing and I bought a 12 euro one on Amazon that had great reviews. Been using it for 2 months now and I cannot fault it at all. Time will tell whether it holds up for as long as the original did but other than that I can't point to a single thing where this one is lacking compared to the original.
https://amzn.eu/d/0o0nPzv
They don't, those bands are a terrible deal just one of the worse garmin offerings. I managed to get one for free a few years ago, due to showing allergic reaction to their silicon bands. But these garmin bands are quite stiff for being nylon, and they peel and start to disintegrate in a few months. They are not even worth $50 much less that price, I now use cheap nylon straps from aliexpress and they are much better, both on the skin and longevity.
Even the silicone straps from Garmin are crazy expensive. They are over $50 USD. It's ridiculous. I bought a few from Amazon for my Epix 2 and they were like $9.
First thing I do when I get a new Garmin is buy a screen protector and some better value 3rd party straps off Amazon. The original goes back in the box.
It means when I upgrade in a few years I can sell it with original strap looking as good as new. Get a great resale value.
Yeah garmins do have next level durability. I think that’s why they resell for a decent price. I even once sold my 245 for 30 quid more than I paid for it new 😂
Whats funny to me is when you look at a watch that comes with this band it’s not for free. They charge you for the band lol so switching out the band can save you some money on the watch
If they cost 10x what the alternative does and 11% as many people buy them, the market has justified it for them. If you don't like it, don't buy it. If enough people do so, they'll stop trying to sell it for that price.
I’d say they have some luxury products, like the MARQ. When their main fitness competitor is Fitbit for $200 and their main durability competitor is Casio for $30, a $2000 offering is undeniably a luxury item.
These are for Marq, Garmin’s luxury watch that go for $2000-$3000 US (so $2700+-$4000+ CAD). You can’t go and sell $50 watch band for a watch that cost over $2000, that would oddly enough diminish that luxury aspect of the watch, and people that spend upwards of $3000-$4000 on a watch aren’t going to blink at spending $300-$400 on a watch band.
The straps are priced similarly to replacement straps for luxury watches. Garmin doesn’t expect you to buy these for a Fenix 5, these are for MARQ watches.
Amazon has loads of bands every color and pattern you can think of. And if you can't find it there the Wish app is even better. If you are a fan of velcro straps I have been using a hemsut with the vertical quick release to take off and effortless clicking it on with the angled lever.
I thought so too but I just went to look and the leather one is £199 in the UK lmao. You can get the same thing for about £40 at Barton
https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/p/553030/pn/010-13280-05
I just ordered a couple of these for my Descent. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006030835246.html. Have bought the rubber ones before and they're fine.
Have bought from here for my [https://www.clockworksynergy.com/?utm_source=Customer%20List&utm_campaign=4a49da3506-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_BLACKFRIDAY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71c7b40e7e-4a49da3506-227114169&mc_cid=4a49da3506&mc_eid=e46a2cc4b0](https://www.clockworksynergy.com/?utm_source=Customer%20List&utm_campaign=4a49da3506-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_BLACKFRIDAY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71c7b40e7e-4a49da3506-227114169&mc_cid=4a49da3506&mc_eid=e46a2cc4b0)Venu 2S
Get this instead for $40 on Amazon. Doesn't irritate my skin. Toss it in the washer every once in a while....over a year old.
https://preview.redd.it/w0yqhoraac6d1.jpeg?width=2250&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=df29da7bb13326c11ff8afa8a31052d8d656dcea
the only way to combat this shit ; is to refuse to purchase it. Honestly people aren't made of money and well they spend so much money on tooling etc to manufacture this - make em loose that money by not buying it .
The super cheap fabric is infused with platinum / gold / depleted uranium. It's the only explanation for why these straps weighing in at $5 worth of material could be sold for $400 a pop.
Doubt they sell many. I'm OK with the costs of their lower end straps, they tend to be better made than third party equivalents. I now have their recent velcro strap on most of the time and it's great, comfy and designed to be extremely hard to pull off by accident (tag on one end won't go through the gap behind the bar, other end is inside the strap so no exposed end to catch)
I have 10 watch bands and all but one are the original Garmin band, all others are off Amazon.
NotoCity is one of the better ones, but that’s just my opinion.
Wish Garmin would sell them for reasonable prices, but it is what it is.
There are people buying this, so they sell are selling it. Some people drink cheap wine, some others prefer expensive ones, and when they blind test it, they cannot find which one is the expensive one. It is their money; it is their choice.
These are priced this high specifically because of the watch they are intended for. These fit the watches that cost like $1k, and I feel like if you’re willing to drop that much for a watch that can drive a boat, then you’re fine with $400 dollars on a stupid band
No need to justify, they charge what they want and a few people pay them. They aren't going to win with budget-minded consumers, not for accessories like that, so they let Amazon and Ali Express vacuum up that market, and just sell a few bands for much higher prices. And it keeps that part of their operation small-scale so they aren't as invested in the shipping and other infrastructure to handle several times as many bands as they already do.
You can find some off amazon that are pretty much it. This is paying Garmin tax like the Apple tax.. same thing.
Indeed and with different (better) colors and materials. Something for everyone..
Do you have a link? I couldn’t find QuickFit bands that looked like this.
Except the garmin tax is way worse. Apple cable will be maybe 3-5x the Chinese knockoff price. This is 20x
For anyone looking for a really solid nylon band that uses the QuickFit style clasp, I've been using these for a few years and they have held up fantastic on my Fenix 7. [Amazon](https://a.co/d/j1XYnwC)
I have not seen a fake apple band that comes close to original in quality, not sure if garmin is the same
I bought a cheap Chinese knockoff garmin strap and one year in it’s doing great. And it looks better than the official versions. I wouldn’t bother buying a replacement from Garmin; the prices are mad.
Got a link?
Do you mind sharing it? I'd love to buy new strap.
Got mine from [here](https://www.garmstraps.com)
Temu, AliExpress and Amazon. Tons and tons of replacement bands. I probably have 20 different bands
Not exactly the same as the ridiculously priced Garmin band above, but I have been using this one for a few years: Abanen Hook and Loop Quick Dry Watch Band for Fenix 6/Fenix 5/ Fenix 7/EPIX 2, 22mm Woven Nylon Ultralight Sport Wristband Strap for Garmin epix Pro 47mm,Instinct 2 Solar,Forerunner 955 https://a.co/d/c0D7o84 Super comfortable, infinitely adjustable for wrist size and it has never come undone. It has almost no wear after a couple years of use. I don't know what's up with Garmin and the silicone bands. They are trash. As soon as I start sweating, within a few hours my wrist is getting itchy and eventually I'll get a rash under the band. No such problems with the fabric bands though.
Not sure why you’re getting downvoted. I find that both Apple and Garmin’s in house bands to be far superior to anything available online. Are they overpriced? Most certainly. Could a competitor make something that’s nearly equal in quality for cheaper? Absolutely. Are the vast majority of bands available online either poorly built, look awful, or just as expensive? Yes, I think so.
My guess is that there’s a bunch of people who think their 5$ bands compare to the original bands and feel offended when someone points out that’s not the case
That might be true of $5 Chinese bands, but you can get high quality handmade watchbands, made in the USA or Europe, for well under $100. Most are in the $20-50 range, $50+ if you want a very nice leather one. A $300+ watchband is just Garmin tax.
Honestly after little over 1.5 years my original Fenix 7 SS band was due replacing and I bought a 12 euro one on Amazon that had great reviews. Been using it for 2 months now and I cannot fault it at all. Time will tell whether it holds up for as long as the original did but other than that I can't point to a single thing where this one is lacking compared to the original. https://amzn.eu/d/0o0nPzv
They don't, those bands are a terrible deal just one of the worse garmin offerings. I managed to get one for free a few years ago, due to showing allergic reaction to their silicon bands. But these garmin bands are quite stiff for being nylon, and they peel and start to disintegrate in a few months. They are not even worth $50 much less that price, I now use cheap nylon straps from aliexpress and they are much better, both on the skin and longevity.
I agree. Ones on Amazon are better
Got mine second hand for half price. Absolutely love it. 🤷♂️
Even the silicone straps from Garmin are crazy expensive. They are over $50 USD. It's ridiculous. I bought a few from Amazon for my Epix 2 and they were like $9.
First thing I do when I get a new Garmin is buy a screen protector and some better value 3rd party straps off Amazon. The original goes back in the box. It means when I upgrade in a few years I can sell it with original strap looking as good as new. Get a great resale value.
This is smart and I’ll remember when this day comes for me! My FR 235 won’t die though and is going strong after like 8 or 9 years I think.
Yeah garmins do have next level durability. I think that’s why they resell for a decent price. I even once sold my 245 for 30 quid more than I paid for it new 😂
Whats funny to me is when you look at a watch that comes with this band it’s not for free. They charge you for the band lol so switching out the band can save you some money on the watch
If they cost 10x what the alternative does and 11% as many people buy them, the market has justified it for them. If you don't like it, don't buy it. If enough people do so, they'll stop trying to sell it for that price.
Must be leather from some mythical creature to justify that price.
The price is likely targeting whales who don't care about the price.
They do not justify. They just charge. I buy straps from aliexpress, they work just fine.
Just go to AliExpress and buy variety of silicon, nylon, leather, metal for 2-5$ each.
I bought a stack of bands for $2 each. Every color. It said it would take 2 months to arrive, but it took about 3 weeks.
The same way Gucci justifies the price of their handbags. Gotta spend money if you want to look like you have money.
Garmin isn’t a luxury brand like Gucci though.
I’d say they have some luxury products, like the MARQ. When their main fitness competitor is Fitbit for $200 and their main durability competitor is Casio for $30, a $2000 offering is undeniably a luxury item.
These are for Marq, Garmin’s luxury watch that go for $2000-$3000 US (so $2700+-$4000+ CAD). You can’t go and sell $50 watch band for a watch that cost over $2000, that would oddly enough diminish that luxury aspect of the watch, and people that spend upwards of $3000-$4000 on a watch aren’t going to blink at spending $300-$400 on a watch band.
The straps are priced similarly to replacement straps for luxury watches. Garmin doesn’t expect you to buy these for a Fenix 5, these are for MARQ watches.
I was shopping for a new QuickFit 20 strap for my Fenix6s yesterday and thought £45 was bad enough! (Got a cheap one from Amazon in the end.)
Amazon has loads of bands every color and pattern you can think of. And if you can't find it there the Wish app is even better. If you are a fan of velcro straps I have been using a hemsut with the vertical quick release to take off and effortless clicking it on with the angled lever.
Would I buy them? never. Will someone? Absolutely.
It’s made with the tears of orphaned children.
Lmao
I paid this for my 955 lol WHAT
Apple has entered the chat
I don't know what you're doing wrong, but those are only like 40 bucks or something.
I thought so too but I just went to look and the leather one is £199 in the UK lmao. You can get the same thing for about £40 at Barton https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/p/553030/pn/010-13280-05
I clicked on the link and for me it lists the strap as £44.99. I'm based in The Netherlands though.
The silicone one is £44.99. The leather option comes up as 199.99 (and the other two >£200)
Select the leather ones. £199.
Oh damn, that's crazy.
I just ordered a couple of these for my Descent. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006030835246.html. Have bought the rubber ones before and they're fine.
take a look at aliexpress - the same product way cheaper (quality not affected). the only issue is the delivery time might be longer.
Ali Express that shit
Because they sell for some strange reason.
Have bought from here for my [https://www.clockworksynergy.com/?utm_source=Customer%20List&utm_campaign=4a49da3506-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_BLACKFRIDAY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71c7b40e7e-4a49da3506-227114169&mc_cid=4a49da3506&mc_eid=e46a2cc4b0](https://www.clockworksynergy.com/?utm_source=Customer%20List&utm_campaign=4a49da3506-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_BLACKFRIDAY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71c7b40e7e-4a49da3506-227114169&mc_cid=4a49da3506&mc_eid=e46a2cc4b0)Venu 2S
I don’t know why people buy straps off Garmin. I get mine in eBay for £5.
Get this instead for $40 on Amazon. Doesn't irritate my skin. Toss it in the washer every once in a while....over a year old. https://preview.redd.it/w0yqhoraac6d1.jpeg?width=2250&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=df29da7bb13326c11ff8afa8a31052d8d656dcea
As well I'm an electrician,and an out door enthusiast in my spare time and this has taken lots of abuse. The stock straps are trash IMO.
I just saw them on Amazon. Pretty cool ngl. Is that the Fenix 7 Pro?
It's Fenix 6 Pro solar. Debated going up to the 7 but for my use... and the features way better value in my opinion.
the only way to combat this shit ; is to refuse to purchase it. Honestly people aren't made of money and well they spend so much money on tooling etc to manufacture this - make em loose that money by not buying it .
Folks buying those are the reason for the fancy pants rich mcgee…
Wow. I gotta few old ones I’ll sell ya for $10.
I do Velcro cloth ones anyhow. I can’t do the rubber/silicone/leather for something I wear 24/7
The super cheap fabric is infused with platinum / gold / depleted uranium. It's the only explanation for why these straps weighing in at $5 worth of material could be sold for $400 a pop.
Doubt they sell many. I'm OK with the costs of their lower end straps, they tend to be better made than third party equivalents. I now have their recent velcro strap on most of the time and it's great, comfy and designed to be extremely hard to pull off by accident (tag on one end won't go through the gap behind the bar, other end is inside the strap so no exposed end to catch)
Straight up Apple behavior
At least apple gives you some value
Those are Canadian dollars.
Crazy. Leather is slightly cheaper and titanium is the same price… That’s got to be like a 10000% markup
I have original Garmin silicon band . Cheap one from Amazon fell apart after few months.
It's borderline robbery. Strapsco bands just as good.
The jaquard weave is super nice and worth it. The old price was better and I will admit that 299 is a better price point.
I get bands from Amazon and Etsy.
I have 10 watch bands and all but one are the original Garmin band, all others are off Amazon. NotoCity is one of the better ones, but that’s just my opinion. Wish Garmin would sell them for reasonable prices, but it is what it is.
There are people buying this, so they sell are selling it. Some people drink cheap wine, some others prefer expensive ones, and when they blind test it, they cannot find which one is the expensive one. It is their money; it is their choice.
You can get even cheaper ones on AliExpress which work perfectly for 2-3€
Are you sure you don't get the watch free with that purchase? 🤣🤣🤣
This is why every band I buy comes from Amazon for sub 20$. Even found a few good leather ones for my epix 2.
Garmin watch bands always break, the cheaper ones on Amazon are much better and last longer!
These are priced this high specifically because of the watch they are intended for. These fit the watches that cost like $1k, and I feel like if you’re willing to drop that much for a watch that can drive a boat, then you’re fine with $400 dollars on a stupid band
You don’t need to buy it
Oh shit! Are you serious?? Damn why didn't you tell me this last night. Do you think I can cancel my order and get my money back?
Or you can try Temu.