So, you’ve scoured the blogosphere for as much information as possible on various smartwatches, and you have now come to a conclusion about which model to buy. You know exactly what you want, you know what it does, and you’ve probably been excitedly coming up with all kinds of things you’re going to do once you get it. The next step is deciding where you’re going to purchase your smartwatch from.

In most cases, where you purchase your watch is going to depend on what device you want. For example, some devices are only available for purchase via an official website, while others are available at traditional brick and mortar stores. Along the way you’ll come into contact with one of the many – or few – stores that offer your desired device. Chances are, some of them are going to offer better support over others.

In light of that, we’ve compiled a list of the top places to buy smartwatches.

Top Five Places to Buy Smartwatches

Keep in mind, these are some of the best places to buy smartwatches but they are not the only ones. You may have a retailer you prefer over the ones in this list, or you may even know one that offers better deals and promotions. Feel free to share if that’s true, however we’ll get to that in a bit.

For now, here are – what we believe to be – the top five places to buy smartwatches.

Best Buy

Say what you will about the Geek Squad – don’t worry we don’t like them much either – but Best Buy’s retail electronics inventory is excellent. They have an entire section devoted to wearables and smartwatches, and if the selection stinks in your local store you can always buy online and have it shipped to a store or your home.

They have nearly everything available from Samsung’s latest Gear devices, to the Moto 360 and even Pebble Steel. A lot of people even want to get their hands on a device or test it out before they make a purchase. Best Buy also offers quite a few working demo models, which you can play around with to your heart’s content. One dilemma we abhor, is when the demo models aren’t powered on or they just have some kind of fake overlay. For the most part, Best Buy does not do this with their demo devices.

The store employees will also help you setup your device before you leave the store – after you’ve made a purchase, of course. That means if you’re not very tech-savvy and you want to pick up a watch, you don’t have to worry about figuring out the startup process yourself.

As for the prices, they are reasonable – comparable to many other retailers and official store prices. However, Best Buy has some great deals every now and then especially during the holidays.

Amazon: The Best Online Retailer to Buy Smartwatches

When it comes to online shopping, no one does it better than Amazon. With distributors pretty much everywhere and an endless supply of inventory you can get nearly anything you want on the platform new or used. When it comes to wearable technology, Amazon has a remarkable section dedicated to the market. You’ll find anything from name brand devices to cheap Chinese knock-offs. Admittedly, the latter option doesn’t sound quite so enticing but you’d be surprised at some of the innovation happening with budget-friendly devices.

Over the next few months Amazon will be having some great holiday sales too, which means you should be able to find a suitable device for a great price. You’ll also find a whole slew of resources, like upcoming products, buyer’s guides, a video demo library and more. Essentially, everything you’d need to make an informed decision is right there at your fingertips – and you don’t even have to leave your home, or your couch.

That said, we definitely recommend testing out a few of the devices you may want before making a purchase. Android Wear operates so much differently than Samsung’s Tizen OS or even the Pebble platform. By testing them out before you make a purchase, you’ll know which platform is a good fit for you.

Google Play

Android Wear is here to stay, and Google will be continuously updating the platform to be better, and faster. In turn, manufacturers will continue to launch devices powered by the platform. You can find a handful of these devices on the Google Play store, alongside some of the best Android powered smartphones.

There are no brick and mortar retail stores, however everything you purchase via Google Play will be shipped to your home, and it’s relatively inexpensive to boot. Prices of the device(s) will vary, and are generally set by the manufacturers. The only downside to Google Play is that you won’t see the same sales and promotions that you do through retailers like Best Buy, Amazon or Wal-Mart. That said, a lot of these smartwatches are new, which means you probably won’t see any sweeping discounts anytime soon.

Wal-Mart

When it comes to name brand devices like the Pebble, Moto 360 or Samsung Gear models the prices won’t vary much. However, Wal-Mart’s online marketplace has a wide variety of affordable and budget-friendly devices. Why does this matter? Simply put, not everyone is willing to spend $200 – $300 on a wearable device. That’s why many people buy used, and it’s also why we have so many options on the market.
Wal-Mart’s – online – wearable device inventory rivals Amazon’s in that there are dozens – if not hundreds – of devices available to choose from. Admittedly, in Wal-Mart’s brick and mortar stores the available models are going to be much more limited.

The other awesome feature that Wal-Mart has available is the ship-to-store option. You can purchase any product online and have it shipped to a local store for pickup. This is great if you live in an apartment or congested area where you don’t want your expense device sitting around if you’re not home.

Target

Like Wal-Mart, Target also has a decent selection of wearable devices both in-store and online. However, Target is one of the exclusive retail providers of the Pebble smartwatch. That means if you don’t have a Best Buy nearby, you can also make a run to Target for the original Pebble or Pebble Steel models.

In case you haven’t already seen it, check out our Pebble Steel review. The Pebble is still one of the best and most versatile smartwatches available. If you’re on the fence about getting a watch, or haven’t yet seen one you want we recommend giving the Pebble a try.

Other Retailers Where You Can Buy Smartwatches

These are some of the best places to buy smartwatches at the most reasonable prices sure, but that doesn’t mean they are the only ones. There are plenty of retailers out there across the world, some better than others. They all have deals and promotions that are competitive at various times of the year, so you may even find something better than what’s listed here.

What are your ideal places to shop for electronics? Any on this list resonate with you? Are there any other places you can recommend for checking out smartwatches?