For that type of money, I would wait and get the skimmer that you want. However, you can't go wrong with a Bubble King.
I have the BK SM250. This skimmer is excellent. Prior to that I had a BK300 Deluxe internal. Both work great. However, the SM250 does not take up as much space in my sump.
I highly suggest ordering an extra impeller when you order your skimmer. LFS's do not carry them, and it can take about a week or two to order one from Proline.