Thinking about buying a camera???

[Baja Big Dog]

Well the cuz decides to buy a new camera, he like my Canon 30D, so like most people, he hits the internet, calls me and says...hey i found the 40D for $1300 with two Canon lens..I laugh, tell him its a scam, he argues and sends in his order, Well this is where the fun starts.
We go on the web site for Best Camera.com, and read some of the reviews, they are mostly good, I told him that when I bought my camera I sent in a negative rating on the slime I bought mine from, they were on the phone, wanted to make a deal to get rid of the rating.
So the salesperson calls him..(surprise!!), and tells him this bulllshit story about needing to upgrade the lens to metal instead of plastic, (Canon only makes one IS lens, and its metal) so they jerk him around some more, and then hang up on him. So I call and try to order a body only that they had for $499.00...they dont want tosell body only, guys says its back ordered and it will be 6 weeks.
They call the cuz back and tell him that price would be for "gray market" camera, and wont have a U.S. Warranty....
We do some more research, and try to find out how this scum can stay in business, write Canon..they write back and advise me against buying from these guys, they are not authorized dealers, and send me to the following reviews.
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Best_Price_Cameras_6
http://www.epinions.com/msg/show_~threads/cat_id_~22/id_~6938/forum_id_~145
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7594_102-0.html?forumID=59&threadID=218552&messageID=2323232
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/bestpricecamerascom-c3358.html
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=270258
Gray market products is well explained at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_market
This is some interesting stuff, how do they do it!!
I went to the BBB, wow, they had a list of issues with these scumbags!!! They listed about 12-14 different companies they operate under.
Im getting old, but my dads words are in my ear.........
If it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true!!!:eek:
The best part is these scum are all over Ebay, Ebay wont let you sell a barrel off a 10-22, but they will let these guys screw people every day!!
Call these guys up and ask for a special they have on there website, it will be entertaining!!!!

[Kachina26]

I did a lot of research before going with beachcamera.com . There are plenty of scammers out there looking to take your hard earned money. Too bad cuz didn't take your advise.

[Boatcop]

I did a lot of research before going with beachcamera.com . There are plenty of scammers out there looking to take your hard earned money. Too bad cuz didn't take your advise.
Ditto. I bought my Nikon 40D from Beach Camera. Best price I could find and no BS.

[Ziggy]

A customer/friend of mine developed a card you can insert into cameras that connects to Wi-fi and sends your photos to an online storage file immediately, no downloading nec.
Think its called Eye-Fi. Pretty cool invention.

[Riverless]

Interesting article.
This is a good place to buy a camera, very knowledgeable as well.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

[77charger]

Interesting article.
This is a good place to buy a camera, very knowledgeable as well.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
a good place to order from.And good prices too.

[spectras only]

Canon always had a tight leash on their network [ ex Canon tech here ;) ] , so you have to make sure you buy your Canon from an authorized dealer ,because they never service "gray" market models . They run an even tighter ship today . Friend of mine had to give up his Canon authorized repair service recently , because they wanted him to service Canon products solely from now on .He has contracts with major stores like A&B Sound , Audio-Video , Future Shop etc.....here in Vancouver so he had to drop Canon . He serviced Canon for 30 yrs :rolleyes: .

[gramps]

a good place to order from.And good prices too.
Another good one is Samy's, they have a few stores in Southern California but their internet prices are better than the store prices.
http://www.samys.com/

[Ike]

I bought my Canon 20D from Buydig.com http://www.buydig.com/shop/home.aspx. I got a very got deal, no run around, no scammimg, no hassle and they shipped it very quickly. No bait and switch either. It is not a grey market camera.
I will say that I have heard good things from other photographers about BeachCamera. I have not used them but they have a good rep.
There are some other good ones. Adorama in NYC is probably the biggest camera dealer in the US if not the world. http://www.adorama.com/ I have bought equipment from them several times, always got a good deal and no hassles. No bait and switch. This place takes up a whole city block in NYC, four stories of camera equipment; disneyland for photographers
Another good one is KEH Camera. http://www.keh.com/onlinestore/home.aspx. I have not bought from them but I know several photographers who buy from them frequently.
Do not buy a new or used camera off of ebay unless you know a lot about the type of camera you are buying, and who you are buying it from. You can get good deals if you know the previous. I have sold numerous cameras on e-bay but there are some people selling stuff that I wouldn't touch with a cattle prod.

[Wicky]

Costco......http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11238544&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=&lang=en-US

[77charger]

Another good one is Samy's, they have a few stores in Southern California but their internet prices are better than the store prices.
http://www.samys.com/
When i need something right away i will go there.definitely a good local shop.When i bought my last L lens i got it from b&h 2nd day shipped for less than samy internet price.(same lens).Basically saved on the sales tax.
I got my 70-200L from samys last year.as well as my photo printer,and first canon dslr 3 years ago.
the lens i got is also not a grey market version either.

[wolfie]

Ditto. I bought my Nikon 40D from Beach Camera. Best price I could find and no BS.
I got a D40 from my wife for our anniversary. That camera is awsome. It takes some great pics.
One of the best places I've found for camera equipment is www.adorama.com
If you want some great free advice go to www.kenrockwell.com
He has some great camera buying tips as well as setting up and taking pics.