From $600 and $850 to $3500.. The lower priced versions list as being new, but I'm not sure I trust what I am getting for such a low price. Is there some scam going on here, or should I trust these sites?
Scam it is...many of the lower priced ones will be from "New York" and be from someone with a strong accent. They will take your order and then "advise" you to get the...extra battery as the one that comes with the camera only lasts 3 minutes with a full charge, or the cleaning kit since if a speck of dust gets on it, it will cease to function, etc. Those additions will bring the cost of the camera up to about the price everyone else is charging.
The one that I liked was "do you want to buy a battery?" "No thanks." "You should, it doesn't come with one." They stripped the package completely, and charged for everything, including the "carrying strap".
Oh yeah, my favorite of all times was when I said no to one of them, he did an impression of the soup nazi, "No camera for you!" When I called him a crook, he said that I had to apologize to him, or he would take my already provided credit card number and ruin my credit!
So, after all is said, be careful. You can find them cheap, but when you get the cheapest, you're usually only a few bucks lower than the rest. I think that there might be a small margin of profit in camera sales, but I don't know that for sure. I think that the most important thing is don't give up your money without some chance of retrieval. Never send cash or Western Union or money orders unless you're sure about the deal. I mean real sure!
Chris
