what is the catch.

[Anbesol]

those online dealers that give ridiculously low prices - and have little to no name? TCSCamera.com for example, is selling 1DS bodies for 4200... theyre selling 20D kits for 670... theyre selling hte dimage A200 for $309... what is up? they SAY its all brand new and factory fresh. im trying to buy something on their, but i keep wanting to find the fine print that sais its too good to be true and its relaly just some bs scam, but it all looks legit. whats up with that?

[mjs1973]

Chances are they are selling gray market stuff. I won't go into detail as it's been discussed here before. Some of those companies are classic bait and switch opperations too. Once you place your order, you will get an email to call them to verify your address, that's when you get the sails pitch. They will tell you the battery that comes with it only lasts about an hour, and try to sell you a higher power battery. Or they will tell you it doesn't come with a battery at all... Then they charge you $50 or more to ship the thing, even if you live across the street from them. Not that you could even find the location of their opperation...

Be sure to check out the Camera Dealer Feedback forum on this site. Lots of horror stories about these companies in there. You will be farther ahead if you go with a company like B&H or Adorama. They both have great reputaions and customer service. They are reasonably priced. If you find an add from a company that sounds too good to be true, it is!

[Anbesol]

Chances are they are selling gray market stuff. I won't go into detail as it's been discussed here before. Some of those companies are classic bait and switch opperations too. Once you place your order, you will get an email to call them to verify your address, that's when you get the sails pitch. They will tell you the battery that comes with it only lasts about an hour, and try to sell you a higher power battery. Or they will tell you it doesn't come with a battery at all... Then they charge you $50 or more to ship the thing, even if you live across the street from them. Not that you could even find the location of their opperation...

Be sure to check out the Camera Dealer Feedback forum on this site. Lots of horror stories about these companies in there. You will be farther ahead if you go with a company like B&H or Adorama. They both have great reputaions and customer service. They are reasonably priced. If you find an add from a company that sounds too good to be true, it is!

okay - but assume i say "no, i dont want no stinking battery, i just want teh camera at the price you quoted".... then what?

can you maybe point me in the direction of the thread its been discussed in before...

[JSPhoto]

The Dealer Forum is here: http://forums.photographyreview.com/...splay.php?f=10

And mjs1973 is right, B&H or Adorama are the way to go. I purchased $8500 worth of gear from Adorama last October....pain free.

JS

[mjs1973]

okay - but assume i say "no, i dont want no stinking battery, i just want teh camera at the price you quoted".... then what?

can you maybe point me in the direction of the thread its been discussed in before...

Check out the forum that JS posted the link to and you will find lots of stories of people dealing with these companies.

As for saying "no" when they try to sell you the extras, then all of a sudden the camera you want is "out of stock" even though their website says that it is "in stock". This is about the time the person on the phone tell you that the price on the internet is for the gray market model, and that they wont be getting in for another month. Then they try to sell you the regular (not gray market) camera, for more than you could get if for at a reputable dealer, with out all the hassle.

Assuming you do actually place your order with them, without buying any of the extras, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it to show up, even though they charged you $50 to ship it. And when you try to contact them about your order, good luck getting any info out of them.

[another view]

okay - but assume i say "no, i dont want no stinking battery, i just want teh camera at the price you quoted".... then what?

You'll never get it. They'll suddenly be out of stock if they're trying to be nice, or just stop talking to you. A co-worker insisted on buying a camera from one of those places last year - pretty entertaining listening to his side of the conversation (from an "I told you so" factor" ). He won an ebay auction from one of those places so he did have a little protection but went thru a lot of hassles to save not quite $50.

B&H and Calumet have always treated me right. That's where I buy stuff. I'm really cheap and even I don't try to deal with those places... ;)

[Anbesol]

haha! I read a ton of reviews on genuis cameras and tcs and the sorts - VERY informational! Thank you for setting me straight guys! That type of business is scary! Im shocked that they get away with it, they should be shut down. I feel particularly bad for the people who fall for it. I read many stories of "oh, this canon L lens is terrible, the REAL pros want the sigma!" then they sell them a $100 sigma for $900.....