UltimateSLR.com presents

Ultimate
Digital Camera Buyer’s Guide
The Ultimate Guide to Buying Your First Digital Camera

Where to Buy and Other Tips

Tips

When buying from an on-line retailer:

• Be sure to check out their shipping policies, as a low price can easily be offset by high shipping charges.
   
• ALWAYS use a credit card... if they don't ship your product, you can contest it with your credit card company. 
  
• Always ship via a trackable method (FedEx, UPS). You can use the tracking number to watch the shipment make its way to you.
   
• Find out if your credit card company offers one-time-use credit card numbers. You can usually generate these unique numbers on-line where you view your statements, and they are only good for the exact amount you specify and for the time period you specify. If someone gets a hold of your number and expiration date, after your purchase goes through, it appears as ‘expired’ and will be rejected by your credit card company.

Buying Sites

Here are a few sites I've used in the past to get pricing on computers and cameras.

NewEgg.com Discontinued electronics, often not more than a few months old. Make sure the product is not refurbished (unless you want to take a chance) ComputerGeeks.com Another site that specializes in discontinued electronics Overstock.com Still another site you might find deep discounts on discontinued cameras Dell.com Dell also sells consumer goods like cameras. Check the web for Dell discount coupons, often for 10 or 20% off Buy.com Competes with Amazon as an internet retailer Amazon.com Big on-line retailer with good return policies, as well as extensive customer reviews of almost every product.

Price Comparisons

As with all price comparison sites, beware of super-low prices; there is usually a catch (like high shipping prices) or high-pressure sales tactics.

Nextag.com - Good site to get a price check, but beware of low-ballers!

Froogle.com - An interesting new site from Google where they mine prices from hundreds of websites.
 

MySimon.com - Another price comparison site.

Shopping.com - Yet another price shopping site.

PriceScan.com - Still another.

Retailer Reviews

ResellerRatings.com has a comprehensive listing of internet retail establishments, and is considered to be one of the better rating services. I  strongly suggest that you view the comments left by other people if you are considering purchasing any camera equipment from any on-line retailer.

bizrate.com is another site that rates resellers. Definitely worth a check before you buy.

Drop me a line if you know of another service that rates retailers.

Use Caution and Common Sense

It goes without saying that you need to use common sense when buying anything from an internet retailer.

It has come to my attention that several people have had a less-than-pleasant experience with several “shoe-box” camera stores in Brooklyn. Often, these companies set up multiple website under different names, and only have a PO box. Brooklyn Store Fronts has hundreds of photos of boarded up buildings of the more notorious “hard sell” companies that will advertise extremely low prices, then hit you with all sorts of fees. Or, even worse, take your money and not ship you anything.