Canon 5D Prices

I've seen some sites that are selling the body only for $1000-1600.
Seems like I'm missing something here. Anyone here bought from these guys?

http://www.bestpricecameras.com/prodetails.asp?prodid=308518
http://www.royalcamera.com/canon5d.html

This is way to low to be legit. Check reseller rating and anything else you can before buying from a company like this. But even if there are no bad comments, keep in mind that some of these companies can open and close quickly while conducting fraudulent business.

Mel-

I quick price search shows that they're going for about $2100 *refurbished* elsewhere.

I agree with Mel, I would be very careful.

I have seen a lot of these posts around the net lately, and everytime someone will point out a business review site that hammers these companies. From what I read from reviews, these companies will sell you a product that may not even include the battery, and will call you up and try to sell you lots of other stuff. Plus, when you try to return an item, they will hit you with a restocking fee that could be hundreds of dollars. this one is too good to be true.

http://www.photo.net/neighbor/subcategory-index?id=2

FWIW - I don't think you're going to get much of a deal on an item that's still this popular. I hunted around last spring and concluded that the old standby's like B+H were the best deals with no risk of getting ripped. Canon just ended a neat rebate program where if you bought two qualifying items - ie camera and lens, you could get double rebates and save several hundred dollars. I'll bet they have another rebate plan out soon. I would estimate that if you go with someone offering what seems like a deal relative to the old reliables, you will get what you pay for.

If it's significantly lower than B&H, its probably a ripoff. When you're spending this kind of money, it's just not worth it to take a risk. The amount of money that you could lose is far greater than potential savings.

I checked these guys out on http://www.photo.net/neighbor/subcategory-index?id=2 (Thanks Michael Gordon) and they all said NOT to buy from these guys.

Thanks for everyones input

Here's a very informative and eye-opening site about all these camera frauders: Shedding Some Light...

They did a lot of investigative work about the NYC camera "families" - including many shady operators who own many of these "bargain" online storefronts under many different names.

My favorite part about the whole thing is that most of the companies you see online with these ad's typically are one company. If your willing to do some research and you should when spending this kind of money, you will discover just how underhanded some people can be. They are incredulous when it comes to scamming you out of thousands of dollars. A friend of mine on the east coast learned the hard way about some of these guys. He purchased a TV, and when they sent it to him the box was empty, when he called to dispute this they called him a liar and said he was trying to rip them off, he finally got the local police and some governmental agency involved before they gave in and gave him what he paid for (6 months later). The old saying of "If it's to good to be true, it probably is" holds true for most "Deals" online. Just my input.

In spite of all the ripoffs out there, the price of the 5Ds are continuing to drop in price. I've been monitoring them on Ebay for the last months and you can now get them for $1900 - $2100 from reputable sellers if you keep your eyes open.

That's interesting, Erik.. Maybe, just maybe, the "6D" is just around the corner!

Don

Jack - Thanks for posting that link. Very, very intersting reading...

I agree with Erik. I have also been watching 5Ds on ebay and may go this route myself. I am on a pretty tight budget so may wait until the next version comes out (eg 6D).

Photokina is coming next month with a lot of new digital gear to be announced. Many are speculating a new 30D/40D will be announced by Canon along with some other gear. It might be good to wait until then to see if Canon makes any new camera announcements.

The beauty of digital is its rate of change. For example, most people who have the 5D *now* would say that it is a great digital FF camera. But wait until the next version comes out. Then it will become old news for some as the gadget oriented gear heads will have to buy the latest thing. So mint used 5D prices should drop.

I was tempted to buy this new 5D on ebay for only $1,199. The seller claimed to have 8 of them for sale. But it just seemed too good to be true.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=001&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=110087327644&rd=1&rd=1

Ebay is definately a buyer beware environment.

- Derek

Quite probably these are scam artists but they could also be selling grey market goods with no USA warranty. The gamble you're taking with grey goods is that if they break down and you send them for warranty repair, Canon USA will laugh at you.

I insist that everyone pays $3100 for theirs, just like I did the day they hit the market in late-September of '05.

ALWAYS check http://resellerratings.com first!

Here is the register on this company, seems a little shady
Registrant:
c/o BESTPRICECAMERAS.COM
P.O. Box 821650
Vancouver, WA 98682
US

Registrar: NAMESDIRECT
Domain Name: BESTPRICECAMERAS.COM
Created on: 23-OCT-01
Expires on: 23-OCT-09
Last Updated on: 09-AUG-06

Administrative Contact:
BESTPRICECAMERAS.COM7wuKcb@privacypost.com
c/o BESTPRICECAMERAS.COM
P.O. Box 821650
Vancouver, WA 98682
US
+1.360-449-5933

Technical Contact:
BESTPRICECAMERAS.COMq2htai@privacypost.com
c/o BESTPRICECAMERAS.COM
P.O. Box 821650
Vancouver, WA 98682
US
+1.360-449-5933

Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.EVERYDNS.NET
NS2.EVERYDNS.NET
NS3.EVERYDNS.NET
NS4.EVERYDNS.NET

Todd,

As long as you buy my 20D for $1600, I might consider paying $3,100 for a 5D.