Anyone bought 5D at these prices?

[john_kramer3]

It is my impression that the 5D should sell for around US$2900.

However, I see it advertised on a few sites for $2300 or so.

NORMALLY I would not even bother to post this obvious scam, but I was

thrown off because I got these prices from here on photo.net on Bob's

review of the 5D. In the "where to buy" section of his review there

are a few internet sites that have suspiciously low prices. Has

anyone tried these? If so, what is the catch. They say "Body

Only" - - does that mean "body only" as in no software, cables,

(warranty?), battery/etc? Even if so, it would probably still be

worth the saving of $600.......

 

Also how new is the 5d? If I waited only a few months do you think

the price would drop at all?

 

Also, anybody know if Hong Kong prices can ever beat USA internet

prices?

[terry_smith2]

You didn't mention the names of the sellers who were offering it at that price. Try running them through resellerratings.com and see what you get. As to what will come in the box from these folks, you will have to contact them directly. The 5D is only six months old so I don't predict any large price drops for the next year or so. In the meantime, the price should continue to slowly descend. By the time you pay the freight and import taxes in the USA, I seriously doubt you would save anything by buying new from Hong Kong. There is a lot of stuff from there on ebay, go have a look and compare the prices to B&H. I think you find the prices are very similar for most items.

[phil vaughan - yorkshire u]

If you look carefully, Bob recommends you buy from Adorama, he then refers to a link below the article 'that supports photo-net', that link comes from a 3rd part, which is full of paid for listings.

 

Check out anyone you're considering buying from at resellerratings.

[peter_daalder]

Even with a <a href="http://www.dirtcheapcameras.com.au/store/product.asp?idProduct=454"> $500 cashback offer from Canon,</a> the lowest Australian price is still hovering around the US$3150 mark (I'm not taking "E-Bay merchants" into account...).<br>"Body only", (ought to) mean that you get everything, but a lens.

[chrisjb]

Hi, I`d do your homework before you lable companies a scam, some are quite genuine. for instance at present I priced the 5D today,From 3 places I bought many times from. at a photo store close by AUD4950, an online store AUD4855, an Ebay store from hong kong AUD3860 + 80p&s. The catch being that Canon Oz won`t cover the warrantee if something goes wrong its back to Honkers. same as Dslr`s usually bought via USA, they seem to cover lenses though.

 

Its your choice just be carefull and buy from recommendation or experience.

[mark u]

As of now, a $2,300 price in the US implies a scam - you'll be told it's out of stock unless you agree to pay way over the odds for the software, cables, battery etc. However, that price is now available (pre sales tax) in Europe, after allowing for the current 300 Euro/200UKP cashback promotion. In fact, you can get the 5D and 24-105 f/4 L for Euro 2,800 including German VAT (16%) net of cashback:

 

http://www.mediamarkt.de/multimedia-prospekt/mmp_kw1206_04.pdf

 

Mediamarkt are roughly equivalent to Circuit City or Best Buy - I've shopped at their large store in The Hague. European consumer law prevents the kind of scams operated by the "Brooklyn" camera stores in the US.

 

It's widely expected that US pricing on the 5D will become more competitive soon, with a rebate expected and perhaps a slight reduction in retail headline price at reputable stores such as B&H and Adorama. The 5D pricing advantage for Europe should be seen in the context that Canon's pricing for lenses for the most part leaves them significantly cheaper on a pre sales tax like-for-like basis in the US.

 

So far as Hong Kong is concerned, prices there can be lower than those in the US on particular items from time to time - in fact, Hong Kong is probably the main source for grey imports as sold by e.g. B&H. Availability of grey imports tends to dry up when HK prices offer no savings - e.g. due to fluctuations in exchange rates.

[davidmccracken]

The HK$ and US$ exchange rates are fixed. There is no fluctuation!

[bobatkins]

I presume you're seeing Google Adsense ads (which, as a subscriber, I don't see)?

 

If so, then lots of them are from scammers. Any price below $2900 for a 5D in the US is very likely a scam. $2300 is 100% certainly a scam. Most reputable stores are selling the 5D in the $2950-$3000 range right now.

[fourfa]

I boght my 5D at $2600 from Dell before christmas (sale + coupons), sounds like with the April $300 rebate it'll be down to that price again. Much below that is likely a scam.

[cathyscholl]

Andy, what April $300 rebate? Have you seen this in print somewhere?

I know there are rebates now being offered in Europe and Canada but I hadn't heard a firm

date that it was being offered here. I've been waiting for it.

[david_wu6]

Dell has 20% coupon (code PGXG0Z63RK72WL) for 60 users and it started yesterday. You may try it to see if it has been used up. Also you get additional $35 off with another stackable Dell coupon (buy it from eBay for ~$2). It ends up about $2600. This seems the lowest price from a reputable vendor. However, unlike most other internet vendor, Dell may charge tax for some states. If you happen to live one of states where Dell does not charge tax, then it's definitely a good deal.

[peter_white2]

So many Google Ads are scams that I will no longer click on any of them. The folks at Gooogle should be ashamed of themselves for posting this junk.

[fourfa]

the other forums are crawling with reports from camera shops advising of the same $300 spring rebate starting April 1.

[cathyscholl]

I hope there is no connection between the April 1 rebate and April Fools Day.

[andrew_carlson]

I think the scam part has been addressed, those places are really more into getting your money and not delivering anything for it.

 

Regarding the price drop, if you look historically, The 300D kit was $999 brand new and didn't really drop until the 20D was released. You could get a 300D body for $899 but without a lens it was kinda useless. Even when the 20D was released, 300Ds were still going for $650-$800. So no real price drop from the manufacturer. The canon rebate, buy more stuff and we'll give you a small discount, made it seem to be cheaper and encourages people to spend more money. The 20D started at $1499 new and currently goes for what $1199? Whats weird is you can't just find the body, most places kit them up with lenses, cheap memory cards, etc. The 30D will probably start at what $1499? Maybe $1399? There really isn't much in the way of a price drop on these things unless you wait a really long time, past when something is "EOL" or end of lifed. The 20D has experienced a price drop of say $300, but then bhphoto didn't seem to have just the body, lots of kits with multiple lenses, cheap memory, etc. Since the 5D was released in September, you'd probably have to wait until NEXT February for any significant price drop.

[jonathan_walker]

The Brookyln shops are all thieves.

 

Adorama is not but their customer service is atrocious.

 

If it's mor ethan 10 percent lower than the B&H price, beware.

[kutaphoto]

I bought mine from B&H in early February at the "psjan" price of $2894 (I think they lowered the psjan price to that at some earlier point). That is also now their "psmar" price. (FYI, enter "psmar" in the search field.)

[john_kramer3]

Well I am put in a very tough situation because I cannot purchase anything from Adorama or B&H as they are both new york companies and I would have to pay 8 1/2 % sales tax. I'm not willing to do that, especially because I don't even live in american anymore! but all of my credit cards have new york billing addresses and they are usually so strict about credit cards that it's nearly impossible for me to simply have it shipped to a friend in another state.

 

Any other reputable companies in other states?

[brian_ellis16]

The first thing most of these places will do is charge about $150 for shipping and insurance. That gets the price up to say $2750 from the advertised say $2600. Then they'll try to sell you an extended warranty and a bunch of accessories - filters, batteries, neck straps, etc. at inflated prices. Since you haven't been checking prices on these things you may not realize how inflated the prices are so you buy one or two of them. That gets the price up to say $2,850. They'll tell you it's in stock but when it hasn't been delivered in a week or so you call to get a tracking number. And guess what? Their computer was wrong, it really wasn't in stock and there's been a delay in their deliveries from Canon so they don't know when it will be in. However, you're actually in luck because they do have a kit in stock that includes your camera. The kit costs $2,950. Do you want it or do you want to wait who knows how long for your original order to be filled or do you cancel your order and start over again somewhere else, meanwhile going through a big hassle to get a credit for the cancellend order? Enough people are sufficiently exasperated and tired of waiting at that point that they take the kit, which is what they wanted to sell you in the first place. So you end up getting a kit of questionable value for the price you would have paid for the camera alone without any hassle from a reputable dealer like Adorama.

[buck_rogers1]

Try pictureline in Utah....They have great customer service and are very flexible about shipping and taxes etc. I just bought my 30d on Tuesday from them...same price as BH and they hadn't already sold out. Take a look.