I've been shopping around for a digital camera lately online. I went to Epinions.com, where you can get a whole list of online vendors and what their prices are. I noticed that there are a whole bunch of vendors from east coast, mainly New York, that are able to sell the same products for much much cheaper than local retailers here in california. Sometimes the price can be up to $150 less than the list price form the manufacturer. I'm curious as to why they can sell these products for so much less. Do manufacturers make the different versions of the same model for different countries? and if so, are these east coast online vendors selling the non-U.S. verions?

 

Some vendors sell gray market merchandise. This is merchandise obtained through non factory authorized channels. It can be cheaper but may not come with a manufacturers warranty so do your homework.

 

What strike said.....plus.....

Some will sell ONLY the camera at that price. You want the users manual, etc., that'll cost extra. Aside from gray market goods, some will "open box returns" in "like new condition".

Do yourself a favor. Buy from a reputable vendor.

 

it's like in Hong Kong, you can buy the same phone from the same shop for 2 different prices: one was stolen from the factory that made it (defective products that were swiped by workers in China looking to make a few bucks), one is the legit product.

unfortunately i bought a stolen one while on a biz trip in HK (didn't know it at the time, just thought it was an awesome deal), but at least it works OK.

get it from a reputable retailer, that's my suggestion. digital camera is an investment IMHO, and you should get one with the full mfg. warranty behind it.