EXPRESSCAMERAS.COM looks sketchy?

[SkiingISlife]

http://expresscameras.com/cart/prodetails.asp?prodid=58636&start=1

How does this place look to you guys? The price seems to good to be true.

[Barry_S]

Crooks.

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1805.html

[mrbimmer]

DON'T BUY FROM PLACES THAT ARE NOT PANNY DEALERS. YOU THINK YOU WILL SAVE LOADS OF MONEY FROM THEM?....YOU WILL ONLY COME OUT POORER....

[SkiingISlife]

Thanks guys!!!

[J.R. Hudson]

evsonline.com

rush in glendale

trust me

[Terry_Lasater]

In John we trust... ;D

[mrbimmer]

Yeah Rush kicks ass...buy from evsonline.com awesome prices and awesome service...

[bryster]

hey ski
I was sucked in as well, last Dec. I called to make the purchase. On the phone for almost an hr. As it was just about complete... that is CC run and all, he then let me have the bad news. You see... he didn’t try to sell me the extra stuff right off the bat, he just added it all up telling me the price was going to be a total of 3500... some odd dollars, I said WHAT!
then explained to me what was really happening. I was so appalled I just said cancel the whole thing. AND DONT CHARGE THE CC!
I Called B&H got it for around the same price just a little under not much.
At least I was expecting that price
I AM IN LOVE WITH MY PANNY AND WILL NOT GIVE HER UP... LOL
Ok too sentimental? LOL..
Camera Express.. Crooks!

[Guest]

no anything about profeel?

http://profeel.com/agdvx100a.htm#descr

I'm so ready to get my cam...
however i'm hoping to find a good package deal.

[Guest]

know anything about profeel?

http://profeel.com/agdvx100a.htm#descr

I'm so ready to get my cam...
however i'm hoping to find a good package deal.

[disjecta]

There's only 2 places I order all of my gear from on the Web:
www.bhphoto.com or www.adorama.com.

Both are extremely reliable and I have been ordering with no problems from them for the last 4 years.

I think Adorama's price is about comparable to Profeel.

Steven

[ozone1979]

but do u know of any places that have some good package deals?

[mrbimmer]

Guys...it is so easy! With professional video gear and consumer for that matter, you cannot by any means get a "good deal". There is a standard price set for individual pieces of equipment. There are no "good deals". You cannot by any means - cannot - get 500 dollars off the list price for the camera. 300 dollars for that matter. It just wont happen. If you want a good deal go to circuit city and look at some of the consumer cameras for 200 bucks...seriously...can't people get over this...i am tired of this same question!!!! THE DVX IS RELATIVELY EXPENSIVE, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE MONEY - SAVE AND FACE THE FACT THAT IT COST $3500.00!

[disjecta]

I'm with Kyle on this one. You are paying "extra" for peace of mind. Let's face it, your camera is a huge investment...and not only in money. Do your gambling in Atlantic City or Vegas, not with your gear.

[turk]

Oh tish tosh!

If Panasonic wants to keep it's momentum it ought to offer dealer incentives that can be passed on to comsumers. The dvx is panasonic's first success in the indie/prosumer market. Previous to this they were a prosumer also ran and non player.

Paying extra for peace of mind? The only reason the DVX is $3500 is because it's a commercial division product in limited distribution (collusion). (We went through this nonsense in the '70s with "Fair Trade Pricing" thru limited and controlled distribution. It's tantamont to price fixing.) This camera ought to be selling for $3200 tops--which is about standard 20% off list for internet/mail order for a product with 1-2 year obsolesence. Canon might be totally clueless at the moment but as soon as they offer upgrades the price of a DVX will drop below $3200 faster than we can blink. Same with Sony PD series...which is already slipping into the 20% off range.

Panasonic ought to be wheeling and dealing. The aftermarket dealers of add-ons are also clueless...$1000+ follow focus, $1000+ matte boxes--$1000 this and that. It's ridiculous; film industry overkill/specialization. Even the DVX film/video packages are overpriced...$6000 packages for 10% off. Ridiculous. Most of this stuff is just being adapted from existing technology. The only reason this stuff is overpriced is because it's distribution is limited...to control the price and protect distributers. Really? I thought competition was about moving product to consumers, market share, profits, and shareholders.

As far as ExpressCameras--they were one of the dealers I emailed requesting authentication of Panasonic USA Factory Warranty AND commerical division dealer status. Never heard from them...nor any other dealer under $3200.

You'd think even the legitimate sellers would have--doh--an occassional SALE on a hot item! A sale isn't another 1 or 2% off--it's designed to build a customer base.

I think it's all about price fixing thru limited distribution. Period. Seen it before in the '70s from sporting goods manufacturers, cameras and others. The attorney general took them to court, cmsumers won. But then memories have conveniently faded and workarounds abound. Plus we've become pretty docile consumers. It's not about supply/demand. It's about companies planning how many units a niche product needs to move to be profitable before introducing the next iteration/obsolesence.

All that being properly vented...I'd just like to say get the best deal you can get from an authorized dealer. But if $3495 or thereabouts is about the best you can find (including the shady shipping price which happens to add up to...$3495!) then maybe it's time you dropped your state attorney general a line with your findings/research).

I don't mean to be a hard butt about DVX pricing--same goes for Sony commercial division products.

It's not sour grapes. It's about fair competitive pricing based on moving merchandise--not piecemeal divying it out to meet production quotas, tweaking planned obsolesence. Panasonic could just as easily blow an opportunity as grow with it.

In the end, we want what works for us. That's the bottom line.

(I need a break...and another 20mg more prozac...)

[disjecta]

Just to clarify, when I said paying extra for peace of mind, what I meant, of course, was you would be buying it from a trusted dealer (who charge higher prices than the likes of ExpressCameras.com).

You knew that of course but I don't want to be quoted out of context. * ::)

[turk]

disjecta: HAHA--yah, I knew that. I got to rambling my devil's advocate holier than thou way.

It could very well be that 3500 bucks is a "competitive" price. But if that were true then why are so many people looking at expresscamera and a host of others who advertise it for less with a bogus warranty? It's not like the demand isn't there. It's the lack of supply and legitimate dealers that is the problem. Guess who controls both? Panasonic.

It's not a fair market at work. Apple does the same thing. It's a way to control their share of a niche market and it hurts both them and us...though I'm sure they would disagree. It keeps everyone's profit margins, supply, demand tweaked just so--but it's not the marketplace per se that is at work.

Just think what life would be like if the same held true in the supermarket.

Maybe we can get Michael Moore to do his next film on the effects of manipulating global commodities. Ah, er, protesters sure do feel strongly when it comes to agriculture.

Oh well. I'm optimistic--hope Panasonic doesn't blow it.



::)

[mrbimmer]

Turk-
I completely see where you are coming from..I am going to sit on what you said...mmm I smell a documentary...

[amoildani]

what about www.profeelvideo.com , are they an authorized dealer, i cant find how to check on the panasonic site... they have a pretty good rating on resellerratings.com but the 3100 or so price of the dvx100a is fishy to me

[ChuckS]

This is a tough debate, if I am buying tape stock I shop for the lowest price but when it comes to purchasing capital equipment I am not that interested in the lowest price, I want good value, which often means good support after the sale. For that, you should expect to pay a higher price.

Unfortunately it isn’t that simple, many of the “grey” market DVX100a’s are not counterfeit, “seconds” or less than what you would get from an authorized dealer, they are original Panasonic product being shipped into the U.S from other parts of the world where they can purchase it for less and are passing the savings along to the end user. Many manufacturers add an additional letter to the name to distinguish the country of origin of the product even though the products are identical. This is happening because many of the distributors do not abide by the distribution agreement and are trying to sell outside their area. This is obviously exacerbated by the web.

I’m off to a meeting so hopefully I can finish this later. Basically – I agree with turk… 8)

[Barry_Green]

profeel is not an authorized dealer.

[amoildani]

im guessing Willoughby's is also not an authorized dealer?

seems im going to end up going with EVS. anyone can tell me what the dvxuser discount is?

[Barry_Green]

Willoughby's is an authorized dealer.

[Young-H._Lee]

A word about Reseller Ratings, be careful not be suckered into the good reviews of crooked companies. Usually, some employee of the crooked company writes their own reviews. It is sometimes so damn obvious. Just scroll through the list of bad reviews and look for alll the 5 star good reviews and page after page, the good ones are all written in the same grammar, typos and the names are changed by a few characters. Check out the reseller ratings for broadway photo:

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1995.html

Scroll through the pages of bad comments and you will find a few positive reviews that are all written by the same guy

[jluzardo]

I just bought a DVX100A from BuyDig at $3,249 and the service was excellent. No phone calls. No hard pressure. Fast delivery. Free shipping. Just great!!

[Jan_Crittenden]

I just bought a DVX100A from BuyDig at $3,249 and the service was excellent. No phone calls. No hard pressure. Fast delivery. Free shipping. Just great!!

BuyDig is not an authorized reseller.

[newtodvx100a]

I first went with expresscamera. I never received the camera. Canceled the CC and purchased it from J&R. Next day delivery and great service.