Where to buy an XH-A1

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Piccoevo

Active member
I am looking to buy an XH-A1. What would be a place to buy that has the lowest price, but isn't a scam shop. Should I buy it used, or should I just buy it new, and what would be a reasonable price on a used one?

Thanks
 
Buying it used, if you can find it isn't a bad alternative. I bought mine brand new because there was a deal in Canada where I didn't have to pay taxes (partly because my company is legally registered...) I'd go with B&H as mentioned. Newegg is great for computer parts, but I hear some people got grey market cameras from there. Not bad or anything, just not covered under warranty. This was more when the DVX was being bought like crazy...not sure if things changed.

-Kegan
 
Piccoevo said:
I am looking to buy an XH-A1. What would be a place to buy that has the lowest price, but isn't a scam shop. Should I buy it used, or should I just buy it new, and what would be a reasonable price on a used one?

Thanks
Click to expand...
I just got my xh-a1 yesterday, brand new at Abe's of Maine, 3189.00--- beat B&H price plus i bought it on line, NO TAX! check out the website. They are an authorized canon dealer. Also take the 7-10 day shipping for 2 bucs. Mine came in 2 days anyway-- they're just loking to tack on extra, don't do it.
There was also a big artical about extended warranties on line about them not being worth it 9 out of 10 times. If something major is gonna happen to the camera it's probably gonna happen in the 1st year, while the factor warrany is good. Just some food for thought.... Good luck, the camera is awesome!!!!
 
I bought from buydig once and, while everything turned out fine, they tried the hard sell on extras. Made me call them to confirm the order, just so they could try to strong arm me. Like I said, I got what I ordered, and although the box had been resealed, the inner bags hadn't been opened, so it was new. But the tactics were shady, so I've never bought from them again.
 
Buydig bugs me because they try to sell you stupid add ons that are junk and with inflated prices. B&H has always been good to me. Spending an extra $100 on the assurance that it's going to arrive fine and in the original box (not in a ziplock bag) makes my buying process stress free.

When you buy at these discount places, you're always sweating bullets till it actually shows up. At least that's been my experience.

Sometimes B&H has used items. I just got a G2 mic from them and it works great! At a $200 savings also! If you have the time, perhaps you can keep your eye out for one.
 
I have to suggest www.zotzdigital.com

The best customer service I've ever had, cheap price, usually free shipping, free tiffen filter with purchase, Canon authorized, replies to e-mails within minutes, and no sales tax.

Worth the time to check them out. Good luck with your purchase!
 
To quote Kegan:

Kegan Sant said:
Newegg is great for computer parts, but I hear some people got grey market cameras from there. Not bad or anything, just not covered under warranty. This was more when the DVX was being bought like crazy...not sure if things changed.

-Kegan
Click to expand...

I'm sure you can find NewEgg is on reselleratings as well. Did you look there yet? You;ll find info on basically every vendor online.
 
Kellen Dengler said:
Newegg is great for computer parts, but I hear some people got grey market cameras from there.
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There has been discussion about whether NewEgg is an authorized Panasonic dealer (with some saying it absolutely isn't, and others saying Panasonic accepted their warranty). I haven't heard anything about whether they are an authorized Canon dealer or not.
 
Cnet certified doesn't mean anything. The deal with dealers like Newegg and Buydig is that even though they're pretty reputable, they may not be authorized dealer. Now this doesn't mean that you will get a grey market camera if you buy from them, but you might. People have gotten lucky before and got camera with the proper warranty, but remember that if they are not an authorized dealer they are not contractually obligated to sell you only non-grey market product. It's whatever they have in stock. You might get a camera with a warranty, you might not.
 
jmc said:
There has been discussion about whether NewEgg is an authorized Panasonic dealer (with some saying it absolutely isn't, and others saying Panasonic accepted their warranty).
Click to expand...

Just for the record, these two things are not mutually exclusive. :) Regardless of who you buy the camera from--authorized dealer, unauthorized dealer, or even in the ridiculously unlikely case that a scam shop screwed up and actually sold you a non-grey camera--if it is a camera that Panasonic intended for sale in the United States, then they will honor the warranty. (They might not, however, honor any rebate or other special offer; IIRC, some of those said "authorized dealer only.") NewEgg is not authorized; however, that doesn't automatically mean they're trying to scam you, and most of the reports from forum members say that they ship non-grey cameras.

Canon's website doesn't seem to list authorized online dealers; on a totally un-related note, it also sent me to Best Buy for an XH-A1 in my area, when I work for an authorized Canon dealer... :(
 
NewEgg is TERRIBLE at communicating. I got a little digital camera from them, paid the extra shipping for next day, got an email confirmation from them, but then didn't get my camera for 3 days. I called and waited on hold for too long and had to go, I sent 10+ emails but got NO REPLY back. Then out of the blue I ended up getting my camera and everything worked fine, but no tracking number, no reply back to my "cancel my order" emails, no nothing! They are terrible if you ask me.
 
So at least for me, I'd rather pay $100 more for some big ticket item like an HD camera and have the peace of mind that it's going to work, be shipped fine, not have Japanese-only menus, etc... At least you know what you are paying for you are actually going to get. And even if you actually DO get your camera from stores like NewEgg and end up having problems with it, it will be a nightmare to get a refund.
 
Kellen Dengler said:
To quote Kegan:



I'm sure you can find NewEgg is on reselleratings as well. Did you look there yet? You;ll find info on basically every vendor online.
Click to expand...


You know, I am always suspicious of these ratings. The vast majority of the seem rigged--not just for NewEgg, but ALL OF THEM! Yes, even... well, all of them.

If you read the 5-star ratings, 9 out of 10 seem to be written by the same person like this:

1. great experience! i would do it again no question. bob.
2. these guys are the best. i would buy again from them. sam.
3. wow! that's all i can say! billy.
4. perfect! niel.
5. no purchase has ever gone so smooth for me. mary.
6. i bought a digital camera from them and i have been very satisfied! fred
7. I was a bit weary of buying from them because the price was so low, but it turned out to be a good purchase. The digital camera came all in one piece and everything works fine. I think they could have been better at sending an email confirmation, but as long as I get the stuff I order I'm fine.
8. wonderful! al smith.
9. i will never buy from anyone else again. martin.
10. if you think these guys are bad trust me they aren't. this is the real deal. jose.

Now, can you spot the REAL review? Check them out, they all have the same bad spelling (in this silly example notice the "i" instead of "I" and the ending name. And everything in lowercase) Most aren't so ridiculously obvious, but you can start picking up trends in the reviews. All from big name cities that everyone knows (i.e., Denver, CO instead of Littleton, CO), same abbreviations of state names (two letter CAPS, four letter abbreviation, or all lowercase, etc.). But if you start reading the reviews with your thinking cap on, you'll see the patterns. They are there.

So if you have a store review of 9000 positive ratings, you probalby only have 500 real ratings. If you want to see the truth, read all the negative reviews since they obviously aren't doctoring those up. Then you get to see the trend.

Some buyers are just stupid and you can tell that their one-star review was unwarranted. "I called them after the item was shipped and wanted my money back, but they told me they would have to discount the shipping costs from my order! THEY SUCK!" Why is THAT the store's fault?!?

But if you get 1000 reviews saying that they don't respond to emails, you can never talk to a real person, you get the run around, then you can probably be sure that you don't want to do any biz with them

Sorry this is so long, but I'll just repeat my main point. Don't look at any of the positive reviews and make a decision based on those. Look only at the negative and see how "bad" they really are or aren't and go from there.
 
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