coco1964 Loc: Winsted Mn

I like buying local and when I say local I mean 40 miles away. I buy most of my equipment at either National Camera Exchange or B&H. I use B&H if I want to trade in or look for something refurbished because they have a much larger selection and I do like buying company refurbished items, especially lens. I have a daughter that lives near a National Camera store so it usually gets hit everytime I go to see her. I like dealing in person if possible so if I have any questions I can meet with someone in person and we have to support our hometown establishments to keep them in business.........

Cakey Loc: Herts ,England

I use comparison site these days
the days of going to a local shop and bartering for a deal and deals for cash etc have well and truely gone

Photogdog Loc: New Kensington, PA

[/quote]

As far as a place to buy, I always recommend B&H in New York city. Great service and tremendous selection. As to whether it's cheaper to buy in March, I've never heard that. It is cheaper to buy current models whenever there is a new model coming out. Prices fall quite a bit. Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Tim[/quote]

I agree 100%! It's rare that I don't buy from B&H. I've bought five cameras and I can't tell you how many lenses, flashes, grips and other accessories from them. Their staff is very knowledgeable & courteous. I never had a problem, their prices are competitive and shipping is quick. I usually get my stuff in three business days (NY to PA).

I've never heard of the March thing either. Normally, when a camera manufacturer introduces a new model (on the shelves), you wait a month or two and start checking on the older model to see how much the price drops.

The other option is to buy refurbished. These are good deals. The refurb is done by the factory & the camera is given a complete overhaul.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

Local if price is even close, then Cameta.com for other stuff, if I've already researched it and know what I want. My local store will sometimes match online pricing if I bring in a copy of the web page.

What I DON'T ever do is go to the local store, waste their time, play with their cameras or lenses, then buy online. If they take their time with me, they get the business.

Cakey Loc: Herts ,England

one of our biggest retailers has gone bust today .
bye bye Jessops

Dun1 Loc: Atlanta, GA

The leading internet camera sellers are B&H, (B&H was rated by consumer reports as one of the top retailers) Adorama, & Amazon also is a great place to compare prices Amazon vs B&H vs Adorama. You can also install price blink as an add-on and it will check prices. The secret is B&H and Adorama are both brick and mortar stores, and usually have a good stock of inventory and the majority of time B&H and Adorama's prices will be identical or close.
If you can find a quote unquote local store, and the price difference is not large you benefit from being able to actually see the item and feel it in your hands. In many cases people who work in a local store are willing to give you information or help. Pricewise if you think that you will be able to get gain any knowledge from an employee in Best Buy, good luck, you are rolling the dice that he or she is not trying to tweet, IM, or browse Facebook.
We have a local camera store here yep the prices are steeper than B&H, Adorama & Amazon. Don't expect them to leave a "Pro Customer" who is purchasing a Nikon D4, or a Canon 1DX to take time to sell you that $100 point and shoot that is one sale.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Yes, that is the worst. Looking and hefting a camera at Best Buy is one thing, but taking up the time of a local seller when you have no intention of buying is not nice. Our local camera store carries a pretty good inventory, but he often charges $100 over list price. I bought my first DSLR there (D90). When I went to check on his D600 price, it was $100 higher than the online sellers. Why would I make a $100 cash donation to a camera store?

JC56 Loc: Lake St.Louis mo.

I buy local from Creve Coure Camera their prices are very fair and the staff is very good. If I have questions on how to do or set something I just stop by one of their stores. Their customer service is second to none.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

You're lucky.

Photogdog Loc: New Kensington, PA

Jerry,

I think I read on this post (or one similar) where the poster actually stated that the sales tax you save buying online should go to your home state!

Unbelievable!

I live in PA and buy 99% of my stuff from B&H. If I buy a camera from B&H and they pack it & ship it to me via UPS from NY to PA, what's the out-of-pocket cost to Pennsylvania???

This is the mentality that's ground into so many people in this country. The government says hand over your tax dollars and the sheeple just go along. After awhile some are anxious to do so.

PD

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Of course there's no out of pocket expense. PA just wants to get all the money it can, any way it can - like most other states. All states collect money from the public. They just do it in different ways and under different names. Some groups are hit harder than others by the various methods.

I sometimes look for places that offer free shipping and no tax.

JC56 Loc: Lake St.Louis mo.

I look for stores that offer fair prices and great advice.......but your a pro who needs no coaching. Online buying is okay...but i still like to talk too people who know what there talking about.........so i have to pay a little tax.......i don't mind........ it helps you retired folks.....i think we should do away with income taxes and have a 3% national sales tax......that way everyone pays.

Photogdog Loc: New Kensington, PA

I'm big time in favor of a flat tax. The problem is that the current system allows the people on capitol hill and the PAC groups to take advantage of all the loopholes that the 8,000+ pages of the current tax code have to offer.

JC56 Loc: Lake St.Louis mo.

okay we may agree...but this post is about buying a camera......so lets get off the political crap...If you can and they treat you right buy your camera from your local camera shop.......you won't go wrong.