Canon GL2 scam?

[Tony Marino]

I'm looking to buy a new GL2 because the zoom on mine went out and it's five years old. I checked for prices and found one for around $975 new. I called and they said it's in the sealed box and they can keep their prices low because of volume and low overhead. I'm thinking that is BS. Is it possible the prices are dropping because people are going to HD?

Thanks

[Chris Hurd]

Any price that is substantially lower than B&H by, say, 15% or more is bogus without a doubt.

[Bryan Gilchrist]

They get the cameras in, strip them of everything that comes in the box (minus the camera), and then sell everything they took out of the box to you as "extras".

By the time you're done, you end up paying more for the camera and "extras" than you would have if you bought the camera brand new from a reputable dealer.

[Jason Robinson]

Originally Posted by Tony Marino

I'm looking to buy a new GL2 because the zoom on mine went out and it's five years old. I checked for prices and found one for around $975 new. I called and they said it's in the sealed box and they can keep their prices low because of volume and low overhead. I'm thinking that is BS. Is it possible the prices are dropping because people are going to HD?

Thanks

Bingo. Chris has it spot on. IF the price is vastly different from B&H then it is a scam, or used. Easy as that.

And Chris isn't just saying that because B&H is a big sponsor of this site. That is the truth. I've purchased hundreds and hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars of items from B&H (no big ticket items though) and there simply isn't a substantially better price anywhere. And the few times I did look into it, the reseller's had pages of angry former customers on resellerratings.com that got ripped off by the company.

If you are at all worried about it being a scam, then you probably can't afford to gamble the money, so just stick with the reputable dealers listed on this site: Video guys, B&H, etc.

[Tom Hardwick]

There's just the thought that as the GL2 is so old (4:3, tape, SD etc) and long discontinued, the outlet Tony's found is having to clear them at a loss, and clear them quickly. They may have stocked too many and priced them badly, leaving lots on the shelf looking for buyers.

tom.

[Tony Marino]

Yes, it's a scam. I checked out that site. The company is stop&shop digital.

[Bryan Gilchrist]

http://www.resellerratings.com/store...d_Shop_Digital

Best to check ResellerRatings before making any purchase at any online store.

[Jason Robinson]

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

There's just the thought that as the GL2 is so old (4:3, tape, SD etc) and long discontinued, the outlet Tony's found is having to clear them at a loss, and clear them quickly. They may have stocked too many and priced them badly, leaving lots on the shelf looking for buyers.

tom.

That is a good point, and considering hat I shoot with the GL2 and would love to pick up two more for real cheap I would actually love to find such a store that needs to dump some new GL2s to make room. But as another post says . . .reseller ratings is likely to tell the truth.

[Bryan Gilchrist]

Doing some more research, apparently they own the following domain names as well:

Shopdigitaldirect.com
Broadwayphoto.com
Topchoicedigital.com
Preferredphoto.com
Prestigecamera.com
Digitalliquidators.com
Wilddigital.com
Amphotoworld.com
Millenniumcameras.com
Cameraaddict.com
Questforcameras.com

[Jason Robinson]

Originally Posted by Bryan Gilchrist

Doing some more research, apparently they own the following domain names as well:

Classic scammer behavior. Lots of fronts.

[Bryan Gilchrist]

Found there address to be at 6605 20th Ave in Brooklyn.

Did some more research and here's a picture of their alleged storefront:
Stop & Shop Digital, StopAndShopDigital.com, StopnShopDigital.com

Apparently they do mortgages too... (and we wonder why the housing market collapsed).

[Don Palomaki]

Also, check with the BBB covering their area. NY recently busted a number of discount digital photo/video scams.

These kind of guys really are a crap shoot. Also Look for a long track record. If the name, address, and phone have been in business for a number of years you have some assurance they are not a fly-by-night. You can check some of this in the BBB info, and some by looking into way back issues of trade magazines - a visit to a real library.

Worth noting though that some legitimate business do have their mail order operations located away from their store front in lower cost real estate, so do the research.

[David Ennis]

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

There's just the thought that as the GL2 is so old (4:3, tape, SD etc) and long discontinued, the outlet Tony's found is having to clear them at a loss, and clear them quickly. They may have stocked too many and priced them badly, leaving lots on the shelf looking for buyers.

tom.

To paraphrase Hemingway, rumors of the GL2's death have been greatly exaggerated. It has not been discontinued. It is still listed on Canon's site, and is still listed as a bestseller at B&H, and still commanding a price of $2000. Stunning, isn't it, in this market of burgeoning technological advances, that a seven or eight year old product design is still holding its own? Hundreds of makes and models have come and gone in that time. HAIL the GL2!!

The Sony VX2100, the old arch-competitor of the GL2 has been discontinued.

[Tom Hardwick]

The XM2 appears on Canon's UK site as well, but finding one for sale in a real-live-shop is another matter entirely. It's been discontinued over here for ages.

[David Ennis]

By the way, Tony, when you say that the "zoom went out" on your GL2 is that true for both the rocker and the LANC controls? If it's just the rocker you can find DIY fixes by searching this site.