Wow! This is hard to believe, but with the rebate from a site I just ordered this camcorder off of, the price comes out below the lowest price I could find for the HC1!!! Not only that, but I'm upgrading from a GS400, and am barely paying anything extra to move up to this camera! I think I'm going to need to take a cold shower after this!!!

Would you mind sharing the site and price? Thanks!

Sure...

I ordered the camera from PrestigeCamera.com for $1781 + $89 s/h. Total came out to $1870.55, and minus the rebate brings it down to $1370.55, only $30 more than the cheapest HC1 I could find!!!

PrestigeCamera.com Authorized Dealer?
 

I do not see them listed on Sony's site as an authorized dealer. Does anyone know if that would preclude the camera from qualifying for the rebate?

I hope that's not the case, but there was a field for adding additional resellers. So I'm assuming Sony's list isn't a complete one.

good luck, but I think that is another name for Broadway Photo:

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

Hope it turns out alright.

Wish I would have seen that before... for some reason, the reviews I saw beforehand were all fairly positive. As of now, their system says that my order is being packaged, and a tracking number should be emailed to me by the end of the day. *Crossing my fingers* ugh

Unfortunately, I would not bet on it. You should be getting a phone call from them soon. Then they will try to sell you their overpriced accessories. Obviously you'll deny, and your camcorder will coincidentally be placed on backorder...forever!

And that my friend, is a typical bait-and-switch scam. Fortunately, you will not lose any money unless you agree to receive the grey-market device. That is, with the manual, cables, A/C adapter. Just the camcorder...alone.

Let me know how it turned out.

Oh, I did the phone call thing this morning... there wasn't any kind of problem. The guy confirmed my address, asked me if I'd like to order a battery or UV lens... I told him I already had both, and he told me it should be shipping out by the end of the day, which was reflected on their tracking system a few hours later. God I hope I'm one of the lucky ones with this! I did 3 day shipping, so it's got a constrained shipping time...

we'll see...

Well, I just got my email confirmation that a package has been shipped, and it is currently trackable in the UPS system. I'll know on Thursday whether I got a good deal, or if they ripped me off. Wish me luck!

Hey Matthew, do you see an issue with the rebate and Sony's requirements?

Wow. Keep us posted! If this turns out well, it is obviously a considerable savings... who WOULDN'T want an A1 for 1370?!? We'll keep our fingers crossed too :)

Mathew, unfortunately I don't think that Sony will recognize them as an authorized reseller. So the rebate won't apply. Sony is pretty firm about who is and who isn't an authorized reseller. Most to none of those discount stores are considered authorized sellers.
B & H is pretty much as low as you will find for an authorized reseller, although some might be a bit lower ($20-50), but not a lot lower.

You're most probably receiving a grey-market camcorder. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't get any warranty neither, which has been mentioned by some of the folks at resellerratings.com.

Maybe it will never need fixed!!