I am going to purchase an HVX200.
I am looking around for the best prices and doing all my homework to make sure i get the best deal possible.
I saw a thread started in here asking if any readers had purchased their HVX200 on ebay as the prices there seem to be quite low (3500 - 4000).
The thread was immediately locked and told people to go to the site sponsors for their purchases.
I think it was a valid question and needs to be answered fully. I too was thinking about how safe it is to purchase on ebay.
This forum is here to help us all as a community and it seems that if we can warn eachother about invalid offers and guide each other to the best deals it helps us all.
I'm afaid to purchase via ebay at this time and would like to hear if others have had good/bad experiences with it.
Just looking for guidance...

ebay is good if you know what to look for. I think on ebay is a whole do's and dont's. For example. I would not buy from someone who has no feedback and is not located in the US. If they don't answer questions that is not a good sign either. I have bought and sold on ebay for years with no problems.

on another forum, an ebay buyer reported that his camera (not an HVX) turned out to be reported stolen. there are also a lot of fly-by-night dealers on the web who use the bait and switch tactics.

for that size of an investment, especially if you are a pro or for-hire work, it just makes good sense to buy from an authorized Panasonic dealer, get the OEM warranty, etc.

I've seen the HVX on ebay for about $3500 from an ebay store. They are supposedly brand new, USA versions. But they don't include the free 8gig P2 card or anything like the ones from a real Panasonic dealer does. So you figure even if the deal is legit you need to spend more money to actually buy a P2 card so you can record HD......and that brings them pretty much in line with what you would pay from B&H or other reputable dealer....and you have the security of dealing with a "known" entity so you know you will be taken care of if something goes wrong. I think when you are buying things this expensive you may as well get it from someone you know has been in business for a long time and will stand behind their products and take care of you.....that's why this site has sponsors.....they offer good prices and great support. You may be able to save a little money once in awhile by shopping around but I'd rather stick with the known.

Thanks guys...

The more research I do, the more I see the wisdom in what you say. Using a reputable dealer who will be around if anything happens has a value that I need to take into consideration as well. Those cheap prices sure are hard to pass on, but if anything goes wrong, you're basically stuck.

On a side note, I see the P2 cards dropping quickly in prices and even talk of a third-party producing them at a good discount! The savings in that alone will make up for the cost of "going legit".

Maybe now you can understand and appreciate the reasons why we refer all where-to-buy questions exclusively to our trusted site sponsors...

http://www.dvinfo.net/sponsors