[charbear1]

I've been looking to go from 35mm SLR to Digital. I like the SLR concept and am targeting the Canon Digital Rebel XT. I'm not opposed to saving money, though!

I've seen dozens of these cameras on EBay, many advertised as new, some as unopened. I'm curious where these all come from. I'm thinking some may be factory refurbs or gray market because there are so many of them and some people have 2 or more for sale.

Also, does anyone know if there is a Canon online outlet that sells facroty refurbs?

Ideas? Thanks!

[buck52]

"I'm thinking some may be factory refurbs or gray market because there are so many of them and some people have 2 or more for sale. "
No doubt you are correct...

If you have no lens comitment don't rule out the Nikon D70s or even the D50

buck

[RT]

Or the Konica Minolta 5D, where every lens is image stabilized

A friend of mine purchased a Rebel (not XT) through eBay and seems very pleased. It was used, but he asked the seller a bunch of questions to allay his fears and ended up with a pretty good deal and lots of extras, like a big CF card, a quite decent gear bag, 3-4 filters, a battery pack and quick charger and some other stuff, no printed manual but that's readily available online. He already had several Canon lenses, so this choice of DSLR made sense for him.

I'm wary of some of the dealers on eBay because of the gray market stuff.

[linskyjack]

That and the fact that ebay is a sellers market---Very seldom will you find good deals on known items like the Rebel XT.

[erick295]

You can buy one on amazon.com or newegg.com for the same (if not less) than you can on eBay, and you'll be assured that it's new.

Watch out for any accessories on eBay as well. I've had an impressive 100% failure rate for batteries, brand name or otherwise. I bought plenty before I learned my lesson... tempted by the $5 prices vs. $50 in a store... but they were all old (not used, just old) and they never held a charge after a month of use. The lenses and cleaning kits and tripods and everything else people sell on there are usually nothing but junk. If you see the word "professional" anywhere in the description, don't buy it. Chances are, it's garbage

A really disturbing trend I think is growing are the sellers that put Buy It Now prices of $0.01 or $1.00, and then charge $24.99 or something for shipping. Who cares where the money goes, right? Shipping vs. item price, what's the difference? Well, guess what gets refunded if the item is defective? That's right, $0.01. I've been ripped off before by a seller who did this kind of garbage and then sent me the wrong item but refused to exchange it. He offered me a refund of $1.00 and got negative feedback instead of his item back.

I've had a few good experiences, but I generally hate eBay.