INTERNET SHOPPING

I have had good luck shopping for things on the internet with the exception of digital cameras. There seems to be a family of some sort of "gypsies" out there that do business under different names but using the same business plan. From their accent, I would say they are Middle East gypsies. The camera you are looking for will be hundreds of dollars cheaper on their site than anywhere else. BUT their site does say that the order is not complete until it is approved by the sales department. Then you will get a call from someone or else an email directing you to call someone. You will never get that camera unless you also order a whole bunch of extra accessories. They never quite get around to saying that but they delay and frustrate you to the point of saying "Nuts! Just cancel my order!" That is followed by them saying "Certainly", and the phone goes dead! But one of your worries now is that they have all of your credit card information and your personal information!
These are not the kind of people that you want to have this kind of information. Now those price comparison sites that you use and where you found these people in the first place, are in on it also. They also know what is going on but they don't particularly care since if you buy something from these "gypsies", then they get paid something for their assistance. And their rating systems are a joke also since they are created out of what the sellers tell them, not what the buyers tell them. If your seller does not have some sort of rating input system from buyers, sort of like Amazon does, that sellers or listers can't edit and sanitize, then you can bet that all the glowing reports are fakes (although, once in a great while, there might be a buyer who was quite happy). If I ever find one of those low-ball camera sellers that really does sell the camera at the price advertised, without trying to sell you a whole lot of more stuff, I'll praise them and list them by name. And If I ever find one of those price comparison sites that I think is really good and honest, and has your best interests at heart, I'll list them also. In the meantime you are probably better off buying your digital camera locally or from one of the internet sellers whose price is about the same as the local seller.
20 APR 07: Found ResellerRatings.com. Good place to start to get an idea of who is honest and who isn't.