| We have decided to carry out a simple "straw poll" | | | | (shipping free) |
| and compare the prices of several models of digital | | | | Amazon price: $1069.95 (shipping free) |
| camera on both eBay and Amazon. We want to | | | | Olympus SP-570 UZeBay price: $330.00 (shipping free) |
| make clear right from the start that this is not some | | | | Amazon price: $351.62 + $9 shipping = $360.62 |
| sophisticated statistical method, but just a sample of | | | | Nikon Coolpix S60eBay price: $346.00 (shipping free) |
| the kinds of prices the average online shopper might | | | | Amazon price: $295.00 (shipping free) |
| come across, perhaps while using one of the online | | | | Remember, these prices are not supposed to be |
| shopping comparison services that are out there. | | | | quotes of any kind - they may well be out of date by |
| We took 5 popular models of digital camera | | | | the time you read this! But that's not the point, we |
| completely at random and looked for the best price | | | | want to see by this rough survey which online shop is |
| we could find on both eBay and Amazon within a few | | | | cheaper for digital cameras when taking a general |
| minutes of browsing. We made sure the cameras on | | | | average. So what have we found? |
| offer were comparable, i.e. were the exact same | | | | If you had bought all five of these cameras through |
| model and did not offer any bundled extras. Also, in | | | | eBay, you would have paid a total of $2,290.29. |
| the case of eBay, we made sure that they were | | | | If you had bought them from Amazon, you would |
| brand new cameras, which usually means they are | | | | have paid a total of... wait for it... $2,168.50! |
| sold by professional eBay sellers, rather than individuals, | | | | So that would be a saving of $121.79 if you bought |
| and were not second-hand (that would be a different | | | | these five digital cameras through Amazon! Doesn't |
| story altogether). Prices vary on eBay, so we tried to | | | | sound like much? Well, it's more than 5%! And equal to |
| simulate the browsing that a typical customer might | | | | the price of a budget digital camera! |
| employ when looking for a digital camera and settling | | | | Maybe some would say that an extra 5% extra |
| for what looked subjectively like a good deal. We also | | | | discount is not worth comparison shopping for, but |
| checked into the cost of shipping (though did not | | | | there are plenty of us, especially in these troubled |
| include tax as that would depend on the customer's | | | | economic times, who would go that extra mile to find a |
| location), which was mostly free to mainland US. | | | | 5% discount on a camera purchase. |
| So here are the models of digital camera that we | | | | Again, we must emphasize that this is not a |
| looked at, and the prices we found: | | | | mega-scientific approach, nor do we guarantee that |
| Canon SD1100IS 8MP Digital CameraeBay price: | | | | you will find everything cheaper on Amazon than on |
| $199.99 (shipping free) | | | | eBay! But hopefully it will serve to dispel the common |
| Amazon price: $171.30 (shipping free) | | | | myth that "everything is cheaper on eBay" and to |
| Sony Cyber-shot DSCT300 digital cameraeBay price: | | | | persuade you that while great bargains can certainly |
| $265.30 (shipping free) | | | | be found on eBay, Amazon is certainly not to be |
| Amazon price: $271.63 (shipping free) | | | | ignored when you are making your next digital camera |
| Canon EOS 40D SLR cameraeBay price: $1149.00 | | | | purchase! |