Caution: Digital Cameras May Not Include SLR Lenses (for online shoppers only)!

Recently, I have been on a rampage trying to find the cheapest digital camera possible. The prices for digital cameras have become astronomical at the stores, largely due to the current economic crisis. The overhead retail stores are facing on a daily basis is the direct catalyst to these rising prices, and for good reason: the cost of transportation has gone sky high, the minimum wage limit has also leapt to a higher tax bracket. All of these things are starting to play a crucial part in the continued failing of the global economic system, that is, except for the stores based online, which is where another problem sets in… false advertising.

The products that are being offered on these websites only have pictures of them for us to view, as it is impossible (as of yet) to showcase them in real time, assuring the customers that what they are purchasing is exactly what they are purchasing. That said, when you go online in order to purchase a digital camera, all of the pictures that have been posted just might be an accurate image of what you will get – then again, it might not. For example, just last year I went online and purchased a digital camera that claimed to have slr lenses. The main fault of mine back then, in regards to online shopping, I did not read all of the fine print at the bottom of the page. Yes, the picture of the camera showed the unit with the slr lenses attached. Yes, the camera’s specs listed the slr lenses I desired. The only issue was… it was sold separately!

And it wasn’t cheap to purchase the slr lenses required by my recent purchase! The cost ran me an extra five hundred dollars! For that money, I could have bought two extra cameras that included slr lenses! Now that I understand this concept of “reading the fine print” I have never made that mistake again. The tricky part is to figure out how a consumer can determine whether or not their desired purchase will actually have everything that the sales ad claims / suggests it will.

The best way to figure this out is by reading customer reviews of the product. You would be surprised by how many customers assume that their slr lenses are included within their digital camera package! So many customers get click happy with their wallets and, as a result, become a well known author of negative customer reviews on multiple online forums just days after their camera’s arrival. Interestingly enough, all they had to do was to read the fine price, found at the bottom of your purchasing conformation website. Each retailer has a small box that says what your purchase will include. Amazon is famous for this particular security precaution. Read this box, then read the customer reviews and you will never be tricked again (hopefully)!