Introduction 

Megapixels and optical zoom have you confused? Do you need help figuring out how much camera you need? This article is intended to guide you to stores that will help you think through your options and spend no more than needed. 

our Ratings Tables show how area outlets were rated by area consumers we surveyed. (We primarily surveyed CHECKBOOK and Consumer Reports subscribers, but we also surveyed a sampling of other consumers.) In the case of Best Buy, National Camera & Video Exchange, ProEx Photo, Ritz Camera, and Target, we also report chain-wide ratings we received. 

A key consideration in choosing a store is the quality of advice you will get on which products to purchase and how to use them. On this dimension of service, at the time of our last full, published article, some stores were rated “superior” (as opposed to “adequate” or “inferior”) by more than 80 percent of their surveyed customers; others got such favorable ratings from fewer than 40 percent of their surveyed customers. 

You also will want a store where you are served promptly by staff that is friendly and not condescending; you will want the store to have a wide variety of types, makes, and models so you can see what your choices are and select the options that are best for you; and you will want a store that is reliable—that stands behind its products. Our survey respondents rated the stores on all these dimensions. 

Finally, you will want a store that makes it easy for you to examine and test out alternative products. It is important to see how different cameras and attachments feel in your hands, to see the different controls and features and find out how they work, and to get a sense of how easy and convenient they are to operate. Having cameras available for you to look at and handle and staff available to explain the features is essential. Our surveyed customers rated the stores on “ease of looking at and testing products.” 

Most stores will allow you to purchase a camera and try it out for three to 30 days, then exchange it for a different model if you are not satisfied; you will want to get an explicit understanding about the return policy before buying, and then get the policy written on your sales receipt. Usually you will be required to return the camera in like-new condition, with original boxes, bags, and manuals. A rental option is a plus if you are buying expensive equipment—although stores that rent equipment often charge $50 or more for even a few days. 

Which Store for Price? 

Unlike many of the products and services covered in CHECKBOOK, we found relatively little price variation for cameras. Our researchers called area stores that were evaluated in our last full, published article, and, without revealing their affiliation with CHECKBOOK, obtained the stores’ prices for a sample of 12 different digital camera models. We also collected prices—including firms’ charges to ship the items to the Twin Cities area—from a sample of large online/mail-order stores. 

Table 2 shows how each store or chain compared to the average prices quoted by other surveyed stores that quoted prices for the same models. A price index score of $102, for example, means that prices at this store were on average two percent above the average for the same models for all surveyed stores. Among local stores and chains, price index scores ranged from $100 for Best Buy to $107 for West Photo Shop. Table 1 shows the range of prices we found for some of the cameras we shopped. 

Although there is only modest price variation among area stores and the big online stores, we did find that shopping via the Internet can yield significant savings if you use one of several websites—such as CNET.com, Epinions.com/Shopping.com, PriceGrabber.com, or Yahoo.com—that perform price comparisons for you. These sites search a number of online retailers that have agreed to offer a certain price to users of the website, and you can easily ask the site to calculate shipping costs and sort search results by total price. When we searched these four websites for prices for the 12 models of equipment for which we collected prices from area stores, we were quoted prices (including shipping costs) that were, on average, 17 percent lower than those quoted by area stores and by the individual large online/mail-order firms listed on Table 2. 

Buying products online from unknown vendors makes many consumers wary; fortunately, the four price-comparison websites we shopped all ask users to rate their experiences with firms they’ve used and show firms’ current scores on search results pages. Although we do have some concerns as to how diligent the price-comparison websites are in preventing ballot-box stuffing, these scores can provide some measure of comfort if vendors you are considering have received positive ratings from hundreds or thousands of users. (When shopping the price-comparison websites, we took the lowest price offered—including shipping—and included only retailers that had received at least 100 ratings and had been given a grade of at least four out of five by the price-comparison website.) 

You will note that for Best Buy and Ritz Camera, we have prices from the store floor and also from their websites. Both of these stores’ websites will ship to you. Each charges for shipping but there are often free shipping offers—for example, free shipping (using the lowest cost, slowest shipping option) for all orders over $25. We found that, for many cameras, the online price from these stores was lower than the in-store price—sometimes by $50, $100, or more. So you may be able to save by buying online even if there is a shipping charge. On the other hand, we have found a few cases where the in-store price was lower than the online price. 

Best Buy offers the option of choosing a product and paying online, then picking the item up at the store at the online price—thus getting the product right away and avoiding shipping charges for any item that otherwise would carry such charges. 

If you know what model you want from Best Buy, it makes sense to call the store for a price and also check the website before going to the store. If the website price is lower than the in-store price, just buy online for in-store pickup. If the in-store price is lower, you can just buy the product off the store floor.