For whats its worth..............

[TrepOne]

on Dec 14th, if you buy a camera on Circuit City online site, and you access thru AOL or InStore, you get a 20% rebate in the form of a gift card. So if you buy a Pana FZ20 for $509.95, you will receive a $100 gift card in the mail. It just seems like you cant refuse a deal like this. At least this in MY understanding of the offer.

[Phil007]

Was that only for Dec 14th because I can't find anything about the rebate. :confused:

Phil

[TrepOne]

Yes, it was only for Dec 14th. It was the best deal I could find so I bought one. However, they have offered an almost as good deal over the last two months. It was a free Panasonic battery and carrying bag. So they may offer the battery and bag deal in the future. I originally bought a FZ20 onDec. 3 with that deal but returned it on Dec. 14 for the rebate deal. I did not open the box, otherwise they would have charged me 15 percent restocking fee. The free battery deal expired around Dec. 10th but they may offer again. Cant wait to bring the camera to Hawaii to try it out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Phil007]

You had the camera for 11 days and didn't open the box??? :eek: I'll have it open in <11 minutes when I get my paws on one but I've been camera less for over 1 year. :(

Did you get the protection plan for 90 bucks? I never get the extended programs but I have time to look into it. My last digital camera(2MP) quit working and I knew it wouldn't be worth getting it repaired because it was almost 3 years old. Under the Circuit City protection program they would fix it or replace the camera for up to 3 years after purchase.

Phil

[TrepOne]

Yep! Did not open the box because around the same time I bought a Sony DSC-V1 and didnt know which one to keep. The V-1 just happened to be a GREAT deal from Sears.com for $300. It got great reviews on dpreview, etc. And it was small! The DMC FZ20 takes slightly better pictures and is substantially larger, so I did not know if it would be too big. But when CC offered the rebate deal on Dec. 14, that made up my mind. The Sony is going back to Sears, they have a hassle free return policy, even better than CC. You have to be careful with CC, if they think you used the camera or even read the instruction book, they will charge you a restocking fee. The only thing good about buying a camera now is that most stores have an extended return policy because of XMas.

[TrepOne]

Oh, I forgot about the protection plan Q. No I did not buy it since I generally dont want to spend extra $$, and for the most part, the things I buy dont give me problems. But that is just my opinion.

[Phil007]

Well I'll being buying the FZ20 online next Wednesday morning, pick it up at lunch, plug the battery in at my desk so I can start shooting pictures when I get home. Hopefully I'll get the hang of this camera to get a few good pictures during Christmas.

Have fun in Hawaii!

Aloha,
Phil