Bargain Hunter Beware

If there is one thing that you have learned about me in the past 3 years of writing it would be my love for a bargain. If I can save $2 online compared to a shop 5 minutes from my house (even though it takes me 2 hours to place the order), I will do it. Or if a shop that is 134 miles away can save me a few bucks as compared to a local retailer, I will drive. But sometimes that drive to save a buck leads me to a place of risk that does beyond common sense. This is my latest lesson on how NOT to she shop on the Internet. If your bargain hunting overshadows your common sense, then you need to read this article carefully, for it might save you from the disaster that I almost found myself in.

I have been spending the last 3 months in research mode. I have been obsessing about a vacation to Nova Scotia that is still 72 days, 4 hours, and 12 minutes away. This obsession has caused me to think about each aspect and step of our vacation. My itinerary looks like a 400 page handbook for tour guides. Even though I have never set foot on the Nova Scotia soil, I have memorized each and every bit of history fact there is to know. I even know that there are 237 outhouses on the isles. This is truly an obsessions disorder.

Last week, my research brought me to the question: "how will we record the memories of our adventure?" Sure we have a digital camera but 640 x 640 and therefore prints grainy pictures unless you want a 2x3 (or you want to display it on the computer). We have a number of 35mm but we prefer the use of the digital. There was only one solution that I could come up with- we needed a new camera for our vacation.

Now I am not the photographer in the family. This is a task that Joyce loves. But I am the researcher. Therefore, with the combination of vacation, need for mega-pixel camera, and Joyce's birthday in a month, it was time to research digital cameras. I found Steves-Digicams.com most helpful in determining my photo needs.

My first thought was to get as many pixels as possible. But when I saw the 5 mega pixels starting at around $1000 I decided to investigate a little further. Reading the reviews (and checked out the prices) at BestBuy.com web site and then to Circuit City.com was very helpful. I was leaning towards Circuit City because I had a $50 gift card for Circuit City that I had received from MyPoints.com.If I could use this I would put myself in would use to get a better price.