I'm going to purchase one during the next week. Anyone have authorized seller recommendations for best price combined with good service (return policy, good rep, etc.)? Thanks for the help!

Amazon happens to have a good deal on the HV20 right now. Mine's sitting in the truck as we speak!

I got one at Circuit City online with instore pickup on Sunday for $700 with a AAA 10% coupon. I don't think you will do better, and no waiting for delivery.

Nice snag! I did Amazon because my nearest CC is about 30+ miles away and thank god for cheap Amazon Prime overnight shipping!

I think I'll go with Amazon too. I'm not a AAA member and can't get a 10% discount. Or can I?

I am pretty sure you need the AAA membership - you have to go through a little procedure to download the coupon, and they have you add your membership number. Also, seems the $778 CC sale on the HV20 is over anyway - it's now up to $900.

I see there are two dealers on the net both with 5 star ratings now selling the HV20 for 379. One is bestpricecameras.com. Anyone have any experience with them?

379 for the HV20 ? C'mon man, it can't be serious business. Be very careful with credit card scams ! If it looks too good to be true...IT IS!!

I see there are two dealers on the net both with 5 star ratings now selling the HV20 for 379. One is bestpricecameras.com. Anyone have any experience with them?

Did you do a search on this company ? I can't believe you didn't find comments like this:

http://www.epinions.com/msg/show_~threads/cat_id_~22/id_~6938/forum_id_~145

Sergio

The only New York or New Jersey based camera dealer to buy from (online) would be BHPhoto. Otherwise, many here at AVS have been ripped off buying projectors, cameras, etc. from them.

By the way, online B&M based stores like CC and BB anoy me when they change their prices on a daily basis like Amazon.

I agree with B&H, having being a customer for more than 15 years. The other NYC store I can recommend is J&R. As a Newyorker, I know how dangerous can be your shopping experience with most of those "bargain" electronic shops. Your credit card data can be sold to criminals for more than the difference between the "fantastic price" you pay and the real price. Before doing any deal, look for how long the company is in business, who owns it and if they have a real address.

Sergio

I checked out CC online earlier today and they currently have the HV20 going for 752. And if you purchase by Tuesday (11.27.07) you can use a 10% off promotional they have going; comes out to 677. Now THAT is a deal if you ask me. I don't know if I'm allowed to post the coupon code on here, but it is easily available at the CC site. Good luck, I'm thinking of purchasing the HV20 myself at this steal of a price.

Thanks for the CC info
I had Best Buy price match last night for $677 before tax.

Yep, THAT is a deal for sure!!

I just got the HV20 on line from CC for $676.79 less my AAA 10% discount at the counter when I picked it up---net price before taxes $609.19!!

They had an online promo that gave a 10% discount that ran on the weekend after Thanksgiving. I could not get the computer to take both the AAA coupon and the CC one so I entered the CC one.

When I went to the counter to pick up the camera I took my print out of the AAA coupon and the fellow entered it for me. He was a supervisor and the computer/register would not accept the transaction. I asked if there was a way he could get me my AAA discount. He was in a holiday mood and smiled and hit a few additional keys and voila my 10% discount popped up. I asked him how he did it and he said he used the "price match" function and over rode the computer. Being nice and patient pays off.

Had to share my good fortune.

Their are small authorized dealers who can’t stand companies such as Amazon and B&H for example because of their huge buying power that allows them to sell things a little bit cheaper than they do so you really have to think about how is a company who is nowhere nearly as large selling something for a few hundred dollars less. I’m not saying their all bad but your better off buying products from authorized dealers.

B&H offer the HV20 at $899, minus a $100 instant rebate so you are invoiced $799, plus they throw in a $150 gift card. If you need no accessories, then the price is $799; but you will likely want a decent battery, tapes, mic, etc in which case the Camcorder nets out at $650. Mine arrives Thursday.

Bought one from CC online for $749.99 less 10% coupon for a total of $674.99. I bought the coupon "10% off any purchase over $199" off ebay for .99 cents. The code was emailed to me immediately, I entered it on CC's website at checkout and it worked perfectly. :)

I just checked the website and the price is still $749.99

Thanks ricknzoe...I looked all over for 10%off coupons, but never thought of looking on ebay. I did that and now I own a HV20 for the same price. They didn't have any locally in stock, so I drove 90 miles away to pick up.

RobZ, Don't forget J&R in the NY area I've had good luck with them as well as B&H & they will usually beat each others price.

I think the B&H is still doing their deal, except it's $749 for the HV20 and you get a $150 gift card, so basically it's $599, but you can't use the gift card on the HV20, but you could use it for other stuff after the fact.

CC has bumped their price up $20, but they have a promo code for 10% off with in store pickup.

Ok folks, I see that I am late for the show and have missed out on the deals. Right now, amazon still has it for $700 shipped. There is a CC close enough to my home, but is CC still the best place to buy if I am going with in-store pick-up. Is the promo code still available? Please PM me if it cannot be posted, I would truly appreciate it.
The price at CC now is a whopping $900!!!! I do have AAA. So what is the best price I can get an HV20 for now.
If picture quality, image stabilization and low light picture is top priority, is the HV20 still my best bet, or should I be considering other models at this price range. The hard disk storage is a lot more convenient, but I do not want to compromise on picture quality (including low light and image stabilization). If there is a best of both worlds (hard disk capability and outstanding picture quality, then that would be great). I also read that mpeg2 is easier to edit than mpeg4, so I would guess, mpeg2 capability would also top the list. Thoughts, comments?
Thanks so much.
-Jai

Just ordered the HV20 from amazon for $686 shipped. Not the best deal, but still a good price and in time for the holidays!

Just ordered an HV20 from B&H on 12/19. Free overnight UPS shipping, plus a $75 B&H gift card. Total $749.95. (B&H does not charge tax) So net $675 if you use the gift card later.

Is TexasTapeworks a good place to buy an extended warranty or are there any places that carry the HV20 with a solid extended warranty available?

You have to factor in tax and shipping/driving to see the actual price you pay out of pocket.
CircuitCity right now has HV20 for $719.99. With a 10% off coupon, it comes to $647.99; however, if you add tax (7% in NJ = $50.39), the total price you pay comes to $698.39
Compare that with Amazon, and you pay $690.99, no tax (except coupla states) and free shipping.
The costs might vary a bit if you are also going to get an extended warranty.

I just bought a Canon HV20 from 6th Ave Photo for $641.25 delivered.

Their price is $675.00 with free shipping and no sales tax. I did a google search and found a 5% off promo code good until Jan 3, 2008. That lowered the final delivered price to the $641.25.

oh that's a good price, however i'll get charged Sales Tax as i'm local to NJ :(

If your in Canada, just PM I have one listed in the for sale forum here.

So to the people that own this camera, how is it? I've read nothing but great things about it, it has all the features I want (24P) and sounds like it has great pic quality. Tempted!

I finally picked up an HV20 and a Canon DM50 microphone for $690 from dell after using the 15% off coupon and $100 gift card they sent me. Sound like a pretty good deal? I would have liked a better mic but it was only $50 or so after the gift card (which had to be used).

Better than this only winning the Lottery!

Most the people on the hv20.com board seem to be using 6th ave. Sometimes 6th ave is linked through Amazon when they are out of stock, but there is a code for 5% off on their direct site (I think its AF5) that brings the overall cost to the low $600s shipped (something like $609 last I looked). I'm still debating on my purchase but just thought I'd post an FYI.

I like buying from Dell because they have a great return policy. I've returned a couple of digital cams that I was not happy with. I'm keeping the HV20 even though the high pitch whine is annoying and a serious design flaw. Good thing I picked up the mic to at least improve the audio. Pic is amazing though.

I'm considering an HV20 now because of these great deals, but wonder if I should hold out a few more months and see what happens with the HV30. The added features of the 30 are very minor to me, so I want max bang for the buck. Baby coming in August so that's really the deadline for me. Just wondering if these deals ($600 for HV20) are as good as it gets, in most people's opinions, and if you think the HV30 will stay above $900 well past the summer.

I bought the HV20 because our baby is due in July. :D I love this camera. It's fantastic (other than the whining noise).

You might also want to keep an eye out here:

HV20.com Forums - Where To Buy (http://www.hv20.com/forumdisplay.php?f=6)