Ok, I was in the Radio Shack in Portage Place and saw a nice looking digital camera, the Vivitar eMage 100V, that looked good for my needs and low enough priced. Upon turning it on, I smelt a little magic smoke, and noticed it would not turn on. It felt heavy for a camera less than an inch thick, and upon opening it up I noticed what the problem was, batteries that had leaked a lot of acid and had acid coating the contacts, and mentioned it to the guy helping me out. Clearly this guy is not a tech, or even familiar with batteries, as he cleaned the contacts with glass cleaner and paper towel, likely making the issue even worse. When he was done, and put another set of batteries in it, which also did not work, but no longer brought forth the magic smoke, which surprised me with the presence of cleaner still.
I offered my own AAA's from my Palm, as those would be what I would be using if I were to buy it. Well, this solved the power issue, and he went off looking for a price. I waited, looked over the camera, and tried to guesstimate the price that was reasonable. He came back and said there was no price, and asked me what it was worth to me. I explained that the one I bought was better, and I only paid $20, and he suggested less than that would be good. Not wanting to waste my money, I promised to come back the next day, after a little research could be done. when I got home, I hit Google and punched in 'Vivitar eMage 100V', and found little. Then a search on 'eMage 100V' came up with this page, that gave a fair bit more info.
Ignoring for a moment the typo's, here is the list of features on that page, in case you don't want to see it:
Use as a Digital Camera (VGA resolution) or PC WebCam (13 FPS in CIF mode)
8 MB internal SDRAM memory (stores up to 70 images)
Optical viewfinder with reverse Galilean filter
Video Clip Feature
LCD display for camera status
Self-timer
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP compatible
Auto power-off
USB interface (cable included)
Digital Camera software CD-ROM included
The LCD is about 1"x1". There is no expansion slot. There is no USB cable, and no manual, and Vivitar makes no mention of this at all, so a manual is unlikely to be found. There is also no CD. The purchase would be, essentially, the camera. That's all. this set's up the visit, as promised, on Saturday.
So I walk into the store after going to Home Depot and WalMart, and mention as soon as I can find a rep to help me about my visit the day before, and ask if the price is still valid, of 10-15 dollars, which is a fair price in my opinion for a camera that is damaged(battery acid) and severely limited, not to mention very low grade. The guy goes into the back, looks on the computer that is connected to Radio Shack's web site only, and then went back into the back of the store, and came out to inform me he was told that 'everyone else is charging $79, so we have to ask that too' and would not be swayed by the mention, again, about the damaged contacts and lack of cables or additional supplies. So, this is my rant. If a store quotes a price one day, they should stick to it 24 hours later. What a rip off, and I could have had a ride home too! If you live in this city, be warned. This camera, and this store is not worth the trouble.
Okay, here is what the deal is, if they couldn't find it in the computer (as in for example if 49-255 wasn't in the price lookup screen in the POS) it means it has "fallen off the deck" translation: it is so old that it is no longer carried in stores even as a discontinued item. (I may be wrong if for example if the store is not a chain store, but a franchise) but that was my favorite thing about the POS was that we could print out a price list for discontinued items - thats how I have my 19" TV ($124 on Disco), and how I got my DSS satellite system (10 bucks on disco and I still got the free install kit) :)
Oh, and we got our employee discount.
Man there are days I miss working for the shack.
Well, it might have helped had the guy who assisted you the day before were present when you came back. Anyway, no use crying over spilled milk. You'll get a better deal someday.
True on both comments. Sadly, I am the kind of person who believes when you make a price, you stick to it. Perhaps I am just an optimist that a business might one day actually have a reasonable price in this city.
the camera is a freebee with certain cell-phone purchases. they claim the retail value is $100.00 but it's worth the actuall sell price of $0. I have one, it takes fine pictures at noon, outside (thereby dashing my dreams of home made porn)
BTW the goo is from unused alcaline batteries. don't forget to take them out of rarely used electronics!
cheers