DEAD: All Cameras On Sale For 30 Percent Off At Staples!

Some deals are just so good that you will drop everything you are doing (or planning) just to take advantage of some savings. Let me tell you how Lee and I both just bought Nikon D800 cameras for $2,200. Yesterday our friend Pye Jirsa published an article on SLR Lounge about how their local Staples did not honor a national coupon for 30% off all cameras purchased in store. After reading the article, Lee wondered how this coupon would hold up in our local market. Here is what we discovered :

Staples currently has a coupon expiring today, December 8, 2012 that advertises "30% off all clearance and regularly priced cameras." This particular coupon (there is a 20% one floating around too) clearly states that all cameras are eligible except Vivitar cameras. The deal also includes open boxes or displays. So no matter what camera you might be looking to purchase for the holidays or for your end of the year tax write off, there is a good chance Staples might have it....and have it at 30% off! Here is the coupon if you read this post today and want to try this:

If you are a professional photographer or just want to take advantage of the best deal possible, the most obvious camera to purchase would be the Nikon D800 (or a Canon equivalent). BH Video and Amazon both list the D800 for right at $3000. Pye Jirsa was successful in buying a D800 on his initial visit to Staples (you can read about that here) but quickly found out that the manager at his local store quickly put the brakes on the deal after Pye's studio decided to buy several cameras all at once. Side Note: Having worked once in retail myself, the reason the manager probably decided to decline the sale was because selling high priced cameras like the D800 without extended warranties can wreak havoc to store performance numbers, and unfortunately managers will often say anything to a customer if it can help their store's ratio of dollars spent verses warranty dollars sold. If this happens to you, perhaps you should just agree to buy the warranty and then returned the warranty at another store the next day. Either way, this deal first broke with Pye and for that I have to thank him.

Today Lee texted me and told me that he too had just bought a D800 for 30% off and that if I was considering buying another Nikon D600, then perhaps this deal would persuade me to have one of these 36 megapixel cameras in my arsenal. With that sort of fool proof reasoning, I jumped in the car and headed to Staples. When I showed the associates and managers the coupon, they happily ordered it right there in store through their kiosk. The team was pretty shocked to see a camera priced at $3,000 and even more shocked that this deal was good for a $900 discount. But after reading the coupon several times, and validating it was a real code, the store manager happily and easily adjusted my purchase to reflect today's amazing sale. The camera will be shipped to the store so I do have to pick it up there but that's a small price to pay for such a great deal.

Here is both my receipt and Lee's receipt to show that I'm not making this up. Again, as they say on many deal sites, your mileage may vary but the only reason I say that is because of Pye's experience yesterday at his local Staples. The coupon itself is written in a way that if Staples doesn't honor this then it would be false advertising but you never know.

If you aren't interested in the Nikon D800, it would definitely be worth browsing through Staples.com to see what other cameras they offer (they did not offer the D600). This coupon does not work online so you have to order the camera through the physical brick and mortar store. Time is of the essence as this deal expires in a few hours on the East Coast (you West Coast people have a little more time). Please share your experiences below if you were able to get this deal yourself and let us know what camera you picked up for the holiday!