This warning came in to us from Sony last week, and may worth noting if you spot very cheap camcorders for sale.
It has been brought to our attention that counterfeit Sony Handycam camcorders are currently being sold on eBay, other websites and by a small number of street sellers. We are making every effort to remove these from the web,but cannot stop the cameras being placed in the first instance, or remove them as quickly as we would like. We are also communicating with the Trading Standards Authority regarding the sale of counterfeit products in street markets.
We would encourage your readers to always check that they are purchasing a genuine Sony product (reference the Sony website at sony.co.uk) before purchasing a 'bargain' camcorder.
Of course, it's a general rule for purchasing on the web - if something looks too good to be true, it often is: check carefully and make sure you're buying the genuine article.