Avoid the accessories at big box chains...
This if for the less savvy members of the forum (which include me until today).
These stores give you a bargain on the big ticket item and then gouge you on the accessories. I bought a nice little Sony HX9V digital camera today at Best-Buy. After a series of price matching to lower the price and of course listening to and rejecting the myriad of ridiculously expensive warranty options (which isn't a warranty according to the spiel).
Anyway - the point.
I looked at buying a second battery - point and shoots tend to suck battery power unlike my Nikon DSLR and so a second battery is practically a must. So looking on the shelf there is a Sony Battery $69. Back the truck up $69 for a battery - yeah no thanks.
Go home look on Amazon - and wait a minute two brand new batteries for the exact same camera - granted an off brand but the same specs - 2 for $14 including shipping. Read the customer reviews - and what do you know - just as good and last just as long.
The external battery charger to make things faster and easier - $59. Amazon - $7 and it does the job - again folks who lost their one buy it and say it's just as good.
Then I thought about all the other stuff those chains sell at grossly inflated prices. HDMI cables - $30 - $3-6 on Amazon. And printer cables - eesh.
I won't start on speaker cables and interconnects as that can be a touchy subject but I am wondering about TV wall mounts, PS3 controllers and remotes, and any other sort of doohickey.
The warranty they offer is so seductive too. If it breaks we'll replace it - otherwise you have to ship it to Sony for repairs. But when 2 years of that is 25% of the total cost of the camera - it makes little sense. 4 years at about 30% makes a little more sense. However it's $110. In 3 years you will likely get a camera just as good for about that - and the dollar value in 3 years will be lower than today. I suppose it's a gamble but odds are not in your favor since they do not warrant failure from things like dropping the camera or water damage or humidity - and so it's doubtful it will break for any other reason. I'd love to get the numbers on camera failure rate percentages.
I remember buying an old 1040 HP laptop in 2004 and paid for the warranty - they give you the spiel that the warranty covers a replacement battery and they always go dead in a couple of years. The warranty was $90 and the battery is $150. 7 years later and that laptop was on almost 24/7 for 2 solid years with the battery in - it's now 2011 and the battery is the original and still lasts about 1.5 hours - sure it's not the 2.5 it used to be but all things considered.... Paid the $90 stupid tax - oops.