BayTaynt3d ,
thanks for your reply. I was able to get one last nt (GS36) from Ebay (open box item w/minor damage) for a great price of around $125 including shipping. It was from one of those hugh distributors w/good rep and is covered under the Ebay buyers protection plan, so feel pretty confident it was a safe buy.
This one is a 1 CCD, vs the GS180 @ 3CCD. I was looking for Sony, but when I went to Panasonic website and saw their info on what a diff the CCD makes, I was sold. The curr $ for the 180/300/400/500 models are a bit steep for me right now. (hope I don't regret biting the bullet later, however).
There was one Panasonic GS180 I was initially bidding on last nt, but my gut feeling was that something was a bit rotten there; individual seller with no - as in zero- track record, selling the camera/battery/strap only. It did sell at a great price, but I didn't want to take the change of losing all my money and getting no merchandise.
Now that I have bought, I can stop checking these things out, which is a real relief. It was beginning to become an obsession!
Again, thanks for your input on this.