I just finally took the plunge and ordered a Nikon D300. Can't wait.
Like tanstaafl, I scoured to pinch every penny. I think that I DID finally end up getting a pretty good deal, but that was after checking a ton of sites against your best friend in these situations:
http://www.resellerratings.com/I bought the D300 and the 18-200 Nikkor for $2,220 - delivered. From us1photo.com - check em out. I also read a bunch of reviews on dpreview.com that gave us1photo the thumbs up, so I felt pretty confident.
Hope this helps...
- Jon
Just checked - their price went up slightly on that package...
http://www.us1photo.com/catalog/product_...116f13748c83c78