Does anyone know why the Canon A650 IS is so hard to find?

Question

No conventional stores carry it and all the internet stores that claim to have it "in stock" have bait and switch tactics and then tell you it's in stock in Japan and they'll ship it when they get it (usually around 4 weeks or so).

Answer 1

Well the A650 according to the B&H website, it has been discontinued.  Truthfully, this isn't a surprise... as the camera was released in August 2007.  If you take a look at when previous A6xx cameras were released and when their successors were released...

A610/A620 - October 2005

A630/A640 - September 2006

A650 - August 2007

Hold tight.  It's probably about time for Canon to release the A660 or something along that lines which is an upgrade to the A650.  Most cameras in the A series have a shelf life of 9-12 months.