(DEAD) Canon Digital Rebel XS w/18-55mm for $409 with free two-day S&H

Update (Mon Dec 21 at 3:06am EST): This deal is now over. It was only good for Sunday. The camera has returned ot its usual price-range. The original post follows unaltered for historical and reference purposes after the jump...

The Canon Digital Rebel XS w/18-55mm EF-S IS is the deal of the day at Amazon, offered for $409 with free two-day shipping, sold and shipped by Amazon itself. This is about $40 less than the going price at other retailers. The price is good until 3am EST on Monday, unless the allocated quantities for this promotion sell out - which is quite possible. (Please note price+availability is as of the time of writing of this blog post, and it is not updated automatically). For more on the camera, be sure to check its reviews.

UPDATE at 11:26pm EST: The 75-300mm III has now returned at Amazon. If you don't need to receive this shortly, you can get the two-lens kit for $463. See all the details.

If you are shopping for the holidays and looking for last minute gifts, fear not, we have prepared a list of items that qualify for free two-day shipping at Amazon.com. Or if you want to take a quick look, here are the long lists at Amazon:

+ DSLRs
+ Lenses and accessories
+ Compacts (fixed lens)

Speculation
And now let's put on our speculation hat - could this say something about the future? Is Canon planning to clear out the inventory through Amazon and launch a new entry-level D-Rebel at CES-PMA 2010? Because putting the camera on a $40 discount, with free two-day shipping, as the featured deal of the day at the largest online retailer in the US, during the week of XMas is pretty much the best time of the year to move lots and lots of units out the door. Please note this is pure speculation - but the longer the camera "lasts" in-stock at $409, the less unreasonable this may sound :)

Update at 1:34pm EST: The camera remains in-stock and it is promoted in the middle-of-the-screen box of the product pages of other DSLRs as well.