Everything is new to me

Hi
I live in Nova Scotia Canada but I am very much a beginner so I may be in the wrong forum. If I am then maybe someone could please suggest a beginner forum to me. I will put my story here anyway.
I bought a Fugi s1800 after having a small point and shoot for a couple of years. The 1800 allows me to do more settings manually which I am trying to learn. I was hoping by next year to upgrade to a dSLR. A friend of mine was telling me he knew someone selling a used Canon Rebel XS. When they came here with it the girl said the battery was very low and they lost the charger. When I tried it, the battery was dead so I told her to leave the camera here and I will try to find some help of the web. I found a site, Sterling Tek, and they have cheap prices. Has anyone bought from them before?
Should I have concerns about buying this camera before I get it up and running?
Would this camera be much of a difference in photo quality then the s1800? Well this is an opening start. Thanks anyone for reading and extra thanks to anyone who replies.
Murray

Welcome to POTN, Murray!

The XS is a significant upgrade, well worth it if the price is OK. You can check the "sell" forum here to get an idea of used prices. What lens does it have?

Sterlingtek is a well-known company and many of us here on POTN have bought their batteries. I also bought one of their portable chargers. You won't go wrong buying from them.

-js

The XS is a great starting camera (I had the XTi which came before it). With a little care and practise, it can produce results that will challenge a high end body (I used my XTi for almost everything - sports, airshows, portraits, landscapes etc).

Realise though that it might take a while to understand how to get the best out of it (you may see your pictures get worse before they get better if you get into using manual but when you get the hang of it the sky is the limit!)

As for Sterlingtek, they are a good reputable company as Number Six has said - I have bought about 5 batteries off them in the past and I would say they were as good if not better than Canons!

Edit : Oh and welcome to the forum. If you have any questions about anything photography related, you will find that here it either has been asked or you will get an answer fairly quickly on it!

Murray Warner wrote in post #11108986
When they came here with it the girl said the battery was very low and they lost the charger. When I tried it, the battery was dead so I told her to leave the camera here and I will try to find some help of the web....Should I have concerns about buying this camera before I get it up and running?

Have you even asked the questions, "Apart from the dead battery and the missing charger DO YOU KNOW of any issues with this camera?" And "How many shutter actuations does this have on it?" (a shutter has a lifetime of 100k, and you do not want to buy a camera that is close to needing major work). And "Are you the original owner?"

Wilt wrote in post #11119399
And "Are you the original owner?"

A camera with no charger may be a stolen camera, y'know...

-js