obadiahlee Offline Upload & Sell: Off
|
This post is meant to do one thing, in keeping this as short as possible I'd like to tell photographers of my experience with Adorama's Trade-In program and give you guys a warning.
In early January I was reading much about the anticipated release of the 5D Mark III, I was a pleased owner of a 5D2 and was not looking to upgrade. I was excited about the 5D3 but wasn't planning on purchasing it quite yet, the 5D2 had served me well and what I didn't experience (better auto-focus, low-light, etc.) wouldn't hurt me, out of sight out of mind kinda thing. I was pleased with my 5D2. As the month went on I was getting more excited about the 5D3 and thought, what could it hurt to call Adorama and other places to see what kind of value I could get from my 5D2 before the 5D3 hit the shelves. I spoke with a couple of places and Adorama gave me the best quote and guaranteed me two prices minimum. I asked the representative (whose name I will respect and keep private) several times what I would get MINIMUM (let me make that clear "MINIMUM") because I thought what good is it to trade in if i can get a better price selling on my own. The rep gave me this simple break down with the following conditions:
MINIMUM TRADE-IN Value: $1700 - Trade in for another purchase through Adorama
MAXIMUM CASH Value: $1200 - Just get a check from Adorama
I wanted to have these prices clarified and the rep said that IF I wanted a cash (form of a check) from Adorama that I would only get $1200 for the 5D2, I could easily sell the camera myself for a much better price. So I asked him again what would be the minimum TRADE-IN price (meaning Adorama credit which would go to another body or whatever I have my eye on at Adorama, in my case the 5D3) and he assured me a MINIMUM of $1700 (I must have asked him 3 or 4 times to assure and guarantee this price). I didn't want to waste his time or mine so before shipping my camera out I wanted to make sure that I would be looking at at least $1700 for my trade in. He again assured me that depending on the quality of my camera, $1700 would be the minimum and I could possibly get $1800 or more (of course stating again, depending on the condition of my camera) I said that was fine and he went through with sending me a shipping label (they ship both ways so what could I lose?) I asked the rep explicitly about the release of the 5D3 and asked since it would be released soon, that it would affect my 5D2 price so would i still be guaranteed the MINIMUM $1700 price, he went on to assure me that that would be the MINIMUM I would get. (Mind you, through this entire beginning process of "trade in" with Adorama, I read some neutral reviews about their trade in program. Some good some bad. I was already a bit weary)
I cleaned, prepped and packed my camera and shipped it out the next day.
My camera arrives almost 2 weeks later to Adorama, it's now around the end of February and the 5D3 is planned to ship mid-March. I am cameraless, I want my quote asap, it took another 4-5 days to get in touch with a rep and now I have another person who is quoting and dealing with my camera.
The rep ends up calling me and without any decent customer service and doesn't let me speak, tells me that my camera is valued at $1200 and if I would like to go through with the trade-in that I would be put on the priority wait list for the 5D3 which would be released in about a week or so. I asked him about the entire MINIMUM I was guaranteed and he went off on this explanation that they need to make money off the resell, and now that the 5D3 is about to be released my camera is only worth $1500-$1700 for them to sell back. I was in shock, I asked over and over again at the time I was to trade-in and get a quote that I would be guaranteed the MINIMUM $1700 price. The rep was not easy to speak to, complete sales man with no personality. The principle of trust was broken and I warn anyone that is looking to do a trade-in with Adorama.. DO NOT TRADE-IN. That department in Adorama is horrible. I was guaranteed a MINIMUM price of $1700 and I got the "cash price" of the 5D2. If anything my camera was in prestine condition and babied, no blemishes, no scratches, nothing, it was worth atleast $1800. If you put yourself in my situation, I could have just got my 5D2 back and forgot the entire thing, but it's the principle of customer service and integrity that my beef is with. Adorama's trade in program is NOT upheld to the standard of their retail store. Granted the retail store is just an expensive typical place so there isn't any need for conning or deceiving customers of any prices or service, people see the price and will buy it, no problems there.
But with their Trade-Ins, I spoke with a rep who convinced me that I have nothing to lose, that I was promised and guaranteed a price and then 3-4 weeks later I finally got a response only to find out that I've been given false promises and the guys I speak to don't even want to try to compromise or help me out. I've wasted time and money, waiting for the equipment and ultimately losing business because of their deception and wasting of my time. They spoke so quickly and lacked even acceptable customer service in their trade-in department and it came off to me that all they were trying to do was to get me off the phone.
So my warning to you other camera owners out there, beware of Adorama's trade in program. They're not easy to work with, they handle your trade-in slowly and ultimately they don't keep their word. Really disappointed and they've left a bad taste in my mouth.
|