All,
Check this page out. And, once on it click on the " recorded conversation" link. This is how scums make money on digital cameras. It goes without saying.... You never ever order anything from New York store unless it's B&H or Adorama.
Read the article too to understand what happened.
When you're in a pinch, check out Allen's camera in levittown pa. I've bought cameras, lenses, cases, and accessories from them. They are a legit USA canon authorized dealer.
Gregg B. wrote:
All,
Check this page out. And, once on it click on the " recorded conversation" link. This is how scums make money on digital cameras. It goes without saying.... You never ever order anything from New York store unless it's B&H or Adorama.
Read the article too to understand what happened.
Actually there are a couple other okay stores in the NY area. I've ordered online from JR and a couple others received the item promptly and without incident. I grew up on the Pac NW so I have difficulty speaking to any NY salesmen on the phone as their tone always strikes me as hurried and rude. Somethings downright insulting. I eventually learned they all talk like that, even the many fabled B&H salesmen.
Horrible! Never had an experience like that.
I like to trust my dealer and purchase at his place, even it is 5%-10% more expensive then an offer at the cheapest internet shops.
In exchange he allowed me to test 3 50mm 1.2, 7 50mm 1.4, 4 70-200 4.0 Ls, 3 100mm 2.8 Līs and all my cameras I purchased at the store he is working in.
The three 1.2 Ls where horrible. The 70-200 and 100 where all the same great quality, the 1.4 I choosed the best working on my body out of trhee good ones.
I moved away for about 200 kilometers. But I guess for my next buy I will ad the gas to his place.
I've dealt with plenty of dealers that share this same practice since 2005. Who knows how much longer it has been going on. Anytime there is a required phone confirmation, they will attempt to sell you one of their memory cards, batteries or something bogus for 500% mark up value or some ridiculous amount like that. If you don't get one of their "additions", they will say simply say your order will be processed. After you wait weeks, months, and call them, they will say the item is out of stock and never ship it out. The status will always be back ordered. You can even check and call them, they will tell you it is in stock. The whole scheme works like magic against those newly entering the field. Signs that the deal are too good to be true:
1) Prices are too good to be true.
2) They will give you a confirmation call on your order
3) Trying to sell you additional items
if any red light goes off. CANCEL your order immediately. it will just stall your bank funds if you don't. you will never receive such item for such price listed from that seller.
Gregg B. wrote:
All,
Check this page out. And, once on it click on the " recorded conversation" link. This is how scums make money on digital cameras. It goes without saying.... You never ever order anything from New York store unless it's B&H or Adorama.
Read the article too to understand what happened.
This is amazing! I am sorry you and your friend had to go through all this.
If I were your friend, I would pursue this with my credit card company right away!
I once bought something from a Yahoo advertised vendor who did not lie to me like "Mark" fellow you spoke to, however kept saying the item is shipped only to make up a story a week later saying why it had not been shipped. This took several weeks. I called my credit card company, Yahoo Resolution (by the way they are absolutely USELESS), BBB and anyone else I could think of. The initial few people I spoke to at my credit card bank were not that helpful telling me I should have done it in 30 days, 60 days or 90 days! It seemed like based on what day I called I would get a different ruling!!!! Finally as I was almost ready to give up, I called my credit company one more time, and spoke to someone who was really upset to hear what this vendor had done to me. She asked me to send all my correspondence with the vendor to her attention directly and debited the vendor's account for the full amount and credited my account right away.
PLEASE pursue these creeps through your credit card company, BBB and anyone else you can think of so they know there are people out there who'll fight back and the only way to do business is the honest way.
ytsaelee wrote:
I've dealt with plenty of dealers that share this same practice since 2005. Who knows how much longer it has been going on. Anytime there is a required phone confirmation, they will attempt to sell you one of their memory cards, batteries or something bogus for 500% mark up value or some ridiculous amount like that. If you don't get one of their "additions", they will say simply say your order will be processed. After you wait weeks, months, and call them, they will say the item is out of stock and never ship it out. The status will always be back ordered. You can even check and call them, they will tell you it is in stock. The whole scheme works like magic against those newly entering the field. Signs that the deal are too good to be true:
1) Prices are too good to be true.
2) They will give you a confirmation call on your order
3) Trying to sell you additional items
if any red light goes off. CANCEL your order immediately. it will just stall your bank funds if you don't. you will never receive such item for such price listed from that seller....Show more →
When I first ordered gear in the 1980s I actually had far worse experiences. This guy was merely a liar and bait 'n switcher. No cursing, personal insults or yelling. I'm sure these sales techniques are as old as the hills and as common as a visit to you local used car dealer
What with all the online ratings, its very easy to check the reputation of a store before you even call them. There are many excellent sellers I have dealt with all over the country, although B&H, Adorama, and One Call (Local to me) remain my favorites.
There are more good dealers in New York than just B&H / Adorama, and, there are, as you say, a ton of bad ones. Many of the New York scammers were recently forced out and moved to New Jersey.
I have no reason to dispute the truth of what I just heard. There are too many stories that tent to verify that this sort of thing is getting worse.
There should be some way to hold online sellers liable for falsehoods like this clown was spewing. It's one thing to charge outrageous prices for spare batteries and memory cards and another to outright lie to customers in order to sell inferior products at inflated prices.
I'll bet that these scam artist do well during the holidays when (not so tech savy) folks are buying presents for their family. I wonder what percentage "cut" this dirtbag is getting for his underhanded dealings? It's a black eye for the legitimate online merchants.
I'm glad your friend got his camera, and while it didn't turn out to be the deal he expected, at least he didn't get totally burned. I have purchased from Abe's of Maine, only to find out later that they are dank warehouse in Brooklyn. However, I was lucky. Everything turned out just fine. They have very good prices but get really mixed reviews - some great and some horrendous. I also ordered a video camera about 10 years ago and I'm pretty sure I ordered it from Mark. The sales rep was really irritated when I didn't buy any extras, but I got the camera in factory packaging so again I was lucky.
As I have gotten older I have come to appreciate good, reliable service. I still like a good deal, but not at the expense of extra hassle and risk.
They guy on the phone (your friend?) sounds really dumb. Caveat emptor. I'm not going to rely on our government to protect me. I'm going to rely on ME to protect me.
Richard Nye wrote:
They guy on the phone (your friend?) sounds really dumb. Caveat emptor. I'm not going to rely on our government to protect me. I'm going to rely on ME to protect me.
This was done on purpose, of course. He played dumb to see what the other guy says. Otherwise this would be a short recording... The idea here was to see (or show to others) what people can do with someone that doesn't know much about purchasing pro photography equipment.
Richard Nye wrote:
They guy on the phone (your friend?) sounds really dumb. Caveat emptor. I'm not going to rely on our government to protect me. I'm going to rely on ME to protect me.
I can only assume you didn't actually read the article...
