p.3 #2 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
So, I already contributed to this thread once, but last month I purchased a refurb canon 135/2 and a s50 from them. I wasn't happy with the s50 and returned it about a week after it showed up. They credited my card with no hassle quckly. No phone calls, no messing around.
Sep 02, 2005 at 11:10 AM
Jonathan Huynh Offline • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
p.3 #3 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
I have bad experienced with Adorama. They are the rudest, the most unprofessional place I have ever dealf with
p.3 #5 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
i just purchased a refurbished 20D from Adorama. i placed the order online on sunday and it shipped tuesday. since i am only approx 2hrs north of adorama i recieved the camera on wednessday. the camera did arrive in mint condition and i am glad i bought it. when i called on monday afternoon to see if my camera had shipped i was told it will "ship tomorrow or the next day", not what i expected to hear. i was looking for a definate answer to when the camera would ship, not an estimated shipping say. i normally buy from B&H because of there fast processing & shipping. on wed morning i ordered an Op/Tech strap from B&H for rmy 20D. on thursday night the strap was on my camera. when i order from B&H i always receive the item the following day because as i said i am only a couple of hours north of NYC. B&H processes your order very quickly, unlke adorama which took 2 days to process. would i order from adorama again? although i am happy with the camera i think i will stick to B&H. they are much more professional in every aspect of there business.
p.3 #6 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
They seem fine for new stuff. I ordered two used lenses and had to send both of them back. And then I had problems getting credit from them. I still buy there only if I can't find what I need elsewhere.
p.3 #7 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
I've had two bad experiences with Adorama out of three times I've dealt with them.
Order #1 - Placed an order online, it was in-stock, and it was sent out. Did not have to deal with anyone personally. OK experience.
Order #2 - I called them about Sigma teleconverter and it was out of stock. The salesperson tried to sell me something inferior. He was rude and had a very superior attitude. I said, "No thanks," and promptly ended the call.
Order #3 - I ordered a bag through Amazon, with Adorama being the Amazon reseller. After a week, I still had not received a notification that the order had been shipped. I sent an email inquiry to Adorama, giving them the Amazon order number, and they claimed they never received the order from Amazon and that they couldn't help me. But one day later I got another email from a different person at Adorama saying that the item I ordered through Amazon was out of stock and they would not be re-ordering as it was a discontinued item (which was not true).
It would have to be a smoking deal for me to want to deal with Adorama again.
p.3 #8 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
When I was shooting film, and also doing quite a bit of custom B&W darkoom work, Adorama was my primary supplier for consumables. I never had any hassles with them when making my stock orders. However, on the two occaisions I purchased camera equipment from them I got the full court press. The salsemen tried to pitch the low quality accessories for the top end gear I was buying. I am good at saying no, so they wasted their time as well as mine.
Once I was so tired of the New York runaround that I called a place called Peach Stae Photography. This was ten years ago and I don't know if they are still around. The lady on the other end of the phone could have sold me the whole store with her pleasant southern accent and manners. As it was she sold me $1000 bucks of lenses.
p.3 #9 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
I've ordered several times from them. Always either next or 2nd day with NO issues. I order only from Meyer there. He's abrupt but get's it done. I always know what I want so no biggie. I have NO desire to buy from B&H with my long history of having gotten previously opened items, which I flat refuse to buy.
p.3 #10 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
I got my Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 from them.
I must say, After I saw their rating I was afraid they'd try to screw me over, but the low price they offered ($715 vs. average of $850) was a big plus.
In the end I decided to risk it and go with them.
It went smoothly, without a single hitch. I even got a sweet, sharp copy.
I ended up with over $100 saved, and a great lens.
p.3 #11 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
After reading the comments posted on this thread, you get the sense of significant variability with Adorama. Personally, I don't like buying from a retailer with noted problems even though there are also good reports. Why play a retailer lottery with your money? There are usually many reasons why the resellersratings.com ratings are low and most of them are bad. If there is a quantity of low ratings, I stay away.
p.3 #12 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
Just wanted to make one more comment about Adorama and NY camera stores in general: several comments indicate that Adorama and B&H have been rude on the phone or when visiting in person. I'm sure that's true, but it's also just how most NY camera stores do business. It's not really considered rude there, it's just how they do business.
No question it's different, and that salespeople could not get away with this attitude where I live.
But I would not ding Adorama or any other NY store for their rudeness, provided that their reliability is good. If you don't want to deal with this kind of attitude, best to stick to the internet or avoid NY stores.
p.3 #13 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
I wouldn't put B&H and Adorama in the same category. B&H has an excellent reputation. Adorama doesn't. This has been true as long as I've been doing photography for the past 20 years.
p.3 #14 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
From what I understand B&H and Adorama is owned by the same family. Very interesting if true. I wonder if there is some deal where Adorama tries to get away with sub-par service and when unpleased they can bet most customers will then go straight to their mother company B&H but usually pay a (slight) premium?
I personally had a bad experience with Adorama which I submitted a review to resellerratings.com about. They were rude, pushy, and lied to me on several occasions about my order. I finally did get my item but never again will I do business with them. B&H seems more reliable but I've still encountered the NYC "rudeness" that some find acceptable. I don't order from either one, if possible. I've found 17th street photo so far to be more polite and helpful than both while retaining excellent reliability. I've always gotten same-day processing and in-stock items ship same day from them. On top of all that 17th street typically always beat both their prices. It's no surprise they (17th Street Photo) have a current 10/10 rating and a 9.9 lifetime rating.
p.3 #15 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
I tried both B&H and Adorama, with B&H I bougth $95.00 worth of goods and with Adorama, $80.00, same day same shipping method, arrived same time both by UPS.
Did this because same Items in Ebay were couple dollars more expensive and shipping charge too high, besides I dont use Paypal, so had to send money order by the time it got to seller and from time the seller to ship it took a long time, 3 day shipping for 5.75 is a great saving, both gave good and fast service.
p.3 #16 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
I agree with Carlos. NY "rudeness" is not acceptable. Being originally from NYC, I don't accept NY rudeness as the gold standard of retailing. There are many retailers in NY who provide excellent service and good pricing. 17th Street Photo is my preference for photo gear. There is a reason why they consistently have excellent ratings. Also, there is a reason why Adorama doesn't. It has always been my attitude that a retailer has to earn my business, otherwise I can always go elsewhere.
p.3 #17 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
I ordered a used large format lens from them. I was not very impressed with the lens vis a vis their rating of it. They rated it as an excellent lens and it was much more battered that it should have been. They are not my first choice in vendors. New, I buy from B&H, Midwest Camera Exchange (Jim is great) or Badger Graphics. Used, Midwest or KEH. Both are very conservative in their used equipment ratings.
p.3 #18 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
I recently ordered a refurbished Canon 135mm f/2 from them and have been pleasantly surprised by the experience. After reading this thread, I was dreading the worst, but my exchanges with the Adorama service staff, while brief, have been polite and professional. I really couldn't be happier with the service and plan on doing business with them again.
p.3 #19 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
Hell yeah, I won a ebay item from them. It was a mini tripod maybe 3" high and 100 grams and they charged me $23 USD for shipping. If you are from canada expect high shipping charges.
p.3 #20 · Adorama, As Bad As Resellerratings Makes It Out To Be
I have never used them online, but I have bought all of my stuff from them in person. I find B&H to be too rushed when in person. These guys spend more time in person, and it is not as crowded. I like dealing with them,
I also found them a bit less expensive then B&H on lenses. All of this could be totally reversed when working with them online or over the phone, I have no experience on that side.
