Comments on: Great Camera Price – or Bait and Switch… Buyers Beware

By: Cash Haggerty

Cash Haggerty — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:22:07 +0000

Wow that bottom camera on the right does not even exist! It is a PS version of one of the 1Ds with a ton of extra buttons added to the back that don’t exists on the real version of the camera. It even has a beer and wine button! Here is a link that shows the mock camera that keeps popping on the POTN forum.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=609526

By: Alberto

Alberto — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:01:23 +0000

There are 100’s of store fronts that seem to be from the same place. They are located in Brooklyn, NY….. The big tip here is if you get a call after ordering its a scam….

They usually ask if you need a battery, and you say it comes with a battery and they say… no its only a 10min battery thats included, then you say I dont care I’ll take it so then they bump the shipping up to match MSRP if you say no they’ll cancel.

By: Tanya Plonka

Tanya Plonka — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:38:44 +0000

Another red flag is requests for payment over Western Union! Only buy from reputable sources, rather than looking for the cheapest deal you can find and you should be a lot more protected.

By: jeff

jeff — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:40:13 +0000

Right, P.C. Richard was not the site in question. It was a feedback comment on their site that was copied onto questionable vendor’s site.

By: Great Camera Price - or Bait and Switch… Buyers Beware - Jeff Revell | Photo News Today

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:40:11 +0000

[...] Source and Read More: revellphotography.com [...]

By: JEF

JEF — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:25:36 +0000

Just to be clear, P.C. Richard wasn’t the one who was pulling this scam…Right?

They’ve been around in NYC for close to 100 years and are extremely reputable and great to deal with.

By: Rich C

Rich C — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:19:36 +0000

I tried one of these sites back in 2007. And the story played out exactly as you said. They got in touch, tried to up sell me (really, the battery costs $150 you say), and I said no to everything. I was immediately told that just the camera was back ordered. Really sleazy stuff. One of these companies has many websites and many names. Easy way to figure out if they’re legit….Do a google search with the website name and the word “scam”. You’ll find many people who’ve already had the bad experience.

Fortunately you’ve always got B&H out there, and they’re trustworthy!

By: Don

Don — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:43:05 +0000

I had a similar experience as well. I bought some point and shoot digital Nikon cameras stating “USA Warranty” and when I received them, the box had Japanese writing all over it and the tell tale sign was in bold print on the bottom of the box that read in English – “Not for sale outside Japan”! Buyer beware.

By: Eric Gitonga

Eric Gitonga — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:30:11 +0000

When researching to by my first camera in 2007, I initially searched on Ebay for good deals. I saw some that were offering such wonderful deals, without realising at the time they were fakes. One shop had on offer the D200 body along with 2 lenses, and several other accessories for $1700. At the time I got it, the D200 RRP was about that same figure of $1700. Good thing I didn’t submit my card details, since I learned later that all these different companies on Ebay with these deals were actually fronts for just one company that had it’s office in some place in New York city. And like the example you mention, once you bought an item, they would call you and tell you that what was on offer was really just the body without the lenses, and that you’d have to pay extra for those. You also had to pay extra for things that came in the box such as the battery! The scare that I would have lost out on this made me buy my camera straight from Amazon. And not even any of their 3rd party sellers either!