Consumer Strikes Back at Crooked Online Retailer 659
BigBadLad writes "Seems like customers are at a huge disadvantage when dealing with dishonest retailers. This is the story of a man who had a horrible experience with an online camera retailer. In short he was lied to, yelled at, and threatened to be sued if he posted the experience on his blog. He was also persuaded to sign an agreement that would allow the retailer to charge him an extra $100 if he left bad feedback."
Summary is WRONG (Score:5, Informative)
Get it right, or pay the price.
Re:Summary is indeed WRONG (Score:4, Informative)
"and yet another review I found on the company:"
The "camera dealer"site (Score:5, Informative)
The offending camera "dealer" site is: Priceritephoto.com [priceritephoto.com]
According to an update on his blog site, he has since reported this charlatan to the New York State Attourney General's Office. Also, apperently Price Rite Photo was listed on PriceGrabber, but has since been delisted.
And phone number.. (Score:5, Informative)
888-365-4300
Re:And Fax number (Score:5, Interesting)
Actually going there would be kind of dumb even if you do enjoy a visit to Brooklyn. It will be a nondescript graffiti-covered brick place with a rollup door and just enough identification to take deliveries. Knocking on the door is probably just asking for a beating.
He'll be back with a new website, new fake feedback in all the right places, same scheme. He won't lose any sleep either.
It's not even a "guy"... (Score:5, Interesting)
From a sociological standpoint, these are fascinating organizations, especially in the way that they sometimes slowly, over time, evolve into "proper" retail outlets, (e.g. J&R Music/Video)... and sometimes "devolve" back into criminality (e.g. Crazy Eddie [wikipedia.org]).
Re:It's not even a "guy"... (Score:3, Informative)
Regarding B&H, not just a "possible" exception. I was recently helping my Ecuadorian friend get a pro video camera. He saw the "low price" of Pricerite, and suggested I get it there. Fortunately, I checked resellerratings.com and discovered that they're a bunch of unethical crooks before it was too late.
Ordered from B&H, and it was great. They ship exactly what you order and ship it quickly in a well-packed manner. Very professional. Not
Re:It's not even a "guy"... (Score:3, Informative)
From a customer-service standpoint, they can still be dicey. Not to put a fine point on it, but multiple friends of mine have found that you get much better service at the storefront if you look like you have a Y chromosome. It's not 100% consistant, but it happens often enough that I hesitate to send female friends there, and that translates into a more general reluctance to give them business.
Your mileage, obviously, may var
Re:It's not even a "guy"... (Score:4, Informative)
Actually no. They (B&H) are staffed almost entirely by Hassidic Jews, some of whom appear to have have bracingly old-world opinions about the usefulness and divine purpose of the female gender.
Re:And Fax number (Score:5, Informative)
Looks a bit, uhm, sketchy.
Re:And Fax number (Score:4, Funny)
I don't buy from NYC area sellers (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:I don't buy from NYC area sellers (Score:3, Informative)
My mom's terrible experience with these croooks (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:My mom's terrible experience with these croooks (Score:5, Informative)
What's unusual about that? You have to be the most ass backward consumer to fall for any of that and not just walk the other way immediately. And if you think the above is very unusual, you've probably never done any of the following before:
+ Shopped for a camera online in a non Amazon.com style place.
+ Shopped at Best-Buy
+ Shopped at Circuit-City
+ Shopped at Office Max
+ Shopped at Staples
Common sense would tell you to do the following:
+ Cancel the order.
+ Contact VISA (or Mastercard, etc) to prevent a charge or reverse any charges.
It's just part of doing business online. It's simple and credit card companies make it a fairly painless - one page long - process.
Re:My mom's terrible experience with these croooks (Score:5, Insightful)
It's unusual because its, well, unusual. As in rare. I've been in retail business myself, and while this kind of behavior occurs, it doesn't happen at big firms like those you mentioned. That's because no business can get to that size with that attitude. Customers don't keep quiet about their bad experiences, they tell everyone they know.
I've never had any experience like this with any of the firms you name. A firm WILL try to sell you a warranty, but they won't pull an illegal bait-n-switch like what was described, since most businessmen don't like getting thrown in jail.
Re:My mom's terrible experience with these croooks (Score:4, Informative)
What Resellerratings.com has to say about them (Score:5, Informative)
Customer Satisfaction
Six-Month Rating: 4.39
Average Store: 7.23
Seems like they are selling the product only if you buy overpriced accessories with them. This is very usual thing to do if you start to read the stories of customers that have bought stuff from the lowest scoring stores.
Re:My mom's terrible experience with these croooks (Score:5, Informative)
When buying products online, use a credit card, not a debit card. If the merchant acts in the way you described, dont argue with them. Wait a few days to see if you have been charged by them and if you have call you card issuing bank and explain the situation clearly to them and ask for them to peform a charge back on the transaction. You may need to sign and return some legal documents stating that you consider the charge to be illigitimate (this is designed to implicate folks who do this after receiving the goods without problem).
The credit card company will return the money to your card and the merchant will receive a letter from their bank informing them that the money has been removed from their account. If this happens many times on the same merchant account the merchant bank will close the account and the merchant will be unable to open another account. This will effectively put them out of business.
Issuing a charge back is a simple process (I have done it many times) and will hurt the retailer far more than shouting at them down the phone.
Oops! I didn't preview (Try Again) (Score:4, Interesting)
Their email tells the user to leave a five star review at shopping sites using the following link: http://www.priceritephoto.com/priceritephoto/offer [priceritephoto.com] .htm and the text below: **Please do NOT mention this in the review, we do not offer this to all our customers. **Please do NOT mention my name or the fact that we asked to write a review the websites will not post it. This will also make you eligible for FREE shipping on any accessory purchases in the future
Well at least that explains how they manage to keep thier review ratings so high. And the people who actually fall for the bait and switch will be the ones most likely to fall for the FREE STUFF line as well.
I'm not a member of any of these shopping sites but I wonder how the sites will react if someone submitted the above link to thier complaints departments.
Re:My mom's terrible experience with these croooks (Score:3, Interesting)
To which my response would be: "Hm. That's more than twice what my bank charges for a Stop Payment."
Hehe, that's great. It's amazing how few people actually take advantage of that option when they are faced with being screwed over.
I was being held hostage by a car repair shop once. He had broken an unrelated part (a $300 unrelated part!) in the process of installing my new fuel pump. He insisted that I should have to pay the full cost (parts and labor) of fixing this part. I refused. He said that i
How can we persue the owner, not just the store? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:How can we persue the owner, not just the store (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:How can we persue the owner, not just the store (Score:5, Insightful)
He's not talking about sales tax, he's talking about income tax. Even if you only sell intrastate, you are still responsible to pay income taxes on the profits that you make.
The IRS is the one organization that you don't want to fuck with. Remember, these are the guys who took down Al Capone.
LK
Re:How can we persue the owner, not just the store (Score:3, Interesting)
They tried to fuck with me and I beat them back.
Last year they tried to dispute deductions for alimony payments. The deductions were perfectly legit. I had done my homework before making those claims.
I provided all the evidence they asked for, they still disputed. Unfortunately they picked the wrong time to mess with me because I was all fired up from getting ready for my divorce trial. When I got my CPA involved and fired back at the
Re:How can we persue the owner, not just the store (Score:3, Interesting)
Strikes back? (Score:3, Funny)
More examples (Score:5, Informative)
Price focus leads to bad quality (Score:2, Interesting)
With shopping search engines placing the focus directly on price, and the ease at which you can set up an online store, it probably invites people like this to set up low quality operations where they cut costs by doing things like not having stock.
I agree you should target the people behind such sites rather than the sites themselves, as it's too easy for them to just set up a new site
That's angering... (Score:5, Interesting)
I also shut down my own online store due to what appeared to be an organized plot against one my stores. I'm not a tinfoil hat type, so hear me out... I operate 4 online stores, doing the drop ship thing. It was 5, but one business I opened seem to go up in flames once I started getting page ranks. How? I began getting orders from customers who demanded overnight shipping and immediate confirmation of overnight shipping. As my stores clearly state we do not have a phone number and that we do not offer overnight shipping on anything, this really was bizzarre. They would complain within hours of placing the orders.
Shortly, we recieved complaints from the better business beaureu from these customers who had NEVER BEEN CHARGED, and the complaints contained completely blown out of proportion accounts of what happened. Including accusations that we swore at them on the phone(which is a neat trick since we don't operate a phone number), gave them false tracking numbers, etc... We later found out it wasn't just BBB reports, it was also showing up in online message boards where our target market resided, as well as online consumer complaint websites.
I just shut the store down entirely because I didn't want to deal with it. What convinces me this was a plot is simply that none of this crap has happened to my other stores. I've operated them just fine, with very few complaints. But in this one sector, I suspect there is some business out there who didn't like my growing page ranks or my feedback ratings. And it just started out of the blue, shortly after we began getting high placements in google, yahoo, and MSN.
Anyone else here experience that? Just wondering.
Re:That's angering... (Score:5, Interesting)
As far as competitors plots go, stay far away from pron and other "discount" markets, and/or price wars. Because unless you are at the top of the chain and can afford other people to do the work for you it ain't worth it. Go for big spenders and be an honest merchant.
Re:That's angering... (Score:5, Interesting)
Shortly, we recieved complaints from the better business beaureu from these customers who had NEVER BEEN CHARGED, and the complaints contained completely blown out of proportion accounts of what happened. Including accusations that we swore at them on the phone(which is a neat trick since we don't operate a phone number), gave them false tracking numbers, etc... We later found out it wasn't just BBB reports, it was also showing up in online message boards where our target market resided, as well as online consumer complaint websites.
Assuming the credit card details and such of these orders were valid, it couldn't really have been a big job to find out who was behind this. I mean, I know of many cases where people have been filling up message boards and consumer complaint websites with bullshit, but it has always been out of thin air. If you had real names, real people to go after I would. A few well-placed legal letters from a lawyer about a slander lawsuit would quickly have people pointing at the real culprit. And assuming it did over $5000 of damage (doesn't take much), send the FBI on their case.
They admit to schemes! (Score:5, Funny)
Backhanded Positive Feedback (Score:3, Interesting)
Well Known Scam (Score:5, Informative)
1) Advertise an incredibly low price that gets people's interest.
2) Take their credit card order, telling them the item's in stock.
3) Within a couple of days, phone the customer to ask them if they want to buy the accessories pack. This usually includes most of the things that were in the box to start with - like the charger, kit lens, etc. These cost several hundred more, making the camera more expensive than it would have been via a reputable dealer.
4) If they refuse, try berating them.
5) If they still refuse, announce that the model is out of stock - even though it was confirmed in stock when they ordered.
6) Wait for them to either give in and take the terrible deal or, if they do finally cancel on you, charge a 15% restocking fee for the camera you never took off the shelf. Either way, you sit on the money from their credit card for the whole period.
It's a pretty simple rule in the camera community: If the deal's too good to be true, it is.
You can use online reputation sites but they can be rigged. The store keeps sale details and then enters their own perfect feedback for any that don't get consumed.
Personally, I limit to the following:
B&H, Adorama: Both very reputable stores. Some people have minor issues but they do genuinely work hard. You can pretty much use them as baseline prices - if it costs more, you're paying too much, if it costs less, it's likely a scam.
Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. By using major retailers, whilst you won't get a great deal initially, you can often find a 10% sale for reward card members, 5% back in vouchers on the sale (which buys memory cards etc). and so on. Be careful of open boxes here. It's not unheard of for say a Canon 20D to be bought and then a Digital Rebel to be returned in the box.
Dell - Crazy as it may sound, they do have some great deals. The trick is to use sites like DealMeIn or HotDealsClub to find out when they have a great sale on.
NewEgg - even with an employee discount from working for one of the major manufacturers, NewEgg was within $20, had free shipping, and got it to me fast - which turned out far better than getting it with my discount.
Re:Well Known Scam (Score:3, Informative)
1. advertise low price to attract customers + they have a good reputation
2. see if they can obtain cameras and get a great price based on the huge number of orders
3. cancel order or suggest different camera if they can't fulfill
4. repeat
5. Profits!!!!
In fairness to Amazon I spoke to a customer representative a few times from Amazon who explained that unless they had 24
Nothing like Amazon (Score:5, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
Jewish businesses mostly, not the mob (Score:3, Informative)
better explanation (Score:3, Informative)
Even Better! (Score:5, Interesting)
http://www.pricerunner.com/retailer/14312/reviews [pricerunner.com]
Look through the list, and you can see 70% of the 5 star ratings are almost cut and pasted identical. Spelling errors matched post for post. It's so blatant that the review page has been put on hold while they verify the reviews. No doubt PriceRitePhoto trying to water down the negative feedback to protect their images.
Look for I purchased a Panasonic AG-DVC60 W/Pro Accessory Kit. I was very pleased with there selection of accessories in this kit, I believe I got the best Value for my buck. Also unlike most other internet ordering sites like this I found it very easy to talk to the sales and custumer service people. There was short waiting times on the phone as well as people who were easy to understand and willing to help me with my order from selection to delivery. I would recomend checking out PriceRitePhoto.com before making your next purchace.
Losers, how low can you go? Apparently PRP found an express elevator to ultimate lameness.
C&A Marketing's front door (Score:5, Interesting)
Storefront Photos (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Storefront Photos (Score:3, Insightful)
Do some research especially in forums. While some ratings sites get rigged by the stores, a simple question in a forum will bring response from customers that you can ask questions of. If a crooked store answers on the forum, you generally get a few quick bad responses right after them like where's my money?.
Re:Storefront Photos (Score:3, Informative)
The advantage of social networks (Score:5, Informative)
Look around any photography forum, every time a questions like, "hey, I just saw this camera at an incredible price at this store, is this a good deal?" people always reply with "check out resellerratings.com [resellerratings.com]. How someone so technically and netsocially (for lack of a better term) savvy didn't ask around about this new store they were about to send $3k to is a mystery to me. Heck, a simple google search would've revealed problems.
There are so many tools out there to verify good sellers/companies to do business with. Why do you think B&H [bhphotovideo.com] has so much business, even though its prices aren't rock bottom? They win on service and reliability, again and again. Of course, they're not perfect, but they've never failed me, and 'horror stories' with them are few and far between - especially compared to the volume they do.
Speaking of trust systems: I've had excellent results with ebay - buying from reputable sellers. There are quite a few chinese/hong kong sellers on there with 10-50k transactions and 1-10 negative feedbacks. I don't know *any* brick and mortar stores with those kinds of numbers.
let's take down pricerite! (Score:5, Informative)
Immature!!! (Score:4, Insightful)
Complaints should go through normal channels. A few comments up there was a guy with the opposite perspective. He had an online store and was blown out of the water by a "conspiracy" that likely was due to the competition not liking him. He seemed like a nice guy.
So, what guarantee do you have that Pricerite aren't good guys and all the testimonials you have read are fictious? You would only need maybe 10 fictitious online identities to achieve this.
I think Pricerite probably deserve getting shafted. But not this way!
Sheesh...
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
Pictures of the store in question (Score:4, Informative)
Very classy establishments, all.
http://donwiss.com/pictures/BrooklynStores/ [donwiss.com]
skype them! (Score:5, Informative)
Re:skype them! (Score:4, Informative)
You can use www.tpc.int [tpc.int] allows you to send faxes for free.
Re:fax them! (Score:4, Funny)
Your facsimile job to +18883756700 is delayed in the scheduling queues because:
Blocked by concurrent calls
$100 for chargebacks (Score:5, Informative)
Personally, I look at the T&C of any retailer I make a large purchase from. That's how I spotted the $100 fee for the chargeback.
Essentially, gotchas like that are a clear sign not to do business with someone. If they're that worried about chargebacks or bad feedback that they try to penalize you for either in the T&C or EULA, run far away.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
I did the same thing (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
There's no such thing as a free lunch (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:There's no such thing as a free lunch (Score:4, Insightful)
When you scrape away all of the cruft, you end up with just a clever way of stating the law of causality. Specifically, that anything (a lunch, say) can only exist because of some cause (or set of causes) that made it. Why not say that if that's what you mean?
Otherwise, if I get a coupon for "1 free lunch at McDonald's", should I not redeem it, because TANSTAAFL?
There are plenty of valid, no-strings-attached, "free lunches" (ie: great deals, which is what you mean in this case) out there.
Besides, this wasn't a "free lunch" scenario, it was a scam scenario. Big difference.
I'm also having trouble being massively sympathetic to someone who decided where to buy a multi-thousand dollar camera based solely on price.
This isn't so much about sympathy (although if you can't sympathize with the guy, you might need to have a chest x-ray to verify you, indeed, still have a heart) as it is about exposing a racket for what it is, hopefully shutting it down, and "oh, ain't it cool" that it was us (the digg,
Now ask yourself this, how many "free lunches" did these scum-bags enjoy at the cost of innocent, and possibly naive, people who found a great deal on the web and really didn't know any better? How many people have been truly harmed by this scheme, people who were merely looking to make an honest business transaction?
And you say there's no such thing as a free lunch!
Buy your Camera in California! (Score:4, Informative)
Can't lose with NewEgg either if all you want is a consumer-grade digital camera. Again, in California.
Re:Buy your Camera in California! (Score:3)
They used to have a store in downtown LA, in The Brewery. I'm not sure why they left, but now I live in their former 6,000 square foot space. I still get mail for them on occa
I too was (almost) a victim (Score:5, Interesting)
I was searching for a Canon S400 and found one of these sites offering the camera for $100 less than anything even close. I knew it was too good to be true, so I called on the phone, illegally recording it but I wanted to have proof anyway. I asked specifically 1) was it refurbished (no) 2) was it the US model (yes) and 3) was it the retail version (yes). Okay, I figured I had all my bases covered, so I ordered it.
Warning bells went off when I got a call the next day from a sales rep asking if I wanted to upgrade the battery for only $15 more. Apparently, the battery that came with this model only lasts "30-40 photos" because Canon skimped on it. I was pretty damn sure a company like Canon wouldn't be so stupid, so after asking to call him back (so I could hit record on my answer machine) I asked if the battery that came with the camera was brand new and from Canon. Yes on both counts, so, I told him no thanks, just the camera and the "inferior" battery.
I received the camera and right off the bat I knew why it was $100 cheaper. It was the Japanese model. Basically, these a-holes had someone over in Korea or Taiwan fill up a shipping container with everything and sent it over here to the US. Grey-market. It's cheaper because of difference in currency, but despite being the "same" thing, it's not for two reasons: 1) Packaging...which isn't really important but 2) No US warrantee...which is VERY important. Also, US manufacturers can refuse to service foreign models (though they rarely do). Technically, your warantee is back overseas where the camera came from.
I called them and was told that was why it I was offered a chance to buy a warantee on the website. I pointed out that I paid for the US model, and did not receive it. I was told it was the US model it was just "imported direct from the manufacturer". I told them sorry, no dice, I want to return it. They said they would send me instructions. The instruction? 1) no returns without RMA number and 2) the only way to get an RMA number is to sign a form that you accept a 20% restocking fee. I took one look and called my credit card company.
Big plug here for Chase MasterCard. I have had to dispute six times in the four years I've had the card, and every time they worked FOR me against the merchant and made sure things turned out well. This time was no exception. The Chase rep sent me a simple form, where I checked the box "merchandise was not as advertised". For proof I send a picture of the website showing the model number (PowerShot S400) and the product box I received (IXY 400) Yes, they were the same physical camera, but not what I paid for!
I sent in the dispute and it was approved and I got my money back. Then the fun began! The merchant disputed my dispute, sending in a picture of a US box and saying that was what I received. Chase asked me to send them a different copy of the box, which I easily did. Then Chase informed me that I couldn't keep the product and I would need to return it to the company. I was pretty pissed about the concept of losing even $20 to ship it back to these crooks, but the helpful Chase person pointed out that MasterCard did not care how it went back to the company and suggested COD. (guinness)Brilliant!(/guinness) So, I packed up the camera and sent it COD without an RMA number. Surprise surprise, it was rejected and sent back to me. Yes, I had to pay the shipping both ways. But here's the fun part...I had attempted to return it and that's all Chase needed me to do. I sent in a copy of the shipping form and was issued the final resolution to my dispute: full ref
Something to note about recording (Score:5, Informative)
Depending on the state you are in, it's not always illegal. Many states permit recording so long as one party is aware of it. So you are free to record all phonecalls you make since you are aware of it. The reason call centres warn you is to ensure there aren't any legal problems anywhere.
Check your local laws but it's allowed in a large number of states.
Re:Something to note about recording (Score:5, Informative)
Jackwhispers : Recording Phone Call laws State By State [blogspot.com]
Most dishonest businesses are ignorant of this law
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I too was (almost) a victim (Score:3, Insightful)
Of course, this ends up meaning that I don't do much business with the smaller online retailers unless they operate through EBay (or I happen to hear about them). Hmmm, I suppose that says interesti
Camera shops from Brooklyn, NY (Score:4, Interesting)
I end up buying the camera from a store in South Carolina and there were no problems whatsoever and I had it in few days with everything as advertised. That is when I decided not to ever buy anything online from shops based in Brooklyn, NY. No matter how cheap it seems. I seriously think this matter should be investigated and this shop is just one of many there.
one time CC numbers (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:one time CC numbers (Score:3, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Same experience with ebuyer (Score:3, Interesting)
They've gone worse and worse over the past 18 months, too! Ebuyer is still cheap with loads of goodies and their website is easy to navigate, but I'm sorry to say their customer service is plain shite. Don't shop with ebuyer. If anything goes wrong with your order, don't expect it to be sorted... ever.
They don't do email, just "enotes" (which will take you an hour to send because that particular part of the website is so slow it loses connection all the time) and phone. Phone is expensive, and enotes they read and reply to weeks after... if they feel like it at all. I'm trying to have a conversation with their main man "david" but with weeks between replies, it just seems silly. They operate in the US too (I'm in the UK). Maybe if they piss-off someone enough in the US it'll get ugly. Here, they just hope you'll get bored and give-up, and go away.
My misfortune? I ordered a 120GB seagate drive, received a broken 200GB maxtor covered in finger prints. Difficult to argue "you sent me a drive I did not order and it's broken" when "david" says ebuyer or their warehouses don't do mistakes... Yeah right, do you remember last time you sent me an AGP card when I ordered the PCI version? And that time last year when my order turned-up weeks after chrismas even though I paid extra charge to have it delivered on time? My current problem has been going-on since last summer. I have a feeling I lost the money.
Well, least I can do is warn you not to buy anything from them... and don't trust me, check the other reviews online!
One time card numbers (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:One time card numbers (Score:3, Informative)
A gift card is probably worse than a debit card, because there is no incentive for any company to protect you. The credit card company still wants your business,
Re:One time card numbers (Score:3)
Re:One time card numbers (Score:4, Informative)
I checked Discover's site (the card I have) and it looks like they offer one-time numbers [discovercard.com] as a free service. They have some stupid thing that integrates with IE, but there's also a version that lists "Netscape 6.2.something" as a requirement, so that one might work for all graphical browsers that support Flash 5.0 and up.
Would gift cards be the same thing?
Gift cards are definitely not the same thing and have a few drawbacks besides. You'll have to pay for the gift card with cash or money order, few online vendors even have gift cards (stores like Target and Sears probably don't honor gift cards online), and you can never get a cash refund on a gift card.
I'd shoot the bastards.... (Score:3, Funny)
Virtual CC Numbers = the w1n ! ! ! (Score:3, Interesting)
(Assuming you have a credit card with them) you log on to the website and the program generates a different temporary card number that bills to your regular card. The virtual card has a 1-month expiration date, and only acccepts one single charge (I found that out the first time I tried to use the same virtual account number at three different online retailers--the first one went through, the other later two got rejected. I had to send them each a different virtual number). This way you don't ever need to use your real card number online, and the number you do give is always different, and it can't be charged multiple times,,, or even at all after two months at the most. (prevents logged CC numbers at online retailers from getting hax0red and used later)
There are probably a lot of reasons to not like Citibank, but this is one thing they have done that is very good.
---And of course this would not have prevented the situation from happening, but it certainly cuts down on the possible excess charging that can be done. I don't know what other credit-card companies do it, none of the rest of mine do, but I don't use any other credit-card for online transactions at all anymore.
~
Re:Virtual CC Numbers = the w1n ! ! ! (Score:3, Informative)
If your bank doesn't offer it, ask them about it. Maybe they have it planned, or maybe they decided not to
What a bizarre conversation (Score:3, Interesting)
When someone goes nutz like that over the phone, I've found that just laughing at them seems to work.
Those Bastards (Score:5, Insightful)
To whom it may concern:
I am writing this letter to describe the experiences that I have had with a business called PriceRitePhoto.com. Their address is:1274 49th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11219 and their customer service phone number is (888) 365-4300. I found this business through the PriceGrabber.com website and attempted to purchase a camera from them. However this company was more interested in lying to me and manipulating me than selling me a camera.
I am spending my time and effort in order to inform you of the dirty tactics used by PriceRitePhoto.com with the hope that my story will save other potential customers the headaches and lost sleep that I have endured. The manager of PriceRitePhoto.com has already tried to silence my opinion through bribery and extortion but I think that the potential customers *deserve* to know the business strategies employed by PriceRitePhoto.com before deciding to do business with them.
I understand that I am the kind of customer that PriceRitePhoto.com doesn't want. I am an informed consumer and a comparison shopper. If they had simply been honest with me and told me that they were unwilling to sell me the Canon Digital Rebel camera unless I purchased some other accessories, I would have just found another company from which to purchase this camera. I probably wouldn't have submitted a negative review on PriceGrabber.com - I just would have gone my own way. But what I got instead of honesty were lies and manipulation, and I think these strategies are completely unacceptable for a professional organization and ought to be publicized.
I first read about the Canon Digital Rebel camera more than a year ago, and I instantly wanted one. However I was not able to afford to purchase one until recently. Several months ago I began researching the Digital Rebel and several other cameras in preparation for a purchase. I found the PriceGrabber.com website which offered reviews of many different merchants selling this camera, in addition to their prices. I saw that the various merchants fell into several different strata - about 7 or 8 were in the very lowest price range, from $799 to $850 including shipping. I found a merchant in the middle of this price range with a high rating and mostly positive reviews: PriceRitePhoto.com. I knew that I would also need some other accessories with the camera, and I planned on purchasing a USB 2.0 Compact Flash card reader and a Compact Flash card. I found that PriceRitePhoto.com had a USB 1.0 CF reader for $49, but did not offer a USB 2.0 reader. However Best Buy sold a USB 2.0 reader for $15, so I drove to purchase this item at Best Buy. After some research I decided that the CF card that I wanted was the Lexar 80x 1 gigabyte card. I looked on the PriceRitePhoto.com website but found that this merchant did not offer this card for sale, so instead I purchased it from TigerDirect.com.
So the only item left was the camera. On Thursday, September 16th, 2004 I placed order #7490 from PriceRitePhoto.com for a Canon Digital Rebel camera with 18-55mm EF-S lens for $799 plus $24.80 shipping. I thought I was getting a great deal at this time, but I had no idea what abuse I was in store for.
It began on the following Sunday, September 19th. I received an email at about 11:00 am, stating that I needed to call PriceRitePhoto.com to "confirm the information on your order". This is where the deceptions began, because the real purpose of this phone call was not in fact to verify my order information, but to sell me some additional items. What follows is certainly one of the most unpleasant experiences that I've ever en
Almost happened to me. (Score:4, Interesting)
I got an email the next day asking me to call and confirm my order. WTF? With most online retailers, you confirm the order by, you know, placing the order and entering your payment information. I fired back an email saying 'consider it confirmed.'
2 weeks later, they still haven't touched my credit card for the lens. I call up, navigate through their voicemail (fortunately it's a 1-800 number, so at least they're eating the cost), and talk to the guy who I'm supposed to call. He tries to upsell me a UV filter, because if I'm using it with a digital camera, and I take photos outside, I'll "get a lot of glare off the CCD." Now, I put UV filters on my lenses anyway, just for the sake of keeping crud off the lens while I'm shooting, so I was planning on picking one up anyway. I asked the price, he said $50. $50, for a filter that goes for $10 at any camera shop around here.
I told him forget the filter, just ship the lens. He said okay.
1 week later, they still haven't hit my card. I call back, ask about the order number, now they tell me it's out of stock. This is while I'm looking at their web page, which claims they have it in stock. I told them to just cancel my order, and fortunately they didn't give me any shit over it, I assume because it was only a $109 lens instead of a $3,000 camera.
Lesson learned: never order from a camera shop in Brooklyn.
...anyone ever hear of a chargeback? (Score:3, Insightful)
It's a very simple call or a personal meeting to a manager at your bank stating that someone ripped you off and you would like your money returned to you.
The company has to do a lot to prove the charge was valid. If they actually ripped you off, then they won't go out of their way to dispute the chargeback.
In fact, this works TOO well. One time I ordered a product from overseas - the payment was processed the next day and I received an email saying the package shipped a few days later. Two weeks go by, no package. I contacted their company with emails and calls where they assured me that the package was shipped. I requested proof of a tracking number or receipt for the shipment, but received no response. I became suspicious of the situation, so I charged it back.
Not only did I get my money returned to me, but a few weeks later the product finally happened to arrive. Oops! But hey, they failed to assure me that I wasn't getting ripped off, so I did whatever I had to do to make sure it didn't happen.
People severely underestimate the power of the consumer.
Why are you complaining about the results? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Why are you complaining about the results? (Score:3, Interesting)
You are probably right about the results. But perhaps it is a good time to think about the implications. A blogger - an essentially anonymous individual can deal a whole lot of damage to a company. Could you tell with 100% certainty if he made the whole s
Re:Persuaded? (Score:4, Informative)
Having read (most of) TFA, it was another dissatisfied customer -- not the author of the main article -- who signed this agreement. But yeah, that's just stupid.
Re:I did a deal with an NY store (Score:2, Informative)
Oh no! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:I did a deal with an NY store (Score:3, Informative)
http://www99.shopping.com/xMR-~MRD-306792 [shopping.com]
Re:I did a deal with an NY store (Score:2)
I guess I won't be buying there again.
Re:I did a deal with an NY store (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.resellerratings.com/seller9018.html [resellerratings.com]
Re:I did a deal with an NY store (Score:2, Informative)
Besides for them, the only other company I will deal with now is Calumet Photographic. I've heard good things about Robert's in Indianapolis as well, but I've never had any dealings with them.
Re:I did a deal with an NY store (Score:3, Informative)
But
Re:Pick up the phone and call the bastards! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:bourgeois blogs (Score:3, Interesting)
The reason why is that, particularly armed with the internet, a blog and the resulting social networking, one can do something about being ripped off on a camera purchase.
In contrast, most people feel that, even armed with the internet, a blog and the resulting social networking, one cannot do anything about
Karma at work (Score:5, Insightful)
For whatever reason, this post has caused a flashpoint of activity as anyone who has ever been wronged by a shady New York camera dealer exacts revenge.
Honestly, I expect there's nothing for the people at the company to do now but run the shop under a new name, that one is done.
However I don't think the incidents are as isolated as you think. Just because they often get away with hoodwinking people into buying warranties and overpriced accessories does not mean they should get off scott free even if not everyone complains. They really are getting what they have coming to them. Even the complaints are not that isolated, just look at the horrible ResellerRatings score.
Re:Brightened my day (Score:5, Interesting)
It gets you:
*12.7 megapixels.
*Very high light sensitivity. (ISO 3200 which is about eight better times your average digicam.)
*Low noise(It will look cleaner at ISO 3200 than your average camera at ISO 400.)
*Fast shutter speeds(1/8000th of a second.)
*Interchangable lenses(Let's see you do that for less than $600 new.)
*Filters, polarizers, hoods, and diopters for those lenses.
*Full 35mm size CMOS sensor(for true wide angle shots(think 7mm.)
*Start-up time less than 1/3rd of a second(Your average digicam has about 3-7 seconds start-up.)
*Pro quality and strength flashes.
*Ability to slave multiple flashes(think portrait studio.)
*Ability to control the exposure for HOURS if needed(I've done some neat stuff with long exposures.)
*Remote shutter control.
*Underwater housing.
*Fast focus-to-shot(near instant, better than the half second or more some digicams take.)
*Focus and track moving subjects
*More focus and light metering options(Get that shot right the first time.)
*Shoot 3 frames per second for 60 frames(See the dust fly off the baseball when it's hit.)
I could go on and on. This type of camera is overkill for your average mom wanting to take pictures at Christmas. It's a real tool in the hands of a creative person.
Show me a 12.7 megapixel camera for $290. Hell, show me an 8 megapixel camera for $290 and I'll show you a piece of garbage.
Not everone needs a set of $2,000 cutlery, but you wouldn't give a professional chef a knock off Swiss army knife to do your meal with would you?
High-end cameras, high-priced computers (Score:4, Interesting)
Oh, but you were really talking about high-priced cameras. The high-end stuff usually does cost an order of magnitude more than the pretty good stuff when it first comes out, and if you're a professional photographer it may make sense to buy it. If you need whatever this year's version of really high resolution is, with really perfect optics, really good color definition, high speed, and able to plug in a wide range of professional-quality lenses and similar frobs, yeah, you could spend that kind of money. On the other hand, if you're going to post pictures on a web page, a $99 camera and Photoshop is probably overkill. My general preference is toward the $49 range, e.g. a camera that would be $29 with a couple of features fixed, like removable memory cards instead of built-in, and slightly better batteries and maybe a flash. But I mostly take pictures to remember travel and family get-togethers, and 1024x768 is more than I need.
Re:MOD DOWN ANTI SEMETIC BIGOT (Score:3, Insightful)
You can not really wish to put people in jail for their opinions .
You should work to change those opinions , many people have been indoctrinated with false ideas , we should consider it a mitzvah to help them lose the hatred .
Re:What to do in such situations (Score:4, Insightful)
There is no reason to lie to the credit card company--in a chargeback situation, they'll almost always be on your side because they don't eat the charge, the merchant does. They're much more interested in keeping you happy (the one they make all their money off of, who can drop them in favor of another bank if they don't perform) instead of the merchant, whose only alternative is to stop accepting credit cards--which is no choice at all.
In short: "I am dealing with a scam artist merchant, please initiate a chargeback and issue me a new card number" is a much better approach than "someone stole my credit card and is trying to buy a camera with it."
Re:Sounds like a job for Google Base (Score:3, Informative)
The reason I say to use googlebase instead of a hosted database is that the maintenance is taken care of by google... no worries about some guy hosting the list accidentally killing it or having to take it down for lack of funds to host