Photo store to avoid - Broadway Photo

tbarker13

tbarker13

shooter of stuff
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So I'm sure I'm not the first to run into a NY company called Broadway Photo (www.bwayphoto.com). What a nightmare.
I'm in the process of buying a Pentax K10D. Found a good price for one there. I ordered it on Friday.
Today I got an email asking me to call and confirm my order.
When I called, it quickly became apparent that this is little more than a bait and switch scam targeting novice shoppers..

Among other things, the guy insisted that the K10D only uses a "new" style SD card. Fortunately he happened to have one at a special promotional rate of around $100.
Then he wanted to know if I wanted the U.S. or Japanese version of the camera. Seems that I could have the U.S. version, with a manual written in English, for only $130 more.
Oh yeah, he also wanted to cut me a deal on a battery (saying the battery that comes with the camera lasts for only a dozen shots). He could get me one of those for about $100 as well.

What a joke.
 
Ok, now this is a bit frustrating. Why did this thread get moved to the feedback forum? I think each of the other 13 threads in this seldom-visited area has to do with comments about the RF Site.
My tale has absolutely nothing to do with the RF Forum, and that really needs to be clear.

I've just gone back through the General Interest forum and there are plenty of posts about experiences with stores, ebay sellers, etc. If those can go there, I don't see why this one can't.
 
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tbarker13 said:
Ok, now this is a bit frustrating. Why did this thread get moved to the feedback forum? I think each of the other 13 threads in this seldom-visited area has to do with comments about the RF Site.
My tale has absolutely nothing to do with the RF Forum, and that really needs to be clear.

I've just gone back through the General Interest forum and there are plenty of posts about experiences with stores, ebay sellers, etc. If those can go there, I don't see why this one can't.
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I don't know either, but the only places in NY where I would buy stuff are B&H or Adorama. Too many of the others are as you described.

And I don't know why it was moved here, but while we're at it, I might as well say your Canon P transaction with me was great, and if you had a lens for it I'd but it in a heartbeat.

Good luck with the Pentax, I have a Samsung GX-1s, and it's a great camera.
 
resellerratings

You never know how much padding goes on for these type of ratings, but if a place stinks you can usually smell it. You can also find the many names they use for there stores. If you can cancel the order, cool. I'd think about changing my card number too.......
 
Ted, it was easy to break into your network after you loaded one of my emails the other day. I can tell you how to block it next time we meet for beer. If anyone wants to check out what's on Ted's harddrive send me a pm.
 
Yeah, this was definitely a case of jumping on a price without researching the company.
It would have been amusing if not for that fact that I'm sure there are lots of people out there who fall for their high-pressure scare tactics.
 
TriState Cameras is another bad one to watch out for. I second Al's recommendations of B&H and Adorama, in that order, and I would also recommend Calumet Photo. K.E.H. is the best for used gear. It sounds like you stopped the process before you got burned, which is great.
 
I can also attest to Tri-state camera. They are horrible rip-off artists. Huge scammers. I'll never deal with them again.
 
Al Patterson said:
I don't know either, but the only places in NY where I would buy stuff are B&H or Adorama. Too many of the others are as you described.

And I don't know why it was moved here, but while we're at it, I might as well say your Canon P transaction with me was great, and if you had a lens for it I'd but it in a heartbeat.

Good luck with the Pentax, I have a Samsung GX-1s, and it's a great camera.
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Photovillage is a straight up shop.
 
The next time Broadway Photo pulls a stunt like that on you, say to them very seriously on the phone:

"Rabbi Hillel said, "What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your fellow man. That is the whole Torah; the rest is just commentary. Go and study it.""

Then I would tell them very seriously that what they are doing is fomenting anti-semitism, disgusting, and setting the stage for pogroms in America. It is not OK to cheat the goyim, no matter how gullible they are.

I'd be interested in if they just hang up or they have some rationalization.
 
Well, I'm a non-religious Jew and I find it disgusting that these guys do this persistently and prey on the public at large.

It's exactly this kind of behavior that leads to the widespread perception that Jews can't be trusted and are dangerous, even if they are a tiny minority.

What they do is not incompetence, it's a carefully cultivated "business" tactic.

When the climate turns anti-Semitic, these will be the first people to cry foul. They should be ashamed of themselves, and they seriously harm the majority by turning public opinion in a severely negative way.
 
M. Valdemar said:
Well, I'm a non-religious Jew and I find it disgusting that these guys do this persistently and prey on the public at large.

It's exactly this kind of behavior that leads to the widespread perception that Jews can't be trusted and are dangerous, even if they are a tiny minority.

What they do is not incompetence, it's a carefully cultivated "business" tactic.

When the climate turns anti-Semitic, these will be the first people to cry foul. They should be ashamed of themselves, and they seriously harm the majority by turning public opinion in a severely negative way.
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I agree. As a Jew I cringe if I see or hear of rip off artists who have a Jewish name. Its an invitation to anti-semitism and casts an unnecessary and unwarranted shadow on our people.
In reality though, this is not about being Jewish. Its about being miserable "pr*cks" who deserves to have the book thrown at them.
 
Whenever you're thinking of dealing with a photo store you don't know in NYC, check donwiss.com 's New York photo dealer storefronts gallery--

http://www.donwiss.com/pictures/BrooklynStores/h0006.htm

There are a number of smaller shops that are legitimate (like PhotoGizzmo, Lens and Repro, Tamarkin, Fotocare, and others) apart from the big places like B&H, Adorama, and Calumet, but there are many that are just UPS boxes or appliance stores that advertise photo products on the side or bait-and-switch operations at worst.
 
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