Online Electronics Stores Caught in Consumer Fraud

[JohnTF]

Solar Powered Clothes Dryer

Solar Powered Clothes Dryer

My personal favorite was the Solar Powered Clothed Dryer.

It came in a nice box, -- was a clothes line and some pins.

I had problems with these guys way back, but they were smart enough to just come in perhaps $50 cheaper, but wanted more money for parts of the camera they claimed were extra, e.g. a $100 case, or they were pure bait and switch, you ordered something, they shipped something else and charged more.

Actually, any fraud should be prosecuted. Hell with them.

Pull their ads.

Am guessing they will pop up under a new name though.

Regards, John

 

[WDPictures]

My recommended storefronts (in no particular order):
PopFlash
CameraQuest
PhotoVillage
BH Photo
Adorama
KEH
RFF Classifieds
Amazon

That would be similar to mine. I'd add a few places like Samy's in CA and Calumet, but wouldn't suggest any deletions...

I would also recommend Freestyle Photographic Supplies...

 

[1948nikon]

Sunshine Electronics

Sunshine Electronics

I wonder how much longer before they crack down on these guys?

 

[JohnTF]

I wonder how much longer before they crack down on these guys?

I think this is the origin of the cliche of nailing jello to a tree?

 

[Krosya]

Whats more amazing is that while it was pretty well known for years what these stores were doing, our dear and "respectable" photo magazines, like Pop Photo, American Photo, Shutterbug, etc kept advertising them and NEVER warned their readers about such things. Anything for a mighty dollar, huh? But than again, they get paid for ads, reviewers get paid for reviews, get free equipment, so why would any of them care about the consumer?

 

[Eric T]

My rule of thumb on this is: a) if the seller demands to have your daytime phone number prior to placing your order; and b) if the prices are just too low to believe - then be suspicious.
There are plenty of very good vendors to use: CameraQuest, B&H, Adorama, PopFlash, Calumet, etc., as others have mentioned.
We just don't need those bottom feeders who call you and tell you that a battery in not included with the camera and it costs and extra $300. Or you have to buy the battery charger because it is not included. It is just highway robbery.
These bad dealers prey on those with little knowledge. It is very sad that people think they can have a sustainable business model by treating people this way.

 

[George S.]

I don't exactly know how it were in days of film gear - if one could not leap for top brands, they got topmodel from second or third tier manufacturers or tried for cheapest model, though from first tier manufacturers?

They did the same things in the film days. If a camera body came with a strap or batteries, or a case, these guys would remove them from the box and tell you things like - " You'll need a battery and that is $13 extra." And a UV filter was necessary for good image quality and that filter would be an additional $35...

If it was a body and lens combo, they'd substitute the F2 lens with a F3.5 version and charge you $100 or more to "upgrade to the better lens."

Or they'd say they just today sold out of the kit lens but they'll offer you a $200 value "better lens"[which it wasn't] anyway for another $100.

Oh, and the warranty would only be good if you sent the camera to Japan, so you'd have to buy the US warranty for another $50...

 

[Tuolumne]

Whats more amazing is that while it was pretty well known for years what these stores were doing, our dear and "respectable" photo magazines, like Pop Photo, American Photo, Shutterbug, etc kept advertising them and NEVER warned their readers about such things. Anything for a mighty dollar, huh? But than again, they get paid for ads, reviewers get paid for reviews, get free equipment, so why would any of them care about the consumer?

Everyone has their hand in your pocket. Everyone. It's your job to keep them out. My pocket book is now closed to all blandishments. I'm using what I've got. Nothing else comes in the door...well, there are these two new m4/3rds lenses I "need"...:bang:😀

/T

 

[JohnTF]

No one wants to be cheated, either by paying way too much, or through fraud.

There are some places I suppose to cut corners, and some deals are deals, others are lessons, some more expensive than others. I have a few lessons lying about the house, probably needing to go in to the trash.

An experienced photo dealer of many years bought a "Nazi" Leica on ebay, and is now waiting for the next guy to buy it.

A well known local store is selling name items at competitive prices, but if you have a problem, they are no longer helping out with the manufacturer, so why buy locally from them? And, they are marking up accessories up to 10x, so they have become what some of the mail order places some times are. A friend bought a p&s from them, the battery died in a few months, and they wanted $50 to order a battery for a Casio, and made him feel like an idiot for asking that a battery last longer than a month or two. Sometimes they are very good.

Another store in Kent, 35 miles away, just asked him to send the battery and got the salesman to exchange it. Service, why you stick with some people and avoid others.


It may be a bit like Vegas, everyone knows, but they still go there. Hopefully we remember the sweet deals longer than the others.

I might post an ad here and give away a number of mistakes to someone who might fix them, but then I would have to admit how stupid I was to buy them in the first place. ;-)

Anyone got a self timer lever and a rewind knob for a black Nikkormat? Hard to see those missing/broken in bad pictures. ;-)

Regards, John

 

[shayallen]

Nice!

Nice!

I almost got caught by sonic! I had to go and get my bank card turned off for a few days!

 

[Oscar Levant]

The margins on new cameras are so cutthroat that most retailers couldn't survive if they didn't make a profit on the accessories.

If you go to Amazon, when you buy a camera, they "suggest" to you another battery, a case, a camera bag, extra memory cards, etc. That's where the markup is, and they need to maintain those sales to make a real profit, whereas when they sell the camera alone they may literally be making pennies or even selling as a loss leader.

Same thing on eBay where people see these silly "bundles" where they throw in garbage lens cleaning kits, tripods, filters, you name it, but the naive buyer thinks he is getting hundreds of dollars worth of "extras" for a low price when he buys a camera.

Except for my Nikon D700, I don't think I've bought a "new" camera in 35 years. I always buy used and wheel and deal.

* My D700 is now in Nikon warranty repair. First Nikon I ever needed fixed. It developed a spontaneous crack in the plastic body with NO abuse, and is wildly overexposing. But when it works it is the best digital camera I have ever owned.