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  1. #51
    Ken ksbryan0's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Quote Originally Posted by Logix View Post
    You keep waiting. After my experience I will have NOTHING further to do with Adorama again.

    I will make sure that everyone I know hears of my experience and also never deals with your company again.
    Well, if you're as descriptive with "everyone" as you've been here, no one will listen to you anyhow. Perhaps you don't understand that Helen is one of the good people that actually advocates for customers. She does an excellent job and really does want to help, even jokers like you who throw around accusations without anything to back them up.
    Ken

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  2. #52
    Adorama Camera HelenOster's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Quote Originally Posted by Logix View Post
    You keep waiting. After my experience I will have NOTHING further to do with Adorama again.

    I will make sure that everyone I know hears of my experience and also never deals with your company again.
    You noted above that nothing changes - unless I'm in possession of all the facts there is nothing I can actually do to effect change. So I'd welcome you sharing your experience - if not to me directly, then please do feel free to write about it here.

    If you are unwilling to share the details, I can only conclude that you don't actually want any assistance to resolve the issue - you only really want to take every opportunity to tell everyone that you had a bad experience - but you don't want to elaborate on what exactly it was that was so dreadful.

    I wonder, before the Internet, whether you would have rejected a helping hand from a company representative so harshly?

    Please bear in mind that I am not an Adorama employee - I'm an Independent Consultant retained by Adorama to support customers.

    Whether or not you purchase from Adorama again in the future would not actually affect me personally, however, I feel I wouldn't be doing my job to the best of my abilities if I didn't give you every opportunity to contact me directly, (although you did say earlier, "While I have no complaints about buying from Adorama....")

    Well, if you change your mind, you know where I am: Helen@adorama.com

  3. #53
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    My experience selling to Adorama was by far the worst gear selling experience I have ever had including craigslist. In fact it was the most uncomfortable retail experience I have had with any camera store and likely any store in general. I would gladly choose to deal with Comcast customer service over the Adorama used department. And I have had fine experience purchasing from them in the past, but never again. But from reading this forum there are people who had the opposite experience… I just thought I'd weigh in and try to keep them honest.

  4. #54
    Adorama Camera HelenOster's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    @33films

    I was really so very sorry to read that this was your experience and I would like to understand more about this issue. Can you please email me directly? Helen@adorama.com

  5. #55
    Adorama Camera HelenOster's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Quote Originally Posted by JJfilms View Post
    My experience selling to Adorama was by far the worst gear selling experience .....
    I didn't hear back from you yet - we are keen to find out the source of the problem asap.
    Please email me: Helen@adorama.com

  6. #56
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Thank you Helen for the offer, but I have already had numerous emails with J. Gold and J. Zakon in the used department and I am done doing business with adorama. I'm sure you are great, but I didn't post to the forum trying talk more with adorama. I just wanted to express my experience and hopefully prevent my colleagues form having a similar experience. I have however had great luck both selling and buying on Amazon, Ebay and Craigslist.

  7. #57
    Adorama Camera HelenOster's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Quote Originally Posted by JJfilms View Post
    Thank you Helen for the offer, but I have already had numerous emails with J. Gold and J. Zakon in the used department and I am done doing business with adorama. ....
    I appreciate what you are saying, but unless I can understand more about what caused the problems - apart from the people you mentioned - I'm pretty powerless to do anything about it, to changes processes / procedures etc for the future.
    All I need is your original 'quote' number, please.

    The used department have around 28,000 units in their warehouse at any one ime and are shipping out 1-2,000 items every day. Now, you may feel that your complaint is a drop in the ocean, but I don't view it that way..
    Every customer is important, every experience - good or bad - is relevant.

    PLEASE email or PM me with the transaction number!

  8. #58
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    @Helen

    I sent you an email earlier regarding my photo equipment (for sale) re: Nikon D7100, Nikon AFS 300f4 , Nikon AFS 60f2.8 & Nikon MB-D15. They're on its way for evaluation. These are all in excellent condition, LNIB. All in original packaging with complete accessories when bought new. Hope you can help me out with Adorama's buying price. I'll update everyone on the outcome of this.

  9. #59
    Adorama Camera HelenOster's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Quote Originally Posted by Sednavs View Post
    @Helen

    I sent you an email earlier regarding my photo equipment (for sale) re: Nikon D7100, Nikon AFS 300f4 , Nikon AFS 60f2.8 & Nikon MB-D15. They're on its way for evaluation. These are all in excellent condition, LNIB. All in original packaging with complete accessories when bought new. Hope you can help me out with Adorama's buying price. I'll update everyone on the outcome of this.
    I can't see any emails - what is your actual name?

  10. #60
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Quote Originally Posted by HelenOster View Post
    I can't see any emails - what is your actual name?
    Hi Helen,

    Pardon me, I forgot to include my name in my post here. I'm Sedwin Navarro. Please take note that Al Lafko gave me the quote# but without the price yet. If you want, I can send you again the email I sent you this a.m from my yahoo mail.

  11. #61
    Adorama Camera HelenOster's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Got it now - but can you also email me the quote number plus the tracking # of your package

  12. #62
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Quote Originally Posted by HelenOster View Post
    Got it now - but can you also email me the quote number plus the tracking # of your package
    Thanks Helen. I just sent you an email that I've decided to call off my plan to sell it. Thanks again. You're an asset to Adorama and this site is fantastic.

    Regards,
    Sedwin Navarro

  13. #63
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Adorama used to have my complete trust, which is probably a big part of the problem I had on this first and last time with the used department since every interaction I had before this was fantastic and maybe my expectations were a bit high. Needless to say, after this interaction I'm never using Adorama for anything outside of their print department, as their print prices can't be beat or matched by anyone else yet.

    Here's the breakdown:
    Lens - Nikon 105mm 2.8G bought new summer of 2013 for $900, kept in mint condition

    Quoted $600 for the lens, reasonable price, sent in Apr 30th, arrived to them May 8th, was told to expect a callback 5-7 business days

    I requested this to be expedited on May 12th as I had no idea there could be such a long delay, I got a callback same day(2 business days, fantastic service so far)

    Then quoted by a boiler room type of person(perfect description of the guy from someone else earlier in this thread) that it's retail value was actually $600 and that my 70% would actually be $420(for a $900 lens, that is now $959 new), I regretfully agreed out of shock from the huge change from the friendliness of Charles(the first person I spoke with) to the brashness of Jack, and just wanted the money quickly since my lens was already there, he said they can't do direct deposit to a visa debit card, so I opted for the check, it was sent that day May 12th, did not arrive until May 22nd, and was sent to the wrong address that wasn't even on the used equipment form I filled out. I've never had any checks from my clients in NYC take longer than 3-4 days, including Saturdays sent via regular mail(the 2nd check described later took 8 days including a Saturday - sent May 23rd end of day before long memorial weekend, arrived June 4th).

    In the meantime I see my lens being sold for $849 and $859 on the used dept site, 70% of which is the $600 I was originally quoted. Felt a mistake was made since my phone number and address were screwed up by them. Took several days to get a hold of Jack again, who said that those lenses being sold at $850 were from the manufacturers, and that lenses bought from people like me are sold far cheaper. My lens was definitely in E+ condition, or E condition at the worst. He sends an additional $80 'out of respect and because the lens sold fast'(I had asked if its too late to get the lens back as I hadn't cashed the check yet and would have destroyed it if I could get the lens back), I accept because I feel theres nothing else I can do, but the amount of tries and time it took to just get the total of $500 has destroyed my trust in Adorama, and feel swindled.

    I would have been more alert and cautious if Adorama didn't have my full trust from earlier years of great service, but now I'm only buying new equipment from B&H and amazon, and selling any equipment through craigslist, if I had known it'd take a month to get the lowly $500 then I would have just put the lens on Craigslist and been able to sell it for around $800 given that month long timeframe, and this ordeal took up far more of my time to have to keep emailing and trying to call to get through than if I put it on craigslist, not to mention far more stressful.

    If I had gotten the $600 I was told by Charles in a timely manner it would have been fantastic and I'd have no complaints, that'd be a reasonable amount for the lens so that I wouldn't have to deal with craigslist. But that is not what happened at all and was far more time consuming and stressful than other means of selling used equipment.

    Bottom line, it is not a quick way to get extra money, you will not get a fair price, the guy who makes the final deal is not a pleasant person to talk to at all its almost like a good cop/bad cop switch between the first person you speak with and the closer, and will take a lot of time to resolve any issues, and most likely won't be able to fully resolve any issues.

    I highly recommend anyone thinking to sell their equipment, to do so through craigslist so a fellow photographer benefits rather than having a middle man rip off the seller by giving far less than they claim, then selling the lens for 10-15% less than a brand new one(in the case of my lens average used price of $850 and the current brand new price of the same lens at $959) to someone else.
    Last edited by dcpotter22; 06-05-2014 at 02:58 PM.

  14. #64
    Adorama Camera HelenOster's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Quote Originally Posted by dcpotter22 View Post
    Adorama used to have my complete trust, which is probably a big part of the problem I had on this first and last time with the used department since every interaction I had before this was fantastic and maybe my expectations were a bit high. Needless to say, after this interaction I'm never using Adorama for anything outside of their print department, as their print prices can't be beat or matched by anyone else yet.
    I appreciate your trust in our print department, and previously Adorama as a whole - and understand why this recent transaction has caused you frustration.

    It might help if I explain a bit about how the process of buying and selling works on a day-to-day-basis.

    The used department get upwards of 1,800 pieces sent in for evaluation every week........that's a LOT of used gear (there are around 27-28,000 used pieces in our warehouse right now!) The way the value is established is by using a calculation which takes into account the number of exact same units (of the same grade) in the warehouse at the time of your trade; the average number of that exact same unit in stock over the past 6 months; the average selling price of the unit over the past 6 months and projected decreases in the pre-owned market in the coming months due to new models becoming available. That gives them the ‘value’.

    Then they offer up to 70% of that figure, (to cover shipping, insurance, staffing, advertising, the warranty, warehousing costs AND the boss expects them to turn a profit), but of course, a final figure can only be given once they have had the opportunity to physically appraise gear. They send out a pre-paid shipping label so units can be sent in for a thorough evaluation – fully insured – at no cost to the seller! And as you know, if no price can be agreed, there is the cost of returning the gear to the seller.

    Because of the sheer weight of gear arriving and shipping out every day, they generally need to allow up to 8 days to look over items – especially as at least 2 (and sometimes 3) highly-skilled technicians will need to examine and test pieces, and maybe carry out basic servicing to see if minor issues can be fixed fairly easily.

    Finally – and this is important – the selling prices on the website can only be a ROUGH guide if you are trying to figure out how much the used department might be able to pay you for your gear.
    When new models are released, the overall market tends to soften. Pre-owned units will usually drop in value, but ‘Used’ will still be looking to sell existing pre-owned stock (which may have been warehoused and therefore costing revenue for days, weeks or months) without making too great a loss on the price originally paid out.

    In my personal experience, (and this isn’t an official statement from ‘Used’!) while you will be offered 70% of the current expected selling price unless you are selling a genuine collectors' piece you possibly shouldn't expect to receive more than 55-65% of any prices you see on the website.

    In addition, with such a vast inventory, there really isn't any way for you (or me) to be certain that the unit you saw advertised on the site is exactly the one you sold to Adorama. Some units don't actually ever get posted to the site because individual reps are aware of customers who are waiting for certain items, so they get the heads up as soon as a relevant piece arrives.

    All that being said, I have forwarded your email on to the senior manager responsible for the used department; I’ve asked him to allocate someone to specifically go over the figures you have noted, and double-check whether an error has been made or if there is room for negotiation. BTW negotiation can be a factor if you are trading up, or if you are confident enough to insist that your gear is returned if the offer isn’t raised by an amount you feel is reasonable. But this may not be a route for the faint-hearted! At the end of the day, if there are 40 almost identical units in the warehouse and demand has fallen in relation to supply, they will take you at your word and ship it straight back……

    This was supposed to be a brief note – I hope I haven’t sent you to sleep!

  15. #65
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Quote Originally Posted by HelenOster View Post
    In my personal experience, (and this isn’t an official statement from ‘Used’!) while you will be offered 70% of the current expected selling price unless you are selling a genuine collectors' piece you possibly shouldn't expect to receive more than 55-65% of any prices you see on the website.

    In addition, with such a vast inventory, there really isn't any way for you (or me) to be certain that the unit you saw advertised on the site is exactly the one you sold to Adorama. Some units don't actually ever get posted to the site because individual reps are aware of customers who are waiting for certain items, so they get the heads up as soon as a relevant piece arrives.
    First, thanks Helen for the reply, it is vastly disappointing to have had this experience that has taken up a lot of time and dragged out for far too long. Clearly whoever you spoke to was effective, don't know if it was Jack himself is the senior manager or someone breathing down his neck to follow up because he sent 2 emails this morning and 3 calls. I was at work and I don't take many personal calls there, and definitely wasn't going to speak with him ever again. The first interaction with him was the worst customer service experience I've had in years, I don't even recall having a bad customer service experience from any large company these days as far as their attitude. And it was frustrating that his name pops up in my email and to get 3 phone calls in the span of 4 hours this morning when I wasn't even asking to speak to him. Where was that attentiveness weeks ago??? When I would write him, and not get an email back till a day or so later from someone else, telling me to call him, then I'd call and be put on hold for up to 10 minutes several times, being at work I'm not going to just sit around waiting for him, nor do I expect him to wait for me, so I really don't understand why a simple email correspondence couldn't have been kept up when its 2014 and a 3 hour time difference making it impossible to call after my work day ends.

    The biggest problem again, is that Charles told me $600 for a $900 lens when I bought it last summer(now $959), and that was reasonable to me a MONTH ago, thinking I'd have the money within 10-14 days of sending in the lens. That was unrealistic of me as I made that assumption from just thinking Adorama is large and efficient and would get the money out fast. Then Jack said the $600 was the retail selling price and that I'd get $420, already went over this. While waiting for the check to arrive that was sent to the wrong address, I saw my lens going for $859, exactly 70% of that is $600. I know you say to not use those prices as a guide, but that was too weird of an EXACT coincidence, so when I finally get through to Jack again, he said 'those prices are for lenses from the manufacturers, not for lenses from people, but since your lens sold so fast I'll send you another $80 out of respect' The problem is that I do not believe that for a second, first off $420 isn't even 50% of the the $859 selling price, and its not even 55% of the lower end $800 selling price, where did the $600 being the retail price come from???
    And if it sold so quickly, then it had to have sold for the retail price between $800 to $859, and Charles said adorama gives 70% of the retail price which again $600 is exactly 70% of $859. I had to invest more timeto get just the extra $80 which falls in that 55 to 65% range that I was told nothing about till I first saw it here yesterday. Information had I been given it by Charles would have prevented me from ever sending the lens in in the first place.

    It's false advertising, none of it adds up. If it didn't sell quickly, and is sitting in inventory, then that means Jack lied to try to appease me and not own up to the mistake of sending $420 instead of the $600. So either he was truthful and it did sell fast, which means it had to of sold for the $800 to $859 and I wasn't even sent 50% of the retail value upfront, or he lied and the lens is sitting in inventory like you say happens often, and just didn't own up to the mistake and tried to be appeasing by sending just $80, still far less than what was owed. $600 being exactly 70% of $859 and then Jack saying $600 is just the retail price, is too big of a coincidence and comes off as a big mistake, considering they put my address in wrong and had input the wrong phone number.

    Whats done is done and I take the blame for not being mentally prepared for Jack's demeanor and was a pushover as I should have just said no to Jack on the first call with him, but between the unexpected boiler room high pressure attitude of his towards a customer and the fact I wanted the money for a trip, I just said yes to the lower amount(the money was sent to the wrong address and didn't even arrive in time). I just want to give an accurate representation of how the Used Department actually deals with customers, because I came in trusting and thinking it'd be a smooth experience as Adorama's other departments have been great and always on the customer's side. Charles was a great first impression. Then it goes to Jack and now I will never trust Adorama again. I didn't even do any research on the department like I usually would because it had the Adorama name on it and I just fully trusted it as being on the customer's side. While I won't ever use Adorama again, if I were going to, I'd know to go in mentally ready to deal with a wolf of wall street type person to avoid this whole time consuming, frustrating experience. And again I'm not taking any calls from adorama, I don't expect anything from Adorama, just writing this for other photographers to know that its not faster or easier than craigslist, and that you won't get a reasonable price. I DO NOT want to see Jack's name in my inbox or to speak with him if Adorama decides to follow up any further.

  16. #66
    Adorama Camera HelenOster's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Quote Originally Posted by dcpotter22 View Post
    .....The problem is that I do not believe that for a second, first off $420 isn't even 50% of the the $859 selling price, and its not even 55% of the lower end $800 selling price, where did the $600 being the retail price come from???
    It is 70% of the resale price - not the brand new retail price! Your unit was given an approximate $600 resale price - and 70% of that is $420

    It sold so quickly, because it was priced at $600.

  17. #67
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    My mistake on the terminology, but as I clearly stated in my last message, $959 is the brand new selling price, here is the lens, not able to post links so take out the extra spaces before the .com

    adorama .com/NK10528AFVRU.html

    and right there is a link to the used lenses, 4 of them at $849 in the USED price, again $849 is the USED price. 70% of that is $595, I have a screen cap of when the resale price was $859 which I'm sure is the resale value Charles was looking at because he said I'd get $600 if its in excellent condition and $600 is exactly 70% of $859, and my lens was definitely in E+ condition. It makes no sense the lens would be sold at $600 thats severely underpriced. I understand prices fluctuate some, but not hundreds of dollars. And again the prices are right there in that link, I absolutely am not confusing the brand new retail price for the resale price.

    I don't understand how adorama can say 70% of the resale price goes to me, then use completely different prices after the lens arrives. One of the agencies I sell photos through, ImageBrief, they give 70% of the selling price to the photographer when an image sells, its not 'this image sold for $1000, but actually we're going to give you $500 instead of $700 even tho we advertise paying out 70%, thats just a marketing ploy". I have a charity portion of my business where 70% of profits sold from prints goes to the charity that the photo is associated with so the buyer knows where there money is going and is clearly laid out, these are the production costs, these are the profits, this much always goes to the charity, this much I keep for myself, I don't take the money then make up numbers completely different from whats on the site or change the percentages afterwards saying its actually just maybe 55-65% or less. But adorama clearly does.

    Jack called again today while I was in a dead zone, I didn't want to speak with him again but I'll call in tomorrow because this has just become pathetic.
    Last edited by dcpotter22; 06-08-2014 at 11:08 PM.

  18. #68
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Your experience is not alone Mr Potter, but I opted to have Adorama send my gear back to me at their cost, sorry to hear a rise in your blood pressure, we all learn from our mistakes.....................

    And Helen, It looks like you should get hazardous pay, as it seems all you do is try to put out FIRES!

  19. #69
    Adorama Camera HelenOster's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Quote Originally Posted by dcpotter22 View Post
    .....I have a screen cap of when the resale price was $859 which I'm sure is the resale value Charles was looking at because he said I'd get $600 if its in excellent condition and $600 is exactly 70% of $859, and my lens was definitely in E+ condition. It makes no sense the lens would be sold at $600 thats severely underpriced. I understand prices fluctuate some, but not hundreds of dollars.
    As I said above: "In my personal experience, (and this isn’t an official statement from ‘Used’!) while you will be offered 70% of the current expected selling price unless you are selling a genuine collectors' piece you possibly shouldn't expect to receive more than 55-65% of any prices you see on the website."

    There are two reasons for this:

    1. the selling prices on the website can only be a ROUGH guide if you are trying to figure out how much the used department might be able to pay you for your gear.
    When new models are released, the overall market tends to soften. Pre-owned units will usually drop in value, but ‘Used’ will still be looking to sell existing pre-owned stock (which may have been warehoused and therefore costing revenue for days, weeks or months) without making too great a loss on the price originally paid out.

    2. Many of the units sold via the used department are ex-demo, stock in damaged boxes bought from bankrupt retailers, overstock from distributors, customer returns, and more. These do not fall into the same category as units which have been owned and used for maybe 12 months (or more), and are therefore graded and priced higher.

    Charles will not have based his estimate of resale value pon the prices advertised on the website. As I stated aove, the current estimated resale value is established by using a calculation which takes into account:

    the number of exact same units in the warehouse at the time of your trade
    the average number of that exact same unit in stock over the past 6 months
    the average selling price of the unit over the past 6 months PLUS
    projected decreases in the pre-owned market in the coming months due to new models becoming available.

    I'm not defending the way the figures are arrived at, just trying to clarify the process. At the end of the day, your gear can be shipped back to you, shipping and insurance paid.

    Looking at eBay, there is one for sale advertised as “Excellent used condition” for $551 but on Amazon Amazon.com: Buying Choices: Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens they are going for $815 - $890. In your position I would simply ask for it to be returned and sell it privately.

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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Okay just spoke to Jack, he is sending another $100 to bring my total up to the $600 as I was told by the first person I spoke with before sending in the equipment. Jack was very friendly and much easier to speak with than the first interaction. He also included a $50 credit if I ever purchase something from the department.

    Also this morning, I checked out B&H and KEH, and they both have the online function to look up how much of a payment to expect to receive before sending in the equipment, and turns out their prices were $417 to $444. I hope Adorama is working on developing this tool as well as it would prevent any confusion, and save everyone a ton of time as being told a much higher amount and percentage before sending in the equipment leaves too many chances for miscommunication to occur, leaving a feeling of bait and switch tactics as seems to be the most recurring issue. If I had seen that amount before sending the lens in, I would have seen upfront that its far too low and could easily get 40% more, and up to 100% more through private selling.

  21. #71
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Great Work Potter! I am so happy you got it. Sorry you had to fight so hard to get what was already yours. Your experience was very similar to mine. Jack was the worst I have ever had to deal with... lie after lie. They paid me $150 and then they posted it for $850, then he kept changing the reason why.
    Anyway congrats! I was following your story and I am glad they didn't win.
    If it's ok with you I will use your story as well whenever my colleagues ask me about selling to or buying from adorama?

    Quote Originally Posted by dcpotter22 View Post
    Okay just spoke to Jack, he is sending another $100 to bring my total up to the $600 as I was told by the first person I spoke with before sending in the equipment. Jack was very friendly and much easier to speak with than the first interaction. He also included a $50 credit if I ever purchase something from the department.

    Also this morning, I checked out B&H and KEH, and they both have the online function to look up how much of a payment to expect to receive before sending in the equipment, and turns out their prices were $417 to $444. I hope Adorama is working on developing this tool as well as it would prevent any confusion, and save everyone a ton of time as being told a much higher amount and percentage before sending in the equipment leaves too many chances for miscommunication to occur, leaving a feeling of bait and switch tactics as seems to be the most recurring issue. If I had seen that amount before sending the lens in, I would have seen upfront that its far too low and could easily get 40% more, and up to 100% more through private selling.

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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Sure JJFilms, I mean I think they mean good and are not malicious, but their system is clearly outdated and needs to be updated to avoid the frustration and miscommunications that pop up from time to time, I'm sure thats part of what makes Jack come across as a boiler room type as he was much much better on the final call and I'm sure thats how he usually conducts business as this thread being 2 years old and only 3 pages long is pretty good for the first google result when searching 'adorama used department complaints'.

    What they need to do is follow their competition. Their 2 biggest competitors give the actual price ONLINE without even having to send equipment in. I never even knew KEH existed until yesterday when I was looking up how other sites handle used gear. It was a shock to see the competition utilizing a far more convenient and straight forward online quote system, you can't argue with a price put right there in front of you. No percentages of resale values to be confused...just one, unmistakable price.

    If Adorama had that tool I'd have known immediately that it'd be the wrong path to take in selling the lens, and would have just put it on craigslist and if I didn't get at least $600 within a couple weeks of posting, I'd have just kept the lens as I only wanted the money for extra spending cash on a trip. The initial $420 from adorama didn't even arrive in time since it was sent to the wrong address which set me off on this whole tirade, with coincidences making it seem like a bait and switch.

    It wasn't till I discovered KEH yesterday and their more detailed listings made me realize that some of my accusations were in fact just coincidental. Adorama has had no identical lenses for less than $800 as far as I've seen, making me think that was the selling price of my lens and that I was not getting 70% of it as the first price I saw was $859 which is $600, the amount I was told I'd recieve, just a coincidence, but theres no mention of them being refurbished/from the manufacturer so in my mind, I was not getting 70% of the resale value. KEH had identical lenses clearly listed as refurbished at $800, and then cheaper ones as low as $665, that made me realize that the lenses from people are indeed sold far cheaper. So for that I'm apologetic, but at the same time, this entire ordeal would have been avoided if adorama never said $600 in the first call and just had a simple and straight forward online quote tool like B&H and KEH do.

  23. #73
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Well its been 10 full business days since June 9th when Jack supposedly sent the final $100, and no check has arrived. So, definitely done with Adorama, using B&H, KEH, or Amazon for any equipment purchases, and testing other print places as I'm done with Adorama, they don't keep up with their competition as I used to think before discovering how B&H and KEH handle used equipment(actually give an online quote immediately, no ambiguous prices). Anyone selling to adorama, check KEH first to get an immediate quote, and if you still use adorama, know it'll take a month to get any money back, and now over 2 months to fully resolve any issues.

  24. #74
    Adorama Camera HelenOster's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Quote Originally Posted by dcpotter22 View Post
    Well its been 10 full business days since June 9th when Jack supposedly sent the final $100, and no check has arrived. So, definitely done with Adorama, using B&H, KEH, or Amazon for any equipment purchases, and testing other print places as I'm done with Adorama, they don't keep up with their competition as I used to think before discovering how B&H and KEH handle used equipment(actually give an online quote immediately, no ambiguous prices). Anyone selling to adorama, check KEH first to get an immediate quote, and if you still use adorama, know it'll take a month to get any money back, and now over 2 months to fully resolve any issues.
    Did you mislay my email address? I can't seem to find anything in my inbox advising me of this.

    Please understand, Jack does not either personally write the checks himself, nor does he personally deliver them.
    He is merely a small cog in the machine. He sent a request to the accounts department to raise a check on June 9; it will then have needed to be signed by a senior manager, and mailed.

    I assume you would like me to check with the accounts department whether the check was definitely mailed? If it was, then I can have the check cancelled and a replacement raised, as common sense would indicate that it is lost in the postal system.

    If you would like me to take any action, please email me: Helen@adorama.com

  25. #75
    Adorama Camera HelenOster's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone ever sell gear to Adorama?

    Quote Originally Posted by dcpotter22 View Post
    ...........this entire ordeal would have been avoided if adorama ....just had a simple and straight forward online quote tool like B&H and KEH do.
    Adorama DOES in fact have that tool: https://www.adorama.com/pages/usedQuote

    However, as I am sure you will appreciate, that can ONLY result in an estimate of resale value until the item(s) have been examined.

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