Broadway Photo RipOff

[K68NY1mm]

My story regarding Broadway Photo (doing business as Millennium Camera and others) is not important. After a while they all sound the same. Here's the important information, including the names of the owners and physical addresses. See this webpage -

http://www.sheddingsomelight.com/buy...s-bwayfam.html

The owners are Albert Houllou and Marvin Schwartz.

The two main physical addresses are -

2922 Avenue L, Brooklyn, NY 11210

and 337 East 89th St., Brooklyn NY 11236.

[gellithy]

I wish I came across this forum before I had my bad experience with Broadway Photo. After three frusterating calls, 2 failed orders, and more than two hours on hold, in addition to rudness and pathetic attempts to rip me off, I thught these guys can not be respectful sellers, they must be thieves or crooks.

I totally agree that they need to be put out of business. I'm amazed that they're still operating when the first compainet about them (on this forum) was in 2005. I'm planning to file a complaint with the BBB

[geosch]

Only want to say that I just saw Broadway's ad with unbelievable prices in Outdoor Photographer mag and that it is hard to believe that
- they still (try to) pull this scam, and
- that reputable mags like OP still accept this kind of advertising.

In fact,I tried to email OP and complain, but their Contact Info only shows snail mail, no e-mail, or phone #. Makes one wonder....

[mhl]

Yes, Broadway Photo continues to pursue dishonest and duplicitous sales policies. They have a policy of not completing an internet sale without first telephoning the buyer to sell him additional goods and services or practicing "bait and switch" techniques. Even worse, they tell customers that the items they ordered are from the grey market without either any warranties and or English language instructions. Of course, they then offer US market items for far higher prices. Steer clear of this company; they deserve to go bankrupt!

[kitjv]

I will join the chorus of duped consumers. Same experience as everyone else. Ordered camera, received unsolicited phone call to sell warranty & add'l products, received email that item as backordered, dead website links to cancel my order, excessively long hold times on the phone, rude customer service rep.

I did cancel my order by phone & requested an email confirmation. I also called my credit card company to cancel any charges that Broadway might have made.

BTW, I ended up buying the same item from B&H at the same price with a U.S. warranty as well.

Caveat emptor!!!

[johnlh]

9-5-08 Sure wish I had read this thread before ordering from Broadway this week. I ordered a Canon camera. I thought I was home free when 24 hours had passed and I had not received the dreaded phone call from Broadway with the usual spill: They said I needed to pay more for a USA made camera, the battery that came with it lasted only for 20 minutes so I needed to buy one of theirs. I also needed a 1 Gig card for $50, I needed a case, blah blah blah. I could not get the guy off the phone. I had sent them an email yesterday stating I just wanted the camera at the advertised $225 price and the free shipping. They then said my shipping address was different from my billing address on my credit card. I advised him I had an alternate shipping address on file with Bank of America my credit card provider and if he could not ship my camera today to cancel the order. I was thinking about reporting all this to the Better Business Bureau or the NYC Attorney General but on second thought I could not really say they had done anything illegal. They must torture their salesmen who do not upgrade all sales as these are the most persistent guys I have ever dealt with. My Camera should arrive Monday or Tuesday at the latest so I am some kind of idiot. If it is not what I expect or I have not received it by Tuesday I will cancel the sale and notify my CC company. These guys seem to work within the law and expect they send you what you order but their tactics are better than our military tactics. What an outfit. On some sites that list sellers of products and prices, Broadway is shown as a very good company. I always tell my friends that saving a few bucks on a product or service is not always the best deal. I need to follow my own advice. For only $25 more I could have ordered it from Amazon and had it in my hands tomorrow and know I got what I ordered and if I did not like it I could send it back for an immediate refund. What was it P.T. Barnum said? "A sucker is born every minute"?

[bwhalen]

Broadway Photo is still in RIP business. I sure wish I would have read this forum before ordering a Canon ZR 950 from Broadway Photo. Save yourself some trouble.

[Equinesweetpea]

I am new to the board, but just like many of you, I too have been ripped off by these people. I will not get into my story right now, but I do want to encourage anyone that has been scammed by these people to send your story to John Stossel (20/20) at ABC news. I have sent my story in and I hope that with the help of people like you, we can get our story on National News. EVERYONE should know about this and companies like them that are taking advantage of hard working Americans and stealing our money.

[Fred Drosten]

I purchased a Fuji S100FS from Broadway in mid-September 2008. I added a fish-eye lens, a cleaning kit, an extra battery, and a polarizer. When I got the camera, a bill was attached which had soared to $1,250 and no fish-eye lens. The lens was supposed to be $369 but when they reluctantly sent me one subsequently, it was a Merkury .72mm lens (not a fish-eye) worth $50. The $1,250 total cost was --in my estimation-- twice the value I received from Broadway.

[ganap0627]

I agree. Broadway Photo is a RipOff and unpleasant company to be dealing with. I was excited about the new Nikon D90. I looked online and tried to find the best price. Who wouldn't want to buy a camera for a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than the big names like Amazon or Best Buy. So I called in to order and they gave some speal about the battery only lasting 15 minutes and recommended to purchase the lifelong battery as well as 3 year warranty. The total came out to be well over $1,600. So you'd expect paying that much for the camera you'd get it the next day. A week went by and no camera. I called in and they said that there were many orders for the Nikon D90 so I had to wait till the end of the. Another week goes by. Nothing. After doing some research and reading reviews about the company to my dismay there were several negative reviews about the company and people with similar experiences. So I call to cancel. The said that the cameras were not in yet until next week and that you would find no one that would have the camera. To be nice, they offered to take $50 off the order. So I got swindled and decided ok I'll wait. After hanging up and thinking about it I checked out other sites that had them available. So holding strong, I call again to cancel. I wait 10 minutes finally get connected and the guy started to get angry and rude to me. I asked him kindly that I wanted to cancel and I was frustrated waiting two weeks on my order. Please cancel. They guy turned around and said I was rude..... I said I was unsatisfied with the customer service and reflected that I read several bad reviews online about them. I finally got him to cancel.

... Moral of the story, do your research when buying online especially when the price is cheaper. I'm all for getting a good deal when you purchase a product that is expensive. There are places that post good reviews as well as bad. When you find that most are bad your gut instinct will tell you that the place is seedy. I learned my lesson. Neh to broadway.

[stier0000]

Thanks to all of you – I was lucky!

I just ordered a camera at Broadwayphoto.com and I also received the mail that I have to call them. The salesman tried to sell me some overpriced stuff additional to the camera, but I declined. Then he told me, I ordered the Japanese version, but he can offer me the US version (US warranty and more accessories) for “only” 70$ more. I still can not believe – I said yes. Afterwards I browsed the internet and find out, the new price was more than bad and he lied about the accessories. And I also found this thread! So I called them again to cancel the order and the guy very rude complained, that I’m wasting his time!

Finally I was lucky, thanks again. Fact: Next time I do the research before I order.

[jdlo]

The story repeats, first in stock then is not, customer service is rude and a bunch of liers. DO NOT USE THIS SITE>! Wish it could be reported for their illicit and deceptive marketing tactics at least.

My story regarding Broadway Photo (doing business as Millennium Camera and others) is not important. After a while they all sound the same. Here's the important information, including the names of the owners and physical addresses. See this webpage -

http://www.sheddingsomelight.com/buy...s-bwayfam.html

The owners are Albert Houllou and Marvin Schwartz.

The two main physical addresses are -

2922 Avenue L, Brooklyn, NY 11210

and 337 East 89th St., Brooklyn NY 11236.

[Rober]

the old saying rings true. if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. i ordered a pentax k200 with a 2 lens pkg for $577.00. next day i get a call saying i nedd a $150.00 or a $200.00 battery packwhen i told the rep it was not needed he insisted it was. i told him i call him back. checked locally & confirmed that not only was the battery pack not needed but one did not even exist. called back & told him to ship the camera w/o the battery pack so he switches tactics. i had ordered an higher capacity memory card. he says the one i ordered won't work & suggest another at 3X the price. i tell him to ship the camera only & scratch the memory card order. he then asks do i want the U.S or japanese warranty. i reply U.S. & the price suddenly jumps to $577.00. I canceled the order. after reading this i also canceled my credit card. i ordered the same camera thru dell with a company discount for $629.00 with one lens.

[coondog]

My limited experience with them is mixed. I bought a canon G7 from them and had to "call and verify address" and had to listen to a sales pitch about the battery only lasting 20 minutes. (luckily i already did the research and knew this wasn't true). i simply asked if the camera is new and in the original packaging. The sales person said yes so i declined the additional battery. I do recall a sarcastic O-K! But the camera shipped in a matter of hours and made it the better part of the way across the country before it was destroyed by UPS. After the whole UPS messup i recieved the camera in perfect condition.
A couple months later i was shopping for a G9 and called them first because they were somewhat nice the first time i dealt with them, and the G9 was a great price and IN STOCK on their website. Tried to order it and discovered that it was actually on backorder. So their website does list things in stock that they do not, in fact, have in stock.

[Rober]

i filed a complaint with NYC dept of consumer affairs. they replied that they were the wrong agency & said i should contact the fedreal trade commission. here's the e-mail text.

Dear Consumer:
Thank you for contacting the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). We carefully reviewed your email of 9/29/08We found that we are not the correct agency to assist you. For further assistance, you may contact the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov; 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20580; and toll-free (877) 382-4357.
and/or the:FCC at (888) 225-5322 or by mail at Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554.

i wonder why they have no interest in a local scam artist.

[mmcho]

I think Google & Yahoo should be culpable here they send untold thousands of unknowing consumers. When we search for these items those companies make millions from unscrupulous vendors while we put our trust and good faith based on their recommendations.

[M3CRAZZZY]

dang i was about to buy a lense from them....i googled their name cuz i didnt remembered the website but i knew it was broadway something then this thread popped up and i started reading....thnks guys

[Rober]

even after the camera fiasco i've thought about ordering a lens to see whatwould happen,

[kosa1022]

well i found a great way to teach these guys a lesson-google will charge them 10 cents everytime we click their link, type nikon d90 in google search and you will get broadway photo link along with several cheap price sites which are bait and switch. Click on those links and use backspace (SHORTCUT FOR GO TO PREVIOUS PAGE IN FIREFOX) to go back to google search result and click on those links again , do this 100 times and you just made google charge these guys $10.00, if every one who got a bad experience from these guys does this we can get them bankrupt pretty soon and we wont be having bait and switch headaches

[suzannea]

Yeah, I have just been ripped off from BROADWAY PHOTO too. :cryin: Ordered a camera, and they shipped me two items that were unauthorized, doubling the initial cost! And of course, they will charge me almost $100 to return it. These guys have a real scam going. Wish I knew about they one week ago. Don't go there!

[suzannea]

Has anyone ever gotten their money back from BROADWAY PHOTO, RIP OFFS? Has anyone submitted a report to the BBB, Better Business Bureau?

[peggyfolkstaylor]

today i tried to buy a nikon s60 camera from broadwayphoto.com. before i could purchase it, i had to speak to a sales person. he informed me i would need another battery because the one that comes with it only lasts 20 mins. i also needed a "special" memory card, because a regular one would not work. he said the memory card that comes with it only holds 4 pictures. when all was said and done my total went from a $279 camera to over $700. i tried to cancel this order because it was over my budget. i was told my credit was approved and they planned on shipping it out today.i told him to cancel it less than 5 hours after the original transaction. it was still sitting on the counter i was told.but it could not be cancelled. after alot of talk i was told i still might have to pay a restocking fee of 15%. their website says 5%. stay away from this place. they are shady and cant be trusted.

[jgReporter001]

I can assure that BroadwayPhoto is a "bait and Switch" company. Please do a google before you buy. My story is this:

I placed an order for a "Sony Cybershot DSC-W130, 8.1 Megapixel, 4x Optical/2x Digital Zoom, Digital Camera (Silver)" for $133.50.
Two days after I ordered I got an email stating that I needed to call them to confirm the order.

I called them and the "Service Rep" started to offer me batteries, memory, cables, etc which I rejected. Telling him that this was a gift for member of my family and I wouldn’t pay for any extras.

After that, I told him that I only wanted to have the same exact model they were advertising in their website.

Immediately, the "Service Rep" changed his tone of voice and started being very rude to me and told me that I wouldn't even understand anything in Japanese, because this was the model they were selling. He told me to buy the USA version instead, obviously with a high different price.

Thus, I told him I was not agreeing with that and he canceled my order.

My question to the community is how come our authorities allow this to happen? I don't think I'm the first one going through this. How come this kind of companies only wastes our time and money?

Also some other points to highlight:
• How come a Japanese version of the same product is cheaper than USA version. They don't pay import taxes?
• How come when I received the email notification with the order, they don't specify the price of the product? There might be some rules of commerce not being followed at all, maybe.
• How come when I provided with my CC information the asked for my CVV and after 2 days they could process the transaction. It illegal to store the CVV in any database. I'm wondering how they are doing this.
• I was totally mis-leaded by everyprice.com where they put this company as “trusted seller” and with more than 5,000 reviews. I think the numbers of stars are wrong and need to be seriously reviewed.

I’m changing my CC number just to be safe and please stay away from this company. That is my recommendation.

[suckeredincolorado]

STAY AWAY from this outfit and their affiliates!! Unfortunately I also got swindled by Broadway Photo and took the time to sign up for this site to warn others that they are still BAD NEWS. Like so many others, I wish I had checked this company out more carefully. I ordered a camera online last week and received the email asking me to confirm--as I've been learning more about them I've discovered that even if I hadn't called, they probably would have called me. They convinced me I needed an extra long-life battery and charger. The sales rep did it all so quickly, saying that I'd get two batteries and the charger as part of a package in their holiday catalog (which never materialized, by the way) and save money over buying the add-ons separately. This is my first SLR, I didn't know!! He gave me "discounts" as I was agreeing to each item, but somehow the total at the end seemed like much more, and it was, basically double the price of the camera. When I tried to find these items online after the "better deal package" arrived, it turned out they are probably $10 and $20 items. To make it worse, a long-life battery and wall charger was also included in the box with the camera, so I didn't really need them after all. Speaking of the camera itself, they Japanese "version" is what arrived--not what was in the picture on their site. When I opened the box and saw what was there I knew I'd been suckered. So nothing is what they promised. What really stinks is their site is made out to look reputable--complete with 4-star "ratings" which I've come to find out are actually false, probably just invented by these scammers to fool people like me! Oh, and by the way, they also claim to offer free shipping. They charged me a $39 "handling" fee. Right now I am trying to return the whole thing and they are trying to charge me the infamous 15% "restocking fee." The funny thing is, since I've refused to sign their confirmation agreeing to this, they're now calling back and offering to increase the amount by $30. I'm planning on contacting my bank, the Office of the NY Atty. General, the post office, FTC, etc. Not to mention posting on as many review sites as I can find.

[TeddyBearLover]

I just placed an order with Broadway Photo for Sony Alpha DSLR-A300, and received a call to verify. Mike was the person calling and he started to tell me the battery only lasted 20 min, that the model I ordered was in Japanese, and there were loads of add-on items I would need to actually get what I wanted. I asked him to point out on their website where any of that was mentioned, but he put me on hold then came back 5-10 min later and was extremely rude. For $29 more I could buy an English version. I again asked where does it say on your site that this is a Japanese version??? He completely ignored the question and said well I can send you what you ordered if you want, that isn't a problem. I again pointed out to him that it does not say anywhere on their site this is a Japanese version so if it isn't in English then I don't want it and I won't pay any additional charges at all. Mike said no problem you can go and buy it somewhere else for over $700 and we will cancel the order. I took him up on his offer and said great cancel the order and I will notify the my credit card company to not accept any charges. He quickly hung up the phone. This place is really a rip off and if there is any way to report them I would certainly like to know a contact person and address.