EBay and J&K Cameras

[shades_edge]

Good Morning All,

I tried to read as many of the postings as possible looking for info on J&K Cameras. They are a seller on Ebay, and while they are not the cheapest, their deal on a Canon 5d with L lens is pretty good. Does anyone have any experience with them? I have learned a ton here already about the ones NOT to buy from, and I am thankful for all the info.

Thanks in advance for any input.

[earlyboomer]

A picture truly is worth a thousand words. The following link will take you to a website where a great guy has painstakingly bicycled around New York city and taken photos of all of these scam artist discount camera houses. It will definitely open your eyes about what is going on! Most if not all of them are phony addresses, fake storefronts or mail box operations. Scroll down to find J&K which also operates under many other names. The high positive feedback rating of J&K remains a mystery .


http://donwiss.com/pictures/BrooklynStores/

[Jumpseat]

I have bought from a store named “Cameta Camera” on eBay several times and will do so again with no concern. When I have used them they had very reasonable prices on the items I was looking for. Besides they send a nice little baggie of candy with your order. Here is their eBay store address:

http://stores.ebay.com/Cameta-Camera...Q3amesstQQtZkm


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[Frog]

J&K has high ratings but you'll notice they are not "Authorized Dealers". You won't get a manufacturer warranty and will receive a gray market camera. It may be just as good but won't have manurfacturer warranty.
I bought from Cameta, also, and would do so again. Several other ebay sites are authorized dealers.

[Vivelapluie]

J & K cameras seems definitely not to be a safe choice : we can see on the link proposed by earlyboomer that this seller is the same as Bestpricecamera.com... that is for sure not honest (see this topic : http://forums.photographyreview.com/...d.php?t=10918).

[bashea]

DO NOT DEAL WITH J&K CAMERAS

They are the typical "bait & switch" operation.

I called to order a Nikon D80 with an 18-55mm lens for a great price. Here's just SOME of the lies the salesman (Bobby) told me:

- You must have the camera cleaned every 6 months or the warrantee will be voided.
- Cleanings cost $100 a pop.
- Our 5-year extended warrantee gives a free cleaning once a year.
- Our 5-year extended warrantee allows you to go to ANY camera shop for ANY work.
- The factory battery only lasts 30-40 minutes (tries to sell me an extended life battery).
- The factory charger takes all night to charge the battery (tries to sell me a quick charger).
- The free memory card causes a 5-second pause between shots.
- The free memory card eliminates any rapid-fire shooting (tries to sell me a faster card).
- The supplied lens (Nikkor DX 18-55mm) is a cheap, point & shoot lens.
- Nikon charges a $200 "inspection fee" just to look at your camera if there's a problem.

He kept going on, but I wasn't paying attention anymore, as I was looking up the number for Nikon USA, who confirmed over the phone that everything he told me was false.

Also:
- They are not an authorized Nikon dealer, so everything is gray market.
- They put all kinds of awards on thier web site, but they are worthless.

So, beware of J&K Camera, Express Camera, Broadway Camera, etc. Stick with reputable dealers like B&H, whom I've bought from before without any problems, even if you have to pay a little more, or for shipping. At least you know that if there's a problem, you can get it resolved without any hassles.

Here's a link to a great article on buying camera equipment online:
http://webpages.charter.net/bbiggers...dy_buying.html

On to other matters, does anyone have an opinion on Beach Camera? I've done the research, and they have the better deal on the D80 I'm looking for.

Otherwise, good luck. I have found that it's not worth the stress, anxiety, worry, and hassle to buy from anyone other than an established, reputable dealer (just like your drugs!). : )

Put your focus and energy into your photography. Remember, it's not the equipment that creates a great shot, it's the photographer.

Barry
Los Angeles

[cruzman26]

DO NOT BUY FROM JK CAMERA ON EBAY

I will confirm with previous posting that these guys are a SCAM.

I did buy a Nikon D80 from Jarred (JK Sales). He did go aggresively pursue the exact sales tactics as previously mentioned (extend warranty, expensive filters, memory cards, etc):

- You must have the camera cleaned every 6 months or the warrantee will be voided.
- Cleanings cost $100 a pop.
- Our 5-year extended warrantee gives a free cleaning once a year.
- Our 5-year extended warrantee allows you to go to ANY camera shop for ANY work.
- The factory battery only lasts 30-40 minutes (tries to sell me an extended life battery).
- The factory charger takes all night to charge the battery (tries to sell me a quick charger).
- The free memory card causes a 5-second pause between shots.
- The free memory card eliminates any rapid-fire shooting (tries to sell me a faster card).
- The supplied lens (Nikkor DX 18-55mm) is a cheap, point & shoot lens.
- Nikon charges a $200 "inspection fee" just to look at your camera if there's a problem.

HOWEVER, I DID REFUSE all the extras they tried to throw at me after 30 mins of refusal to pay for any add-ons. I could tell Jarred was dissappointed and told me my camera was being shipped. I asked for confirmation #, he said they don't have confirmation numbers and my reciept would be in the box. So I said email me a tracking number, he said he would do so.

HENCE, I never recieved the tracking number, nor the camera. I checked my visa statement....JK Camera didn't even bill me. I believe that once Jarred couldn't SCAM me to pay for extend warranty, add-ons...They simply didn't bother selling me the Nikon D80.

BE WARNED....

[anyerlong]

J&K has high ratings but you'll notice they are not "Authorized Dealers". You won't get a manufacturer warranty and will receive a gray market camera.

hay, dude, they are right, warranty is very important "accessory".you camera may breaks few months or even a couple of days. Ebay is poured with "unauthorized' goods which are refurbished or second-handed.

[kinghq1]

I would also tell anyone who reads this to stay away from J&K Cameras. I UNKNOWINGLY purchased a Gray Market Camera. Had I know it was not manufactured for sale in the US, I would not have bought it.

I have filed complaints with several different State and Federal agencies based on the following: 1) Camera is not manufactured for sale in the the US thus it violates FCC regulations; 2) eBay listing was very shady upon painstaking examination; 3) The manual and CD are copies and as such are considered pirated software under US Federal Law; 4) To this date I have not received the "Shock Proof Case" that was listed in the auction.

My State Consumer Protection Agency has washed their hands of this because J&K has failed their repeated attempts at communications. State won't go to N.Y. just for a few hundred dollars and they won't contact the local authories because of the same reason. I just received an email before I posted this from the BBB of New York and they too have stated that J&K has failed to respond to their communications. As such the BBB for New York has rated given them an unsatisfactory rating, their lowest rating.

eBay has refused to do anything. Pay Pal refused to do anything. I finally had to get my credit card company involved and once they did Pay Pal issued a VOLUNTARY chargeback. I did receive a notice from the FCC when I initially filed a complaint about Gray Market cameras being sold at online auctions and that they are actively taking information regarding such transaction. If there was someway of shutting down J&K Cameras I would jump on that in a heart beat. But like my State CPA told me, they do this so often that getting dinged by a couple people will not affect the bottom numbers.