Recommended sites and sites to avoid

[Grandpaw]

Hi, I too found bigeasycameras on ebay. After all that was said about gray market cameras, I decided to go online to Nikon USA ( I wish to purchase a D700) . Bigeasy cameras stated the package has a 1 year limited warranty (just not a 1 year USA warranty) Calling Nikon USA, the service rep told me that the USA warranty was 1 year parts and labor, whereas bigeasycameras stated over the phone in a live call that the warranty was 90 days labor and 1 year parts. Sounds fishy ? You bet !

Furthermore, although they are not an authorized Nikon dealer (stated) that they get their cameras from authorized dealers (overstock) so the customer does get the Nikon USA warranty and a super price.

I think their story sounds too good to be true.

I would appreciate your kind and utterly honest comments

If you were getting a NON GREY official Nikon, you would also be getting the official Nikon warranty as stated by the Nikon USA service rep. If you are getting anything else IT IS NOT going to be covered or even worked on without a warranty by Nikon even if you will pay for the repairs out of pocket. STAY AWAY from these folks. Please take the time to read the information at the link at the bottom of my reply. This is too big an investment to throw your money away on.

Think of it this way! Let's say you were walking down the street and someone opened up the back of a van and gave you the same story that they have a Nikon that they bought from an authorized dealer that they can sell you for cheap and you can save some bucks, would you buy it? As I see it, the only difference between the two is the person that is telling you the story, Jeff

[iluvendo]

Grandpaw, thanks a million for the sagely advice !

[flintlock62]

Grandpaw. Have you had any experience with skypointdigital.com?

[Grandpaw]

Grandpaw. Have you had any experience with skypointdigital.com?

Congratulations, I think you have found a site that has the lowest rating of any I can remember. Stay away from these folks. See link below for information, Jeff

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/SkyPointDigital

[flintlock62]

Thanks, grandpaw. I knew the prices were too good. I read the reviews and needed a good laugh today.

[vilz_vilz]

Hi!
I received the camera yesterday. The camera is great and brand new. To my surprise the nikon warranty was inside the box. The extra lenses are not oem but they look good. The tripod is not as good as you see in the picture. The carrying bag is spacious but cheap, I have to buy a good one. The other stuff were pretty good. They offer a battery upgrade that is a ripoff so dont buy it because I saw it at amazon just for $9. The customer service was nice. They dont accept paypal, so you have to call and do the payment with a credit card. After all I got a good bundle

[Frog]

That's pretty great vilz.
I'm especially pleased that you did get a Nikon warranty.
Now don't go away. Post some pics, ask some questions, and join the family.

[vilz_vilz]

Thanks for the welcome Frog!!! I am so happy with the camera. I will post pictures soon!!

[speedy5044]

I just ordered a camera from Canoga Camera and I must say the Customer Service was EXCELLENT!!!! They went over and above to accomadate me and process my order. It has only been a couple of days and my package will be here next week and if it is as good as the customer service I would highly recommend this company. They had the best price for the package I bought out of all the other companys you have listed in your forum of companys to purchase from.
I will let you know if the package is as good as their customer service!!!

[MNRyan]

I use Amazon a lot and have had great luck (I'm a Prime Member). I've only had to return one product, some memory for a friends computer, and that was because I ordered wrong and it went through with no problems. They may not be a Photography only site, but they have some of the best prices, free shipping and great customer service. I think they should be added to the good guys.

[Grandpaw]

I use Amazon a lot and have had great luck (I'm a Prime Member). I've only had to return one product, some memory for a friends computer, and that was because I ordered wrong and it went through with no problems. They may not be a Photography only site, but they have some of the best prices, free shipping and great customer service. I think they should be added to the good guys.

The reason Amazon is NOT on the recommended list is that with photography equipment they use a lot of 3rd party vendors that have very bad reputations and are already on the list of sites to avoid. Most people that use Amazon go there because they have a fairly good reputation but they do not look at the third party that they will actually be purchasing from and end up with a bad experience.

I came up with these lists to help give readers a better chance of eliminating being scammed or taken advantage of by these types of companies. I have invested a considerable amount of time in checking out each of the sites on both lists and I want the readers to be able to count on the information in my post. I have provided the information that I have here to help everyone get a better buying experience according to my research. It does not guarantee success but is here to help increase your odds of having a better purchase when getting equipment. Thank you for your suggestion, but to me by Amazon allowing so many third party companies with bad reputations it will probably never make my recommended list, Jeff

I would like to make it clear that the problem I have with adding Amazon to my list is all of the third party companies that Amazon has decided to let use their site and the Amazon name to get unsuspecting buyers. In my opinion, Amazon is making a VERY BIG MISTAKE in doing this and it will ruin their reputation.

[MNRyan]

That make more than perfect sense. I guess I had never thought of buying from third party vendors and have always purchased straight from Amazon themselves. Very good point.

[cameradino]

Don Wiss has a great encyclopedia of camera store addresses. You can almost tell if a vendor is legitimate by looking at the store front. I doubt it applies for exclusively used dealers (KEH looks like it may not have the store front they used to, even), but it's very enlightening.

One experience from Abe's Of Maine years ago did me in. I hear Abe's may have cleaned up, but the bad taste is still lingering. A long time ago I did sales as well, so I know the tricks some of the dealers used. Luckily for the consumer, the internet makes most of the tricks obsolete. Link plug to Don Wiss below.

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

Some of this is hilarious.

[Grandpaw]

Don Wiss has a great encyclopedia of camera store addresses. You can almost tell if a vendor is legitimate by looking at the store front. I doubt it applies for exclusively used dealers (KEH looks like it may not have the store front they used to, even), but it's very enlightening.

One experience from Abe's Of Maine years ago did me in. I hear Abe's may have cleaned up, but the bad taste is still lingering. A long time ago I did sales as well, so I know the tricks some of the dealers used. Luckily for the consumer, the internet makes most of the tricks obsolete. Link plug to Don Wiss below.

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

Some of this is hilarious.

Thanks for sharing the information with us, Jeff

[ramagroup]

i bought a cannon tx1 powershot form broadway photo... i did my research.
put the order thru online. got a call from a costumer rep.
"we just received your order calling to confirm that"
i said "yes, that is me"
he says "you know we have a special with the same camera in it that would save you money"
i said " oh really, what is it?"
he says " you can get all these added lenses, lenses and batteries and extended warranty for not much more"
anyways... he talks me into paying for 2 lenses that are not compatible to the camera... i confirmed that with cannon... sends me a dead battery that does not hold a charge well... a knock off battery... and to top it off they sell me a 5 yr warranty and the company does not exist anymore...

i was super ripped off...

not sure where they get there products but ... i would never buy anything from them again.

when i spoke with cannon and the lens manufacturer about the products and they both confirmed that the products where not compatible ... broadway photo still insisted they where compatible ( l.o.l) they are out of there minds.

from what it seems from my conversation with them... they seemed to be so sort of a fundamentalist group... the way the spoke.
trying to persuade me by fear... and how honorable they were.

there tune changed when they found out i was an attorney...
they sent me a bunch of free stuff.

but never admitted to there lies... and now after a year the camera does not work.

terrible... warning to you all.

[cameradino]

Broadway Photo is one of the worst. Nobody's really addressed the used market here. Most of the used dealers exist on the web as well as on eBay. I find eBay is a good indicator when other ratings sites don't have data:

Obviously KEH and B&H are beyond rebuke.

A few of the lesser-known used camera dealers --

Arsenal Photo:
http://www.arsenal-photo.com/
And on eBay
http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=photo-arsenal-worldwide&ssPageName=VIP:feedback&ftab=FeedbackAsSeller

98.5%. 98.5% sounds better than it might be.

Camerarepair.com:
http://www.camerarepair.com/
And on eBay
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAP...ab=AllFeedback

Others:
http://www.brooklyncam.com/
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAP...ab=AllFeedback

Both 99.9%+

In general, you can find most of the used dealers rated on eBay. Not all of them are not on Reseller Ratings sites like the new dealers. I use eBay as a 2nd information source.

It looks like 99%+ is "good" on eBay.

i bought a cannon tx1 powershot form broadway photo... i did my research.
put the order thru online. got a call from a costumer rep.
"we just received your order calling to confirm that"
i said "yes, that is me"
he says "you know we have a special with the same camera in it that would save you money"
i said " oh really, what is it?"
he says " you can get all these added lenses, lenses and batteries and extended warranty for not much more"
anyways... he talks me into paying for 2 lenses that are not compatible to the camera... i confirmed that with cannon... sends me a dead battery that does not hold a charge well... a knock off battery... and to top it off they sell me a 5 yr warranty and the company does not exist anymore...

i was super ripped off...

not sure where they get there products but ... i would never buy anything from them again.

when i spoke with cannon and the lens manufacturer about the products and they both confirmed that the products where not compatible ... broadway photo still insisted they where compatible ( l.o.l) they are out of there minds.

from what it seems from my conversation with them... they seemed to be so sort of a fundamentalist group... the way the spoke.
trying to persuade me by fear... and how honorable they were.

there tune changed when they found out i was an attorney...
they sent me a bunch of free stuff.

but never admitted to there lies... and now after a year the camera does not work.

terrible... warning to you all.

[Anbesol]

I looked over the list and noticed KEH wasn't listed as one of the good guys. But I see plenty of talk about them, so, can you put them on the good guys list?

[Grandpaw]

I looked over the list and noticed KEH wasn't listed as one of the good guys. But I see plenty of talk about them, so, can you put them on the good guys list?

Thanks Anbesol, I appreciate you offering KEH as a company to put on the Recommended List. I researched them again this morning and they have several five star reviews but they also have several one star reviews with some very unhappy customers in the mix. Before I add or remove anyone from my lists, I have researched the reviews to see whether they can back up the claim of the request. Almost everyone will have customers that have received good and bad experiences from each site or vendor. What I do is research reviews to get an overall idea of what you can expect if you do business with them. With these folks I just do not feel comfortable recommending them. My goal with these lists are to hopefully give members and visitors information they can rely on. The lists do not give you a 100% guarantee but are designed to help improve your odds of a good and safe transaction.

I myself have personally dealt with camera stores and on line vendors that I think are great but cannot find enough other information to back my opinion up so I do not place them on the list. I look and check out each and every site on either list before making a decision of whether to add or not. KEH is one that I do not feel comfortable adding to the lists due to mixed reviews. You can read some reviews at the link I have below which is one of the places I look when checking out sites. Thanks for your suggestion and feel free to make others any time so I can check them out, Jeff

.http://www.resellerratings.com/store/KEH_Camera_Brokers

[Anbesol]

I can certainly appreciate your apprehension. I wouldn't have guessed keh had such mixed feedback, I am surprised to hear that. They have always been good to me and have been my number 1 used store, hopefully in time they can fix whatever problem they have causing them negative feedback. Maybe i should rely more on adorama instead. Thanks for the response.

[HelenOster]

.....Maybe i should rely more on adorama instead......

How I'd love to be able to tell you that we never mess up :blush2:

Unfortunately, we have our moments........ but of course, I am only an email away if you ever need advice or after-sales support with an order from Adorama!

[corei5]

thanks for this thread but unfortunately I live in UK so is there any decent site where I can buy some equipments for my 550D.

[Photo-John]

thanks for this thread but unfortunately I live in UK so is there any decent site where I can buy some equipments for my 550D.

We've got a lot of UK members on this site. Try searching this forum or start a new thread asking about UK camera dealers.

[HelenOster]

thanks for this thread but unfortunately I live in UK so is there any decent site where I can buy some equipments for my 550D.

Adorama does ship to the UK - and another 191 countries!!

[Marc2B4]

I've bought from and can recommend the following online vendors: B&H, Adorama, Samy's Camera, Calumet, Hunt's, Kodak, Imaging Spectrum, Buy Dig/Beach Camera, White Lightning/Paul C. Buff. Never had any problems, always very responsive and honest.

[HelenOster]

I've bought from and can recommend the following online vendors: B&H, Adorama, Samy's Camera, Calumet, Hunt's, Kodak, Imaging Spectrum, Buy Dig/Beach Camera, White Lightning/Paul C. Buff. Never had any problems, always very responsive and honest.

Thanks for the Adorama mention, Marc; very much appreciated!