Stay Away From Royal Camera

[BWB]

Yep...I encounterd all of the things posted below. I was conned into making an order, received no email confirmation number so I calle them today. What a hoot! They were rude, indignant and in the middle of my question, asking about what came with a gray market item, they telephone speaker went DEAD. I called back, dialed in the same extension and asked the guy the same question. He said that my "question" was the reason he hung up on me....about gray market items. The funny thing was that he never said good-bye, or anything. I was on a cellular phone and it just went dead when he found that he couldn't con me into buying about three other devices that would make my original order even WORK. I can't reveil at this time what I ordered because my wife reads this column and it's a birthday present, but I cancelled my order...that required another call. Even when I cancelled my order all I received was an email to that effect, nothing in the way of a cancelation number or anything. I suspect they will bill my credit card and I'll have to put it into dispute. Oh, well, live and learn. My recommendation is avoid these jerks, they don't appear to me to be legitimate in any way.

BWB

[jtomkins]

I could not agree more with all the negative reviews. These people are a real bunch of jerks.

[swmdrayfan]

I really find it hard to believe some of these places are still in business.
Just like any other shady dealer, there's always someone getting caught in their traps. The bad part is, if they would try to be reputable, they'd probably have more customers and a better reputation.

[tuffy]

Concerning:

Royal Camera and Video
342 Kings Highway
Brooklyn, NY 11223

I contacted the above by telephone to order a camera as a present. I specifically identified the camera and the associated kit of accessories. During the call, the order taker suggested I include other items such as filters, a year warranty, a larder battery, battery charger, and a larger memory card. When I declined some of the items, he suggested a slightly more expensive kit than the one I ordered that included the items I did not want. However, the kit he suggested had lenses of lesser grade and I declined. I indicated I wanted the original kit as I had ordered. The sale being complete, he took the appropriate information and ended the call.

I received the merchandise. The camera was not the one I ordered and the kit was the one that I refused with the inferior lenses. The larger battery and charger was not included. I immediately contacted their customer service department and identified myself and discussed the problem. The person became abusive and indicated that they made a decision to substitute the inferior lenses for the ones I ordered because they were lighter. I said I wanted the original lenses. I also indicated the camera was wrong as well as I did not receive the separately ordered larger battery and charger. He became more abusive but indicated that they would need to replace whatever was not right. I indicated I did not want the merchandise and would like to return it for a refund. He indicated there would be a 5% restocking charge and the shipping charges that were free would now be deducted from the credit. I indicated I should not be charged anything since they made all of the mistakes. He indicated it was company policy. I indicated that was not good customer service. He gave me a return authorization number and indicated he was the owner and that was the way he likes it since he makes a lot of money that way. He then began cursing me and indicated he would “come after me”. I indicated he was a crook and hung up the phone.

I returned the merchandise as was described on their website. I have not received the credit even though the merchandise was returned.