Stay Away From Royal Camera

[jackjack]

Royal Camera & Video, 342 Kings Highway, Brooklyn, NY - aka CCI Camera.

I saw an ad from Royal Camera on the internet advertising the Nikon D70 Digital with lens for $805. I called Royal to find out whether the camera was in stock. The salesman told me that it was in stock and that the price was correct. I then placed the order on Royal's Website. I noted that it included a $51 shipping charge which seemed ridiculously high but still the price was a good price.

I did not receive a confirmation e-mail. Three days later I called Royal Customer Service (they were closed over the weekend) and was told that they had received the order but said the camera did not include a battery and compact flash cards and did I want to order them. I told the Service Rep that I didn't need the flash cards because I had already owned them and the salesman I had talked to told me that I could use the ones I had and that the salesman also told me that the camera included a battery. The Service Rep told me I was lying because the salesman would never have told me that. Nevertheless I did not order anything else. I was told then that I would receive the camera in 2 to 3 weeks. The time has elapsed and I still have not received the camera. I also checked with Nikon and was told that because the camera has a buffer my flash cards were fine and that the camera does come with a battery and charger.

I noted that the following week when I contacted Royal that the price of the camera had jumped $150 so I suspect Royal had no intention of fulfilling my order at the price given. The camera was receiving rave reviews and supplies were limited because of the great demand and Royal wasn't about to sell the camera at below market rate.

[amatmirra]

I have placed an order for a camcorder. The next day I received an email stating "please contact us at 800-301-1778 ext 216 to confirm your order". So I called. I have talked to this ridiculeously rude Arabic accent rep. He asked me to purchase all kinds of accessories to go along with the camcorder at a ridiculeously high price. I said no to all of them. Then he hung up.

A few hours later, I called about the shipping status. I talked to a woman, another liar there. This liar said that the camcorder will be shipped 7 to 21 days because they have to order it from oversea. So I told her to cancel, then I check with my credit card company.

This kind of business practice only happen in third world countries. Never thought that it's here in the US. Why do they allow this kind of bad business exist for this long.

Before buying any products on-line, do some research regardless of price. These scammers are opposite of Newegg.com. Take jackjack's advice and stay away from them.

http://www.badbusinessbureau.com/rep...poff106380.htm

http://www.complaints.com/directory/2004/june/5/3.htm

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...m+royal+camera

[Charles B]

You are correct. Royal Camera is a crook. It made me upset that a business that I purchased a great camera from in the past how treated me so poorly. About 2-3 years ago I bought a Nikon F100 for a good price. Came quickly and still works great. I just tried to purchase Nikon D70 for $787 including a Nikkor 28-70mm lens. This was quite a bit lower than most places and then I saw they made a little bit up with the $80 3-day shipping. Still thought it was a good price so went ahead with the order. As like last time I knew that they would try and sell me a bunch of items for inflated prices. Last time I had a nice rep that gave me the offers which I politely declined (besides a side grip for a reasonable price). This time all I really needed as the body, lens, and cords for file transfer. I called the number I was emailed and spoke to the rudest service rep on the face of the planet. He first was telling me that I spelled the address incorrectly (reason they said they had to speak to me personally which was a complete lie) and then they went into the sales pitch. I again listened to the offers and said that I would like to purchase the body and lens. At this point the rep started speaking in a harsh voice saying that I did not understand and the camera would not work with out these items (i.e. battery for $100 or a 1GB memory card for $500). I politely that I understood that I would need to acquire these items eventually to operate the camera but right now I only need the body and lens. He then started speaking very fast and said he would email me the conformation number and the order would be shipped out in about a month. I said that I would like to pay the $80 for the 3 day shipping and he said it wasn't possible and he would take $10 off the order. I asked why it was not possible to ship a 3.lbs package in 3 days for $80. He then started cursing at me and I asked to cancel my order. He was still screaming when I hung up the phone to call my credit card company.

[MitchN]

I just had a similar experience with Royal Camera, and now I am concerned. I called them up to make a simple order of the Nikon D70 package which included the Nikor lens. This rude sales person immediately told me that, “Lots of people are returning the camera with this lens because it is so cheap, not made in Japan, but we have other lenses, better than those that we can sell you.” I told him I appreciated it, but I was interested in the Nikor lens, but thanks for suggesting it anyway.

He then said something I couldn’t believe. He said, “Yeah, I can tell you appreciate it even though you’re staying with the Nikor lens. Can I ask you why wouldn’t you want to buy the camera with the other lens even though I just told you people are retuning the Nikor lens? You know it only works on the digital camera and no other camera, but these other lenses work with all the cameras” I said, I just want the Nikor lens, thanks anyway.

He then told me that the battery that comes with the camera is very small and that for $199 I can buy a bigger battery and charger. I told him no. He then said what kind of a CF do you want to buy? He sold me a 512 Mb CF for $149, which at the time I thought was a bit expensive, but I just went with it.

He took my info and said thanks. I said, “Wait a minute…I want to know when these things ship, so I will need a UPS tracking number.” He sounded like I was just a big pain to him. So he said, “OK let me have your email address”.

I finally hung up with this dude, and realized no more than 10 minutes later that the prices of the CFs have come down a lot just in the past week, and that I could get a 512 Mb for $49. So I immediately called back, had to wait for some reason for the same sales person, which was interesting (intimidation factor I think is part of their sales methodology), so I waited until the same rude guy came back on.

I explained that I realized I had lots of CFs and I want to cancel the order for the CF. He said, “Can’t do that. It’s already in the UPS system and we can’t take it back.” I said, "That is the fastest system I have ever experienced”, sarcastically. He said, “Well, just don’t accept the package, UPS will return it and we’ll refund your money”

Anyway, I am concerned that you can’t even check the status of your order on the web. But overall, I can’t say that they didn’t deliver, since they told me it takes 7 – 14 days before shipping (huh? What can possibly take that long? Either it is IN stock or NOT), and then another 5 days to receive it.


In conclusion, I have once before used the Better Business Bureau to complain about a company. Tthey actually wrote to that company within a week, and the company sent me their product within a few days of that call, UPS, 2nd day, when they told me it wasn’t going to be in stock for another eight weeks. Funny how you can put a fire under them if you need to. So if this company doesn’t deliver, I would say all of us should write to the BBB and make a complaint. It’s easy, and the more we have them listed in the BBB files, the quicker they either improve or hey will go out of business. For me, it’s wait and see.

[ravenwood]

We too, ordered a camera from Royal camera.We had to call them to confirm the order and got thru to "Larry" Probably the ridiculously rude arabic accent mentioned in a previous tag. He told us that the camera need an extra $99.00 of gear to make it work we said just send the camera. He got irate and told us he was giving us a great deal and if we didn't like anything he sent we could return it. We told him to just send us the camera as advertised. The camera came late, 4 days late. When we opened the box itwas just the camera and the 4 batteries, strap and 16mb data card, as advertised. The invoice was for $200.00 more than advertised though. They lied and tried to bully my wife into buying more than she wanted and then still had the gall to charge more than the advertised price. STAY AWAY from these jokers.

[FH|Eric]

Holy frigging crap I can't believe this. I ordered a camera on December 22nd. Its 1/3/2005 - camera didnt ship. I call them - I forgot my order number - this rude dude yellls at me and says in these words "why the hell did you call us without an order number"

He finds the number says camera is blah blah - u want batteries, flash card etc. But he doesn't tell me tthey're extra until im like so whats teh total and its liek 12341234234 more than advertised.

FInally he quickly said you'll get ur camera in a month enjoy and I'm like wtf? I live in NYC - i said can I go pick it up .. NO GOOD BYE and stop calling us - click

Finally I call and say I wanna cancel and he goes yes we'll cancel it ass bye

[Jim T]

Please help put these people out of business by making as many people aware of them as possible. I have started a site called http://www.royal-camera.com and it mirrors their site. However the difference being that I plan on telling everyone I can about them and their bad business. Send out this link to as many people as possible and you can email me at consumers@royal-camera.com so I can post your stories.

Thanks,
Jim

[mjs1973]

I'm all for letting the public know what these types of companies are doing, but is this legal? Also, it appears that your site has actual links to the real royalcamera.com site... I like the idea, but you better make sure it's not something than can come back and bite you in the butt.

[Handstand]

These guys are scum bags. I tried to buy a Canon 20D through them and had a horrible experience.

After searching the net Royal Camera had the lowest price by far. I called in a placed an order. I was told they had the camera in stock. I requested overnight shipping because I needed the camera quickly. The next day I got the "confirm your order" e-mail and was asked to call in. After being treated rudely and asked a bunch of questions that had been answered in the orginal call I was told the camera wouldn't ship for 3 - 4 weeks. I abuptly said "Cancel my order." This guy came unglued on me. He said "You don't have to be rude. Maybe you can talk to your wife like that, but you can't talk to me like that." I asked to speak to his supervisor and he said he was in charge. I tried to cool down, and politley asked him to cancel my order. They did cancel it and there were no charges on my account, but the lies, deciet and rude treatment was beyond belief.

These guys are classic bait and switch. My advice is to stay as far away from Royal Camera as possible.

[Charles De Groot]

I'm all for letting the public know what these types of companies are doing, but is this legal? Also, it appears that your site has actual links to the real royalcamera.com site... I like the idea, but you better make sure it's not something than can come back and bite you in the butt.

Of coarse it is legal to write about what these companies are doing. It comes under freedom of speech. When companies like Royal Camera continue to act the way they do it is our morel responsibility to alert our community members and save them from being lied to and taken advantage of. Remember we’re Americans and the threat of being bitten on the behind comes with standing up for ones self. That threat is what Royal Camera and companies like them keep in their tool box of dishonesty and deceit.

[squareapple]

hello,

I just wanted to chime in alongside the chorus of displeasure for royal camera. Like many others, i was led in by the sucker price. i have never before felt such disdain for a retailer. i felt sick after i spoke with "larry". In the end i did purchase a camera from them (Fuji s5100 - my first camera!), but i would sooner be eviscerated than deal with them again.

i would implore anyone looking to buy online to take the time and actually do some research on the shop. i wish i had.

rob

[marrik]

I called about the Nikon 8800 and it was the worst customer service I have ever had in my life! They guy was basically a butthole. The camera was at a very good price but no battery, no cables, no manual, nothing... just camera in a bag I guess. If I baught everything I needed for the camera to work plust their expensive shipping It would have cost almost double the advertised price. I hope they go out of business!

[dovertn]

Royal Camera has struck again!!!! I just got off the phone with my Mastercard disputing a charge that was $400 higher than what the salesman said it would be. I called for a Nikon D100 and He said I was stupid for not buying a D70. He tried to shove every accessory down my throat and told me that I was stupid to not by memory cards ($300 higher than every where else on the web) from Royal Camera. It has been two days since he promised that I would receive my overnight premium shipped camera so that I could take it on vacation. No camera and $400 in extra charges on my card. The Credit Card companies should ban Royal Camera's charge machine. DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT ROYAL CAMERA. THEY ARE A ROYAL PAIN!!!!!!!!

[digital cat]

I ordered a Canon 20D in May 2005 from Royal Camera because of their very low price on the body alone. However, I also ordered a 1GB CF and a battery upgrade at the same time. This put the price up to the amount other companies were charging. I asked for 2nd day delivery and was told this was $30 more. My credit card was over-charged by $191 so I called Royal to complain. As it turned out I was charged $147 total for shipping in addition to being over-charged $69 for no reason. The camera and equipment arrived on time, but they had substituted on off-brand CF card. I called to complain and they would not take the card back for credit. They did offer to send me another card free along with a camera case. I received the free 1GB CF card and camera case. The case was off-brand and the camera would not fit inside it.

A friend of mine from my city ordered a Canon 20D two days before I ordered mine. She did not buy any over-priced, off-brand equipment. A month later she has not received her camera. You could say that I was "lucky" to receive the camera from Royal, but it turned out to be a poor deal, actually higher than other companies. I would not recommend anyone order anything from Royal Camera, based on my experience.

[lighthouse]

Hello everyone -

I searched around the internet for 2 weeks and finally found Royal Camera - which promised me a great deal on a Canon Rebel XT. $419.00 for the body. I requested 3 day shipping and two days after placing the order online, I returned to work with an email that asked that I contact Royal Camera at extension 201 to confirm the order. My wife called and immediately the jerk (oh sorry, sales rep) started trying to shove other products in her face. He claimed the battery charger for the Rebel was not included, which I'm not certain is a lie but seems fishy to me. He wanted to charge us 200.00 for that. He wanted me to buy the "Kit" with the standared 18-50 mm lens but since I have one for my 20D I declined. What originally started out as being a $600.00 order (Also had a 200 mm telefoto on order) ended up turning into over 1,000 dollars by the time I hung up. A deer in the head lights - I realized quickly I'd been had and my wife (taking the reigns) called back and asked to talk to the same extension(201). He answered and my wife explained that she wanted to cancel the order because the price had gone up too high and it was a spur of the moment thing. He rudely wanted to know "WHY?!" she was cancelling and when she told him we were going to do some more shopping around and we may be back he quickly cut her off and said, "Don't give me this you might be back crap - I don't have time to talk to you." And he hung up on her. She immediately called back and let them know how rudely she'd been treated and asked to talk to a supervisor, they transferred her to someone else and it wasn't a supervisor. She wanted to make sure that the order was cancelled and the person told her it was. She called back later to check and make sure it was cancelled - the person told her it wasn't - but they would cancel it. We've contacted our credit card company and warned them that this may not be the end of it.

Not only is the customer service non existant with this company - but of the 4 people we've been in touch with. 100% of them have been jerks. I'll be buying a camera locally for about 300.00 more - but I'd rather pay extra and know what I'm getting.

BE AFRAID - BE VERY AFRAID of this company.

[Dominic71]

All,
I too was dupped, but I think I may have caught it in time. I placed my order yesterday on the internet for a Nikon D2X. Thought I was getting an amazing price. They followed the usual MO and called to "confirm my credit card info" then tried to sell me numerous things I did not need, I turned them down on everything but a different lens. "We have had a lot of returns of the lens you ordered." As usual, the camera did not come with the software, battery, or accessory cables. Thinking my camera would be useless I agreed to six hundred dollars extra for those items. They caught me at work so I was not eager to have a lenghty discussion. As I was driving home I decided to do some research, I went to a few webpages and discovered what a bunch of scam artists these guys are. The exorbinant prices of accessories and the really low price on the body should have tipped me off. I called American Express and informed them of the days events and discovered that they had tacked on an extra $1000.00 to the price quoted over the phone. I supplied AMEX with the details from this site and the BBB and recommended that they pull their affiliation with this company. The charge has been placed in dispute. Hopefully, I will be able to turn off the shipment in the morning. based on the comments about their shipping practices, I doubt the order has left the building.

[Edsimon]

Because of where I happen to find myself on the face of the planet, I
discovered not many marchants want to extend their online sales this
way. For this reason I've been through some pain getting a seller of the
Canon Photo Printer CP710 who will ship to my end - Nigeria - until I came across
Royal Camera. I just placed my order barely 15hrs ago and now I'm reading all
these terrible shortcomings of this particular dealer. Now all I want is
to reverse the entire process. How do I do this? What if after calling
them they still go ahead to use my card information to get my money...I
would gladly have left my card company out of this since this will be
my first complaint about card transactions.
Advice'll be appreciated.
Ed.

[Brian I]

First off when I ordered the camera I was told that it was brand new. When we received the camera we realized that it had 900 photos that had already been taken and the mirror and body was scratched. Also, we were told that the total charge would be $4000 for the camera and $89 for expedited shipping (as my fiance had planned to use the camera to shoot a wedding that weekend), however when I received the invoice there was an extra $320.98 that had been billed to my credit card. When we asked the salesman what the additional charge was for he said that they automatically tack on 8% to the price of the camera, this was clearly a bait and switch because we were NEVER told about the extra charges. After arguing with the sales person who was incredibly rude to my fiance and called him a liar saying that there was no way the camera was used, he said “ok send the camera back (which of course I had to pay the shipping to do so) and I will send you a new one within 4 days, well it has been well over 4 days and I have not received any camera. I warn all your photographers to stay away... I still to this day cannot believe that they are aloud to conduct business in america....I am completely disgusted!!!

[pollywog21]

OMG! There is an abundance of justifiable rage for this place, read my email to RoyalCamera.com below!!!

To whom it may concern,

This email is in regards to the recent call I made to your business (718 336 4632 ext.201). I initially called 1 week ago to verify a purchase on my credit card in excess of $2000. The gentleman that answered wanted me to purchase a new type of "Japanese" lenses, instead of my original lenses, running me $90+. Seeing as the camera isn't for myself, I had to consult a friend.

I then called back 27 Oct. at 2pm Eastern time to confirm the order with the "original" lenses. The gentleman that answered said that they were out of those particular lenses, and said that they only have the new ones (That we spoke of on the previous occasion). I respect this, as I have waited over a week to confirm the purchase. He told me, again, that the new lenses would run me $90+. I then said that I had to do the math and check my bank account, he replied back:

He "What math? I told you $90, there is no math"
Me "I have to see if I have the $$$ in my account, and call the person that the camera is for"
He "Listen, you've called here before and I need to know whether to place this order or cancel it. Why are you going to call him again, you already have"
Me "Listen, I'm going to have him call you, and you can explain these lenses to him"
He "Yeah, that's a good idea man, whatever" And hung up the phone.

This is one of the highest examples of unprofessionalism and lack of customer service that I have EVER experienced from one single person. During the whole telephone conversation, I didn't go 5 seconds uninterrupted. Instead, it was full of criticism, arrogance, and negativity. This was/is unacceptable. (END EMAIL)

Moral of the story, DONT PURCHASE A THING FROM THESE PEOPLE!!!

Here are a few more of their websites...It's all ROYAL CAMERA
Camera City, Inc.
CCI Camera City
Royal Camera
Royal Camera, Inc.
The Camera Source Inc

[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.

[va2mo]

I am currently in the Missouri area. I recently had a photographer friend phone me and tell me her unbelievable experience with Royal Camera and Video. Basically, when she called to cancel her order because she found a better deal elsewhere, a young man named Peter called her a f*cking liar and hung up on her.
Needless to say, it was much like the experience most everyone else up here posted. My friend ordered from these people because they were listed in Popular Photography Magazine...a well trusted source. She now, feeling very upset and worried about her bank account, wants to write a certified letter to the magazine telling them exactly who they represent.
I would really appreciate it if any of you could send me an email regarding your experience, and possibly allow us to send your feedback in the letter as well. We know we cannot stop the company from treating people this way, but we can definitely stop magazines from representing their business.
Please e-mail in regards to this... photography-reviews@hotmail.com
Thank You!!!

Angelina B. (Missouri)

[mwt]

I shopped around and then I called Royal Camera, already knowing what I needed.

I spoke with a man named Randy and the information he gave was very helpful and he offerered me a "Phone in order only" package.

Based on information gathered from friends that knew what I had to have to operate the camera it sounded like a good deal. I thought about it for a few days and called back to order.

Randy wasnt available and I got on the phone with a salesman and I explained what Randy had offered me and he said no problem.
I gave him my credit card and before I could give him info on where and how I wanted it shipped he started trying to sell me extended warranties and a bunch of other stuff I didnt want.

I kept trying to tell him No Thank You but he wouldnt listen. I guess I must have raised my voice finally because he said Dont yell at me and enjoy your camera when you get it and he hung up the phone.

I immeditely called back and got a supervisor and went over everything and he apologized and we got everything worked out.

He told me everything was in stock and it would ship that day, a Friday.

Then I found this site and read the reviews and got sick to my stomach.
I called my credit card company and they asured me they would not hesitate to challenge anything if there was a problem.

On monday I talked to customer service and they told me everything had shipped on friday and a tracking number wouldnt be available until wednesday.

On wednesday they told me it would be thursday before I could get a tracking number

On thursday I got a tracking number and when I went to check it it was invalid.
Thursday night it did show up as Just being processsed to ship that day.

It did go thursday and they shipped it UPS NDA air saver which is next day by 3:00 PM

I received the package and everything was there except the 18/55mm lense that was supposed to ship with it. I had bought a sigma 28/300 mm lens also.
The 18/55mm lens was not on the packing list so I was starting to get worried.

It was too late to call them until monday but I talked to Ronnie at extension 200 on monday and he said no problem he would ship it out tuesday.

He said it so nice with no argument that I was really concerned that he was just giving me lip service.

Yesterday Wednesday I was too busy with my job to check on it and I called customer service this morning. They gave me a tracking number and the 18/55 mm lens is scheduled for delivery today. I checked it myself on ups website.

If I get the canon lens like I am supposed to everything will be fine.

This has caused me quite a bit of concern and worry.

Talking to supervisors is the only way I have been able to get things done.

These people are liars and I would never buy anything from them again but The price I paid for everything is still a good deal after comparing other sites and ebay.

I guess the whole point of my post here is to not give up calling and confronting them and they will eventually do the right thing.

Mike