Don't buy from Pictureline

[kestrelhawk]

I live in Salt Lake City and have used pictureline but will not use them again. they do not stand behind their sales. I bought a Nikon TC from them. The Camera I had was a Nikon D200, the lens the Nikon 70-200 f2.8 VR, and the TC the new 20E III. At 200mm the pictures were very fuzzy. I returned the TC to find pictureline do not take anything back and return your money. They only give you in store credit. thats what I call bad customer service. I had no interest in anything other than to get my money back. So now I'm stuck with about $600 credit. So unless your sure the item you buy from them is exactly what you want, or if you order something that is damaged in the mail, and thats the only one in their store, your stuck with it. their prices are no better than the other stores out there, in fact they are more on most items. the reason for this is they have more sales people than customer. go into the store and there is about eight people working the floors at a time. I now go to Inkleys. if you decide you dont like the item, they take it back.
ps I ended up buying a new camera so I would waste the $600. in other words I spent another $1000. thanks Pictureline

[pictureline]

We apologize that our return/exchange policy was unclear to you. Just to clarify, we absolutely stand behind all of the products that we sell. If an item is defective within a few weeks of your purchase, we will try our best to replace it with a new one (depending on the manufacturer's policies). If it is longer than that, we will absolutely send it in for you to have the item repaired.

With any internet or phone orders that are shipped, you are absolutely not responsible for damaged products. If a product was damaged in shipment we will replace it immediately.

We try very hard, and in most cases our prices are very competitive with other legitimate camera dealers online. Our staff is not paid on commission, and is selected based on our average sales volume, so I can assure you that it does not play any role in our pricing. As a general rule, if you are seeing a significantly lower price on an item, there is a catch. We strongly recommend researching any online company before purchasing from them. One site that is very reputable is http://www.resellerratings.com

Thank you for your feedback. Again, I apologize that our policy was not explained clearly to you, but hopefully this has helped. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to call or email at your convenience.

Thanks again.

[Frog]

It is not advisable to buy from any place without knowing ahead of time what their return policy is.
If the policy is stated clearly at Pictureline or on their web site, then there is no reason for complaint.
Checking Pictureline's web site I easily find their return policies by scrolling down to the bottom of the home page.

The link to their return policies: http://store.pictureline.com/returnpolicy

and specifically for opened and/or used items it says, "OPENED OR USED PRODUCT RETURNS: (back to top)
At pictureline, we pride ourselves on the quality and consistency of the product and service we provide our customers. We stand by the fact that we sell only new, unopened, unused products that we order directly from the manufacturer. Our customers expect, and will always receive, the highest quality product when ordering with pictureline. Therefore, we are unable to accept returns on opened or used merchandise. If you should have any further questions regarding this policy, please contact Sasha at pictureline.com at 1-800-748-8200"

I do not know if the TC you purchased works well with the 70-200. If it doesn't then some research should have been done before purchasing. If it should work, then Pictureline should return it to Nikon for you and let you try another one or wait for reply from Nikon.
A quick google and I do see that it is compatible with that lens.
We do not know if user error is involved.

[Photo-John]

Pictureline is my local pro dealer and I've spent a lot of money with them since I moved to Utah a few years ago. I've been really pleased with their service and prices. I didn't realize they had a no refunds return policy. But when I was doing my taxes a couple of days ago I noticed they have a disclaimer on their receipts that says, "all returns will be issued to a gift card - no exceptions". It would be nice if they made it a little more obvious, but Frog is right - it's the buyer's job to check on the return policy. I'm glad I know now. But I don't think it's going to make me shop somewhere else. I'm usually pretty damn sure when I finally decide to pull the trigger on new camera gear.

[kestrelhawk]

I would rather shop at a place the makes sure their customers a satisfied with their purchase than be stuck with something that didn't work the way it should. When such a large amount of money is involved you should have more of a say on your return. when you think about it,,, they will take back the item you don't want and give you store credit, repackage it and sell it to someone else, as new. Its not new its been used. So by them saying

"We stand by the fact that we sell only new, unopened, unused products that we order directly from the manufacturer."

That's a lie because they took back the Nikon TC I bought and returned, repackaged it and sold it as new. If they can do this why can't they return you money instead of giving you a in store credit?

[Photo-John]

That's a lie because they took back the Nikon TC I bought and returned, repackaged it and sold it as new. If they can do this why can't they return you money instead of giving you a in store credit?

Accusing them of lying is pretty heavy. How do you know they did this? Did you go back and check to see if the same teleconverter was on the shelves?

Look, I agree that it would be nice if you could return stuff for a full refund. And it would also be nice if they made it more obvious that you can only return for store credit. Maybe this thread will get them to make their return policy more obvious. However, they aren't using bait and switch tactics or doing anything I would consider dishonest. I think this is one to put in the live and learn column. Take your business elsewhere if you like. Now that I know their return policy, I might be more careful about what I buy. But I still like them and will continue to shop their stores.

[kestrelhawk]

Yes I'm sure. They only had one available, that was the one I bought. After I returned it I call and asked if they had any. the answer was yes, we have one in stock, the one I used. so they lied. It was not new but used. thanks for your interest. I just want people to be aware of their policy. I just think they should satisfy their customers and not have them keep something that doesn't work for them, forcing them to buy something they don't want. I am retired and living on a fixed low income so when I buy its from months of saving. I don't have money to waste.
I'm telling everyone to buy elsewhere as I have told my photo friends. There is other stores that wants to satisfy their customers and do their best to help them. thanks for looking at my comments.

[pictureline]

...when you think about it,,, they will take back the item you don't want and give you store credit, repackage it and sell it to someone else, as new. Its not new its been used. So by them saying

"We stand by the fact that we sell only new, unopened, unused products that we order directly from the manufacturer."

That's a lie because they took back the Nikon TC I bought and returned, repackaged it and sold it as new. If they can do this why can't they return you money instead of giving you a in store credit?

Yes I'm sure. They only had one available, that was the one I bought. After I returned it I call and asked if they had any. the answer was yes, we have one in stock, the one I used. so they lied. It was not new but used.

Accusing them of lying is pretty heavy. How do you know they did this? Did you go back and check to see if the same teleconverter was on the shelves?

We take great pride that we honestly only sell new, unused products. I looked into the history behind the Teleconverter in question. A very quick check shows that the TC-20E III we have in stock right now is a different serial number than the one you purchased and returned. I'm not sure which day you called but it is possible that our system had not updated to remove the returned product. We received another one from Nikon very shortly after your return and the serial number matching the one you purchased was shipped back to Nikon on 4/20/10.

Again, we apologize that our return policy was not 100% clear to you. I genuinely hope that this has helped everyone here understand it and why it is the way that it is. We sincerely hope that this experience has not permanently damaged our professional relationship with you.

As always, you are welcome to call us anytime with questions you may have with this or any thing else.

[Frog]

Your response(s) convince me that I will not hesitate to shop at Pictureline if I ever happen to be in Salt Lake City.

[Lunajim]

Before someone buys at Pictureline they should be aware of the return policy. No cash back refunds, gift cards only, no exceptions. For the customer who shops at Pictureline often and knows exactly what they want the policy might be ok. For someone who might only shop for a certain item or someone who wants to buy as a gift Pictureline is not a good choice.
We went to Pictureline to buy a camera bag and found one that we thought would work well. After getting it home we decided we needed something else. When we brought it in to the store we found out about the no cash refund policy. Our first thought was maybe we could buy an inexpensive camera for my son and his wife since their daughter put their last camera in a glass of water. Since it would be a gift for a birthday we decided no. What if they didn’t like it or someone else also bought them one. We would have to take it back for another more expensive gift card. We would also still have to go find another gift. We still needed a camera bag so we found a new bag that was much smaller and only cost us half of what the first bag. We ended up looking around for other things to make up the difference. We still have another 20 dollars to use up but that should be ok. We can always find some little item to cover that. No major purchases.
We are glad we found out about this policy on a 100 dollar item. We are checking into buying a printer and another lense for our Nikon D700 camera and now we know NOT to buy it at Pictureline.
For the average person who does not know allot about cameras and wants to find out what camera might serve their needs Pictureline is a good place to get advice. The people working there are friendly and knowledgeable. When it comes time to buy go somewhere that has a reasonable return policy.