"This has been my first experience with the company, and it will also be my last. (NOTE: See updates at the bottom of my comments.)
I ordered a lens online from this company because of its advertised low price, and a day later received a call from one of the reps to confirm the order. I was then offered a UV filter option for the lens. Throughout the conversation, the rep gave the impression that the filter was included as part of the purchase price. I explicitly responded that I would only accept it as such.
Unfortunately, the filter was added to my order with a $45 cost. A UV filter for that price? you've got to be kidding! I noticed my order had changed shortly after the phone conversation, and decided to call back and cancel the order, only to be told by the rep that the order was shipped. When I had told the rep that I would return the item and that I felt misled, he simply told me that there was nothing more he could do, and that I ought to read the store's return policy and not waste his time.
As you can see, a typical bait-and-switch. I've put my credit card company on notice with the situation, but even if I do return the item successfully, I may still be slapped with a 20% restocking fee (yes, 20%!) even if the item was unopened.
I'm skeptical of the reviews in this site or other sites that give this company high marks. I've always taken caution to check the history of an online retailer using multiple sources, but unfortunately this did not work in my case. I'm now definitely against ordering anything from specialty equipment shops such as this one, and would only order from merchants that are reputable. The price difference is just simply not worth the hassle.
One more thing -- NEVER accept any offers of additional items from a rep over the phone for an existing order!
UPDATE 6/15/12: I was contacted by the sales manager (his name is Jonathan) following this posting, and he wanted to compensate me by offering the UV filter as a complementary gift. I accepted, and got a credit refund on the filter the next day. It's good to know that at least someone in the company knows what good customer service is about!
Consequently, I've adjusted my ratings to reflect the latest experience."
"Order Processing was very quick. Received the Product in 2 days. Great Service."
"Lowest price on the web - Check
Fast and easy checkout process - Check
Free shipping - Check
Camera arrived days sooner than estimated - Check
Item as advertised and not damaged - Check
Will use 42nd Street Photo again - Check"
"Among the sellers I trusted, 42nd St Photo had the best price on the item I wanted. Their service was quick and trouble-free. The merchandise arrived promptly and in perfect condition. Highly recommended!"
"Couldnt be more satisfied with my order from 42nd street photo. They had the best price I could find and the shipping was very fast. Placed my order on a Tuesday, and received the camera on Thursday"
"Great products great prices. Before buying my pentax k5 I was researching for 2 straight days trying to find the best deal. And finally came across 42nd st photo, they were the cheapest and with free shipping, there was not doubt it was the best decision. "
"It was a very satisfying experience purchasing the first time from 42nd Street Photo. I had done some research before I purchased this Canon SX40HS camera and to the best of my knowledge 42nd Street Photo offers the best price with no hidden information on its web site. There are other online outlets which offer better pricing but do not carry any stock (was told a lead time of between 2-4 weeks) and a few do not specify the contents in the package leaving you in doubt that yo may not get all the components. I received a courteous phone call from the company after 2 days thanking me for the order and was asked if I would prefer shipment with UPS signature or not. I was also asked if I needed any accessories for the camera. This has never happened in my online purchase experience with other companies. Subsequently I received a auto-notification email of the shipment with UPS tracking number and the order was received 4 days later. The camera was packed properly and in good condition. I would definitely purchase from this company again when the occasion arises. "
"Courteous sales rep took order. Wasn't pressured to buy extra accessories. Very competitive pricing, fast delivery via UPs."
"I ordered the Panasonic DMC-ZS15 and got it at a great price at 42nd St. Photo. The delivery was free and the service was great, I will definitely buy from them again."
"We are very impressed with 42nd Street Photo. They delivered the camera we ordered very quickly and the product we received was as advertised.
We were also very pleased with the price we got on our camera purchase!
Thanks a lot
"
"I was totally happy with this purchase. The price was the best I could find. The delivery was made within two days. I hope the product lives up to the service."
"The camera was as described, the shipping was very prompt, and the follow-up was good."
"My experience with 42nd Street Photo was quick, courtous and very professional. I would definitely do business with them again! "
"Dishonest and unreliable store. Repeatedly and deliberately lied to me. Sent me a grey market lens with no USA warranty. Their site misleadingly states "USA warranty" which in reality they sell as a separate item (which is very expensive and I suspect not really usable). Stay away at all costs.
On a bright side, they had a lens which was otherwise out of stock everywhere else. The lens seems OK and so far works fine. Again, it comes without a warranty, and it can be a display sample and it can be pre-owned (I don't trust them because they lied to me on multiple occasions).
=====
Details of my experience are as follows.
I placed my order on Wednesday 5/16 night. The site said it will ship on Friday 5/18. Up to that point everything was OK. But then...
* Friday morning - I got a call from a salesman asking if I want a signature on my shipment (which is really a ploy to reach out to the customer) and trying to sell me more stuff (which I didn't buy). He then said I'll have the order delivered on Wednesday.
* Monday 5/21 morning - I called them, and the person whom I spoke to said there was a "computer error" and my choice for signature requirement was not saved. I reconfirmed my choice. He then said I'll still get my order on Wednesday AND I'll have my tracking number e-mailed to me tonight (Monday night, that is).
* Comes Tuesday morning - no tracking number, no e-mail, order status on their site still says "shipping on Friday", which now was 4 days ago. I called them and they said they have shipped the order, but the tracking number is not available because "that's how the system works". In reality, the order was not shipped and they lied to me (keep on reading to see what happened).
=====
Update as of Tuesday 5/22:
I received a follow-up call from a store representative on Tuesday 5/22 around 2 pm. He provided me the tracking number by e-mail during the call. So eventually the package has been shipped, however:
* They shipped the package on Tuesday, as indicated by UPS tracking system, not on Monday, as they were telling me. However, the representative tried to convince me it was shipped on Monday.
* The representative sent me the tracking number and requested Quantum View update during the follow-up call. However he tried to convince me he actually sent it on Monday and it was a spam filter issue (which it was not - I checked my spam filter).
* The representative updated on-line order status during the follow up call, so that it displayed the shipping date of Monday 5/21 (and not Tuesday 5/22 when it was actually shipped) and the tracking number. However, he tried to convince me that this information was updated long ago and I did not see it due to a browser cache issue.
* About an hour after the call the on-line order status has updated once again - this time indicating a shipping day of Tuesday 5/22. This was the real update, as opposed to the one before which the representative has manually made just to convince me the order has shipped on 5/21.
* The representative spent quite a long time trying to convince me to completely rewrite the review, removing all references to my negative experience. Well, this review is an accurate and truthful presentation of my experience, which the customer review is all about.
* On a positive side, they changed 2nd Day Air shipping, which I paid for, to Next Day Air Saver, so that I got my package delivered by the promised date of Wednesday 5/22 (however, if they had actually shipped the package on Friday 5/18, as their web site indicated all the time until I have pointed this out during a call, I would still have received the package one day earlier than that).
* They also included a small cleaning kit for free (of course it is cheap anyway).
=====
End of story:
On Wednesday 5/23, I received my package. The lens is packaged in the Nikon box which seems genuine, with all the accessories supplied, except the warranty card. I did not find any signs of wear and the lens seems to work fine. So, to be fair, I got what I was shopping for, except two major thing - USA warranty and confidence that this product is new. Based on the amount of lies I heard from 42nd Street Photo representatives, I absolutely distrust them.
Final verdict:
Worst shopping experience I ever had. Stay away at all costs. Never ever buy a tiniest thing from them. Don't trust multiple positive reviews - look for negative ones and you'll see a common theme there."
"Good prices, fast shipping"