"Barclays sells "grey market" items, which means the manufacturer warranty is voided straight out of the box. They're NOT authorized resellers. The "discount" you receive is absolutely NOT worth it -- purchase from a reputable seller and save yourself loads of grief.

Once they have you on the phone, they'll try to upsell EVERYTHING.

My mistake (aside from buying from them in the first place) was purchasing, what they called, a 3-year warranty. Turns out, it's not a warranty at all -- it's a "service contract." Which doesn't go into effect until after the manufacturer's warranty expires. But since the warranty is voided you'll be completely uncovered for a year.

In the service contract documentation (which you are unable to view prior to purchasing) it states that they reserve the right to use 3rd-party and "refurbished" products to "fix" your camera and they can deny service for nearly any reason they want. So essentially, you're flushing your money down the toilet.

After reading the contract, and before agreeing to it, I decided I didn't want the coverage, so I tried to return it, and of course they said, "too bad ... all sales are final." I ended up going through my credit card to get the charges removed, but it was a HUGE hassle. The credit card denied the refund 4 times before finally returning my money.

DO NOT PURCHASE from Barclays (or any of their many iterations). They are liars and swindlers."

"These people are liars, completely dishonest, and scammers.

I was looking at buying a Nikon D300 on eBay, and checked out Barclaysphoto’s high feedback on there so thought I was dealing with a worthwhile company. I was very wrong. The reason their feedback is so high is because they list a bunch of $0.01 auctions with free shipping to pad their positive ratings while trying to dissolve the impact of their negative feedbacks. Search all the items >$1000 and see how many people are happy? Not to mention they try and bribe you into giving them positive feedback before they will help you. Basically, I won the auction and paid them via Paypal. Next thing I get a call from Tyler Durden (compulsive liar) and I regrettably told him I was a novice when it came to cameras. He tries to sell me a warranty for $700 which I continually decline. He pulls his "I don't make any commission" story several times and keeps going to speak to his manager. Now I feel like I am buying a used car! Through my own stupidity, I let him upsell me on a flash, some extra batteries and chargers, and a warranty that he dropped to $399. Turned out the flash he sold me for $229.99 lists on the Internet for $79. I called to complain about being lied to and taken advantage of, and in the end they sent me a $179.99 flash while still charging me $229.99 for it. I was upset at being taken advantage of and being lied to, and being pushed into an expensive warranty, so I called and told them I wanted to return it. Bear in mind unless you are calling the sales department you will be put on hold and pushed around for 30 minutes from department to department in the hopes you get mad and hang up. Chuck, who was supposed to be a manager, offered me a $25 store credit (great, I can buy any awful lot with $25!) and a $25 refund on the warranty. He would not give me my money back on the warranty even though it hadn't been activated. Well, I contact the warranty company and they told me that their rule is you can have a full refund within 30 days. Will barclaysphoto stand by this? Absolutely not. So don't fall for their padded feedback, lies and untrustworthiness. Save yourself the headache and spend a little extra to deal with a real company with real customer service. Stay away from these clowns.
"

"***WARNING: DO NOT PURCHASE FROM THIS COMPANY****
It seems I have had the same EXACT experience as many already. I did a "Buy it Now" option on ebay for a Canon 40d body kit. I have purchased many other things on ebay with no problems in the past, however this time I go to pay via paypal (like I always do) and am told I have to CALL to verify information. I was very suspicious and instead wrote an email asking why this was when I've never had to do anything like this on ebay before. It was standard "we require a 'short' verification process" and to see what kind of shipping I wanted. Isn't this all done in ebay? I wrote back saying I would like the shipping stated in their auction listing. They actually wrote back and said they needed my paypal account information!! I am not a complete idiot! So I basically told them I would complete the transaction IN EBAY via paypal and that no further information should be needed, if they couldn't do this then they wouldn't get their money. I tried and was not able to check out in paypal. Then they have the nerve to open an "unpaid item dispute" in ebay, where we end up coming to the conclusion that they normally charge a 15% restocking fee or some crap and that they wouldn't charge me that (wow how generous), but I would have to leave positive feedback! I personally feel that ebay is already carrying hundreds of sellers with shady practices, (which understandably they can't investigate them all), I am not going to contribute and lie in my feedback. I told them I would agree to not leave ANY feedback or leave neutral feedback, which I thought would be better than negative. This was not agreeable to them and now they opened a "unpaid item strike" because I won't leave positive feedback. It chaps my a#! that they can damage my account rating because of something so trivial and I can't do anything to get them from selling on ebay. They have already had to change their company name numerous times due to problems and still might rip off unsuspecting people. DO NOT PURCHASE ANYTHING FROM THIS COMPANY!!! Pay the extra money and buy from a reputable dealer, not some hacks in New York."

"I bought from this seller in October. Last month my lens broke and I called Nikon. They told me to send it in with proof I bought it in the US. I did that and yesterday I got my lens back, not fixed saying it was "gray market"
I called Nikon and they explained that my lens was for markets outside the US so it wasn't covered under warranty. They told me to contact the retailer so they could make it right.
Well I contacted Barclays and they were the most rude, disrespectful people. They claimed it was my fault for not understanding there was a difference between Nikon Authorized Dealer and Nikon USA authorized dealer. They said they had no responsibility and I bought at my own risk.
Am I wrong in assuming that if I bought a lens in the US(A popular US lens) that it would be made for us in the US? No where on the listing does it say that this is a "gray market" lens. Here's is the listing http://tinyurl.com/2pzuze
I am out hundreds of dollars and if they were a decent company they would have stated that this was a "gray market" product. This is fraud!!"

"I won an auction on EBAY for a Canon a570 IS bundled with some support stuff from Barclaysphoto. The winning price with shipping was 157.46. This was on a Saturday morning. I get a call early on Monday morning from a woman on a New York cell phone, who claimed that the camera i won was part of a bunch of damaged units they discovered when they got to the bottom of the pallet. I asked her about the countless other auctions for this camera they were running and she said they had to contact those people as well to tell them. I was instantly suspicious so i told them if they have anything on ebay resembling this camera, i will tear them apart on EBAY and everywhere else i can. At any rate, she asked if i want to continue with the order even though she can not tell me when they will be able to fulfil the order (maybe so she can offer me something 'better', outside of EBAY?). SHe said it might be more than a month and i said that's impossible because they have 30 days to fulfil the order for the price according to the FTC. She then changed her tone a bit and said she'd call me back with information. So she calls me about 45 minutes later saying that they can source the camera in a week. In that span i had researched barclaysphoto a bit and saw the immense amount of information about these brooklyn camera 'shops' who constantly rip people off in some capacity online. So, when she called me and told me this, i nicely told her that since she offered me the choice earlier, i wanted to back out since i was not comfortable with the deal. she seemed surprised and tried to convince me that they would be able to fulfil the order. she said that they typically have a 15% order cancellation fee but would not charge me...how nice! now here is the kicker- she said she'd refund me, and offer a mutual cancellation agreement via ebay, but in return before she executed the refund, she wanted me to leave a positive feedback, with her name, and she told me what to say, which was something silly like "great seller, thanks Haya". I said ok no problem, and left exactly what happened instead of her crap, but ended with good customer service since compared to some examples i've seen with this company, it was not bad. scary, but not bad. If i had to guess, i think that my contact was new, and was not yet well-versed in dealing with someone who was skeptical from the start. Not to mention someone who is from NJ who is somewhat used to dealing with shrewd, scamming new york sheisters. I feel that my initial threats immediately stopped any potential upsell situations (where they would then get you outside of EBAY and scam). At the end of the day, i got my money back, though after a while, due to the typical paypal hoops."

"What a good and positive experience. Jimmy explained all of my options in detail. Very informative, good salesman but not pushy. I will buy for Barclays again.

Henry"

"We ordered a dryer from Dealznet in July '07. We were told they had the item in stock. After a week they said it was shipped. I was charged for this item on July 27. Two weeks later I called the company and they said they did not have the item. They asked if I wanted a different dryer, I said no to please credit my account. Woody said he would do so that day. It is now September 20 and it has not been credited back. I sent them an email stating it had not been credited and received an email back saying it would be done within 4-7 business days. After the time had expired it still was not done. I sent another email and they said I had to fax a request to them because my credit card had connected them regarding this matter. I called today (9/20) and they told me that my credit card told them not to talk to me. This is crap, my CC told me to contact the company since it would be faster. What ever you do DO NOT buy anything from this company. They charge you before the item it shipped and then refuse to credit your card back!!!!!"

"Great price on Panamax 8. Other than slow shipping,
I will do business with them again."

"I should have searched for barclaysphoto before buying from them on eBay. I had read about the PriceRitePhoto mess and knew to avoid them and a few of their other names. But after hitting 'buy it now' on one of their eBay auctions for a DSLR camera and receiving an email to call and pay over the phone, I felt a little strange about the whole thing. But, not knowing about barclaysphoto yet, I went ahead and called them the next morning to place my order. The woman I spoke with told me the camera I ordered was an import and didn't come with a warranty. NONE of this was stated on their auction. So she sold me a maintenance contract (4 years for $210) and a tripod, taking my total to $1,547.95. After hanging up, my stomach felt sick. This whole thing just didn't feel right. So I decided to Google their name and see if anyone else had heard of these people. All I can say is WOW. Their name was all over the place (and not in a good way). After reading several complaints against them and coming from their original name PriceRitePhoto, I immediately called to cancel my credit card account with Chase. Then I called to cancel my order with barclaysphoto, but the extremely rude customer service guy told me all eBay sales are final and kept yelling into the phone at me. So I just said thanks and hung up. Later that day I received an email about me wanting to cancel my order and that I would have to call back to 'take several steps' with barclaysphoto to make it happen. I ignored this and received another email just like this the next day. Then I received a third email 3 days later and finally sent them a response, telling them I took care of everything as far as canceling my order and didn't have a desire to talk to anyone else there. A few days later I found out barclaysphoto had been able to charge my credit card for $1,547.95 BEFORE I canceled my account with the credit card company. Now I was stuck getting this money back.

I called them this morning (8/27) and was told my credit card would be credited $1,470.95 because they charge a 5% cancellation fee. I said fine, just get me out of this mess.

NOTE: Threaten barclaysphoto with posting negative feedback on eBay and they'll start listening to you.

I really hope more people search for this company on the Internet before buying from them. They're 100% feedback rating on eBay is crap. I've learned my lesson as others have from experience. When you call back to cancel your order like they tell you to, they constantly push you to buy other stuff. DO NOT BUY FROM BARCLAYSPHOTO. I consider myself lucky to have gotten out with only losing $77 instead of over $1500 like another guy did I read about.

As of right now I'm still waiting for my credit to show up on my credit card, but even if it does, this is not a company you want to deal with. In fact, stay away from ALL camera companies on eBay. It's funny how most of them are all from New York. "

"DO NOT ORDER FROM BARCLAY! Classic New York scammers. Bought a battery grip, got the normal pushy salesman to upgrade, blah blah blah. Item recieved is GREY MARKET and OPENED. No manual. Shipping was absurd. I knew I was getting taken but I thought I would give it a try. BAD SHADY COMPANY."

"As everyone else has said. They tried to upsell me when I purchased a Nikon D40. Then because I wouldn't purchase something they called back a couple of days later to "get my payment info" which I had already given them and once again tried to upsell me. They finally shipped the camera, but when I left neutral feed back on ebay and told what happened they called me at work on my cell phone and when I couldn't talk left NEGATIVE feed back. I would NEVER recomend them to any one but the DA and BBB."

"Won a bid on ebay for a Canon Rebel XTi 10.1 mp DSLR. Called them to finish transaction and they were pushy about sales. Camera arrived not factory sealed like it was described and camera and lens were DOA. Dont buy from these crooks. They need a locked up at Attica penitentary. Fraudelant sellers. Misguides honest ebayers with misleading claims of their products."

"Purchased off ebay on the 31st(ebay #290099571435). wouldnt ship until I called sales. Bait and switch set up. After numerous emails they wanted me to call and talk to sales..Why would I need to talk to sales? They tried to sell me batteries, other lenses, etc etc. After telling him no he puts me on hold for about another 15 mins and someone else answers and by now I'm beyond mad and get the same sales pitch. I told them no AGAIN and he cont. interupted me after numerous times telling him to send my camera. I was told the only way for them to send my camera was to leave them positive feedback. Now keep in mind I ordered my camera on the 31st of March and this phone call was 2 weeks after paying for it. I didnt even get my camera until I had t call back again a week later and they finally sent it fed ex 2 day. Very rude upsell and bait and switch. I've reported them to ebay and if you dont believe me on their service then Here is a link. Review their ebay feedback you will see a trend. http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=barclaysphoto&item=290099571435&iid=290099571435&frm=1883&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:SFS"

"I won a Canon 1D Mark II camera on eBay from Barclay's photo (aka AAA photo, AKA Digital Distributors). I paid for it through Paypal immediately. A week later and I still haven't received any shipping confirmation. I contacted them and they sent me a phone number to call them. I called and I received a sales pitch for all kinds of overpriced accessories and services I don't need that I politely declined. Then the salesperson asked me whether I want my Fedex Ground package insured, which would cost another 3% of the total price (around $60 on top of the already outrageous $40 shipping charge). When I pointed out that I have a Fedex account and I know for a fact that Fedex Ground for a 10lbs package and $2000 worth of insurance is less than $20 and I offered him to send me the package using my Fedex account at my expense, the salesperson transferred me to his "manager". The "manager" immediately told me that the camera is "out of stock" and that they will get it sometime next week. When I pointed out that they currently have an identical camera up for auction on eBay that's ending in three days he told me that they are out of stock but they know they will be getting them so that's why they have listed it. When I asked for a firm date when will they be getting them he refused to give me a firm date, saying that he "doesn't want to be held to it". When I asked "how come you're listing the camera on eBay right now when you know for a fact that it's not in stock and you don't have a firm date when you will have it in stock" he refused to answer. In short, this is a typical "bait and switch" Internet operation that somehow managed to get their business going on eBay. "

"Please refer to the following web site( emailed to me 2/28/07) for further evidence of these associated web sites with a long and continuing pattern of Internet fraud:

http://www.dealznet.com/webpromotions.aspx

These fraudulent web sites warrant strong action to remove from damaging internet commerce and gaming customer surveys with prohibited conduct.

I am pursing all consumer complaint resourses to further document their recent, ongoing patterns of Fraud. Please contact me if I can detail further."