"I purchased the Panasonic GS200 Camcorder from Blueswitch. Before buying from them, I did a lot of reference checking on this and other companies. I found that although they didn't have the best rating out there (about 6+ out of 10 at the time) Blueswitch's price was among the best.
I spoke with "Manny" who was very friendly. I informed him that I had done my research on companies such as his and that I was on guard for many of the practices I'd read about, such as items out of stock, repeated email delays, overselling accessories, etc.
He understood my apprehension and assured me that he had the item in stock and asked me to simply give him a couple minutes to offer accessories that I might want. He assured me he would not "hard sell" me.
After listening, I did end up buying a spare battery (after Manny discounted the price for me) and some tapes (name brand, priced under what I could get them for locally). Manny also threw in a UV filter and upgraded my shipping from ground to 2 day.
I received tracking information that evening and verified it shipped. The camera and accessories arrived as promised, with no problems. I would definitely make another purchase from Blueswitch, and will especially ask for Manny.
Now some words of advice to anyone purchasing from an online discount electronics store: First, do it via telephone, not via the internet. Be firm. Let them know you will not tolerate any BS. Ask specific questions verifying the item is in stock, that it is not grey market, it has full mfr. warranty, what the return policy is, restocking fees, etc. Also, get the first and last name of the rep you deal with. This makes them more accountable.
Finally, make it clear to them that if the item is not delivered on time and as promised, you will immediately stop payment on your credit card & report them to the Better Business Bureau. "Do not play games with my order!"
In order to get an idea of how responsive they are, I selected the returns option from their phone menu instead of sales. This allowed me to see how long it takes them to respond to a problem. Some companies didn't pick up for 15 minutes (if at all), while others picked up as fast as the sales department. Listen to the attitude of the rep when they have to transfer you. This also gives you an idea of their customer service commitment.
Good luck, and thanks again to Manny and Blueswitchdigital.com!!"
"I have had a horrible experience with this company. Their web site said they had my camera in stock, lie #1. "Rep. #1" called and left a short message concerning my "camera order", I called back and left a message, "Rep. #1" called again with the exact same short message not telling me when he could be reached. I checked their web site and discovered they are on the East coast, I call during their business hours and spoke to “Rep. #2” who says that the calls were because they are unsure of my correct zip code and that the camera would be shipped that day with upgraded shipping, lie #2. After not receiving a confirmation e-mail I called on 2/18/05 and spoke to "Rep. #3". He said that the problem with the order was that their entire shipment of the camera that I ordered was defective, and they had to send them back, lie #3. I told him that I wanted to cancel the order so I could go to a camera store and buy the camera. I was put on hold for several minutes and then "Rep. #1" gets on the phone and says the problem all along was my credit card company, lie #4. And that the tried to send me e-mails telling me the problem, lie #5. He then denies leaving me a message concerning my "camera order". I played him the message and caught him in lie #6. then about a minute later he tries to deny that he had denied leaving the message! Lie#7 At this point I was so angry I told him he was the worst "customer service" rep. I had ever encountered, and that he should be fired! He wouldn't let me finish my answers to his questions, and then accused me of cursing at him (I didn't), lie #8. I finally hung up on him and called my credit card company to dispute the charge. I forgot to mention that they charged my card 4 days before shipping (I still can't confirm it has even been shipped). STAY AWAY FROM THIS DIGRACEFUL COMPANY, unless, of course, you enjoy being lied to!
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"Placed the order during the holiday season. Creditcard had a problem on my part. Therefore the order precessing took few extra days. I called them couple of days later and the bit annoyed customer support guy on the phone said it will be shipped soon but didn't say anything about the credit card problem. A day later, got a call regarding the creditcard problem and I used a different one which worked. Person promised to ship it the same day but it was shipped the next day. Afterall I got the camera before the birth of my son!"
"These people are clowns. Typical low price gypsy sales senario. You order what you want, they email you and say you need to call them to verify before they can process, then they hard sell you expensive batteries, and other junk. Avoid this place."
"Excellent. A+ company. Will do business again in the future."
"I had a great experience when I purchsed a Casio Exilim EX-Z40U digital camera from Blueswitchdigital.com. They had the lowest price with free shipping and no sales tax to California. I placed the order on Friday and received an email with the Fedex Express Saver tracking info on Monday. The camera arived in perfect condition on Tuesday, a day earlier than scheduled."