"Before I checked out , I were NEVER informed about an English manual or Japanese manual . I assumed that it should be an English manual since we live in English speaking country . They emailed me and asked me to call them . I called them to verify the order , they asked me that which version do I want , if I want English version ,it would cost me $55.00 + more. I could not believe what I heard , customer service are not NICE and not knowledgeable about the products either. "

"I found a "great deal" on a Sanyo Xacti VCP-HD2 camcorder when doing a price search on "pricetopia.com". Actually, I had never heard of pricetopia before and I should have had my guard up early on as this "search engine" only turned up 4 vendors selling the camcorder. The best price (of course) was from Broadway Photo at $409 ($200 less than Amazon) and the store was rated by PriceTopia as 5-star, trusted/featured merchant.

WHOIS Domain lookup shows pricetopia.com as being under private registration, but I would not be surprised at all to find out that it and broadway photo are run by the same scamming outfit. Okay, as Seargent Joe Friday says, "Just the facts, m'am"...

I followed the pricetopia link to broadway photo where I read through the details for the Sanyo camcorder. Everything looked in order; it wasn't a refurb, had all the regular accessories, and they even included:
>> A FREE Tripod,
>> Lens Cleaning Kit,
>> and LCD Screen Protector
with Every Online Camcorder Purchase Over $250
(A $149.97 Value)

Woo-Hoo, what a deal. Sign me up!

So I put the camcorder in my shopping basket and was then presented with a long list of recommended accessories such as various capacity SD cards. To my surprise, the various SD cards were outrageously high priced. I mean these prices were just unreal. Example: A 1GB SD card for $599.99. What?!! Thinking it was a mistake, I browsed through the other SD cards and they were all similarly marked up to outrageously high levels. Note, you can buy a 2GB SD card from Crucial.com for under $25.

So I'm thinking, buyer beware - someone that was not familiar with what stuff goes for (like me) could really be taken for a ride. But foolishly, I continued and placed the order anyway. At least I had the presence of mind to use a DiscoverCard one-time-use credit card number (highly recommended for web transactions - I think Visa might have something similar).

On the following morning I get an email asking me to call and verify my order. Hmmmm... that seems odd thinks me - what's going on here I wonder. So I call their toll-free number, the phone rings a million times before an answering machine picks up. I leave a message referencing my invoice number and ask them to call me back.

Meanwhile, I start googling around with keywords "broadwayphoto" and "reputation" and I got plenty of hits. They have a reputation alright - a very, very, extremely BAD reputation. After reading all of the nightmare stories about this outfit I decided it was time to bail before things got worse and I had to deal with returning merchandise, etc. It's just not worth it to me.

So, I sent a response to their email to "CANCEL ORDER". I also called my credit card company and had them void out one-time-use credit card number which fortunately had not yet been charged against.

Better Business Bureau has a rap-sheet on these guys that reads like a bad-news convicted felon.

Read all about it here:
http://www.newyork.bbb.org/reports/businessreports.aspx?pid=44&page=1&id=68047

Also, beware, they have been known to do business under the following names:
A&M Photo World
Camera Addict
Cameratopia
Digital Liquidators LLC
Ghu, LLC
Preferred Photo
Prestige Camera
Regal Camera
Tronicity
Wild Digital LLC

By the way, did you happen to notice "CameraTopia" on the list? Sounds a lot like "PriceTopia" doesn't it? I'd bet a hundred bucks that pricetopia is their own bogus price search site.

Update: 7/22/2007 - I received a call from Broadway photo on a Sunday morning to confirm my order. I informed the company rep that I wanted to cancel the order which he took care of without any hassle. So, can you really get this camera from Broadway Photo for so much cheaper than any other merchant (including Ebay)? I can't say for certain (since I canceled the transaction), but I suspect that you can not."

"Just wanted to buy a 50" HDTV. Prestige is one these outfits that won't process your order until you call them in order to give them an opportunity to sell you more stuff delaying your order until you do so. Ended up the TV I ordered didn't seem to be available anyway. Prestige said they made enough money already and didn't need mine.

The order was cancelled. Surely someone else has use for my $2600 bucks.
"

"Another bait and switch. I ordered a Panasonic Lumix camera. I called to confirm the order and I was given the usual sales pitch. I told them I did not want additional batteries nor accessories. He then asked if I speak Japanese because the version they have is 100% Japanese. The English version is about $50 more. He said it was clearly stated in their website that most of the items are foreign imports. I checked their website and didn't find that text. When I told him to cancel, he didn't even hesitate because there was no way they would sell it for the price they advertised."

"DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT use Broadway Photo. I plead. They are some of the biggest scam artists on the internet. They reel you in with prices that they have no intention of keeping and then they try to sell you a bunch of add ons that you don't need. They tell you that if you don't get them, your camera won't work (extended battery, high-speed memory card, etc). They will also try to give you different lenses claiming they are "better". Don't fall for it. They do it because they don't have the products they advertise, only cheaper ones. PLEASE DON'T USE THEM. Go to a place like B&H Photo Video instead. It might cost you more but it is well worth it. Again, I can't emphasize this enough. DON'T USE BROADWAY PHOTO (or Tri State Photo). They are basically the same."

"i have been shafted the same way alot of the users have on this site by the bait and switch. i wanted to buy the sd900 but when i go to comfirm my order via phone they say its the jap version that i need another 70$ to get the us version. and with that and me seeing all these horrible reviews; someone needs to do something. i cant cause i cancelled my order. so if any of you has had this done please call a laywer, these shiesty NY "business's" need to be shut down"

"Stay away from this store. Had to call back to "confirm my shipping address", but they really just wanted to sell me more things at unheard of prices. I was also told I had to pay $25 more for my camera to get the American version with English directions. I refused the offer and received my camera with English directions anyways. Check out this site (http://www.aestheticdesign.com/prestige-camera.html) and believe everything it says!"

"Ordered a Samsung DV recorder. I should have looked at the Reseller ratings for this store. They are bait and switch, try to rip you off, con artists. Ditto to all the things said by others about emails subsequent to the order. Tried to sell me an SD memory card for 5 times its actual retail price. Supposedly my order shipped. They told me it was an export model for which I would only get a Japanese manual. Nowhere indicated on their website. They hung up on me twice, were rude, and never let me finish my sentences. Avoid these scoundrels. Will see what I actually receive from them."

"I ordered a Canon HV20 from Broadway Photo, because the price was excellent. I received an email confirming the order and asking me to change the ship to address to match my card. No problem. Talked to the sales guy, who informed me that I was buying and import camera, and I should by a US model at $100 more. I said this was bait and switch, so he lowered the price to a $20 premium. Said the camera was in stock. A week later, it had not arrived, so I called again. He said that they had only "bad" cameras in stock when I called, but fresh ones had just arrived, and my order would be shipped. Next day I called again to verify it had shipped, and they insisted it would ship that day. Later the same day, I got an email saying my order had been cancelled!
I then checked my credit card on-line, and found FRAUD on my credit card. It appears that the day I ordered from them, a charge went on my card for a laptop from B&H, to be shipped to someone in southern CA. Luckily, B&H had not shipped, so the order was cancelled, I cancelled my credit card, and reported it to the police. It appears that Broadway Photo sold my credit card information to someone.
Stay away from these people! I should have checked their reputation before I ordered. They are bad news, and criminal!"

"After being outbid several times on ebay for digital camcorders (going for waaaaay too much!), and finding this company listed on price comparison websites with a price at $200 below Amazon's, I purchased a Panasonic PV-GS500 through them early this morning. I checked to look for my confirmation email and when I saw that there was a note about calling them to confirm my order, I thought that was a little odd. So I did more research and found the complaints saying they are bait-and-switchers. However, I was afraid to cancel my order and have them charge me a 'cancellation fee,' after reading the complaints. So I called them this morning and recorded the conversation on speaker phone w/ a tape recorder to make sure that I was getting a U.S.-market camera w/ a U.S. warranty, that I would not be charged for anything other than what was on the invoice, and that I would receive exactly what was described on their website. He answered all of my questions with "of course," as if he had no idea that there were all of these complaints to the contrary(?). When I told him I was recording everything (probably obvious from the tape motor right next to the phone), I expected him to tell me the camera was "out of stock" when I didn't want any accessories. However, he didn't even try to sell me anything else except for a half-hearted offer for an extra battery, which I refused. And they have not canceled my order...yet. So I'm not sure what's going to happen w/ this, but I'll let everyone know. I saved the web page that the product was on, with all specifications. If I really do receive what I ordered, I will give them a positive review, as I have not been hassled by them at all...yet. I used a credit card so that I can do a chargeback if anything is fishy; luckily a friend has the same camera for me to do a comparison with... So, no verdict yet.

UPDATE: I got an email that my camcorder was on "backorder" the day after I spoke w/ him on the phone, so I cancelled my order. I'm actually relieved, as I did not want to have to go through the nightmare of being charged for things I didn't order or trying to return the damn thing."

"This company is a fraud! I ordered a Cannon SD 800 online. After a few short hours, I recieve phone call from Broadway Photo "confirming" my order. I was then told that I had ordered an "import" camera and I should upgrade to an american retail camera for $30.00 dollars more. So I did. Well recieved the camera today and guess what? It's an import model, no warranty, smells old and musty... I was taken. DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY!!"

"After specifically asking if this camera's extended warranty was through Nikon and assured twice that it was the manufacture's warranty we placed our order. Immediately they called and asked if we wanted to buy the battery (and said it only came with a demo battery) and other accessories. Unfortunately we agreed. When the camera arrived we proved through Nikon that it was a grey market camera and Nikon won't touch it (only the $500 warranty we ended up purchasing with the extra stuff they wanted us to get would work on it - but Nikon knew nothing of the warranty co.). Nikon suggested we send it back. Broadway did take our return after rudely treating us on the phone BUT would not refund the shipping ($101.36)and the 15% restocking fee ($267.20). The website says a minumum 5% restocking fee so we definitely didn't expect a 15% fee. When we asked about their statement on the website about satisfying their customers they said since we were returning their product we were not their customers.When I asked about their good name - they said they ship out hundreds of boxes every day. Check out the BBB on them - not a pretty sight."

"Dishonest. Not to be trusted. I purchased a Nikon D80 Camera from them, spent $1590 and got a camera with an invalid serial number that came in a box that was not in very good conditions with no Nikon warranty. User's Guide was a cheap photo copy. Nikon was able to confirm that the product was not meant to be sold in the US. Per their own Customer Service department 90% of their products are Grey Market, but they will not disclose it up front. Customer is manipulated into believing that he/she is purchasing a product that has manufacturer's warranty. DO NOT PURCHASE FROM THIS COMPANY. Bad Choice...I was stupid enough to do it."

"Add my name to the 'I'm so stupid, I can't believe it list." I bought a Canon Rebel XTI and a Canon 28-135mm f2.8 IS USM lens from these guys. I got the usual email, call back to confirm and got the usual, "You need to buy another battery cause the stock one only lasts 15 minutes, another charger, memory, lens filter kit."

Update: Coincidence?? 1 week after dealing with these crooks, my credit card number was used fraudulently in Maryland 4 times (I'm in Arizona). Only luck caught it as quickly as I did. Coincidence??? Maybe.
Because of card issues, I actually had a chance to do more research before they shipped and found this site. I promptly emailed them to cancel the order on Friday, and got no response back until Monday when I got an email saying it was being shipped overnite air. Got here yesterday and found out why this place sucks.
The 'Rebel XTi' was a KISS XTi (Japanese version), no US warranty card for either the body or the lens, manual was a zerox'd copy stapled together, the battery some off brand, ditto lens kit. No where that I can see do they let you know this is a GREY MARKET product and as such Canon is not obligated to stand by their new product warranty. After talking with Canon about it, there may be a chance to get it fixed under a warranty as long as I have the sales slip.
Once again, if it looks too good to be true, it just might be the only warning you'll get about scammers like this. I gotta say the guy was pleasant to talk with while he screwed me. Spread the word about them and also Reseller Ratings. wish I'd known earlier.
Oh,yeah, their site does say 'KISS XTI, Rebel XTi, 400D so they're probably covered. And the tag for this 'BARGAIN', $1589.99. So screwed. "

"This is a classic bait and switch outfit. The sort of things they do are most likely illegal. If I had the energy - I'd figure out where to report their fraud.

Placed an order for Canon Rebel xti. Their price was just over $100 lower than anybody else. The next day I received an email asking me to call and 'confirm' my order. When I called, 'sales person' advised me that the camera I bought was 'Japanese' version that comes with no warranty (in spite of the fact that the product description page states prominently at the top that camera comes with 1 year warranty). Other bizarre features were as follows:
- charger only works on Japanese current (ironically - current in Japan in identical to US: 110V)
- included battery is a 'starter' version with very low capacity (Canon makes no such thing)
- all menus are in Japanese only and it's not possible to set a different language (another lie; Japanese version of this camera that's sold in Japan has a selectable menu language)
- and finally the user manual is in Japanese only (that last bit being the only plausible scenario; of course anybody can get English manual in PDF formant from Canon's web site).

The guy strongly 'advised' that I buy the 'US model' instead which costs - incidentally - just over $100 extra. After I told the guy it's OK and I don't mind the Japanese model, he then proceeded to try and convince me that I need an extra battery and a memory card. I had already bought both of those - and didn't need a second set. Thanks for offering. He said OK and that my order would ship the same day. Later that day - I logged into their web site to check the status and found out that they cancelled my order. I sent an email asking why but they never replied.

I suppose no harm done. At least they did not add a bunch of accessories to my order without my permission - as they do for so many other people. Then again - I used American Express and disputing fraudulent charges at no liability to the customer is one of the Amex'es best features (unlike most debit cards that immediately take money from the bank account and most of the time - offer zero fraud protection; yep, that's a big reason why banks push them so hard)...

Bottom line - save yourself time and aggravation and stay away from these clowns."