"Hi all,
I recently bought a Canon 60D w/ 18-135mm Lens kit from camerakings.com and would like to share my experience. I got this kit at a very good deal as compared to other online resellers (~$300 less). Somehow I came to know about this lot of negative feedback for camerakings and was very worried. I read that for most of the people, the sales person tried to sell extra accessories on the verification call, there were extra shipping charges applied without notification, there was no warranty in the package and what not. But to my surprise, no one tried to sell anything when I called for verification. I had ordered my camera on a Saturday. My package was shipped on Monday and I received it on Wednesday. There have been no extra charges applied to my account. The camera is brand new and in perfect condition. To top it, I have Canon USA warranty cards for both the camera body and the lens. I have successfully registered both on the Canon website. As of now, I have no reason to believe that what I have is a Grey market product. I am extremely satisfied with my purchase and would like to thank camerakings for the same."

"HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE! You need to do your research before shopping with them. They do not make it explicit when they are selling gray market cameras. No where on the product description is it listed. The only way you find out is by matching up the "1 Year Warranty" listed on a tab under the product description with a paragraph in the "About Us" section. Furthermore, I received HORRIBLE customer service by Frank and others. They seemed unable to answer my gray market questions, just wanted to push a fast sale on me, started debating with me about what I found on the Best Buy site (making claims I wouldn't find the camera anywhere- it was out of stock, which was a lie), and when I canceled my order, didn't seem to care about my concern about when I would be refunded. As a well educated individual, I say without a doubt that they are total scammers. Now I need to wait 2-3 days for the amount to post back to my account to buy from a legitimate dealer."

"I ordered Canon T2i with 18-135mm lens from Camera Kings today to gift my friend.

I have very good experience with Camera Kings while buying my Canon 60D last time. Except 4% shipping insurance, every thing was expected and recieved Camera made for US maket."

"Buyer Beware! Their website claimed a Canon 5D MK II was a US Model. They lie! I called and it is in fact GRAY MARKET. In fairness, my money was refunded quickly. Stick with mainstream retailers.....if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is."

"After finding this site and reading some of these comments I feel a little sick to my stomach. I just ordered a Panasonic camcorder listed at $2,544 (which is a great price compared to other dealers). I also added a 32gb HCSD card. When I called to verify my order I was sucked into the upselling and agreed to get the ultra high speed sd card that was insisted on. I also agreed to the 3 year repair/cleaning for $150. After yet again one more attempt of trying to upsell an even bigger package, I declined but was told that I would be given the deal anyway. I was told I would get a "free" lens filter and a better carrying case then the free one. I was also told I would get all the free items listed (tri-pod, cleaner,screen protector). After reading these comments I'm also seeing people being charged 6% handling fee which is not listed and I find to be misleading. I really hope I'm not charged anymore than I agreed to or I will have to make a phone call to them.

If someone from camerakings reads this I hope they double check and make sure my order is correct when sent out.. I'm hoping this to be a better experience than it has for some.

I didn't get an invoice of all that I purchased which is a little shocking. It is the first site I've order from that doesn't send an invoice of what you purchased right away.

I will stay updated when I know more about the order or when I receive the purchased goods and give my final thoughts on this site.

Thanks for reading

"

"I ordered a camera (Canon 60D $805)as a Christmas present for my wife. I ordered online and expected it to be a silent purchase that my wife didn't know about. Not the case!!! They require a phone after the online order to "confirm the order"?!! So they called my home, talked to my wife and messed up the Christmas surprise!!! Come to find out the only reason they called was to try to sell me more stuff. Very unprofessional!!!!! I ordered online for a convenient easy sale. Now I had to call them back and wait 25 minutes on hold to talk to their rude custumer service agent who only goal was to sell me a $150 battery!!!! If it wasn't so close to the big day I would have told their rude agent to shove the camera where the sun don't shine. My advise would be to spend the extra $50 bucks and buy the camera anywhere else but there!"

"So I was attracted to the great price so I ordered a canon 7d from them. I wanted to be shipped as soon as possible so I choose the addition over night shipping fees. It has been 3 days and still no tracking number. I called several times but they gave me a run around.

I decided to read reviews and it doesn't look so good. People are calling these people scammers and liars everywhere on google. I am still looking out for my tracking numbers. I told the customer service guy if it's not shipped by tonight and get here by tomorrow, I will cancel my order, but now having read all the post, it seem like that will be a tall order as well.

Should I freeze that order guys? Or will CK deliver what they promised, which is already falling short on the date. "

"These folks seem to make every effort to bring their company into the mainstream market, although they have a way to go. They do offer excellent pricing with reasonable shipping times, and alternately also make an effort to increase their sales by offering additional products, as is expected in a free-commerce society (there are a few that find this practice offensive but it can be helpful in making sure you have the items you need to prevent future ordering of forgotten/necessary items). Some of these are a deal, some are better left to finding at another website (memory cards should be of a reputable brand name, of which my preference wasn't available at CK, and batteries & such should be verified as brand names corresponding to your purchase when ordering, for those concerned with retaining continuity...i.e. Canon battery grips for Canon cameras). It is always recommended to do your research thoroughly before buying any product from anyone.

Although my package arrived in two separate shipments a week apart, and I am still waiting for my "free accessories package" (that has indeed been shipped), everything is new, U.S. models and with warranty cards and arrived in a timely manner with decent packaging (a "fragile" stamp would have been appreciated, for peace of mind). I was not in a time crunch to get the items so have no comment on their "rush" services (my purchase was made on 11/28 and the second of the three packages arrived 12/15).

Their system does need a little refining, but it seems they are moving from "damage control" more towards "customer satisfaction" with every transaction. The important details like offering an e-receipt upon purchase, getting the entire order shipped out with all accessories included and in a timely manner, and eventually gaining the "authorized dealer" label will go a long way in solidifying their reputation as a mainstream seller. But I fear that this will also come with higher prices.

Camera Kings offer great deals, and those willing to be patient with their building process will be rewarded with great products at excellent prices.

I would recommend them for their exceptional values and admirable endeavor to be a reputable internet seller. Keep up the efforts and thanks for the deals!"

"Overall it was a good experience.

They have really good prices -- the catch is the upsell. They make you talk to one of them on the phone before they'll ship. "

"So, I read a lot of negative reviews about CameraKings.com. This is my first dealing with them and I was afraid that I would have trouble due to these ratings.

Well, I did and didn't.

I ordered Saturday (even though I think they are closed) and paid an extra $4 for faster shipping, but the camera arrived Tuesday around noon. That is amazing!

When I opened the camera, everything looked fine (I ordered a Canon T2i and Sigma lens). The Canon T2i was the US version (I could tell by the label "T2i" vs. D550 or KISS).

However, (the negative) I did not receive the USA warranty card, which I was told I would (I called on Sunday to verify the order and they said I would get this card).

Now, that made me nervous, so I called Canon, who basically said that as long as it was the USA model (identified as the T2i), Canon would honor the warranty as long as I had the original receipt (which I do) and I did not need an actual warranty card. Since it came directly from Canon, I believe it and feel better.

It's worth the ~10% savings over mainstream retailers, especially since Canon backs the 1 year warranty.

If I were you, I would check with your manufacturer, if different than Canon and verify this.

By the way, I believe the definition of "grey market" with respect to Cameras is that they are models not intended for US sale. Canon has different model #s for non-USA models. Canon also honors warranties of USA model #s, with a receipt, so it is not a grey market product (that would be a 550D or KISS purchased in the US)."

"Good seller, easy to do business with, great prices, and fast shipping."

"I got the Nikon D700 from them, simply they had the best price. The had the camera with the 18-55 mm and the 55-200 mm (though DX not FX like the camera, still it was a perfect deal!) for only $ 2276 ONLY! While the body alone is sold for $2600 in some other places.

After I placed the order I visited this site to read more reviews about them to know if I made the right choice and I got very frustrated! The reviews made me feel that they were a bunch of liars. But this was not true! Thank God we received everything they promised in a great condition! I regret not getting the flash from them.

Thanks Camera Kings :) "

"After reading other reviews I finally decided to buy my canon T1i from them.

It's *grey market* (camera kings is NOT an authorized canon reseller) so don't but from them if you want the canon US warranty. They have their own warranty which is similar though. It's the best price I found (besides there's free shipping and no tax for NYC). The price also varies with demand.

A few annoying things:
The free gift is a joke. The mini tripod can't hold my camera and the camera bag is too small (only the body fits). At least the screen protectors and the cleaning kit can be useful.
They won't ship at an address that is different than your billing address, unless you tell your bank to register an "alternate shipping address" (Bank of America couldn't do it).
They call you to confirm the order and want to sell you extra batteries. Just say no and buy them on amazon for 10 bucks.

In the end I have the camera and it's working. It's all that matters... I would buy from them again only if the price is worth it. Remember that it varies with demand."

"I just purchased a SONY HDR-CX550V from them. I placed my order by phone. The salesman was friendly and knowledgable.

He did try to sell me a larger battery, memory, and an extended warranty. Best Buy does the exact same thing.

The extended warranty is a MACK warranty, which is one of the best in the industry.

The camera arrived in a week. I received an unopened US model, so no complaints there.

I almost forgot, even though the shipping was free, there was an insurance/handling fee (the website did make mention of this). Even with that fee, they were still cheaper than the nearest competition,

I would buy from them again and I would recommend them to a friend."

"Ordered Canon T2i from Camera Kings on 11/25/10. As of 12/6/10, it had not been shipped. The company did not respond to email I sent on 11/30/10 questioning the delay.
I called on 12/6/10 and requested the order be cancelled, which they did without a hassle. The refund to PayPal came within 5 minutes of my phone call.
Their manager (Brian) called me about an hour later to apologize for the inconvenience and said he wanted to make things right.
I did end up purchasing the camera from them and am glad to see that they are actively striving for customer satisfaction.
I would buy from them again."