"I placed an order for a Sony DCR-TRV22 camcorder from Cameratopia on May 19, before I read the first page and a half of negative reviews on this site.

I know why I haven't received it yet now ... Wow! I can't believe it has been 10+ weeks! No accessories on my order.

I'll have to consider it on layaway now. I'll let you know when or if I receive it.

Update 8/5/03 -

Spoke to a nice lady in the customer support department. She said they have not gotten any in yet. She was so nice that I think I'll keep waiting at this price. But I would be very interested in knowing if anybody has received a TRV22 who placed their order after May 19...

Update 8/18/03 -

Still wating. Price is now $1 less than my order on 5/19.

Update 8/30/03 -

Three months, still waiting. Price is still $1 less. Would sure like to know if they shipped one of these to anybody who ordered after I did. Send me your order number.

Update 11/25/03

SIX MONTHS AND STILL WAITING. Price posted is now $ 445, and my order was placed at $ 515.
"

"I ordered a Canon G3 from Cameratopia on Sunday the 13th, online.

On Monday the 14th, I was contacted to verify my order. The person who contacted me was polite and reccomended several accessories. I bought the lens adaptor and 2 filters. They did offer me the 5 year warranty, but they do that at any electronics store. I declined the warranty.

After confirming my order, I was told the camera would ship on Tuesday and I would get it by Friday. I was given the exact price advertised ($447.00) for the camera, and the accessories were priced reasonably too. Overall I paid $350. less than I would have at Fry's for the same stuff.

After I placed my order, I was browsing online and read all these complaints about Cameratopia. I was terrified that I had just been "taken". So I called them back on Tuesday. I spoke to a very polite young woman, who verified my order, and stated the camera was in the shipping department and would go out that evening. She also said that my card would not be billed until UPS took the package off their site.

Lo and behold, Tuesday evening the tracking number appeared, and the camera arrived on Friday afternoon. The camera was brand new,USA Model, sealed package, with the 1 year warranty card inside. Everything was in good shape.

Interestingly enough, my credit card wasn't even billed until *after* the camera was in my hands.

Overall, I had a great experience. The worst part of the whole thing was reading the rants from people who didn't have good experiences, which made me almost cancel my order.

BTW, I am not a "plant" by the company. And I do intend to reccomend them to others.

--DW"

"When originally contacted by phone they said that the Olympus C5050 that they are advertising online for $479.00 was in stock, had the manufacturer waranty, and was not grey market. I purchased it over the phone on Friday 6/27/03. I received a call from a person name Patrick at Cameratopia to verify my order. Durring the verification he attempted to sell me several add ons. I declined to purchase any of these. I was then told that the three day delivery I requested was not available, that it would have to be 7 - 10 day ground.

A few days later I noticed that my credit card had not been charged so I called their customer care line to find out what was going on. The individual I talked to said the camera was out of stock and he would not tell me when a shipment was expected.

At the 7 business day mark of 7/8/03 I sent an email to thier customer service department asking the status of the order and what the ETA on my murchandise might be. By 7/15/03 I had not received a response so I called and they said it was still out of stock. I cancled the order.

It is my firm belief that the camera was in stock, but only for those that buy the expensive add-ons that I forewent. If you choose to buy and you want the add-ons you might find a good deal. If all you want is an incredible deal. You won't get one, just a headache.

At this point I have almost 4 weeks spent on this and no camera, even though it was "in stock". I have submitted a complaint to the New York Attorney General, and if this has happened to you I suggest you do the same as this is most likely a form of bait & switch. The suspicious offer form is here: http://www.oag.state.ny.us/online_forms/complaint_suspicious.jsp

Good Luck

"

"DONT DO IT!!! There is no deal at CameraTopia! My complaint is not with a order delay but a $15 handeling fee. I agreed to a total charge of $233 which included $19 for shipping. When I got the order the shipping line on the invoice had been changed to "S&H" for a increased amount of $34. Sneeky! I was also called to confirm the order and was forced to listen to accessory upsells. DONT DO IT!!! ORDER SOMEWHERE ELSE!"

"Ordered Coolpix camera on May 14, 2003 via telephone. I specifically asked if camera was in stock. Was told yes and that it would be shipped either that day or the next day. Online tracking later that day show status was "In shipping". Checked online with the credit card company and it showed my account had been charged $233.19 (correct amount). On Friday, May 16, I checked online again (at camertopia.com)to see what the status of my order was. It still showed "in shipping". I called cameratopia (1-8888-507-0010) and asked why it had not been shipped yet. They apologized and ensured me it would be shipped Monday, May 19. I checked cameratopia's website on Monday afternoon and it still showed it was "in shipping". I called and cancelled the order later that afternoon (May 19). They again apologized and told me my credit card would be credited for the total amount of 233.19. Cameratopia's online tracking almost immediately showed the order had been cancelled. Two days later (May 21, 2003), my credit card company said they had not received any credits from cameratopia. I initiated the "dispute Billing" procedure. I will not deal with them again and will most certainly steer anyone I know away from Cameratopia. P.S. I have since then talked with two people where I work and they had the exact same problem."

"This is not an honorable ebuisness. Dealing with this company has left me feeling uneasy. They bait with really low prices on their web site and try to upsell. If you don't bit, the product suddenly becomes unavailable for at least 3-5 weeks!

I called about an Olympus C-5050 that they advertised for an unbelievable price. I called and asked if it was in stock. I got a confirmation that it was and that it was NEW, unopened and US (not gray market). The salesperson confirmed and then tried a hard sell on very expensive "discounted" accessorites. I politely declined the offer and was told that The product would ship with 48 hours. 5 days later I was told it was on back order and would take at least 3-5 weeks.

The only good things I could say about doing business with these folks is that they did not charge my credit card. They were also very good about canceling my order, but obviously that was what they wanted. This is a very strange business practice.

I had a friend call and they said the camera was still in stock. Why should they be allowed to stay in business. Don't buy here!!!"

"I ordered a Canon powershot G3 for $464 (very good price). I later got an email saying if could take 3-5 weeks to recieve my camera. I called 2 weeks after I ordered to check on the statis of my order and they told me I should have it in 7-10 days. I then called again 1 week later and another guy told me 7-10 days and told me that I would have to call shipping direct to find out the exact date of shipping, but they close at 5PM. So I called them the next day to see if they knew when I would get my camera, The lady told me she would know by the end of the month when it would be in. Basicly they weren't telling me the truth about when I would get my camera IF EVER."

"Called before odering to confirm that the item was in-stock (Canon G3). I was told it was in-stock so I ordered it. Four days later I received an e-mail saying it was back-ordered and I should receive it in 3 to 5 weeks. I called again and asked if it was in-stock and was told it was. When I said that I had receive an e-mail saying it was back-ordered, I was put on hold, and when the salesperson came back on the line he told me it was on its way to them and they would ship it to me as soon as they got it. He could not tell me when that would be, but could be as long as 3 to 5 weeks. I cancelled the order (and got the e-mail confirming the cancellation immediately, I guess they have more practice sending out cancellations then orders)."

"I placed an order online and in the comments area I WARNED them not to pull the same crap that I've been getting from others, AND GOT FROM THEM BEFORE on the phone. They refuse to tell you on the phone if cameras are in stock. They FIRST ask how many of their overpriced accessories you want. If you say "NONE", the cameras are "not in stock". If you say yes to this bait routine, oh sure, THEN they have the cameras in stock! One will 'miraculously' show up! I know for a FACT they are in stock. More than ONE WEEK later I FINALLY get a reply from them (emails sent everyday asking about the status of the order) feeding me some BS about they won't do biz with me, because of my 'comments'. We all know that's BS and that they refuse to sell cameras ONLY. They won't give you the time of day unless you spend a fortune on accessories you can get elsewhere for about 1/3 the price. This is why on the product page it states "call for availability" so they will know ahead of time what to tell you about them being in stock or not. If you order online anyway, you get an email from them telling you to 'call us to "verify" your order', which we know this is when they get you on the phone to ask about 'accessories', and if you say 'no', again they tell you 'uh, we don't have any. It's time the FTC starts getting involved with these type a$$hole vendors.

I must say these so called 'alleged' "somewhat satisfied" or "satisfied" comments here are just plants by the company themselves. Read 'em, nothing but bull$h!t. Why would they pi$$ on 99% of their customers, then treat only a few like humans? Doesn't make sense does it.....unless they are 'plants' by the company in a FUTILE attempt to boost their hideous ratings."

"Cameratopia is an excellent vendor, very good prices, very good service, speedy shipping. I have ordered from them in the past and I will do so in the future."

"The day I ordered Olympus C5050 ,I call them on the phone at 6 PM CDT and was no answer.
Today I'm calling to cancel my order at 9 AM CDT, office is closed!
Working hours are posted on the website:
Sunday 10am – 7pm EST
Monday 9am – 9 EST
Tuesday 9am – 9 EST
Wednesday 9am – 9 EST
Thursday 9am – 9 EST
Friday 9am – 9 EST
Saturday closed

I got an answer at 9:20 AM CDT by very pleasant lady who comfirmed the cancelation!
"

"The product and price were excellent, but the sales rep misrepresented the shipping-handling-insurance fees on additional items ordered; they even charged me $3.00 "S&H and Ins" on a "Free" bonus item for mentioning an ad I saw. I didn't even ask for or want the free item, but they would not credit the charge back to me. Also, I ordered a Compact Flash card that was supposed to be "High-Speed", but the only indication of that was a sticker on the packaging. And the rep said there would be no additional shipping charge to add that to the order, but they charged me an additional $6.60 for S$H and Ins., but the Sales Director said it wasn't shipping, just insurance. I think he misrepresented the fees. He refused to credit the extra "insurance" fees to my credit card. If I had known how they do business, I would have ordered just the Nikon camera and nothing else."

"I am very pleased with Cameratopia’s sales and customer service departments. When I ordered my camera (Olympus C730) I told the salesman I required quick shipment. The camera and accessories were shipped the same day I placed the order. When the camera arrived I discovered that I could not use the camera’s landscape mode with the extra memory I ordered. One call to Camertopia was all it took to arrange for a memory card exchange. Even though the new memory card was more expensive I was not charged for the exchange. The free exchange was at Cameratopia’s request, not mine. "

"Welcome to ultra shopping experience.At least that what they say.Ordered a Digital Camera
and after a couple days they emailed that was on back order for 3 to 5 weeks.After % weeks then every time I called it was 2 more weeks.Called today they wouldn't give me any ship date.When
I told them to cancell order they said they just got some in with more accessories which was $150.00 more.No thanks. So don't expect to much from them.Ordered today else where and should have first of next week"

"I found this company unreliable and using shady business practices. After waiting months and getting different answers every time I inquired about my order statu, I enlisted the help of my attorney. Cameratopia never responded. My digital camera was finally shipped to me March 19th, 2003. It was ordered December 3, 2002. It was a Christmas gift. The only reason I received completion of my order was due to filing complaints with the New York Better Business Bureau, New York State Attorney General's Office and the New York City Consumer Affairs Department. Cameratopia even lied to The New York Consumer Affairs Department telling them I had cancelled my order! All I wanted was fullfillment of the contract - a digital camera for an agreed upon price. All I got was a major hassle. The company even continued to advertise the camera (with decreases and increases in price) while "awaiting shipment" from their supplier. I would advise everyone to steer clear of Cameratopia.com and purchase from more reputable dealers. "