"Scam Artists/Con men

Ordered a Nikon 35mm f/2.0 AF-D lens. They called and told me it would not work on my D700. They said it was analog and I needed a digital lens. BS. They offered me a "digital" lens for $399 and it was $100 off. They said if I returned my original analog lens they would charge me a 25% restocking fee plus a $50 fee. I said to cancel and they asked me if I was willing to pay the cancellation fee. I said no. Avoid these liars and thieves."

"SCAM WEBSITE...BAIT AND SWITCH tactics here. I ordered Nikon SLR D5000 camera body only for $260 which was about $300 less than anybody else and was asked to confirm my order by phone. After calling and waiting on-hold FOREVER, the lady on the oter side told me that the camera only comes with a promotional 15 min. battery and that I should buy their "special" 2-hour battery for additional $180. After refusing to add-on any additional 'crap' accesories, my order was confirmed. Three days later I got another email asking to confirm my order AGAIN. I called and of course after waiting for 1/2 hour was told that the camera is out of stock and backordered 6 to 8 weeks. Needles to say that I cancelled the order right away. "

"Chronology of Events

1. On or about April 7, 2010 I searched on the internet to purchase a Nikon 10-24 MM wide angle lens for a Nikon camera. Several results found including closeoutisland.com. B&H Photo price was $799.95, Closeoutisland.com $679.00 with free shipping.

2. The order was attempted to be placed with *Closeoutisland (*COI) for the Nikon lens. A Mr. Ralph Hays (1-***-***-**** ext. 215) took my call and represented to me that he was the manager of COI. Mr. Hayes represented at this time that he had a far superior lens a “professional edition” Sigma 10-20 that only he had access to because of a special, direct relationship with the manufacturer (Sigma direct, not Sigma North America). The lens purportedly had a special chip in it, did not have a 1.6 reduction factor that the Nikon lens had, did have optical stabilization (which the Nikon did not have), and that is was in every way superior to the Nikon lens. Upon assurance from Mr. Hays that if the lens was not acceptable, COI would accept a return for a full refund, the order was placed and my credit card information given to secure the order.

3. After placing the order I immediately began checking on the internet to verify the fact that this “far superior lens” did exist, however it could not be found anywhere on the internet. I called within 1 hour to change the order to the Nikon lens originally located on COI for $679.00. This was met with great difficulty, and endless reassurance by Mr. Hays (in excess of 30 minutes) that the Sigma was in fact specifically a “professional edition” lens, it was not even known to Sigma of North America (which is only an importer according to Mr. Hays) not to any other general retailers which did not have access to this special lens, as only COI did due to a direct factory relationship. Mr. Hayes directed me to several (unknown) websites to see that this lens was offered by competitors at a much higher price than he offered to me. I refuted that no independent information and no well known websites had any information about this (Professional edition” lens and that his references were all unknown sites seemingly related to COI. He got mad and said this was not true, went into a tirade about why was B&H Photo any better? Mr. Hayes continually reinforced the fact that it was a lens I would thank him for having made known to me. Having doubt, I again tried to substitute the Nikon lens; this was repeatedly refuted by Mr. Hays, indicating the order had shipped. I asked for a tracking number, which they could not produce. I asked for my invoice, which had not been received. In short, Mr. Hays would NOT change the order and insisted to just wait for the Sigma to arrive. I had no choice but to wait.

4. At a later time the invoice was sent by email. I immediately replied to the email indicating that Mr. Hays would refund the purchase in full if I was not satisfied with the lens. There was no reply to this. I called to ask Mr. Hays as to why he did not reply to my email and he indicated that as he was a “manager” he did not use email. He was in his words “only trying to help me out with this special situation” and not a common sales clerk. He assured me that I would be happy with the lens, that it was a Professional Edition, and that he would refund the purchase in full if this was not the case.

5. Upon receipt of the lens I verified on the internet that this lens was in fact a standard Sigma 10-24 F4-F5.6 EX DC lens. I also scanned the UPC bar code and verified such in several places, the lens was not a “professional edition” per Mr. Hays’ promise, it was a standard lens commercially available at about ½ the price anywhere on the internet from the price sold to me for by COI. I called to request a RMA and a refund. This call resulted in several hours of dissertation by Mr. Hays, why the lens was in fact a “professional edition”, why the UPC and the item code did not reflect such, insistence that the manufacturer’s item number was in fact used on many different items, more referrals to unknown websites to see the proof of this, but no credible information on a professional edition lens worth + $1000.00

6. Mr. Hays instructed me to look at the bottom of the box where there was a “PE” printed, as proof of a “Professional Edition”. I refuted this with the UPC and the manufacture’s item number. He again said the manufacturer uses same item #’s on different products, which I very much doubt. Mr. Hays instructed me to place the lens on my camera to see the “special” digital wide angle readout in the viewfinder. I did so, but no readout in the viewfinder indicating a “true 10 degree wide angle” with no reduction factor that would be the case on a Nikon lens. Mr. Hays said a “special chip” existed to eliminate any reduction factor. This cannot be verified by any professional source.

7. Upon insistence, re-insistence, and demand for a refund, Mr. Hays indicated he was not “that” manager and could not issue a full refund as promised but after several long holds on the phone he could authorized only $874.00 for various reasons and this amount was forced upon me under duress to get a RMA # . He proceeded to record a partial record if this amount as the refund authorized.

These are the facts of the transaction, sworn by me. I will dispute the charge on my credit card. I will also pursue legal action against COI for fraud, will notify the Attorney General’s office of NY and FL, and will seek to commence a class action lawsuit against COI as upon researching COI complaints on the internet there are numerous similar claims of bait & switch and seemingly fraudulent activity.

Sworn this 16th day of April, 2010"

"Do not deal with this online retailer even if prices appear to be low and there'e a promise of free shipping...you will get better service at a reputable retailer such SamsClub.com. Period.

I placed an online order for a Canon G11 after calling their customer service dept to verify available inventory (back orders seem to be an issue everywhere for this item). Order included free shipping via ground service and delivery period was to be approximate 7 business days.

I received an automatic order confirmation email and I called the next day to confirm my online order and delivery address. CSR said that item would be shipped.

Twelve days later and still no delivery information. Finally got through to a CSR and was told that item was placed on 6-8 week backorder. I couldn't get an answer about why I wasn't notified by email or phone. I cancelled my order, but I'm still monitoring my credit card account to be sure there are no bogus charges or fraud."

"I don't know why there is no law against this types of scams. The Closeout Island advertises cameras for cheap to get you to place an order. They call you back to verify the order (better to say to scam you) and at that point they try to sell you battery packs, chargers , memory card and a whole line of items 20 times more expensive than what they worth. If you refuse to purchase, they will tell you the camera is on back order and that's the end of the story. You will NEVER get the item for what they have advertised...
"

"This is the worst experience I have EVER had trying to purchase something online. I ordered the Nikon d5000 body for what seemed to be a great price. When I ordered the camera the salesperson tried everything he could to add all sorts of items to the purchase like a $200 no name rechargeable battery and a $150 battery charger. I refused, he said ok. Then he tried to sell me lens and assorted other stuff, when I told him I am ready had the D40 and was going to be using all my accessories from it he said that was fine and my order was placed. A short time later I received the infamous email telling me to call to confirm my order. I called and was connected to a man who told me the body did not come with anything, not even the software that was REQUIRED to use the camera with. When I asked him why the gentleman that I placed the order with told me that it included everything that was on their website listed he began yelling at me and telling me I should just cancel my order. I told him I did not want to cancel my order I wanted the camera and the list of items that was detailed on their website. He told me NO. He said they sold wholesale units and could put whatever they wanted in the box. After I listened to him yelling at me I told him I would like a chance to talk and he said “NO, I don’t have to let you talk, your order is cancelled.” Like I said EVERYONE should stay away from them!!!! HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE. "

"TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE !!
I made a big mistake by trying to order a Canon Vixia HG-21 Camcorder from "Closeout Island".They advertise the lowest price on line for this Camcorder. I called and talked to a Sales Rep and he confirmed to me that it was a brand new camera with its accessories, including the battery and charger.
I was very cautious dealing with them and asked all the questions I felt were necessary in order to make the perfect purchase, but I still had a bad feeling about the sales transaction.
I provided my credit card number to him in order to place the purchase.The following day, I received an e-mail by them with an order number and it mentioned that I had to call their 800 number with an extension number just to confirm my purchase and delivery of the product.The lady who answered my call asked me if I wanted to buy the battery for $149.00 and I explained to her that the Sales Rep told me the battery was included. She responded to me: Yes, but this battery only lasts 15 minutes with its charge.I knew she was lying, so I just said to her to mail it to me with the "15 minute battery".She even mentioned to me that she had the camera on her hands ready to be shipped out.Today, 2-22-10 I called them again, because the camera had not arrived yet and they told me that my camera was in back-order for maybe 6 weeks or more.I was very upset because they never told me it was in back-order and I waisted all this time dealing with them for nothing.I did read their reviews with "resellerratings.com and they were all bad, but because of the low price I still tried to make the purchase.
BAD DECISION !! Closeout Island advertises the lowest prices on the internet, but remember, THEY ARE NOT going to sell it to you for that "Special Price".
Highly unprofessional store.
Believe the reviews posted on
resellerratings.com !! "

"WORST EXPERIENCE and scam I have ever had buying on line ! I called the company to make sure the Nikon D90 was in stock two days ago. I was told it was and that there were plenty of them. I immediately got on the web site the same day and placed my order and submitted my credit card information fro payment. A few days later I called to check on the order to make sure it would be here for Christmas, which they had told me it would, and I was placed on extensive hold several times. I finally reached a person and they told me the item was not in stock and would take several weeks to get it back in. I told them they had guaranteed it was available, and the employee just hung up on me in the middle of my conversation. I called back 4 times and different staff, even customer service, hung up on me each time. They finally told me that the item is now "permanently" unavailable, and hung up again. They also informed me that all the standard items that typically come with a camera all had to be purchased seperately, and at extensive cost. Every employee was rude and unprofessional. I wonder if this is just some scam telemarketing "business" set up in a state prison some where. Stay away from these clowns! They are out to take you for what ever they can get !"

" I placed an order with this internet store on 12/15/09 for a Canon hv30 camcorder. The camcorder was new & in stock. I received an email saying that I had to call the store for confirmation & security reasons. When I called the store I was told that the camcorder came by itself without any of the boxed "standard items" that are normally shipped with this camcorder. I was asked if I wanted to purchase these standard items for $300.00 more. I said no & would just purchase the camcorder. This sales person was very rude & "pushy". When I went to check the order this morning I found that now the camcorder I ordered yesterday(that was in stock) was now put on backorder. I have never had such a negative experience & deception with any of the mail order sites I have dealt with in the past. I canceled my order. Take my advice, stear clear of this store

"

"HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!! These guys have great prices advertised of course as nobody else but you can't buy these items here. They going to tell you that a model you want to buy is Japanese version (a camera is Japanese and you won't be able read in Japanese so you need to get US model for more) or (a Lens is Japanese and is made of plastic so you need to purchase US model for more that a plastic one has too many recalls). Unfortunately they convinced me to buy Sigma lens even I wanted only Canon brand. They put extra letters on the model number so I couldn’t check what I'm really buying and I believed them. Manager Ralph gave me false information that he sending me newest model which isn't on US market yet and I could see it only on Japanese web site but I don’t know read Japanese so actually I can’t see it anywhere . Later on I found out that this model he sent me is nine months on US market and even it’s cheaper elsewhere. I would be fine if I would get grey market product with store warranty, but not from these guys. I called back after few minutes to cancel my order. Manager Ralph said that he can't cancel it that my order was already processed but I can try it for 30 days and if I don't like it he will issue a full refund and also full refund for both shipping charges, that I have his word on it and I can record it on tape if I want. I realized that something is here wrong after I spent two hours on the phone with these guys under huge sale pressure ,listening how great item I'm getting ,ten times better than Canon. After I received the package I didn't open it and I sent it same day back. They refused the package and it came back to my house and my little daughter unfortunately signed it. So I sent it to them again. I called them and I asked for the return label or authorization number but Ralf didn't give it to me. I disputed item with credit card but Ralph said it never going to happen. Now he says that he never told me about 30 days and full refund. Now he wants 15% restocking fees and return policy is now 7days as is written on their web page. FEDEX has package, delivering package, hopefully they won't refuse it again. They are forcing me to keep it, even if I'm happy with my new lens from different store. Today I’m truly disappointed and devastated. "

"this company is nothing but a bait and switch hoax all they want to do is get you to place an order and then try to upsell you to a bigger higher priced model i canceled my order with them after a big run around dont be fooled by these jerks"