"Do NOT, under any circumstances, order from fotoconnection.com. As if appalling customer service weren't enough, "Joey G," the alleged manager, will actively lie in the hopes of selling you something you don't need.

I ordered a Canon EF 70-300/4.0-5.6 IS lens, and shortly after placing the order received an email directing me to call and confirm the order. After spending more than 10 minutes on hold, I spoke to "Joey G," who immediately asked me whether the lens was for myself or a gift.

Gift was clearly the wrong answer, suggesting to him that I might be an easy target for his lies. He asked me if the camera was digital or manual, and then told me that a digital camera required a special digital variety of the lens (with a "chip" in it) that cost $100 more. I didn't believe him, so I said I would make enquiries with the recipient of the gift and call him back.

Recipient said Joey G. was full of it, and suggested that Joey either send him a link with the lens he though suitable, or provide a non-800 number that he could call from abroad.

I called back, and told Joey G. that the $489 lens should work just fine. He then proceeded to tell me that he only had the $589 (didn't mention that earlier), the $489 had a plastic mount while the $589 had a metal mount, and then, finally, that the $489 was plastic while the $589 was glass. WHAT? Interspersed between his outrageous lies were comments that if my friend didn't like it, he could buy the lens somewhere else. As if the lies weren't enough, he was also rude and unpleasant. I terminated the conversation by making a particularly rude personal suggestion to him.

Had someone made that suggestion to me, I would have assumed that the order was cancelled. I received two more voicemail messages from him and several emails, even after I went back to the website and cancelled the order.

So there you go, don't buy anything from fotoconnection ever. Joey G is a liar and plays bait and switch. AVOID HIM.
"

"If the low rating of this company of crooks does not refrain you from purchasing, than maybe another sad story will. I naively purchased an Samsung HV4042 LCD TV without finding this website to discover the poor rating and horror stories. I looked online after I placed my order for a rock-bottom priced TV only to find these bad ratings.

I went to cancel my order, which they did not let me do even though the order was not done processing. The representive asked me if I wanted a 'base' for the TV. I mistook this for a stand, he clarified to state what I had purchased was just the LCD screen and they wouldn't include the base that comes standard with the TV, and charged me $200 for it and upgraded my shipping.

It arrived by truck later in the week. The driver asked if there was really a TV in the retail TV box, I answered yes. On the packing slip it stated that it was a box of "networking cable". The driver said "normally when it says TV that sends up a red flag to be more careful with it". The TV suffered a minor dent due to shipping, but no dead pixels thankfully.

The company also was to include a free DVD player, but that still has not arrived and probably never will."

"Don't ever buy from this company. All F's on all counts. They deceive you into buying from them with a deceptive price. They beat you over the head until you buy more stuff. Then they charge you overnight shipping, only to send you LESS than you paid for, and you don't get what you have already paid for. Then, they NEVER get back to you. They really don't care, and I would advise ALL involved or victims of their treatment, to contact the local Attorney General. After enough letters, they will take a serious look at these snake oil salesman. If it quacks like a duck..."

"This is my letter of complaint to them; I hope it will shed some light on the quality of their service and company overall.

I recently ordered a Panasonic DMC-TZ3S camera, the long-life battery and quick charger, and the starter kit. I placed this order on Thurstady, May 31st; it arrived June 6th. The package only came with the camera (in the wrong color), a battery case, manuals/software, strap, etc, and the starter kit. The package did not come with the quick charger or the long-life battery. The salesman who sold me the camera, Eddie, said that the quick charger and long-life battery were extra . I clarified, and he said it was a second battery with a higher capacity along with a charger that would charge batteries for the camera at high speeds. I agreed to pay for it. As stated before, the package did not come with any batteries or chargers.

I proceeded to call customer service. The representative I spoke with was quite adamant about the issue. I asked him about the missing items and the wrong color of the camera; he mumbled something, said he took care of it, and hung up on me.

I called back today and talked with another customer service representative (#2). He was very polite and courteous, but he said he couldn't do anything about it. He said the first representative placed an order for a 512 MB card to compensate the camera color. Something I never asked him to do. He (#2) said he'd patch me through to the previous representative (that I talked to). Unfortunately, that representative wasn't there, so he said he'd tell him to call and leave a message. Sadly, that message never came.

Later on, I called customer service again. Once again, I was met with a nice representative who told me he'd transfer me to someone who could take care of my issue. I waited close to 25 mins. waiting for that person to pick up the phone.

I was frustrated, so I hung up and called customer service again. The first representative I talked to picked up the phone. I reiterated my problem (the missing charger/battery, and the wrong colored camera). He proceeded to contradict me by saying that it just wasn't possible for anything to be missing in my order. I cited the lack of that item on my shipping invoice, and the fact that I never got it in the package. He proceeded to say that the quick charger and battery were included in the package, but weren't listed on the invoice for no apparent reason. I politely asked him for a solution; however, he went on to intimidate me by saying that my problem required a claim to be filed and a police investigation, and that the claim would take 1-2 business days. I firmly agreed as I did not do anything wrong. The charger and the battery were just never included in my package.

I would like for somebody to contact me about my situation. The customer service representatives are either courteous and polite (and can't solve my problem), or they're unmannered like the first representative I talked to. This issue has taken me close to a week after the package was delivered. I ordered everything under the guarantee by Eddie that everything would come in by this Friday. Clearly, that has not happened. I would either like the long-life battery and quick charger to be shipped to me, or I would like a refund for that part of the order. As for the wrong camera color. I would definitely like to switch the one sent to me with the one I payed money for, the black colored one instead of the current silver one. Either that, or I'd like a discount or compensation for the failure to meet my order. I never asked for an extra memory card, nor do I want it. It has been shipped today to me as compensation by the first customer service representative without my knowledge.

Is it really that hard for the first representative to treat me with respect?
Is it really that hard for such a small problem of a missing part of an order to be resolved?

I hope an easy solution to this issue can be found.

"

"worst customer service ever.... and the cameras are not brand new!!!!!! they lied to me!!!!"

"Sale and bait. Very rude customer service. Do not buy from this store."

"Fotoconnection was extremely feckless in their interactions with us.
We unknowingly placed an order was for an item on back-order. We were not notified about the backorder until we called to check the status of our order. In addition, all sales people we spoke with on the phone were extremely rude, and disinterested in providing any form of customer service.
We had to specifically request that our confirmation of our cancellation would be sent to us.
Be warned, this seller is extremely unprofessional in their dealings with customers. Be prepared to fight if you choose to buy from them. "

"Seriously, do not but anything from these people unless you want trouble. I ordered a 12' Acoustic Research HDMI cable. They sent me a 6' generic "DigiCom" HDMI cable. The DigiCom cable is not even available on their website. I went back and looked at the invoice, which was itself conveniently vague, and the description of the item I supposedly ordered was for another cable priced at nearly 5 times the Acoustic Research cable and 10 times the value of the DigiCom they sent, yet the price listed matched that of the Acoustic Research cable.

Calling them resulted in being put on hold several times until I reached a person who accused me of mistakenly ordering something other than what I ordered. However, the price of what I actually ordered (plus shipping) was exactly what they charged me. The prices of any of the three other items the person on the phone claimed I ordered at various points in the conversation did not match what I was charged.

The person on the phone threatened me in various ways and claimed that they had "proof," including my IP address (which he could not produce upon request) that I had ordered what they sent me (despite it not even being on their website). When he finally relented, though unwilling to admit the obvious BS he was trying to pull, he said he would send me an RMA form and that they would "take care of it." I received an e-mail with links to an RMA form that were broken. At this point, my only option is to send the item back with tracking and contact my credit card company to have them dispute the charge.

I am honestly surprised this company is still in business."

"Do you want to wait for your gear? Do you want the wrong Adapter Rings for your Lens’? Do you want to have someone want to try to sell you a bunch of stuff you’re not interested in before they will fill the order? Do you really want to get totally and completely frustrated? Then don’t read the ratings like I did and order from FotoConnection. Boy do I feel stupid! Next time; please someone just beat me with a baseball bat."

"Don't buy from these guys! My experience was that they never intended to deliver the product they advertised, for the price they advertized. I tried to buy a Canon EOS 400D Digital Rebel XTi camera and was suspicious when I got the email saying I had to call them to confirm the order. Sure enough, the guy I talked to lied shamelessly trying to upsell me on the battery, warranty and delivery options. He eventually claimed he had placed the order, though still charging me the express rate shipping for standard UPS. The order status online never changed, so I called again on May 15th, and after an hour on hold got to a very obsequious guy who apologized for the delay and said it would ship on friday the 18th. The online order status never changed, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt and waited the 10 business days for deliver in case they had shipped. I called back June 4th, and after only 20 minutes on hold and a couple of transfers got to a guy who said the price they advertise is for the international version only (contrary to their online ad) and that they had them in stock but were waiting for enough orders to build up to justify a shipment from their 'foreign warehouse'. When I pressed him on his inconsistencies he canceled the order and hung up, which was fine with me. Within 20 seconds I got a confirmation email just like the initial one asking me to call in, but I hope meaning the order is truly canceled. I don't know if mentioning the online SKU# online would have helped the argument, but I doubt it."

"I just called FotoConnection in response to a message from them to confirm my internet order for a camera. After talking with their representative, I found that they are running a "bait & switch" operation through the internet and that one of their agents is flat dishonest.

HERE ARE SOME FACTS:
Their internet advertisement makes no mention that the camera I wanted is coming from overseas ("parallel import"). I called one of their agents PRIOR to making the order to verify that this product is for sale in the US with English instructions. He said that is the case. I then made my order on the internet, per his instruction.

The agent that I spoke to after I made the order told me that the product is NOT for original sale in the US and that the instructions will NOT be in English. This second agent (Joey G.) said that I can get the camera for sale in the US for an additional $30.

The internet ad states: "1 Year USA Warranty". (See: http://www.fotoconnection.com/vi-58831________Panasonic-DMC-TZ3K-7-2-Megapixel-.html) Joey G. told me to refer to their "Our Policy" page that states: "Some items may be parallel imports and do not include USA warranty." He re-iterated that I can pay an additional $30 for the 1 year USA Warranty instead of the 90 manufacturer's warranty. THAT IS A CLEAR CASE OF BAIT & SWITCH! Joey's statements also prove that the first agent gave dishonest answers in response to my clear questions.

Luckily, I was able to tell him to cancel my order. I only hope they will not charge my credit card and cause me further troubles. If they do, then I'll be in touch with some folks regarding fraud."

" I would never, ever consider buying from this company (or one of their alias companies)again.
Like so many of the other reviewers experiences, after placing the order, I was asked to call their 1-88 number. The sales person used high pressure tactics to try to sell me a grossly overpriced extended warranty, which I refused, and then he told me that the unit I ordered was not in stock and would take several weeks to get it...however, he said they had a "retail" version that was $20 more that they would ship immediately. I told him "no thanks" ...he said he would send it to me then hung up even as I was saying that I did not want it. I called back and told him to cancel the order, that I would not accept a modification of my original order. He hung up again.
I refused delivery from UPS and had UPS return the item to Fotoconnection. Fotoconnection charged my credit card for shipping and a re-stocking fee.
After spending a lot of time with my credit card company, I was finally able to get the shipping and re-stocking fee removed from my account.
This is an unscrupulous outfit employing unethical business practices.

I would stay away from them."

"I ORDER A GARMIN 660 GPS UNIT WITH A 2DAY DELIVERY. WHEN THE 2 DAYS PASTED I STILL HAD
EVEN BEEN ABLE TO GET THROUGH ALL THE HOOPS,
SO I CANCEL THE ORDER. I GOT IT FROM SOMEONE
ELSE IN TWO DAYS LIKE I PAID FOR.
TO MANY CALLS TO MAKE TO GET THE ORDER!!!"

"I have bought thousands of dollars of goods via the internet and have never been screwed -- til now!!! Greed got the better of me and the price they had advertised for a Nikon lens drew me in like a fly to a light. When "customer service??" got me on the phone they immediately started the bait and swith telling me how poor the Nikon lens was and what a great deal on a Sigma lens they had. Reluctantly, I agreed to change the order. After I hung up, minutes later I found the lens they were making me a deal on for about half the price. I immediately emailed them and canceled the order. I called the next morning and they said it had already shipped and I would have to pay a 15% resocking fee plus shipping. Fortunately for me in their haste to screw me they shipped to my billing address not to where I was. Reported this fraudulent behavior to American Express and am going the New Jersey BBB. DO NOT LET THEM LURE YOU IN WITH A LOW PRICE. THEY DO NOT WANT TO HELP YOU AND WILL SCREW YOU ANYWAY THEY CAN. "

"thenewconnection, fotoconnection.com.
They are all a scam... you place an order online, but they make you call them under the false pretenses that they want you to verify the order when they really want to sell you on things you do not need or that was already included in kit that you had purchased. If you ask any questions they become VERY VERY rude, call you liar, hang up the phone on you. In this particular order, I had purchased a Nikon D80 Package 5 - kit, direct from their site. When i called to "confirm" the order, and did not want to purchase any extras my order was sent to a "supervisor" who was very nasty and said " fine i will send your camera", 3 weeks later and no camera, I called and was told that the item was on back order. I went to their site and saw that it said "ships within 24-48 hours" I called the sales department pretending that I wanted to order one. Once the sales person asked me are u ready to order, I said no, but please send me the camera I ordered 3 weeks ago, since you have it in stock. He has the audacity to tell me that I had ordered the "international version" and the international version was out of stock. He said I could have the "American version" which is the same as the international version but will all the extras that I didn't want for, of course, more money. I proceeded to tell him to please get the "American Version" and remove all the extras and send it to me. He was furious and said NO.
Stay away from these people. They are not honest and they make their money advertising something for cheap so they can up sell you on the phone.
"