"This place is a joke. I ordered a GPS unit from them and the manufacturer was offering a $50 rebate if purchased by a certain date. The day before the rebate offer was to expire, I received the dreaded "verification of order email". The salesperson told me that the unit I ordered was not a US version and I would need to spend $50 more to get that unit with accessories and warranty. This was obviously bull.... since the web site made not mention of this not being US and the salesperson could not show me anywhere on the site and mention of this being the case. He told me he would send me by email, the copy which explained the difference and the location on the website that explained this.

He obviously sent nothing and when I called him back his voice mail indicated that he would be out of the office for the next four days, which was problematic since the rebate offer was set to expire the next day.

I got another salesman and insisted that they honor the purchase. He said for $20 more dollars they would and they would also pay shipping.

Five days later I was looking for the unit and called them for a tracking number (35 minutes on the phone after several disconnects). Customer service said I would have the tracking number in one day. Again, nothing. Called again and this time they indicated the unit had shipped. Called several days later for a tracking number and a new salesman indicated that the unit never shipped because there is a newer unit they want to sell me.

I refused and went to customer service again. This time they apologized and said there is no reason that the unit was not went and that they would overnight the unit to me at their expense.

You probably know what is next. Never received the unit. They are closed for the weekend so I am not sure what excuse will be forth coming on Monday.

I only wish I had done some research on these guys prior to purchase ( I should actually say prior to attempted purchase). It is a disgrace that this type of outfit is allowed to continue to do business. There should be some governing body that monitors this type of deception. I have no idea if I will ever receive anything from them. I probably will lose the $50 rebate from the manufacturer since I am almost certain they will never get this product to me and the rebate period has expired.

I would rate these guys a zero on all counts. I would never do business with them again and would try and warn anyone I can that they are a disgrace to other reputable retailers and resellers.

RUN FROM THEM AS FAST AS YOU CAN. IT IS A BAIT AND SWITCH OPERATION WITH NO MORALS OR PROFESSIONALISM.

Conclusion to the saga. I got the sales manager (who I had spoken prior but he identified himself as a sales person the first time-who knows what to believe) and now the unit is mysteriously out of stock. He encouraged me to cancel the order. I encouraged him to shut his doors and get out of retail.

There is more, I thought I had escaped them. I got my credit card bill and they had charged my credit card even though the order was cancelled and even though they told me the item was out of stock. Is there anyone out there that can help put these guys out of business???? More probably to come.
"

"These guys are JOKE!
I will never order ANYTHING from these guys again
NEVER EVER buy anything from this place PLEASE!
unless you want to spend 2days to speak to someone who doesn't even know where your item is"

"I ordered a Sony neutral density filter for my new Sony camcorder. I received a confirmation e-mail almost immediately, and then the next day I received two e-mails advising me to call an 800 number to "confirm your information about your order, and to insure prompt delivery of your order." I called and spoke with a salesperson who proceeded to tell me that the Sony filter I ordered was plastic and that I should instead get a "titanium filter set," even though I told him that the product description stated that the Sony filter was glass. Anyway the salesman would not listen to anything I said, told me when I interrupted him that he "was speaking first," and "Are you listening to me?" In short he was very rude, and would not back down. Finally I told him that I was cancelling my order and hung up on him. I then followed up with a call to the sales manager - first time I was disconnected - and told him I was calling to confirm that my order had been cancelled and he confirmed that. I asked him if he wanted to know why I cancelled my order and told him what had happened. He sounded very apologetic and said "I'll make sure he gets flak for that." I'll let you know if I receive anything or if my credit card is charged for something I don't receive."

"UNBELIEVABLE. I'M IN COMPLETE DISBELIEF. I WISH I HAD READ THIS SELLER'S RATINGS/REVIEW PRIOR TO PURCHASE.

I ordered SONY KD34XS955 on 02/16/2005. I received the infamous "Verify Order" call. Ofcourse from the getgo, Levi (I've seen his name on someone else's post) tells me they have to charge me more for shipping due to the size and weight. Initially the Ground Shipping rate was $149 and for the Private Trucking Company, it was $299. I asked him how come it doesn't indicate that it is required to choose the "Trucking Delivery" on the website and he tells me that that's something we do when we verify the order. I told him I'd have to call him back after I call other sellers. He says I'm not going to find a better rate anywhere else since other sellers add on insurance. He was correct. I called around and they did seem to have the best bottom-line pricing so I called back and confirmed the order. So up to this point, the total was $1798. He then asked if I wanted the extended warrany. He says the price is usually $499 but he'll give it to me for a total order pricing of $1999. I thought it was too good to refuse and so I said yes.

I received an "Order Approved" email on 02/18/2005. I received an "Order Tracking Number" email on 02/23/05. The order arrived in LA on 03/01/05. But to my dismay, I received a call from DHL stating that the delivery man lifted the box and glass pieces fell out of the box. Ofcourse I refused the shipment. It went back to the seller and was delivered to the seller on 03/07/05. I received a call from Moses (Ext. ****@****) on March 7, 2005 regarding the receipt of the broken TV. He asked me if I wanted to cancel and I thought is it possible for this to happen again. I had checked their website and the price of the TV had dropped. I asked him if I can get an adjustment and he said that they just received a huge order of TV's from England and that they are giving it at a discount since it's foreign made and requires an adaptor. He asked me if I wanted that particular TV and if I did then he could give me an adjustment. I said I wanted the U.S. made TV. I received another "Order Approved" email on 03/08/05. In the meantime, I asked emailed Moses and asked him why the order wasn't shipping "Trucking Company" the first time it was shipping and he never replied. I didn't receive the tracking number for 4 days. I called Customer Service. The 1st person said the TV was out of stock so it's being shipped today and that I should receive tracking number via email that day - 03/14/05. I called 03/15/05 - spoke with Ilana - was told that it shows on the records that the TV was shipped but no tracking number. I told her that was what I was told the day before. I called 03/16/05. He tells me the TV was shipped and read me my tracking number.

So, today is 03/21/05. The TV was apparently picked up on 03/14/05 scheduled to be delivered on 03/18/05. By the way, it was shipped by DHL again not the "Trucking Company." I called DHL twice on 03/18/05. Said not in LA yet. I checked the tracking #, the first thing in the morning to find that it arrived in LA at 6:20AM. Called local DHL. Asked to call me to tell me approximately when the TV will arrive. Received a call just now stating that the TV came into LA broken again. OH MY GOSH. The customer rep from DHL said the packaging on the TV is very bad. No protective coverings around the TV. She happened to be the one who had informed me of the broken TV the first time around. I just cannot believe this. The TV's going back today. I'm canceling the order. Getting my refund. Never going to buy another thing from online seller until I do more research. I definitely did a lot of research on the TV but not the seller. BAD IDEA. I HATE YOU, FOTOCONNECTION. YOU SUCK."

"Absolutely the worse experience in online purchasing EVER!!

Recently I bought the underwater housing for my camera from FC (invoice No 53435) and I needed to write this comment hoping that no one else would go through the mal treatment I went through.
I read the reviews about this company before I made my purchase, and I decided to go for it even that most of the people were not satisfied.

The service was so unprofessional from the beginning.
Once I made the purchase, and once my money was taken from the account (it took them a few minutes to charge the money-this is the only thing they are doing fast) I got an e mail saying that the item IS in stock but that I have to pay extra $25 for the "warranty" or I can't have it.
I called customer service, was on hold for 45 min and transferred back and forth so many times that I regretted right away that I made this purchase.
Finally I talked to the "manager" who was very rude and did tell me that it's either $25 charge for one year warranty or $50 charge for 2 years, and that I can't get my item if I don't pay this extra charge.
So I paid extra $25 and I was told I would be receiving my item shortly.
Two weeks passed, no news on e mail, no tracking numbers, nothing. And customer service still very lousy, saying the item would be arriving soon...Finally after calling EVERY day and being persistent I was told that THEY DON'T HAVE THE ITEM IN STOCK!!!
and that they can't tell me when I would receive it. I was so angry. And I planned to go for a vacation WITH this item!
I canceled the order immediately, but I didn't receive the money till today! my vacation is gone, I didn't have it when I needed it, and they were holding my money for a month lying to me ALL THE TIME!
Now I ordered the same thing through Willoughby's and I got it in THREE days and the price was only 5 bucks more!
I would never, EVER buy anything from fotoconnection and I will tell everyone I know that the the prize they are offering is fake, and not worth the nerves and time you will spend trying to get something that you paid for.

I give them zero points for the service and professionalism if they know what that means. It was a real nightmare."

"I have never been so frustrated trying to get actual customer service. I called over and over due to disconnects... being put on hold for 45min, 35min... and so on. Even the operator at front desk was frustrating to deal with.

What a nightmare!! You're definately rolling the dice with these guys. If you get a working unit great, you got a pretty good deal. But if you ever have to deal with the CS department, good luck.

I missed all sorts of work time because of these guys. And when I finally got my money back they couldn't even reverse the original shipping costs. I was actually told by the RMA dept that "it's not in thier best interest to side with the customer"... great! I'll never buy there again!!"

"Very very bad experience. Billed and never shipped. Dodged, lied, left us on hold, disconnected us. Ripped us off."

"BEWARE
I ordered an item which was "in stock" on their website. After the legendary "call to confirm" email, and the VERY hard sell for expensive accesories, which I declined, suddenly the item was out of stock. Everytime I called, the same guy answered and the item would not be in stock for another week. Shipping is free, if you can get them to ship what they sell. By the way, while the item will be in "next week" they hit my cc immediately. Finally waited 35 mins on hold to get a live body and cancel my order."

"Just recently I returned a DVD player that came to my house damaged. The box was opened as if someone else wanted my merchandise, duh! I called FotoConnection absolutely furious. They completely apologized for their delivery service and sent me an RMA# right away and paid for the delivery. They also waived the restocking fee. They took responsibility for what was NOT their responsibility. That was extremely noble of them. I would shop here again only this time I will get the regular delivery service, UPS, in order to get my package in one piece. "

"I searched the web and found a decent price for a home entertainment system. So I ordered it. Next day, I got a email asking me to call to confirm my order. So I did.

Then Joey (he said he was the sales manager) offered me a cable that he said I should use for the system. He said it was selling for $180 (or something close) and he was offering it to me for just $119. I declined. Then he said that there is a $200 shipping insurance fee for the $1700 system that I ordered. So I decided to just cancel my order. Then he said that there was a $50 charge for canceling my order!!! I argued with him since nowhere did on the site did it tell me that there is a cancellation fee for any orders. I was, to say the least annoyed.

Just on principle alone, I canceled my order. I will call my credit card about this and dispute that cancellation charge. I'm even wondering if that "cancellation charge" was made up just so that I won't cancel my order.

I will NEVER buy from this store again."

"This is a classic bait & switch outfit. I ordered on e laptop, they tried to sell me an extended warranty. Then I call 10 day later & they said they couldn't dleiver for 2-3 weeks more. then Tried to get me to pay more for a slightly less model, which they claimed was newre & more expensive. They are completely untrustworthy."

"DO NOT buy from this vendor! I ordered a Canon Optura 30 camcorder last night. The following is an email I received this morning from FotoConnection:

Dear Valued Customer,

It appears that you were having trouble checking out at FotoConnection.com* and therefore your order was not received completely. However we encourage you to call our Sales Department at 1800-457-0889 extension 1 for a great deal tailored personally for you. Moreover we will gladly expedite your shipping at absolutely no extra cost.

*Please Note that if you did check out and have completed your order successfully, please disregard this message.

FotoConnection.com
1-***-***-****
Website: http://www.fotoconnection.com

Hours:
Sunday: 10:00AM - 7:00PM
Mon-Thursday: 10:00AM-7:00PM
Friday: 10:00AM - 6:00PM
Saturday: Closed

So I call and right away the sales person tries to sell me accessories and warranties. I told him that I just want the camcorder. Then he informed me that the camcorder I purchased has an oversees warranty which make it ineligible for the $100 rebate Canon offers only to USA warranty customers. I told him to cancel my order right away and send me an email confirming my cancelation. It's been about an hour since I canceled and no email. I'm starting to worry...I'll call my credit card to put a guarenteed stop to this transaction."

"BAIT AND SWITCH
The low price that is listed on the website is BAIT. Afer you order you will be sent an email requiring you to "Call to complete the order". At this time the sales person you try to pressure you into buying additional overpriced options. If you decline the additional options you will be told that your product is not in stock and will be back ordered. On the website the item is listed in stock but not if you don't buy the options with it. One month has gone by still no camera. Just checked the status on the website and as expected my order has been canceled.

The Feds will shut them down soon."

"WORST INTERNET BUYING EXPERIENCE EVER!

Purchased a flash for my camera around Jan 25th, 2005. Ordered it "Next Day Air". Everything SEEMED to go fine until I received an email thanking me for my purchase and then telling me it would take up to 72 hours to process my order before it shipped.

I called customer service to tell them to switch shipping to UPS GROUND instead of next day air if they were going to take that long. The guy on the phone couldn't find my order, couldn't find anything about me. After about 20min of sharing my info, searching, etc he still had nothing. I gave him the invoice number and confirmation number I received in my email... still nothing. Finally I told him to just cancel the order... I'd buy elsewhere... of course you can't cancel what you can't find right?

Long story short... they continued to send me email telling me they were SHIPPING the item. I opened THREE trouble tickets telling them TO CANCEL. I also called them numerous times. I told them I would refuse any package they sent me. They shipped it anyway! I refused it. They THEN charged my card! I called and asked them to reverse the charges. They said they would after I shipped the item back. I told them I had shipped the item back. They stalled and delayed me over and over. Then (almost a month later) they reply to my trouble tickets telling me the item was shipped and they closed the tickets. I reopened them, told them the item was returned and to REFUND my money! At this point the matter is still unresolved. They've basically told me to call my bank and dispute the charge. So... that's what I'm going to do. Two words sum up these folks:

BUYER BEWARE!"

"straight up bait and switch Brooklyn grey market.

They will not give you the price you see on the net, they'll call to pressure you to "upgrade" to the US version, which in most cases is just the product itself, and if you do bite, and buy the product from them, customer service is a guy who bounces you into one voice mail box after another, then hangs up.

Leaves you feeling like you need to wash your hands after talking to them.

Don't buy here. "