"These people are a scam. They ordered 5 GPS systems from us then sent us a envelope with a LL. Bean Magazine in it. The claimed they sent 5 units back to us and demanded a refund of thier money. However, we cought on to thier scam and busted them. They have done this to many companies. The list them selves on eBay as fotoelectrnoic$ and on labels as print.com and also a website FOTO-TRONIX.COM They buy from people and play a returns card to get refunded and keep the murchandise, then they sell it to you guys. We are filing an investigation and pressing charges. These guys need to get caught."

"Foto-Tronix is the worst vendor I have run into on the internet. Their business model is: (1) offer low prices on GPS and other electronics; (2) take your credit card order online; (3) send you a confirmation email for your order at the price you expected; (4) charge your credit card for the expected amount plus $20; (5) send you incorrect shipment tracking information—my tracking number, when entered at UPS, was for something shipped to a different city two years ago; (6) after some delay product shipment takes place, but many report refurbished items shipped in place of new product; (7) if you dispute the added charges with your credit card company, they sic a collector on you, who says their terms of use you agreed to include an extra $20 for shipping and handling and threatens an additional $30 collection charge if you don’t pay the disputed amount. They are bait, switch, threaten, and make their profit from fees. They have no customer service phone—you can only reach them by email form on their site. In fact, they have the exact inverse of customer service. They are the antithesis of customer service, personified . . . or un-personified! Don’t even consider buying from this outfit."

"Foto Tronix reels the consumer in with what appears to be clearance wholesale pricing. The low advertised prices rise to the top of internet search engines essentially directing consumers to their website thinking you're about to get a great deal. HOWEVER, once you commit to buy an item from Foto Tronix they gouge you with outrageous shipping fees and unauthorized billing to your credit card.

When you confirm your order they tell you shipping costs are "unknown" and will be added manually. What they don't tell you is that this essentially allows them to charge any amount for shipping. I've done a LOT of on-line shopping and what should have been no more than $25 in USPS international shipping costs for a clearance model Garmin Forerunner Watch, somehow turned into an unbelievable $70 shipping cost (and this on a $165 item).

What really irritated me was that I clearly provided instructions in the order form comments NOT to process or SHIP the item AND contact me if the cost exceeded $25. I then followed that instruction up with another e-mail saying as much to customer service (which Foto Tronix requested you do on the order confirmation receipt if there was a "problem" with the order).

The reply I received (less than 8 hours later) was that customer service has no communication with the warehouse and billing department and subsequently could not relay the message to them... which is obviously a crock of s**t.

I contacted customer service immediately once I realized what the charges were on my credit card (2 days after placing my order) and told them to cancel my order (which according to the tracking had not yet left the warehouse). Kelly, their customer service rep more or less laughed in my face. When I told him I was going to I put a hold on my credit card for an unauthorized billing and return the product unopened they threatened to ruin my credit rating and send collection agencies after me.

I ended up paying $30 more than what I could have purchased a Garmin Forerunner 410 watch (the most crrent version) for locally.

Foto Tronix is total RIP-OFF.

PS... I called my credit card company about the overbilling and they advised not to sign for the item. If a refund a refund was not provided by the retailer within 15 days of the product being sent back the company would pursue action from them. DO NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING FOTO TRONIX tells you. THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE REFUNDS for credit card purchased products and any credit card company can take action against them if they the retailer is untruthful in what they tell the consumer."

"DO NOT BUY FROM FOTO-TRONIX. I bought a garmin from foto-tronix. I thought it was a good deal at $85.00 + $15.00 shipping. My bill totaled $99.75 and when I got my visa statement they had charged me $119.75. I of course emailed them and they said there is a $20.00 handling charge that I agreed to. They hid it in the wording somewhere.....but did not show it when you checked out. SNEAKY thieves!!!! "

"Foto-Tronix is a terrible retailer. Do not purchase anything from them. I bought a brand new Netgear Router from them, they sent me a refurbished unit. They eventually sent me the correct unit but the back and forth shipping time would have left me without a router for a week, so I had to buy another one. Now I have 2 routers because they do not give refunds. They sent me a refurb unit after promising a new one - they are total SCAM artists."

"garmin NUVI 765T
Total billing summary price with shipping $226.93
Amount charged to my American Express card $239.93
Product was advertised as "new".
Product arrived in a generic box labeled "Nuvi 705".
Product had smudges on the face as if it had been used
Product asked for a PIN code when it was turned on - no PIN code found on the box or elsewhere - Garmin's web site says to send the unit to them for PIN code - for a brand new unit???
No phone number on the web site to call for help
Emailed customer support - no answer as of this writing
I contacted American Express and reversed the charges
NOw, let's see if Foto-tronix issues a call tage and pre-paid shipping label, because I;m not paying to ship it back to them
I would say do not order anything form these people based on what I've read and my personal experience
Buyer beware"

"1/1/09 1:48 PM
Update: 02/03/2009:

After I emailed this fraudulent merchant,saying he'll be contacted by Federal and NYC law enforcement authorities, I was told I would receive partial refund for the two rejected packages but would still be stolen $383.08 even if that refund will be credited.

I've reported to NYC FBI and also my case reported to Department of Justice in DE was forwarded to FTC. I encourage all victims doing the same, i.e. reporting to NYC FBI online and also to FTC as this is definitely an intended fraudulence and organized business crime. Please refer to my following earlier information to file your case.

Update: 01/30/2009

The two rejected packages were sent back to their following NY address signed by O Heldian:

MK/Avalon Tronix/Avalon Gadget
2990 Crotsey Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11214

B. I managed to get a phone number (voice mail only after i called )for this fraudulent seller: ***-***-**** (obviously not a NY number).

C. I managed to get feedback from Department of Justice in DE and was told the address Tronix used is a mail drop and it has no jurisdiction over it. For people who are also filing fraduluence over Avalon/Tronix, you need to mail or go to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) website to fill out the form and the following is its mailing address:

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
600 Pennsylvania Avenue-NW
Washington, D. C. 20580

C. I will update my experienc with all parties involved in my case and encourage all victims to report this fradulent seller to authorities so that all of us can make online shopping safer.



I regret not to have read all of these wonderful but horrible reviews before i placed my order with them. I haven't received my order yet but have felt very disappointed from their emails. DON'T BE CHEATED INTO BUYING THEIR LOW-PRICED ITEMS ADVERTIZED AS NEW BUT ACTUALLY REFURBISHED, USED, OR EVEN DAMAGED ITEMS AS OTHER VICTIMS HAVE REPORTED.

***Update, on 01/14/2009, they sent me two small packages, each was marked as 12 pounds and 24 pounds but neither of each weighs over 2 pounds; each has the size of only about 7 inches by 7 inches by 7 inches. Are they for 18 units of Garmin Nuvi 350 GPS. I rejected them directly and will also report to local authorities.
"

"i am fairly new to this online purchasing stuff and well i got duped. after ordering a garmin nuvi 260 on jan. 2 i waited until jan. 15 plenty of time for it to arrive and still nothing. ive tried to call no response and tried to e-mail and was told wait the alloted time 7-10 buisness days well were past that now and still nothing. i called my credit card company to talk to them and evidently they have heard of this company and some complaints SURPRISE!!! they suggested i wait a few more days and if the item comes ask for a shipping refund im not holding my breath i wish i would have done some more homework first now im not sure if i get this item if it will work or be new or refirbished i will not do buisness with this company again and suggest no one else does either
1-23-09 well i recieved my garmin today and it works and according to garmin is a new never sold unit which sets my mind at ease. i have still had no response from foto tronix to my repeated e-mails about the shipping charge but if this is all i lost i feel lucky compared to others but i will never do buisness with them again "

"I cannot stress enough the total disregard this "merchant" has for it's customers. I didn't see all of the negative reviews prior to placing an order but I sure wish I had.

I ordered a Garmin Nuvi from them. Upon receiving the order confirmation email, I noticed that a Garmin Street Pilot C330 was listed instead. And that is what showed up a couple days later. After many emails to the company, I finally contacted Paypal to see if they could help me get the unit I ordered and paid for. At that point, I got the following email from foto-tronix.

"Greetings,

The order was received from YOU for a Garmin C330 model. This is a fact! You received exactly what you ordered. Now, the reason why you ordered a different GPS than you wanted is not a question for us.

We are unable to assist you with your line of questions, since the order was placed by YOU and only you should know why you clicked the "BUY" button for this model and why you went through the whole checkout process for the model that you now claim that you do not want.

As a consumer you have the right to file a dispute! We, as the merchant, have the right to list the disputed transaction with the collection agencies and report you as a delinquent to all major credit bureaus. We hope it does not come to that, but we would respond harshly!

Thank you!"

There were many more emails but that one made their intentions pretty clear. The funny thing is, they sent me a C340... not a 330. Additionally, a picture of the Nuvi is on the outside of the box the unit came in. Lastly, the unit had a dead pixel upon powering up. I contacted them again, but got an email stating that they wouldn't even honor their "full exchange policy".

Realizing that I wasn't going to get anywhere with this "merchant", I contacted Garmin directly. I was instructed to send a copy of the receipt and they would try to help me replace the defective unit.

The company appears to be located in Delaware, as that's the location on the shipping label, but the domain is registered to an address in Hawaii. I am filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau and Attorney General's office in both states.

Again, DO NOT buy anything from this "merchant"!
"

"Received my NUVI 680 which was billed as being NEW. Tried to register it with Garmin and had difficulty because it said it was already registered. I phoned Garmin and they informed me it was registered to someone else and that the serial number indicated it had been refurbished twice before. The representative also mentioned that since it was already registered to another person it may be a stolen unit. It also came in a plan jane box. I would not recommend this company"

"I found the product for Fathers Day (Garmin GPS) on shopping.com with an advertised price that Foto-Tronix said included "same day shipping" in the price. I place the order one week in advance of Father's Day. When I tracked this four days later and it still hadn't shipped I contacted Foto Tronix only to be told they would not fulfill this comittment. I then asked to cancel the order since it would not arrive in time for the Father's Day gift it was intended for. They responded by saying they would report me "as a delinquent to all major credit bureaus." and that they would "respond harshly!" to my attempt to cancel. Those are both quotes.

Ok, so I told my husband I was fearful of retaliation from a shady retailer so his gift would be late this Father's Day. It gets worse! I received the Garmin five days AFTER Father's Day and it was a refurbished unit. Nowhere in anything I saw did it say I was buying a second hand unit.

Plesae learn from my mistake and stay away form a retailer you have never heard of before. Don't get lured in by the lowest price like I did. I now have a used product that arrived late.
"

"I ordered a Garmin Nuvi 660 on Tuesday May 27th. Awesome price but I was worried that it might be too good to be true. Within hours I received an email with a tracking number. UPS delivered a factory fresh (blue and orange box, not the white box refirbs we hear about) unit with 2008 maps preloaded on Thursday afternoon. This was much sooner than the 7-10 days promised. I could find no evidence that it was a refirb unit. I promptly registered the unit with Garmin and it qualified for the update to the 2009 maps for free. Fototronix promptly answered my questions before and after the sale. I could not be more pleased with Fototronix. "

"I was a bit hesitant to order b/c I've never dealt with Foto Tronix before but I took a chance b/c of the overwhelming positive feedback. I'm glad I did. Foto Tronix had an item that was out of stock just about at every other retailer or online site. They offered a better price and delivered to me faster than expected.

I received timely e-mails indicating no problems with my order and shipping info including a link to the UPS tracker. When I contacted customer service for the ordering error, they resolved my error within minutes. They were friendly and professional.

My experience was stellar, and I will recommend to everyone I know."