"This company's name should be NOT Buys Electronics as you should not buy from them. Check their reviews on eBay. If something is wrong with the shipped item, it is ALWAYS the buyer's fault and they are stuck. You will not find a positive review where they shipped defective equipment. Such was my experience with them.
I purchased a film scanner via Buy-it-now and set-up the scanner the same day I received it (3/31). It was dead on arrival. Scanned images had repeating sections of the negative & more errors. I notified the seller of my problem immediately via e-mail and also contacted the manufacturer (Nikon) to resolve the problem. Based on a sample scan, Nikon concluded that the scanner had a hardware problem and should be returned for factory service. Since the scanner is grey market it cannot go 2 the factory. The seller issued an RMA# on 4/2 and I shipped it the same day. The only way I was able to get any action was to file a claim with eBay and have my credit card company reverse the charges. HotBuys was completely unresponsive and claimed I had purposly broken the equipment. In addition, the shipment was missing software and the inc. warranty was for an $800 scanner. "
"Placed order on 7/30/03 with 'Harry' for NEW digital Nikon camera model 885. Received what appeared to be a USED camera from HotBuys on 8/5/03. Invoice packaged with camera said that camera was 'New'. Camera was not packaged in any manufacturer's packaging. Also was missing the battery charger for the camera and lense cap retainer cord. Called on 8/6/03 to report missing items to 'Harry'. Was assured that correct items will be shipping via FedEx 2nd day air. Received on 8/13/03 via US Postal Service a battery charger for another camera. Called on 8/14/03 and notified 'Harry' of incorrect charger received. Received 8/18/03 via FedEx correct charger - no lense cap retainer cord.
Camera was obviously a used camera as the first pictures were numbered 1491.jpg and higher. Was willing to keep camera if it worked OK. With use, discovered that camera has excessive color noise in photographs, chromatic distortion (color seperation) and when pictures are shot in brightly lit areas, the lower 1/3rd blooms (overexposed). Investigation on Nikon website showed that camera was to come with 16MB flash card (had only 8MB unit).
I'm very dissatisfied with the poor quality of the product shipped (web reviews showed much better quality pictures on same model cameras). HotBuys service is poor (doesn't return e-mails, promises no fulfilled, non-functioning 1-800 number from Alaska). Misrepresentation of product (stated as NEW, invoiced as new - received USED).
Unless HotBuys is willing to correct problem at their expense, I will be buying elsewhere for now on and warning everyone I know to not use them."
"I purchased a lense from these people and bought an extended US warranty. I never received the warranty. I have called these people about 20 times about sending the lense in the first place and then trying to get my warranty. I have been waiting to get the extended warranty in the mail for over two months. I hope I get it. Steer clear of these people. There customer service is horrible. Pay extra money for the good service, you won't be sorry."
"Good price, rapid shipping, right product. Most NY retailers will try to upsell or add on accessories. HBE tried but was not too high pressure about it. I am happy so far!"
"I had very good service from these people except for 1 thing. I ordered image stalbilizer binoculars (canon).You have no idea how great these are until you see them for yourself. I researched different companies and they had the best price. When I ordered they then asked "Do you want the case?" I said it comes with the case and they said no and it would cost another $19.95. Everywhere else it comes with the case included with the price.When I received the Canon box it came in, on the outside of the box it said case included! I was suppose to get a rebate which did not come with this item. I called and they said they were sorry and would send one out right away which they did.This issue with the case bothered me as the price plus the $19.95 was still below where you could get it elsewhere."
"I knowingly ordered a grey market Sigma lens through Hotbuyelectronics' web site. I got a call the next day telling me the grey market vesion was inferior to the USA version (not true). I said I still wanted it. Then I got a second call saying this lens would have to be shipped from overseas. At that point I cancelled the order."
"I called hotbuys to purchase two Sigma 15-30mm wide-angle lenses with a Canon mount. They stated that these were plastic mounts and that I would have to pay more for the metal mount. I agreed to pay the additional price, but later found out that there is no such thing as a plastic mount on this lens; Sigma makes only metal mounts. This is a recurring theme with hotbuys. They bait the customer with an online price and then claim this plastic mount would be what you would get for that price. Bait and switch tactics. I also ordered two Hoya thin-mount polarizers for the lenses. The lenses arrived, but no polarizers were in the shipment. I never received anything from hotbuys stating that the polarizers were back-ordered. I called them and they then said the polarizers were not in stock and that portion of the order had been canceled. I said I still wanted the polarizers when they got them in. I then got a shipment with two crummy Crystal Optics polarizers, NOT thin mount. This was not what I had ordered so I wished to return them. After multiple phone calls and promises that they would e-mail and FAX the RMA number, which they never did, I finally received an RMA number over the phone. I was told that I would have to pay return shipping, which I disputed because these were not the items that I ordered. They said to include a note in the return shipment saying how much the return shipping was and that they would reimburse me. I kept checking my credit card statements and as of this date (7/11/03) I still have not been reimbursed. This is despite multiple calls to hotbuys. They have a habit of saying that the customer service person is not in and "you will have to call back tomorrow." Finally I demanded to speak to Sidney, who supposedly handles these things and he said they would reimburse me. It still hasn't happened. I am extremely unhappy with hotbuyselectronics.com. They are a hassle to deal with and I will never purchase from them again. I also recommend that others do not purchase from them. The rude treatment only adds to the terrible experience with this company."
"I ordered an Epson 1280 Inkjet printer from these guys at a pretty good price. Of course they contacted me before shipping it and asked if I wanted the one for the price that I already paid, or the one with the warranty. In other words, I just paid for a grey market item and in order to get a warranty I would need to fork over another $30.00. At first I decided to go with the grey market for $359.00. I called back about 10 minutes later and changed my mind for the one with the warranty for $389.00. ?No problem, whatever? was the response from the typical brash NYC salesman. (I absolutely despise NYC salespeople).
Anyway, a couple of minutes later I got a call back and the salesman told me that the one for $389.00 was the price AFTER the $100 rebate and that they would charge my card $489.00! So basically, after purchasing the printer on-line, it went up $130.00 over the phone! I guess it was good that he told me that before shipping because had I found out after receiving it, I would have gone ballistic!!
Bottom line is not to waste you time thinking you will get a new item at a great price from these guys. They run their business like most NYC camera/electronics shops!
"
"I live in Italy.
A friend of me,not expert in photography, while she was in NY, has been to collect items I ordered.
- She collect the rigth items, but the Canon 24-70 L 2.8 US arrived to me defective, with the AF-ManualFocus switch broken.
- "Invoice" I received is on an UNNAMED piece of paper and it is almost impossible to read what it is hand written on it.
- No official, neither unofficial, piece of paper like a guarantee included in the package.
I payed extra money ( about 10% of the value ) for an international warranty and I received NOTHING for it.
With this extra money + NY taxes the cost is similar to any other dealer in NY.
-After many e-mail and phone call asking to comply with the money payed for the international warranty, having after all received a defective expensive lens, the result is NOTHING.
-You will never find the same Named person at the phone, and all the time, after a new explanation of the problem, they promise to send a regular invoive, saying that invoice will be valid as international warranty.
Of course, till now I received NOTHING.
-they never answerred at the e-mail, just an automatic answer inviting you to call at the telephon.
Good grief,I will never shop here anymore."
"I ordered a Sigma flash online. Got a call from them asking what mount I needed. I told them. They shipped the flash. It arrived at my door and it works great.
Very happy."
"I've made many purchases from them and other then the brusk NYC attitude, I've had no problems.
They do have problems with telling the difference between plastic mounts and metal mounts but I overlook this bit as the overall price is still much less then other companies.
I've never had to return anything so I can't say how they are on returns.
I once received the wrong printer at the UPS office. Called them from the UPS office, returned the printer and they immediately sent the correct printer. The confusions was, printer sent, Canon's S9000, printer sent, Canon's S900:-)
We all make errors.
Can't say anything about anybody else's experiences but my experience with Sidney has been excellent."
"Watch out for HotBuysElectronics (HBE)! These guys are slick and I don’t mean it in a positive way! Unfortunately I found this site and their rating after I had already placed an order for a relatively high end digital camera. I am now having the same bad experience that has been documented on this site. There seems to be a pattern here!
I have heavily documented every conversation with HBE from the time that I placed the order until today, however this site limits comments to 5k characters so I will not be able to provide all the information.
Goal: Purchase the “American” version of the FujiFilm S602 with a 1 year warranty with FujiFilm. Avoid the “gray market” cameras.
HBE had the S602 listed on their web site for $494. On 4/25/03 @ 9:06 AM EST I called HBE and talked to Harry. I asked about the FinePix S602 that they had advertised on the web. Before I could ask about Gray market vs. the American version Harry stated that all they had in stock was the “American” version for $569.95. I asked if this was the one with the 1 year warranty and he confirmed that it was. I said that was great and to place an order. He then highly recommended the five year extended warranty through a highly respected company. I purchase the warranty. He said everything was in stock and would be shipped rapidly. Harry said I would receive an e-mail when the items were sent.
On Sunday I talked to Harry since I had not received an e-mail confirmation. He said that order was still pending in the system. Harry again confirmed the camera was the American Version with warranty.
Tuesday I find this website and the poor ratings that HBE has received. I called HBE and asked for the status of the order. I was told the order had shipped and I would receive it on the following Saturday. At this point I knew it was too late to cancel so I would wait.
On Wednesday I receive an E-mail from HBE stating the order had just shipped and gave me a tracking number for FedEx. I checked FedEx and it had just shipped. Clearly the package had not shipped when I had called the day before.
The package arrives at 2:14 PM PST 5/7/03. I open the shipping box and find all the items that I had ordered. Without opening the camera box I called FujiFilm and talked to technical support. I talked with a very knowledgeable and friendly technician who told me how to tell from looking at the box if it was Gray market or not. Much to my dismay it was clearly Gray market without the warranty. In addition the technician told me the camera has the ability to send images directly to a TV. The camera that I received was a PAL version that was incompatible with American TV’s. The technician asked how much I had paid and when I told him he said that I had gotten screwed and that camera should be sub $500. He also went on to say that FujiFilm was aware of this kind of practice and that some businesses will also try to sell you an extended warranty. I was too embarrassed to tell him I had also purchased the warranty. He went on to describe other techniques that are used by some sellers that are less than honest. Many of which are document on this website by other buyers.
I immediately called my credit card company and formally disputed the charges. I knew that if I waited too long I would loose my right to dispute the charge and one technique that was described by the FujiFilm technician was a delay technique so that by the time you figured out that you had a problem it would be too late to dispute the charges. I then called HBE and talked to Harry. I told him I had not received what I had ordered and he said to call back tomorrow and ask for “Mr. Sidney”.
At 8:10 AM PST 5/9/03 I called HBE. I explained that I had ordered an American Version of the S602 and I had received a non American version. He said they are all made in Japan and that none are American. I stated that I had received a "PAL" version that would not work on American TV's and therefore could not be American. I also stated that I had ordered an American version with warranty through FujiFilm. He said the warranty is through them and not FujiFilm. We argued back and forth for awhile and finally he said he would send an e-mail with an RMA. I said I would send it back but that I had disputed the charges and would follow the directions of the credit card company since I felt that would be a safer procedure.
At this point I am waiting to receive directions from my credit card company I am not sure I believe that I will receive a refund or a true American Version with the FujiFilm warranty. I don’t trust HBE or anything they say.
UpDate: 6/11/03 After send extensive documentation and sending back recieved items, I recieved correct version of camera yesterday. While I am please that I recieved the correct camera the delay and cost of shipping returned items made for less than enjoyable experience and made for more expensive camera. "
"Good Experience. On a friend's recomendation I ordered the new Pentax Optio S over the phone, Harry charged $20 extra for a USA Warranty (it says they will charge this in the website policies) but he cut me a deal on the memory card. The item was shipped the same day and received a day before it was promised. Great Camera and great deal. Their attitute is gruff and NY salesmanlike, but they performed. "
"I had an extremely unsatisfactory experience with hotbuyselectronics.com in which they refused to honor a $250 store credit that they had promised me after I returned an expensive pair of binoculars for a less expensive pair. Mr. Frank Lewis of hotbuys promised me the store credit the day I returned the first set of binoculars, and I sent him a letter confirming the store credit that same day.
About a month later I became interested in buying a digital camera and called Hotbuys. I faxed a copy of the above letter containing the $250 store credit commitment to the individual who answered the phone at hotbuys. He said I would have to speak to Frank Lewis, the man who made the commitment mentioned in my letter. After waiting on the phone for several minutes, he came back on and said that Mr. Lewis was out but he would leave him a message to call me. Mr. Lewis never called me back in spite of several additional attempts to contact him.
In the course of the last 18 months I have called on numerous additional occasions to utilize the $250 store credit. Each time I got a similar story: " …only Mr. Lewis could approve it, he was not there, he would be back later, he worked the late shift, he was very busy, but they would give him my message." Each time, he never returned the call. Finally, last week I called and spoke to Sidney Sandlar of hotbuys. I told him Mr. Lewis seemed to be avoiding me and attempting to avoid allowing me to use the store credit. Sandler then said that even if there were a store credit I would have to pay a restocking fee. I told him that no one had ever said there would be a restocking fee. Mr. Sandlar said that he would talk to Mr. Lewis and get back to me. When he called back he said Mr. Lewis confirmed that there had been a store credit but said that there was a one year limit to it, and it had expired.
As you can imagine, I became very angry and demanded that the store credit be honored and said that if it were not, I would institute legal action. Sandlar said that I could say anything I wanted but that hotbuys had a policy of never responding to threats. I hung up and checked Hotbuy26's feedback on ebay and learned that there had been 80 negative postings just in the last year, often accusing hotbuys of deception and/or fraud. I have now contacted all 80 of those people and intend to do the same with regard to individuals who have posted negative comments on resellerratings.com. I am asking everyone to send me an email describing their experience in detail. I have admonished everyone to be absolutely truthful and factual in their comments because, although there are consumer protection laws to protect individuals from companies who engage in deception and fraud, there are also slander and libel laws that protect a company from being falsely accused of deception and fraud. If enough individuals come forward and a pattern of behavior that is prohibited by the consumer protection laws emerges, I believe we will be able to find a lawyer who will take this as a class action on a contingent basis. In many states there are also treble (triple) damages awarded in consumer protection violation situations as well as legal fees. Additionally, it seems to me that if we can prove that hotbuys has engaged in deceptive or fraudulent activity it might be possible to get Attorneys General from several States to institute criminal action.
Clearly, the internet can be used as a tool of deception and fraud and a single individual can do very little to deal with it, but the potential to bring a class action law suit for treble damages and legal fees combined with the potential to involve State Attorneys General may be the answer to how to deal with such a company. If you have also had an experience that you believe may violate your rights under consumer protection laws or which you believe is an unfair trade practice, please send me an email and let me know. Also, if you are a lawyer and might be interested in putting together a class action case on a contingent basis, please let me know.
Maybe, if the facts support it and we unite with a common purpose, we can do something to deal effectively with these people.
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Since I posted the comments above, I have sent emails to many of the individuals who have posted similarly negative comments about their experiences with hotbuys. However, some of those individuals have not enabled their profile options to allow them to receive private emails (which, of course, is their privilege). Hopefully some of them will see this posting and contact me by email).
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"I ordered a Sigma 100-300 f4 Lens online, and then received an email stating that I needed to confirm my order via Phone (internationally that is!). Once I did this I was told the same story as the others that the "listed" price is for the 'plastic mount' version of the lens (Which I knew didn't exist!!) and that if I wanted the steel mount it was an extra $60 odd dollars.
I was also quoted a shipping price of $38 (but was billed for $45) at that time.
So I agreed to all of the above price (as it was still cheaper than other stores...) and got the lens underway. The lens arrived double boxed and could not be faulted. The only complaints I have against Hotbuys are
1) That the advertised price should reflect the actual price (especially as a 'plastic mount' version doesn't exist of this lens!!!) not some B.S. excuse to charge you more - Dishonesty isn't inspiring in an online reseller!!
2) That all online trasactions need to be followed up with a phone conversation with the sales department (I guess they need to tell you the REAL price of the items at some stage!!)"