"I am yet another person with a complaint against hotbuyselectronics.com. I placed an order with them online for a DVD player and after a couple weeks it did not arrive. When I called the company I got a message saying they would be closed for a month. Weeks later I got hold of someone to cancel the order and they said they would do so. However, a charge for the product still showed up on my credit card. I called them again and a person working there named Victor told me they would credit my card but this never happened. I consider myself fortunate that I’m only out $153. Needless to say I canceled my credit card so that these crooks wouldn’t have my number."
"The worst company I have ever encountered on the internet. They are just out to cheat your money. I placed my order on Apr 17. After a week, I called them. And they told me that I had to choose between the import or the US version, which would cost more. Then I said I wanted the black camera, and they said that was available only as the US version, which would cost me $24 more. I complained and they agreed to charge me just $10 more.
As of May 3rd, I called them, and to my fury, they had not even sent the package out!! Yet they insisted they had already done so. Finally when I got the tracking order, I was proven correct. They refused to let me cancel my order, claiming that it had already been processed.
I will return my order the moment I get it.
They are CHEATS. Do not ever order from them."
"I placed an order for a digital camera, received a confirmation email and then never got the camera. 3 weeks later, after misleading calls with their "customer service", I finally found out that it had never been shipped - in fact, they never had it in stock. Fortunately I was not charged for the camera."
"I ordered the Nikon CoolPix 5700...online store said it was available, new, on stock. I came accross this site and saw the reviews for this company and called them immediately. After being on hold for a long time he came back and told me the only camera available was a "model" and not new. I told them to go ahead and cancel the order. Good thing I bought with a credit card and will make sure that I will place them on Fraud alert if they decide to charge me. "
"DO NOT BUY FROM THIS STORE!!! I recently purchased a Nikon 9000 ED scanner from Hots Buys. I was quoted a price of $1733.35 online and my credit card was subsequently charged $1773.37! That should have been the 1st warning sign. The package was supposed to be sent for a 3 day delivery, and when the package didn’t arrive as expected, I called them to get a tracking number (which they told me they would send me when it was shipped and didn’t. By the way, I also requested an email confirmation of my invoice and they never send that either).
The tracking number was invalid (no record of it at USPS) and for four days I tried to call them to figure out where the package was. I was repeatedly put on hold for 20 minutes at a time, then disconnected or told to call back tomorrow since everybody had left for the day. On the fourth day, I was told that the package had been lost in the mail and would be resent. I asked to cancel my order and get an email confirmation of my refund and they said no problem.
By the next day, I still hadn’t received an email confirmation of my refund, and when I called back and spoke to the manager, Frank, I was told that, even though the package hadn’t been “reshipped” yet, I could either cancel my order and pay $70 for the shipping PLUS a 15% restocking fee, or they would resend it to me at “no additional charge.” I said that that was unacceptable and that I wanted a full refund and Frank told me that we could “do it the hard way or the easy way.” What a scam! "
"Complete fraudsters. Pulled a bait and switch on two Sony Bravia TV's. They claim the advertised prices are for 'international' units they have to be returned overseas for service. Offered to upgrade me to 'US units' for another $400+. I cancelled the order.
"
"Ordered a set of Canon binoculars from them. Called after 10 days to determine the status of my order. Was told that there was a problem with my order. The binoculars advertised were not for the USA market, but I could get the USA market ones for $60 more. Nothing on their site indicates this. A typical bait and switch operation"
"After waiting a reasonable time to receive my order, I called to inquire about it; was told it was out of stock. I was not notified of this by the merchant. Still have no merchandise, and I will be cancelling the order."
"STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!!!!!!!!!!! THEY ARE COMPLETE FRAUDS THROUGH AND THROUGH!!!
My wife, in trying to do something very nice, purchased a Canon 5d camera from them as a Christmas gift to me. Their price of $2,849 got them to the top of an Internet search, so she placed an order via their Internet site.
From here, the story reads the same as so many others here. "Frank," calls back and asks my wife if she knows she ordered the Chinese version with no warranty (it says this no where on their website). He said for $300 she could buy one with a USA warranty. Well, she says yes, and then they charged the card $450 more plus they STILL sent an import (from Japan!). Plus, they charged $105 for shipping (the actual cost is $12) I called them on December 26th and they told me customer service was closed, call back tomorrow. The next day I call and talk to "John." I tell him the issue and he says no problem, I'll fax you an RMA form, just sign and return it and we'll issue an RMA number. I get the fax and they want $495 to restock the camera (gee, that must be a big job putting that little box back on the shelf!). I call back furious and now they are hiding behind their 14 day return policy. 14 days over Christmas, I screamed! Silence on the phone.
I went through 2 Johns and one Gregory with no results. I am now in the middle of a credit card dispute that will take months to resolve, they screwed up Christmas for my wife (not for me because the thought was so grand), when all we should be doing is taking great pictures.
STAY AWAY, STAY AWAY, STAY AWAY!!
ANYONE FROM HOTBUYS, IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU ARE REAL SCUM BAGS!! TAKE A LONG LOOK IN THE MIRROR!
This is the next generation of bait and switch; they throw out the bait, call you for the switch, and then mail the bait. Unbelievable!"
"WARNING: DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY! WARNING: DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY! WARNING: DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY!
I TRIED TO PURCHASE A EPSON 1280 PRINTER FROM THIS COMPANY. THE COMPANY CALLED BACK TO CONFIRM THE PURCHASE...THEN THEY PRESISTED TO ASK ME IF I WANTED TO PURCHASE THE ONE FROM AMERICA OR THE IMPORT ITEM... I CALLED EPSON...EPSON SAID TO BEWARE B/C THEY WERE TRYING TO SELL ME A GREY MARKET ITEM WHICH WOULD HAVE NO WARRANTY.
HOTBUYS CONTINUED TO TELL ME THAT IF PURCHAED THE IMPORT ONE THAT I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GET THE REBATE THAT EPSON WAS OFFERING AND IF I PLANNED TO DO THE REBATE OFFER THAT I WOULD HAVE TO BUY THE AMERICAN ONE FOR $70 MORE.
THEY CONTINUED TO YELL AT ME AND TOLD ME THAT I COULD DO WHAT I WANTED B/C THEY WAS NOT HOLDING A GUN TO MY HEAD (QUOTED FROM REP HOWARD).
I CALLED BACK AND CANCELED MY ORDER AND THEN I CANCELED MY CREDIT CARD. THEY MAY SEEM EXTREME BUT I DON'T TRUST THIS COMPANY AT ALL. AND I DON'T TRUST THAT THEY WOULD NOT USE MY CREDIT CARD INFORMATION LATER ON B/C I CANCELED. I WENT ON AND PURCHASED LATER FROM EPSON.COM.
THIS COMPANY CANNOT BE TRUSTED AND I WISH I WOULD HAVE READ THESE NOTES BEFORE I PURCHASED OR I WOULD HAVE NEVER DONE BUSINESS WITH THEM.
FRAUD COMPANY---FRAUD COMPANY---FRAUD COMPANY---"
"I wish I saw their 79 out of 106 negative reviews before placing the order
- sent damaged lens/lied about receiving the returned package despite my proof with tracking/had no intent of repaying the extra shipping charges I paid for sending it to them express after paying to receive it express the first time/had to deal with rude store rep and was hung up on-
I ordered a Minolta 75-300mm lens from this company and requested the imported version as was advertised. I called the next day to confirm my tracking number an was told that the order didn't ship yet and that they did not have the version of the lens that I wanted and that they had to send me the US version of it instead ( another buyer who left a rating had a similar issue ion regards to that part). I received the lens that I was told would be new. Had it been ussed, I wouldn't mind but this item was damaged. The lens was dented on the front and side of the barrel and the focus ring was chipped. This was in bubble wrap, had a cardboard casing and a boxed so there was no way this type of damage was done in shipping. I sent the lens back for an exchange and requested thaty it be returned via next day express because I originally paid for express shipping and due to their mistake it would take almost a week to get the item I wanted. I called on the day I expected to receive the package and had not to ask what the tracking number was. I was put on hold for 10 minutes then told that they did not get my package. I then told the rep I spoke with that I had proof of signature confirmation in my returned express shipping that they received it and I was put on hold again. Another rep returned 10 minutes later to tell me that I had to wait till Tuesday to take care of the situation due to customer service offices being closed . I was furious and kept explaining that this item was paid to be shipped express both ways by me and still will not receive any idea of it's styaus for another week. I was then told that they did not have anymore of those lenses in stock which was the last straw for me. In reality, the only reason the original sales person was trying to get me to get the US version of the lens is because they had a false advertisement to begin with. The main question I had was if you received my return package, and you know that it was a damaged item you no longer have in stock, then why wasn't I ever notified when they got the returned package for a refund. I demanded a refund and was obviously upset as the rep could hear in my voice at which time I was insulted and hung up on. I have worked customer service in the past and can assure you that nothing in my explanation of the situation to this rep would have called for those actions. This is by far the worst online transaction I have ever partook in and must now wait for the situation to be remedied. "
"Said they had product in stock. Never email invoice. confirmation, tracking nothing for 12 days! This was for Christmad by the way! Finally I called and they told me they don't have that product! Would I like similar?? Should have their seller's licence revoked. Really regret not reading their rating first!"
"I ordered a degital camera from Hotbuy. They charged to my credit card but they did not send me the product. They never picked up my call nor replied to my e-mail. I do not recommend this store because of this fraudent activity."
"Avoid HotBuyElectronics like the plague. I ordered a new digital camera from them, before ordered I asked both in email and on the phone, is it new? I was assured it was new, but when it arrived it was clearly refurbished. It even had Nikon's part number for a refurbished camera. When I called and asked them, they reassured me it was new. When I told them it had a Nikon refurbished part number, he paused, stuttered, then gave me some lie about having to change boxes because the original boxes were damaged. I IMMEDIATELY requested an RMA, and sent this back. I wish that were the end of the story, but it's not. 2 months later they had not yet credited my credit card, so I called them. He said my card would be credited that day. 2 weeks later, still no credit, so I called a second time (I was clearly too patient with these people). Again, I was told it would be credited that day. But I was fed up, so I called Citibank and told them what was going on. Citibank immediately and without any questions reversed all changes.
So I say again, AVOID HotBuyElectronics like the plague!"
"Ordered a Casio Exilim EX-S500EO with 2-day air shipping before checking reviews of this store. I called before ordering to ensure it was in stock - other vendors were sold out; they said yes it was in stock, yes, they had the "orange" version (EO), but I must order online. On the order comments, I specified: "If out of stock or different color, CANCEL THIS ORDER". After checkout and giving credit card info, the invoice (page only, not emailed) said to call for expedited shipping, to ensure timely delivery. So I called again. THEN the person asked if I wanted a US warranty version, or import - I said warranty. That was $30 or so more. I said "ok". He asked if I wanted an extra battery; we discussed it, I said "ok". I double/triple checked that it would arrive on time. He assured me that it would, and said that he would email an updated invoice. I never got the email. Then I checked reviews of the store and got a sinking feeling. I called back the next day - he assured me that my order would arrive at the scheduled time. That time was yesterday. No order, no email, no credit card charge (yet). When I called last night to find "where's my order?!" no one in service was available. Ditto for this morning. My order found a black hole, I guess. I've emailed them: "DO NOT SEND THIS NOW, DO NOT CHARGE MY CARD, I WILL DISPUTE IT". We'll see...
UPDATE 09/12: the following Wed, I got a call saying they had the camera, ready for delivery. I asked why it hadn't arrived at the date promised; they said "sorry, it wasn't in stock". I also reaffirmed that I was canceling the order."