"I purchased two Sony Info Lithium batteries (NP F970)Guess what they last for an hour each and died in the middle of my project. I sent them back to replace and they replaced them but again I tested them both they last only one hour again. I keep calling them to let them know about the defective batteries but no body is taken care of my complain. My advice is do not order the Info Lithium battery, they have defects even if they have a life time warranty, u couldn't handel the hustle. Photo Loon is ripping you off your money by sending brandless defective "sony" batteries. It is totally outrageous. Be ware"

"COMPLETE SCAM ARTISTS!!! Their prices are great until they screw you with the shipping and handling charges. I checked on the price to ship and insure a package that was more valuble than the camera I ordered and it came out $70 less than what they charged me for shipping and handling. When I pointed that out to the salesman, who took forever to take my call, he said that the difference was handling charges. Why does it cost me $70 to take the camera off the shelf and put it in a box. Oh, and the free tripod, camera case and lens protectors were a lie too. I don't know how anyone could possibly have something good to say about this company, therefore, all these good reviews about photoloon are probably false reports made by employees. DON'T BUY FROM THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Beware ordering from Photoloon! I ordered a Sony cv-500 Camcorder from them on 1-16-2010. Five days later on 1-21-2010 I got an Email saying I had to call this guy Victor. When I do he tries to get me to buy a more expensive battery. When I balk at that, that's the last I ever hear from Photoloon. I tried calling them again, but their hours of operation are horrible. Kindergardeners put in a longer week. Then day after day like an idiot, I kept going to my mailbox wondering where my camcorder was. The whole expirience was bad. You can do better than Photoloon and I recommend you do.
Antony M"

"Victor was very helpful in getting my camera delivered before my grandson's birth. The camera was out of stock but he searched another vendor and found the camera for me. It did cost an additional $50.00 but the price was still cheaper than I had found in other places. I'm always very skeptical about purchases on the internet. However, this company is "for-real" and the customer service was great!"

"I am very appreciative of all the quality help I received while ordering my new camera. My questions were answered thoroughly and with knowledge. I am very happy I decided to call Photoloon instead of ordering online. "

"Summary: if you aren't going to buy all the higher margin peripherals with one of their deals...expect hassle, runaround and disappointment.

Honest Abe does NOT work here.
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I ordered a Canon Powershot D10 from this company. Didn't want the additional peripherals they tried to sell after the annoying 'call us to confirm your order' back and forth delays where they try to sell you extra stuff (have plenty of SD cards etc.)

They then canceled the order as 'oversold.' The item remained available on the website throughout and the price was increased by about $10 a few days later.

They indicated they were waiting on a shipment of the camera to their warehouse and that "Upon product arrival, your status will change and you will be notified by email"


I confirmed I was still interested and to let me know.

They never contacted me and didn't respond to followups later. I eventually went to a reputable seller 7 months later and purchased it.

Save yourself the hassle and avoid this one."

"We bought a Canon VIXIA HF20 video camera from photoloon, they lured us with low price on the Google shopping search. Once we placed our purchase order with our credit card, they left a message at home saying that they would like to discuss with us about this purchase. When we contacted them sales person said that we need to get another package along with the video camera and basically asked for more money for that package. We took a package with 5 hrs battery. The whole process consumed couple of days. I did not like it as it forced me to select a faster shipment option ($16.70) as I was leaving on my Vacation in a week. Finally, all this we did for nothing. After the first charge, the battery did not work at all. We had to live with our 2 hrs battery on our whole vacation. We called Customer service. Customer service phone call took toooooooo long. However, customer service agent named Alex was helpful. They promised me to change the battery. Let us see what happens now..."

"The prices are cheap for a reason. I ordered a camera and accessory pack in oct. The camera I found cheaper elsewhere, but the package was a good deal, or so I thought. The camera was sent quickly but the rest of the items were backordered for 2 months. In Dec when I attempted to call on my items I would be placed on hold for hours. If I called the sales extension they transferred me back to hold. It took 3 days to talk to a live body. The box I received was not the 20pc package deal that was listed on the website. It took more emails and phones calls before I was able to speak to a live person, then I was contacted by a manager who stated the items I was missing were no longer available. He sent me a memory card to make up the difference. My main compalint with this company is there total lack of customer service. I told the manager that it seems they are doing business in someones basement and not as a real company."

"I ordered a Nikon D90 since Nov 30 but still didn't get it after a month. I called a few times and the answer was: Overbooked, it will be available in about a week.
I just called, after being on hold for half an hour, to cancel the order.
Conclusion, I will not buy anything from this store anymore despite of its so called deals."

"I bought Nikon D3000 on December 8 as a christmas present to myself. I shopped around for a long time and this store has the LOWEST PRICE with all the accessories.

First, I did not get a confirmation e-mail so I was kinda worried. I waited 1 week hoping I would receive the package soon, then I got this e-mail says they need to confirm my shipping address because billing add. and shipping add. are different. So I called. They said it's no problem. Instead they said this package does not include a battery or sd card so they offered me to purchase from them. The price was way too high, but I wasn't sure so I had to hung up the phone to research on ebay. As I thought ebay was like more than 50% cheaper, so I called them back told them I don't need any batteries or sd card. Then they gave me an attitude...then they said the package will be ship out in 7 days. It was already 10days before the christmas. I said ok, as long as I receive it by Christmas. The guy said he's sure I will not receive it by Christmas. I was very upset but that was for me besides I wanted it so I said ok.
About 10days later I received the shipping notice. I finally received my package on January 2, took almost 1 month!! The tracking number was totally incorrect, I checked on Fedex, UPS, DHL and USPS but all of them said no record found.
It said Fedex will deliver but it was delivered to my POBOX.
By that time I was very skeptical that I would receive the knockoff brand or something, but it was (seems to be) real. However, I think, I'm sure, it was return or something because the original box was broken, unsealed, and there was already a eye piece and some other piece attached to the camera. They were supposed to be in an original packet separately....
I checked very carefully, looking for fingerprints or anything, but didn't find anything. So besides those pieces it looks brand new, works great and I love the camera.
I wanted to call this company and complain but I saw this review site and it happened to a lot of people so why waste my time again...
Overall, the price is cheap, the product is great, I'm happy with it, all the accessories are cheap brand but it's OK.
But I will not buy from this company again. Customer service is terrible. They are very demanding and pushy.
I will pay a little bit more for fast, professional service.
"

"I ordered Canon HF200 through their website at $479. Later on, the sales agent called me that it better for me to buy additional Canon BP-819 Batteries for $80 since the default one only lasts for 20 minutes. And he said $80 for two batteries. However, the final charge is $570 ($91) and also they only ship ONE additional Zeikos ZE-BP819 (not Canon brand). I called their service and they tried to play "word game", they said the two means one default plus one additional. And If I return their product, I have to pay the shipping cost plus they only refund me $550. This is a definitely a cheating company! Be alert!"

"1/23/2010, Update:
I worked with customer service to resolve the issues with my order. The person helping me did a great job of working with me to come to a satisfactory solution.
I get the impression that they are a small company and trying to fix some of the problems they're having with different aspects of the business.

-------

12/31/2009
My mother purchased a Canon 7D for me this holiday, and it came with an entire box of accessories. Most of this stuff, not even a professional photographer would need. A 'memory card wallet' with a tiny carabiner? I can use the nice plastic case that the CF card came in. A tiny little tripod that won't even hold the weight of the camera? I can use the big tripod that was included in this 'package deal'.
I came to find out that she paid $3600 for this camera with the basic 28-135mm lens and a mountain of extra stuff that the guy told her she would need. I mean really, do I need a nice camera bag AND a small backpack?
Yes, the extra battery (which isn't recognized by the camera) and the CF card are valid accessories and I do need them, but Photo Loon definitely took advantage of someone who knows nothing about this stuff.

I called them today and asked to return $1800 worth of unneeded accessories, and was told that the return policy from the place that shipped the stuff to me is 21 days. I'm out of luck, she bought it three weeks before Christmas. The person in customer service wanted to make me happy, so he said, "let me see what I can do" and put me on hold. In a minute he came back and said he could credit the card $170, this is the profit they made on the order. I told him that was nice, but I felt like someone suckered my mom out of $1800. He put me on hold and came back with a $290 credit to her card.

That's where it ends. While I appreciate his willingness to 'make it right' and please the customer, I think they did take advantage.
I'm sure that if you know what you're doing, and can stand your ground during an up-sell or bait-and-switch, you would probably get a decent deal and adequate customer service from Photo Loon. But for those moms out there that don't know a lens from a lens cover, use caution."

"Prompt service. I have really been satisfied with the purchase of my camera. All of it shipped together in one order and was exactly what I ordered. I spent some time researching the camera I was looking for, and then looked at discount prices on PhotoLoon's website. I was able to ony my Sony Camera and Lens from the same location, and they had what I needed in stock."

"Still waiting. While they send me an e-mail to verify credit card information, it is of course untrue. The real purpose is traditional bait and switch--this order is for an import, the real camera with manufacturer's warranty is $300.00 more (the same price as other websites). Then the attempt to sell a battery (the one with the unit is inadequate--yeh, it only does 800 photos on a charge), etc.

Then for two weeks nothing...no e-mail, no return message from my inquiry. Then when I called they said, sorry not available until 3 weeks later (back ordered) or would I like to cancel my order. They of course intend me to cancel so that they can play this unfair trade practice on another unsuspecting dupe.

Still waiting for the camera. Not holding my breath.

*****update Jan. 8, 2010******

This company is engaged in consumer fraud. I have filed a complaint with the Division of Consumer Affairs in New Jersey. They operate through identical sister companies (us1camera.com, us1digital.com, us1photo.com, etc.--the same Mickey works the sales desk). On newer cameras that are in great demand they offer deeply discounted costs (e.g., Canon 7d)and they engage in "bait and switch" tactics (claiming they need to confirm large credit card orders, they try to up sell a "better" battery, a U.S. domestic model versus the model on their website (which they claim is an import model), etc.). When they are unable to fulfill the order, they encourage the customer to cancel the order (out of frustration).

Please report all incidents of fraud to ****@****

"

"After researching numerous sites for a Canon 5D Mark ii camera kit, I opted to by from PhotoLoon (wish I had found this site first). They offered a price of $3,199, free shipping and free lens cleaning, tripod and camera bag.

1st the free stuff did not show on the online order, so I called. It was added. It turned out to be about $50 of Zeikos stuff).

Then, I got the battery pitch. So I bought an upgrade to get 2 Long-Lasting Li-Ion Batteries, since I was also ordering the Canon Battery Grip.

As I was trying to tally my order based on the discussion, the numbers were off by some margin. I was informed that there is a 9.5% Handling/Insurance & Processing Charge (smacks of being a shipping charge). I got it reduced by about 1/2. That brought the price back in line with other vendors.

When the stuff came in, I found one Canon LP-E6 Battery (in the kit) and one Zeios Battery w/ AC-Car Charger (which I found on Amazon for $25.)

When I called, Victor explained that the upgrade was from the "Grey market" Canon 5D to the US Canon 5D Kit which of course has the LP-5E battery. The Zeikos is the other long-lasting battery that they provide. Supposedly, the "Grey market" kit only has a battery that lasts 30 minutes. It would have been more ethical to explain all of that on the front end. I consider this to be deceptive.

The statement on the bottom of their invoice, begins with "PhotoLoon.com's policy is truth in advertising, and we aspire to publish accurate selling prices for the products we offer." That could not be farther from the truth. In fact, until I got the merchandise, I did not even know the brand names of the items that I was purchasing. Check their website and you will find items listed with no manufacturer name.

What started out to be a "great" deal turned into a "so-so" deal. At least everything works."