"I don't think I ever expierienced such a friendly organization like Royal Camera. The prices were great. Even after almost a year my purchase is still working like it was the first day I got it. Plus I got a free 1GB memory card and a free camera bag as a token of their apperciation, because I'm such a valued customer. "

"Please DON'T placing an order with these guys!
They are liar!Very dishonest.Rude peoples!
I order brand new camera,and they try to charge me $200 for battery,and very bad attitude."

"Crooks as stated all around.
Please don't bother placing an order with these guys even if you are in no risk of losing money. Remember that your personal and credit card info is going into the hands of people that should looked up by the FBI.

Bait and switch like hell.
Rude, Mafia wannabe, dishonnest people.

If I had the time and energy, I would sue them.

Note that they have multiple websites including GeniusCamera.com.
Please look any website in whois.net to make sure you are not dealing with these guys."

"Horrible, Horrible, Horrible! Very dishonest. They would not cancel my order when I asked them - I had to cancel with my credit card company. The camera didn't even come with a battery - -they wanted to charge me $200 extra for it! "

"Order a Canon 20D and EF-S 17-85MM lens. I wanted to order the Canon CB-5L battery charger and decided to call them and ask them about the pricing. The first sales person said that he does not take that order and transfer me to someone else. That person, give me 3 option on a stock canon CB-5L. A 6 hour charger for $119.99 and a 2 hour charger for $199.99 whereas everyone in the right mind that this coust around $69 (retail), and when I say no thank you, they hang up. So, I call the customer line which is always busy it seems that only one phone line to one customer service rep. When I spoke with her, I told her that I made an order last night and wanted to confirm that the unit (20D) is made in USA; and she said no; meanwhile, she keep asking me about my encounter with the sales rep and she was shock that no one has called me on the order. So, I try to cancel the order, and she placed me on hold. When someone came online, he said that I cannot cancel the lens becasue it was already shipped. How can that be, if I just placed the order last night. And also, I asked him about the camera weather it was made in USA with USA warrenty, he assured me that it is; but I dedcide to cancel it anyway. He keep asking me why, I told him about the rude people that I am dealing with, and he hung up on me. I putting this down for everyone to becareful when dealing with this company. Read all the reviews about the GREY market of the camrea."

"Long story... Advice: DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH ROYAL CAMERA. They would not cancel my order even as they were trying to upsell me. The $1849 camera & kit that I wanted to purchase, $2796.91 charged to my credit card... I file a complaint with the FBI...
6/29/05 6:00AM
Just had a phone call from the FBI, agent stated to have anyone that has a complaint to file it at:
WWW.IFCCFBI.GOV Ths is the FBI's internet fruad complaint center. Agent stated that if enough people complain they will take action. Please file a complaint with the amount that you were ripped off for. Individually, the amount is too low, but together our total $$'s will expose them as the organized crime operation that they are...
defrauding thousands of people, millions of dollars.

"

"Just another switch and bait, post impossibly low price and forced you to buy accessories. If you said no, fuhgetaboudit... they'll say it's on back order for no end dates. I've waited 2 weeks and nothing happens.

Crooks, does anyone know how to report these type of companies??"

"I will warn everyone about this rotten firm! Too bad I didn't know about this website first! We also purchased a NikonD70S and after talking to the Nikon rep we found the warranty was bogus since the camera was a resale from overseas and they won't touch it in US! The serial number on the camera was the Nikon reps clue. They are charging us 25% of the camera because we are returning it. And, I can ditto everything everyone else has said about the additional dollars they will steal from you when it's sold by Nikon as a kit!!!!"

"I attempted to purchase a Fuji finepix s5100 from Royal Camera this afternoon. They advertised on their website this camera for $195. When I called it became immediately obvious that the "customer service" was as rude as I have ever experienced with a retailer. It was also obvious that the camera advertised was a "grey market" replacement. The real camera was an additional $105. When I commented on the difference in price, the fine rep I was talking to yelled "you f!@# ignoramus, I wish I got (sic) your credit card number first". Suffice it to say that I hung up, but unfortunately from the reviews I read here, not everyone was "lucky" enough to get a short-tempered representative. Long story short: stay away from these shysters like the plague! "

"I ordered a Sony VX2100 camcorder from this company at the advertised price of $1200. They sent me an email the next day (from an aol.com email) telling me that I had to call in order to confirm my order. A little worried that something had gone wrong, I called them up and after about five tries of endless ringing I finally reached someone. He seemed nice at first, simply asking me for my security code on the credit card. However, it turns out that my gut feeling was correct and things did go wrong. He then attempted to sell me on other accessories that I thought were just superfluous. This, however, was not the case; they were items that are usually included in a camera, such as batteries, that were not included in the advertised price. I soon learned that a "normal" model would cost me close to $2300--more than $1000 more than I had expected. Furthermore, if I had bought simply the camera body for $1200, it was not a US model, rather it was a foreign one that wasn't going to have English menus! It took me about 10 minutes to get the pushy and rude salesman to cancel the order (he first tried to persuade me by discounting it $50). I highly suggest that you do not do business with this company; they'll mislead you and essentially screw up your plans."

"After placing my order online for a Nikon D70s, I received an email asking me to call to confirm my order. The person with whom I spoke was unfriendly from the start. He started by asking if I wanted to buy special "Pro" CF cards to go with it, initially claiming that the CF I & II cards don't work with the D70s. When I pointed out that this is untrue according to Nikon's technical specs, he became outright hostile, threatening to cancel the order. He also tried to sell me a battery, informing me that one does not come with the camera they sell. Seeing that, according to Nikon's specs, that the battery comes standard, I realized this was not a deal I wanted to have anything to do with. They had lured me in with a bargain price and were now trying to sell me into buying all kinds of accessories, some of which should have been standard."

"I was asked by a Finnish friend to purchase a Canon Rebel 8.0 MP camera with a 75-300mm Canon lens. I sent away to this company not knowing their business reputation. The price was $629 for the camera and $390 for the lens, and $1079 with a $60 shipping fee. My wife was called by the firm last week and they told her the model ordered was not in stock but the U.S. model was available for $100 more with a battery pack. They also asked her why she wanted an "old lens" when a "newer and better" one was available. Well, a package with the standard lens was delivered last week, along with a Sigma 70-300 mm lens, a much cheaper version and not what we ordered. I learned tonight that my credit card was debited for $579 assumedly for the camera that they didn't know when it was coming in and $549 for the lens which I had not even ordered And I have to go to Europe in a week. I have to assume they shipped something out to me, what it is I don't know. I would just like to return the whole thing to them and get a refund.
The company engages in bait and switch tactics, which are as misdomeanor under NY State law I quote:
Deceptive Business Practices
• 15 USC § 45
• N.Y. General Business Law § 349

Unfair acts and deceptive practices carried out in the course of business or trade are prohibited in New York State. Section 349 of the General Business Law specifically prohibits this activity and has become the most frequently prosecuted consumer-related offense in New York State. There are many practices which violate this statute, including:

Bait and Switch Advertising

• General Business Law § 396

A store cannot advertise an item for sale without providing an adequate supply of the item to consumers. It is illegal to advertise or offer for sale merchandise or services with the purpose not to sell at the advertised price or not to sell at all. Unscrupulous merchants have been prosecuted for advertising an item at a sale price without having the item in stock. With interested buyers in their store, they try to entice the consumers into buying more expensive items or services. The New York General Business Law, along with Federal Trade Commission regulations, prohibits a merchant from offering merchandise or services without the intent to sell the offered merchandise or services.[9]

9] N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 396(1).

So, I'm stuck with something I didn't order and at a higher price to boot!

note: first number is the confirmation I received from them, second is the invoice number from the first invoice they sent me


Sequel to the story: the company received the merchandise back on June 6 and credited my account for all but $68. I took the matter up with Master Card, which agreed to credit me back for the additional fees.

Remember this: Federal law allows you to claim a full refund if you are sent merchandise you did not order. Such an instance is called a "billing error." You will have to provide full particulars to your credit card issuer, and make sure you have the routing number when you return any unordered merchandise by UPS or Fedex. Try to deal with them by Internet rather than over the phone, as you will have a record to refer to and not "my word vs. their word."
And please write to the NYS Attorney General's Office and the NYC Office of Consumer Protection. With enough complaints they can have their license lifted or even be prosecuted for violations of the law as stated above.

Bottom line: no firm should be allowed to do busines if its business model is predicated on luring customers with a fictitious price they have no intention of keeping.
"

"I don't know where to begin with this company. One of the worst buying experiences I've ever had. All around dishonest, deceptive business. "

"This company is a fraud, pure and simple. The list of illegal, unethical, annoying and irritating things they did to me is too long to fully describe here. If AG Spitzer is looking for his next victim to publicly profile his ability to combat consumer fraud, he could do much worse than try to make a purchase of expensive photo equipment from this store. Lies, more lies, abusive customer service, used product sold as new, gray market equipment sold as USA, prices charged to invoice more than those quoted over phone, hidden charges. If anyone reading this posting decides to do business with this operation they will ahve themsleves and nobody else to blame. Singularly the worst operation I've ever seen in my entire life. Betting they'll be shut down within one year (I have a connection to Mr. Spitzer that I'm going to use to see what I can do to ensure that they're put out of business)."

"This was one of the easiest on-line purchases I've ever made! I purchased two cameras with several accessories. Within an hour or so, someone called to confirm the order and to assure me everything was in stock and being shipped. He advised me of a two-for-one deal on lenses that I had missed -- I had ordered one of them -- so he made sure I received the second lens. Several other deals were brought up but never pushed and shipping was upgraded to 3 days with no extra charge. Everything arrived on time and in excellent condition. I appreciated their guarantee that factory sealed merchandise would be sent and it was. All this and great prices, too."