"You people had me really scared. I had ordered almost $4000 worth of gear from Royal last Wednesday ( 22th Dec. ) for delivery on Friday. Then I found this site on Thursday. Scary reading!
Over the weekend, I read all the postings and compared my experience with the salespeople with the posts. Yes, the salesman did offer other lenses than Canon, but was not pushy. He told me the 20D was just the body and nothing else, and upgraded to the full kit at a comparable price to Beach and Ritz. One lense was cheaper than elsewhere by $200. Camera and lenses are Canon USA with warranty and rebates. The gear got here today, Weds, delayed by weather. Shipping was free. All in all, I can say I am happy."

"I made a purchase with Royal Camera on sunday the 20th online a received a call from them on my mobile in South Africa within half an hour to confirm my order and again later that evening to confirm my shipping address. The person I dealt with was extremelly friendly and had a good knowledge of the products I had purchased. When asked if I wanted to upgrade the lens I said that I was quite happy as is and the guy seemed quite excited for me. He said the package would be shipped the next day and I am really looking forward to receiving it. I found all these bad reviews about them online and this has made me a little weary and I am not sure if I should worry yet. My only complaint is that I haven't received my tracking or order number yet. I will keep everyone posted but a good company to deal with thus far except for the online confirmation."

"Do not order anything from this company! They use classic bait & switch and treat you like a used car salesman having a bad day.

I ordered the Canon Rebel Digital which was listed on their site for $619. First of all, the web site didn't mention that this was after the $100 Canon rebate, so the actual starting price was $719.

I had some questions, so I called the phone number. First of all, I wanted to know what type of battery was included with the camera. This started a chain of aggressive upselling that brought the total cost of the camera well above mfr retail. The salesperson, Scott, told me that some disposable batteries were included with the camera just "to get you started" and that they would last about 30 minutes. He offered to sell me a battery & charger for $189. Interestingly, the battery & charger is included in the factory package.

Next, I asked about the warranty and was told the camera comes with 90 days parts only and that I could purchase 1 year parts/labor for $89 or 5 years for $189. After checking, the camera comes with a standard 1 year parts & labor warranty.

After placing my order, including quite a few of these "extras" I asked how much they charge for overnight delivery. He told me $39. After I hung up the phone, I realized that he didn't give me a total for my order. I called back immediately and was put through to "Peter" who was a supervisor.

I started to worry when Peter was hesitant to give me any details of my order. Finally, he told me that my total was over $1400! I asked him to walk me through the order. In addition to "selling" me items that were included in the manufacturer's package, they had added 6% shipping PLUS the $39 overnight charge. He explained that the overnight charge was "on top of" the 2 day ground rate of 6% of the order total.

After this, I told Peter to cancel my order. He protested and reminded me that I won't find better prices anywhere. I said I had a bad feeling about the transaction and wanted to cancel. He became angry and told me he would charge a 5% cancellation fee to my credit card. I told him that I would contact my credit card company to make sure that didn't happen. Then, he told me he would throw in an additional battery charger (probably the one already included in the package) for free. He told me this was a $150 value. I insisted he cancel my order and he told me he would personally guarantee my satisfaction 100% and that if I wasn't happy I could return the whole order for a full refund.

Needless to say, he didn't have much credibility at this point. We ended the conversation with him repeatedly telling me that he was charging me a 5% cancellation fee and that it had "already been faxed to the credit card company".

I contacted my credit card company immediately to go on record with my experience and have it noted on my account. I was told that no charges or authorizations had come through but that I would need to dispute the charge if it did post to my account.

After my conversation with Peter, I felt like I needed to take a shower. I purchased the camera online at Circuit City and picked it up at their local store. The price was $899 with a $100 rebate and it came with a 1 year parts/labor warranty and a lithium battery with charger. "

"Do not I repeat Do not buy from the Royal rip off artist. THis company needs to be put out of business for the practices that they do.

I ordered a canon 20d yes It was low priced. Got a e-mail to confirm the order when I called they try to sell me everything and did not disclose the prices of everything to me at the time. After thinking about it I tried to cancle and found I had to call a regulat number not the 800 number and that was not open till 11 eastern time. I finealy got through and said that I wanted to cancle everything on my order but the camera body. THey connected me to Larry who was supposeably a manager he said that if I just bought the camera body it would not have a warranty and everything would be in Japanese but if I kept my order which totaled 1339 it would be a american version and that they were giving me the battery and charger for free since I was a first time buyer. He said this was such a good deal that no one else was selling it for that. Not quite sure of that I know other sites were offering for about the same price. But agreed to the price.

The camera came about a week later and the price on the credit card slip and invoice was over $400 more than what I agreed to. I called to straighten it out and he got abusive with me stating that I had a greed to this amount and that the recorded my phone conversation. Like I believe that..Even if they did who is to say that the don't dub in what they want it to say. I said that No I did not agree to this I want my money back and he gave me a return number. I shipped the packeage back by DSL they had it with in 2 days it has been a week since the had recieved and signed for it and my credit card still has not been credited back. I don't expect to see the money credited.

I have contacted everyone I can think of
BBB, Attorney General for New YOrk, Attorney General for my state, the FBI, and Popular Photography like the are going to do anything, Plus disputed it on my credit card.

I would like to see them get what they deserve. I am willing to help. You can contact me at
****@****. Let ban togeather they need to be put out of business. "

"Ordered the GL2 on lineI Was told it was in stock. Then received an email stating I needed to confirm order which I did.They Asked if I wanted extended pkgs for the camera which I did not. Never heard from them after that. So I called and asked when the camera would be shipped they said 3-4 weeks(this was Dec. 1), I still have not received the camera and they are still stating it will be 3-4 weeks. When I called they said they said they did have the GL2 camera in stock but it was with extended pkgs and I just wanted the camera. So Mine was backordered???? I Will not go through this company again."

"Don't buy anything from this store. Their sale price on the web is a big lie they will add up all kinds of charge on final sale price like a $100 shipping price from NY to VA...Their web sale price for Nikon D70 is $719 but my final price came out to be 1269.99. When I try to return it, they said it will cost me $170 to return it(shipping-$100 restocking-$70). Their sale person are like dirty bad car saleman. They will try to scam you like they did to my girlfriend when she bought this camera for me. I don't understand are they trying to run a business or a scam....I am also reporting them to yahoo b/c yahoo is hosting their dirty business. "

"UNPROFESSIONAL, UNSATISFACTORY, customer service. Never had I encountered such bad experience with on-line purchasing! I had purchased a Canon Powershot G6 camera from their website. The total amount was $469.00. Great price right? Come to find out later after a phone call from a representative that it only included the camera itself- no cables, no software. The total cost of that package was in actuality well over $600.00. He overturned the story telling me that he could not open the package and "just send me the camera." So I was stuck paying another couple hundred dollars for something I thought I had already purchased! I tried canceling the call with a representative that did not understand what “I DO NOT WANT THE PRODCUT” meant, and after forcing an alternative camera on me that, according to him had the same features and was a great bargain, I gave it a try.

After researching the product, I discovered that there were major differences between the two. Plus the fact that it was over priced! I wrote them an e-mail early the next morning explaining the previous situation and asked for an ultimate cancellation. Received an e-mail with a call back number to cancel my order. I called the number as soon as I read it, but they were closed due to time zone differences. It was not until the next morning that I was able to get a hold of a supervisor, who to my dismay was as unprofessional as the whole experience itself.

I couldn’t cancel the order because the product had been shipped the previous day. He had failed to read my e-mail because according to him, they did not bother reading e-mails during holiday season. “E-mails don’t mean nothin’.” So in the end, I’m stuck paying (1) shipping and handling for a product that (2), I originally did not want, and (3) was falsely advertised. And all this hoping I could clear my credit charge and get a refund.

"

"I put an order with an overseas credit card. The order went through and ended up in limbo until I called and I was told a few days before Christmas.

Of course this was bad enough but it got worse when I actually got with a sales rep over the phone. Very dismissive and outright rude. I recommend against this store very strongly."

"I read various comments and approached this seller with some scepticism. Larry did the predicted hard sell, but hey, their prices are so low, they have to make their money somehow, so I checked around for prices on the battery charger he was trying to sell me and it wasn't too far off the mark so I bought. I questioned the shipping cost as well, but when I spoke to UPS, they told me that it wasn't off the mark either, and I figured that free or low cost shipping was bundled into other store's pricing, so you pay for it anyway.

The camera came quickly as promised, but
what's upsetting me now is that the camera came without the promised batteries or charger,. Still, the invoice reads as if the camera, advertised for $239 cost $359, with no break down of the other costs that added to the final cost, and no mention whatsoever of the promised batteries and charger. It's Friday night, so I can't call until Sunday, and I'll be happy to retract this comment if the charger and batteries are sent, but I worry that the response may be "What charger?" I'll let you know..."

"misleading info on the website. misleading, rude, unprofessional sales staff."

"After considerable research I purchased a sony cybershot digatal camera from Royal Cameras. I am glad I did! They were very knowledgeable, provided great customer service, and gave me a great price. I couldn't have asked for more. I purchased the camera on Monday and it was delivered on Wednesday. The camera lived up to everything that Royal Cameras told me about it and was everything I hoped it would be."

"Read my letter to Royal Camera & you'll know why I'll never do business with them again. STAY AWAY!

To whom it may concern,

I recently placed an order from Royal Camera for a Canon Powershot S1 IS from the Royal Camera Website. The order number was "royalcamera-XXXXX".

The cost of the camera was $239.00 (cheapest I found), but the $59.99 shipping brought the cost into the range of other internet sellers for the new camera.

Based on the delivery information from the website & the cost of shipping (25% of the camera cost & 20% of the total cost), I expected that my order would be shipped within the indicated 24-48 hours, or I would be notified, as indicated below.


http://store.yahoo.com/royalcamera/info.html
Delivery information

We offer 6 convenient shipping methods for delivery within the continental U.S. & Canada. Our shipping charge depends upon the total amount of the order. during the checkout process you can choose the delivery methods and view the actual shipping charges. Most orders are shipped within 24-48 hours {provided that all the billing and credit card information are correct}.if there is a problem with your order you will receive an email or phone call providing more details within one business day. please allow 4-6 weeks for back order items. delivery times vary according to the schedule below:

Ground shipping 7-10 business days 3- days Ground 3 business days 2-days 2 business days. Overnight 1 business day. FedEx express 1 business day U.S. post office Ground shipping is not available for deliveries to Hawaii, Puerto Rico & Alaska.

We ship worldwide,and to APO & FPO address. We accept all major credit cards Visa, Master card, American Express, Discover & Diner's club. Royal camera is not responsible for any duties or taxes & charges imposed and or enforced by destination country.


After 5 days without an email confirmation of the item being shipped, I thought I should contact Royal Camera to find out the status of my order. I spoke to a man named Larry (ext. 219), and he took down my information & then called me back. When he contacted me with the status of my order, he indicated that the order was not completed on Royal Camera's end & then he asked me additional information regarding my credit card (3 digit number on back of card) & phone number, which I provided. When I asked him about the delivery estimate he indicated that the camera listed on the website is from the "gray market" overseas & would take over 4 weeks for the order to arrive. The information regarding "gray market" or 4+ weeks for shipping was not available, or listed anywhere on your website.

Larry then explained that he did not have the "individual" Canon camera available at the store, but repeatedly & forcefully tried to get me to purchase the camera in a kit if I wanted to receive the camera sooner than 4 weeks. The cost of the kit was over $140 more than I had originally expected for the camera purchase online. I told him I was not interested in the additional kit items, did not wish spend the extra $140 & to please refund my internet purchase cost. He then begrudgingly provided me with a cancellation number.

Please send me a written confirmation of this cancellation credit.

I am very disappointed with Royal Camera's customer service & truthfulness regarding the shipping information on it's website.

Regards,

Customer Name

"

"The website is easy to navigate; the staff was very helpful over the phone. They gave useful advice and were ready to custom prepare a package to meet my needs. They were also very patient and willing to hold the product for me while I worked things out with payment. It was also very easy to reach a live person I needed to talk to. Overall, just great."

"They had incorrect info on their website in more than one place and when I wanted to return my item because of that reason they charged me 15% in fees, so I basically gave them 700 bucks! I'm fighting it now."

"After making a web purchase, you don't expect to get sales pitches from the vendors. But this is what you should expect when you get the email from this vendor that says "Please call to confirm your order." And when you call, expect to be put on hold for extended periods of time, more than once. The ads of this company are misleading at a minimum. Products are not "US" versions that prices are listed for. The sales person states that there are statements to that effect on the website, but I was never able to find any reference to any such statements on the original web site. The price quoted seems to be withdrawn unless you make purchases of additional items that are exhorbitantly overpriced. Of course, the web site takes your card number and the first thing they dowhen you call is get your authorization number from you card, then they put you on hold while they verify your card balance. Then you get a stream of misinformation about the included accessories that are supposedly not as good as the versions that they are trying to foist on you. I didn't bother to challenge the mis-statements, falsehoods and blatant lies, but rather just cancelled my order. I am concerned however, that I ever gave these shady characters my card number at all."