"They'll admit they are not a factory-autorized reseller, but claim they don't sell grey market goods. Whatever. As long as you know what grey market is and don't mind buying that, these guys are great. You only get a 1-year warranty from Sigma instead of the 6-year Sigma USA warranty."
"Everyone will be nice to you when you want to buy things, not always the case when things went wrong...
People have opinions about stores in Brooklyn, NY, but I have to say this one, http://www.Sigma4Less.com, is the BEST place I've shopped from! ... I talked to Mike from Sigma4Less.com (Photo4Less is their store) who seems to be the store manager. He was very nice to deal with when I bought a Sigma lens. He showed the SAME kindness when I want to return the lens. They much have a small operation, whenever I needed to call them, I reached them immediately. They response to email quickly too.
I frankly feel bad that I have to return the item this time, because I don't have time to do an other round trip shipping for my trip. I will definitely do business with these folks!
To handle the troubled deal is the true test of a vendor, and they did well. I highly recommend them if anyone need Sigma lens/camera. They seems to be THE Sigma store, have EVERYTHING Sigma offers, and the price is VERY good. (to be honest, the UV filter prices is high. But I kept the filter this time just to show my appreciation.)
Go for http://www.Sigma4Less.com ***-***-****) and ask for Mike!
Cheers!
RH
"
"Fantastic price, very VERY low key sales pitch for a UV filter (a decent price itself), and quick hassel-free shipping"
"I had read the excellent comments here at resellerratings.com as well as several very positive testimonials from other digital forums. The order was placed with lightning speed, and I received a call verifying my address, no hard sells, no "extras" - I was promised overnight delivery, and it showed up on time, well packed and protected! I am a very happy customer and will definitely buy from Sigma4Less again - now, if you can only do Canon4Less... "
"Sigma 4 less was a great place to buy from. The lens that I bought was atleast $50 cheaper than any other seller. The lens came in four days(because of sunday) and was new with full US warrenty. The shipping was a little high at 19.95 but I have seen worse online. I would buy here again. Wonderful, thanks."
"I had just puchased a new Canon Digital Rebel XT locally and was interested in a telephoto lens and flash for it. After doing a lot of online research I had narrowed things down to either B & H Photo or 17 St, but was intrigued by Sigma4less and their pricing, which was quite a bit better. I had been quite apprehensive about mail order in general after looking at photos of some of the store fronts (http://donwiss.com/pictures/BrooklynStores/) (Take a look at Broadway Photo, for example, which always has a big spread in magazines but looks really scary). I was a bit reassured by the store front - also known as Photo4less. After deciding to give them a try, I went to order and started to fill in the screen on their web page with my items, to see what shipping would be to Canada. Clicking through to the next page and expecting to be able to review my order and find out about shipping, I was a bit surprised that my order was immediately sent. I sent a followup email asking if I could add on a filter without it being a separate order with additional shipping. I received a phone call from Sigma4less soon after to confirm details. I was asked if there were any other accessories that I might like to purchase, but it came across as helpful, not pushy. Shipping charges were incorrectly listed on the confirmation email that I received (Standard US charge, rather than higher shipping charge to Canada.) Another phone call sorted that out - the charge was about $40 US, which is probably a little steep for registered USPS shipping, but it was as good or better than the other stores' options, although a bit slower. It took about 4 days to actually ship, and I was sent an email with the tracking number. The parcel made it to Alberta in about 5 days, which included severaal days going through customs. The parcel was well packed and the items were received in perfect condition. The Sigma 28 - 300 zoom and the Sigma EF 500 DG super flash are both superb. I'm really glad I gave these guys a try, and despite the relatively few online ratings that have been done, they really do deserve the almost perfect ratings that they have received. It's nice to see that somebody can do well with an online business by providing great products and great service. I would absolutely buy from them again.
wleishman"
"I'll admit after reading a few comments I have seen about this company in some photography-related forums, I felt like I had a 50/50 shot on getting what I ordered for the price shown on the site without any bait-and-switch or "up sale"...but reading a few here I felt more at ease, so I decided to give it a shot.
I ordered a Sigma 70-300 F4-5.6 II APO Macro Super for Canon lens from these folks because they had the lowest price, and with shipping I could still order a UV filter not only for this lens, but the kit lens and a prime lens I already had with my new camera for less the lens alone w/shipping at B&H (my preferred store).
Since I needed the filters, and I was still coming out cheaper, I thought this would take care of it all...and guess what, I didn't get an "order confirmation" upsale call that I have heard so much about, I guess because I was ordering the only real accessories available...that was nice, I really hate dealing with sales people, no matter how "easy" the push is to buy more stuff.
I got my order confirmation immediately, the lens and accessories were shipped the next day, and arrived two days later by UPS. The packaging was a little weak (they put the lens down in the bottom of the cardboard box with no packaging material underneath it, I would have preferred to have seen it padded all the way around) but nothing was broken and all merchandise was new and just as expected.
I would order from these guys again, no question.
"
" Summary: Great company to deal with and no pushy sales people which is rare when you order from NY! Items arrived in full on the requested date.
Details: After reviewing several photo forums (eg. fredmiranda.com, dpreview.com, photography-on-the.net, etc.), I decided to match my newly acquired Canon 20D with 2 Sigma lenses, the 24-70 mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro and 70-200 mm f/2.8 EX HSM. I added a Sigma 1.4x EX APO teleconverter as a bonus for me ;).
I stumbled over "sigma4less" while going through one of the above mentioned forums, and it turned out that their prices where one of the lowest on the net which usually should raise a RED flag!!! But the few positive reviews about this merchant eased my worries and I decided to give it a try.
So here's my "diary:"
*** Thursday, April 7, 2005, 1:04 PM PST: I called 1-888-4LESS46 (or 1-***-***-****) and was informed by an automated machine that I couldn't access this number from my location (or it was a similar message like this -- I can't remember the exact words anymore). BTW, I was ordering from WA state. The other number that was provided on their website was ***-***-**** which got me to a salesperson after just a few rings.
The sales rep ("Paul") was very friendly, although I had to ask for his name since he didn't introduce himself.
Before placing any order, I inquired about their return policy because I couldn't find any mentioning thereof on their website. The company offered a 7-day-money-back guarantee.
Shipping and handling fee was $25 and certainly very fair considering the weight of two lenses and a teleconverter totalling around 8 lbs.! I also requested to have the lenses arrive on April 15 because of a trip on the following weekend. Paul tried very gently to sell me some filters, but after I politely declined he finished up my orders (credit card number, billing address, e-mail address etc.) without any high-sell pitch that I actually expected from a New Yorker online company.
Invoice details at the time of purchase: $709.95 for the 70-200, $359.95 for the 24-70, $142.95 for the 1.4x teleconverter, plus $25 for S&H.
*** Friday, April 8, 2005, 9:22 AM PST: I received a call from "Mike" and started to wonder why. Back-order? Bait-and-switch? It turned out that he wanted to confirm the arrival date of the lenses and, of course, tried to sell me some filters since I didn't order any. Again, I declined politely without any problems. He assured me that the order would be shipped out today and that I would receive a tracking number via e-mail. I did receive my tracking number the same night by UPS. Although I was told that I would also receive an invoice by e-mail, it never happened.
*** Friday, April 15, 2005, around 11:30 AM PST: Yes, the package arrived well-packed including the invoice! All items were in great condition -- no scratches, no dings, nada! My weekend photo shooting was saved!
Bottom line: "sigma4less" had great prices, they were friendly, and they delivered. What more can you expect? I'm a happy camper. From my experience, I highly recommend them and will definitely buy there again. Now if they only carried "L" lenses at those low, low prices... And maybe I'll order some filters after all ;).
*** Addendum 04/19/2005: My first impressions of my lenses after a quick review of my pictures from the trip are quite positive -- they are RAZORsharp. The Sigma 24-70 is a little bit on the noisy side (like a battery-driven hand drill), but the speed and quietness of my Sigma 70-200 is on par with my Canon 100 mm f/2.8 USM Macro lens! The 1.4x teleconverter, on the other hand, is a little bit disappointing because at the far end (ie. @280 mm with my 70-200 lens), pictures had noticeable chromatic aberration. I did expect some quality degradation, but certainly not THAT much. I will look further into this, although $150 is not of a big loss for a TC considering that you would pay more than twice for a Canon TC. All in all, a great buy!"
"Very user friendly internet ordering system. Had the usual follow up phone call to confirm order and sales pitch to sell filters, etc. But this was not high-pitched and the salesperson was very courteous. Bowed out immediately when I indicated I wasn't interested. Delivery on time and acceptable packaging."
"Very pleased with the price, product, service and shipment. Highly recommended.
Sigma4less has the best price on Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 for Canon. I ordered it on Satuday night after read positive reviews at resellerratings.com and epinions.com. Got a called on Sunday to confirm and offer filters and accessories. The sale were very polite and did not insist when I said no. The item was shipped on Monday and arrived on Tuesday in perfect condition. I'll buy from them again when the new Sigma 10-20 arrives. (Wish they would offer canon4less, as well.)"
"Excellent product prices, average shipping prices. Website checkout glitch swiftly taken care of on phone. Brief soft sell pitch for unordered accessories. Shipping address error recognized by UPS. Overall a very plesasant experience with minor clerical errors. Glad to be of help in refining Sigma4Less sales processing."
"Hello,
We all like to shop for the best price. With experience you learn that the best price costs you more in the long run. Sigma4less in not the case. You might not get a very detailed order confirmation via email. You might get a FRIENDLY reminder to buy a filter or recharchable batteries for your flash. You learn to expect some bait and switch with those prices. I found them to be very professional.
They also respond to support email very quickly.
I will buy all of my Sigma equipment from them. I even asked them to get into "Nikon4Less" because I liked dealing with them."
"Bought Sigma 150mm from this store. Came well packaged brand new in the box. The only problem I had with them that they did not tell me lens was not in stock. I ordered it with ground shipping so they got it in stock in a few days and shipped it 3 day select so it came on the same day as ground. I will buy from them again because they have the best prices right now on Sigma lenses."
"Could not find an invoice nr.in my shipment -- my only (minor) complaint! But this store was a pleasure to work with. When I called, I was able to reach a real person quickly, and he was courteous and helpful. When I was put on hold it was only for a brief time to actually provide an answer -- no disconnects, run arounds, etc. When they said they needed to call me back after verifying they could acquire what I needed in time, they did. And the answer was accurate: the camera and lens arrived, in perfect shape, a day ahead of their estimate. All this for a very competetive price, too. Will definitely use this seller again if I need more Sigma supplies."
"Best store. Good prices. Extremelly good and quick communication. Quick delivery. Nothing to complain.
Highly recommended!"