"Thanks to the diligent efforts made by the 100s of people who have commented here about this company, I think I have dodged the Sonic bullet.

I ordered a Nikon D300 camera with Nikkor 18-200mm lens through their "Black Friday" sale, at a price several hundreds of dollars less than other on-line outlets. I was a fool not to check out the company before making the order and sending credit card data. I got cordial “Welcome” and “Order confirmation” messages within minutes of submitting the order, but was not asked to call them to confirm the order. The welcome message said that I could view the history of orders, but it was curious that the web site offered no way to “login” with the password I had specified during the order process. So the next morning I sent an e-mail message asking how to check the order history, and I also asked for verification that the ordered items came with USA warranties and would include all the “supplied accessories” listed on the Nikon web site. I got no e-mail reply to the message, but a fellow from Sonic called me during the evening (well after the close of “sales hours” listed on their web site) and asked for the 3-digit code from the back of the credit card. He said he was a “Nikon expert” and could answer any technical questions I might have. I said I didn’t have any technical questions but had asked about the warranties and supplied accessories in my e-mail message earlier in the day. He assured me that full USA warranties were included, as well as all the Nikon supplied accessories.

Then he asked whether I wanted the “low speed” or the “high speed” memory card for the camera, claiming the “low speed” card included with the order would allow the camera to make only one image every 10 seconds. I quizzed him about how the camera buffer operates and tried to point out that reviews of the camera mentioned a difference in time between images only in relation to use of the standard battery compared to the more powerful optional battery pack, but he just kept saying, “Why do you think they make two memory cards? Which one do you want?” I told him I didn’t believe him about the 10-second delay between images and he said, “OK, just don’t say I didn’t tell you if you think the camera is broken when you get it.” He also asked if I wanted a battery upgrade or filters for the lens, which I declined. Finally, he asked again, “Do you have that code?” Still possessed by “Black Friday/Cyber Monday” fever, I gave him the code, and he said, “You’re all set.”

Since I hadn’t researched Compact Flash technical details, I decided to see if I could find corroboration of his 10-second delay story. While browsing for that, I happened to hit this fine ResellerRatings.com site in a forum about a different company. Given the curiosities that had piled up about Sonic, I finally decided to look them up. Bingo! I hit this thread and my stomach started churning. After looking at a couple dozen of the 200+ negative reviews and urgent warnings, I decided to take the advice. Since it was long after Sonic’s listed closing time, I fired off an e-mail message in the middle of the night canceling the order and revoking authorization for them to make any charge to my credit card (which they had not yet done). I also contacted the credit card issuer and asked them to block any charges from Sonic Cameras. This morning, I re-sent the cancellation message to Sonic and asked for confirmation that they had cancelled the order. By coincidence I think, I then got a message from Sonic, apparently sent about two minutes after I had re-sent my cancellation message. Their message said that they were “currently oversold” on the items of my order, which was “currently on a backorder for 6-8 weeks”, and that the order had been cancelled. They further advised that they would notify me by e-mail when the items are back in stock and give me the chance to “re-place” the order. I replied thanking them for the cancellation and declining the future notification.

Game over, I hope, but I’m keeping a close eye on the credit card account. And I now heartily add to the advice given by scores of other reviewers here: DO NOT ORDER anything from this company!
"

"This was my first and last order with Sonic. I ordered a flash, got an email confirming my order, then had to CALL to confirm. I did confirm yesterday, only to get a cancellation email today because they can't ship the item for 6-8 weeks, the item they told me yesterday would ship in 5 days. It says they "oversold" the item. Oh yeah, they did try to sell me some other flash I'd never heard of, but never mentioned the other wasn't available. Now I missed the sale at another reputable place. They can expect NO orders from me or any friends."

"I was looking to buy a Sony Cyber-shot DSC T700 silver digital camera and I ran across sonic cameras and decided to make the purchase online for $245.00 which was well below theregular price of $399.00 through Sony. After I received a confirmation email stating the following:

"Thank you for shopping with Sonic Cameras.com. Your order number 44607 has been received.
This email is to confirm the receipt of your online order. We will contact you via email if there is any problem with your order.
Thanks again for choosing Sonic Cameras.com. We appreciate your business.
Sincerely,
Sonic Cameras.com"

I was very suspicious about this confirmation email because it had no information about my order and I had also chosen 4-6 day shipping with my order and I didn't get a tracking #. I confirmed my suspicions when I did my research and read the mostly negative reviews about soniccameras.com. The following day after I placed my order having all the knowledge about how they operate their bait and switch technique, I called and asked for the status of my order. the costumer service guy tried to tell me that my camera doesn't come with a battery and that i had to order it separately. Anticipating that he would ask me that, I told him that I would buy the battery elsewhere. Suprisingly he didnt argue with me or try to convince me to buy the battery or anything else. Then he said my camera was an import from Japan and that it would ship in 6-8 weeks. Then I told the guy That on their webpage it stated that the camera was availabe and that I also chose 4-6 day shipping. So the guy didnt present much of an argument besides contradicting what was on their webpage. I decided right away not to argue with the guy any more and just cancel my order. I told him i couldnt wait 2 months for a camera. He said no problem the order has been canceled. I was still somewhat skeptical about them having canceled my order that quickly and easily without complications, so I called back 10 minutes later to make sure they had canceled after waiting 20 minutes for someone to answer. The woman i spoke to had said my order was not available and I asked if it was canceled and she said yes. I also asked her If my debit card had been charged and she said no. They never gave me a cancellation number or a an email confirming cancellation so I am still distrustful and am watching my bank statements very carefully for any charges from sonic cameras. The only thing sonic about soniccameras is how they try to make it appear to sell you something you want very cheap and how they quickly tell you the exact opposite over the phone and then try to sell you more junk with your order to offset their low prices. They are con artists trying to make a quick buck at the expense of unsuspecting customers. Never buy from soniccameras.com or refer anyone to buy from them, it will save them from much frustration, anger, and concern. Everything on their website is just a cover up to their behind the scene telephone schemes. If you have already placed an order cancel it immediately dont risk yourself!"

"I really hope there is a better way to forewarn consumers before they get caught up in their advertised low online prices. I just reported these guys to the Federal Trade Commission and Better Business Bureau for fraud. I had to cancel my credit card.
A guy named Jason called me late Sunday night (during a family dinner) and will call you at an unsuspecting time after you order, try to sell you some extras, if you say no, then they will tell you that what you ordered is out of date or the wrong item for you, then try to sell you an over priced-gouging generic brand. They actually tried to sell me a $365 Sigma lens saying it was a special Japan import version that isn't available anywhere else. I contacted Sigma and they don't have any other lens in this class and the one advertised has an MSRP of $750. It's also available on Amazon for $365. They wouldn't change my order back to the original Canon l series lens I ordered, and finally after an hour of being on hold and speaking to another guy named Steven and Mars, before sending me back to Jason the guy who called me in the first place...he said they just shipped my order and couldn't cancel it anymore. Interesting they got it out the door so fast considering the order was just made. So I asked for a supervisor and they said I couldn't speak to one and hung up on me. I have been trying to call back and the line is always busy, however if and when I do get through, they ask my order number and have it flagged to put me on hold and not answer it. So I cannot get through. The result was I had to cancel my credit card immediately so their payment can't be processed. Please do yourself a favor and listen to the reviews here... People are not kidding and the pages of negative reviews cannot be wrong! Don't think you'll be the lucky one like I did. You won't be. They'll get you just as good if not commit credit card fraud like some of these other people have experienced. You compromise your online security using this company. "

"Yes its true, these guys are scammers. I ordered some $3500 worth of gear from them and aside from the constant rudeness (which I endured because the price was worthwhile) i was astonished to find that after i rejected their offer of batteries and chargers for my EOS-450d body, that my order was cancelled! My guess is that they use the bodies as loss leaders to win business and stick you with the inflated cost of batts and chargers.

They also constantly tried to cross sell me to Sigma lenses which were also inflated in price and absolutely not what i wanted. Do yourself a favour and avoid these guys like the plague."

"DO NOT DO ANY BUSINESS WITH THIS STORE!!!
Purchased a camera at an excellent price. A month later, received an email indicating that due to the overwhelming response and the backlog, they were cancelling my order. Went on-line and they were advertising the camera again. Contacted them and I was informed that if I bought the body plus a battery and charger for an extra $113 dollars, they could send me one immediately, otherwise they could not help me.
Am contacting the Better Business Bureau to discuss the business ethics."

"This place is a big scam. I placed an order for a Sony HD camcorder online. The next day when I checked the order, it didn't go through. So I called and they told me they need to verify the credit card. Then they try to cell me the charger I told them I didn't what it. The sale man said in snotty voice how are you going to charge the camera. That’s when he told me it was an overseas model and I need to buy it, and if I wanted the US version I had to pay another $400. I could buy it from Sony at that price. I said it doesn't say that on the web site. He told I need to check the web site better. They were real nasty to me. So I cancelled. I guess if the price is too good to be true ... it must be"

""OH, YOU WANT A BATTERY WITH THAT?" Stay away, bait and switch as bad as it gets. I ordered a Canon XSi body, got the usual email to call and "confirm the order". The salesman advised that the battery, charger, cables, software, etc. did not come with the camera and cost another $400. When I replied that I could get these elsewhere (available aftermarket for about $50), he hung up on me. Absolutely nothing good about this company."

"Never I repeat never purchase any products from this store. They will use every trick in the book to get you to agree to purchase any product and then switch you to another inferior product that cost more. Stay away from this store at all cost. Actually, it was worse than I stated above. I spent the past week writing letters to every organization that takes complaints dealing with these types of businesses including the New York BBB, California BBB and all organizations that I could locate on line. I even hired an attorney! If you do business with them you need to have your head checked!"

"Terrible!!! I should have googeled the company before I placed my order. I made the same experience as many other customers who rated this company: it's a scam. Don't trust them!!!"

"Fraud Alert! I placed an order for a canonCanon 24-70mm f/2.8L EF USM Lens With 1-Year USA Warranty for $849 and they tried to switch my order to a Sigma Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro DF Autofocus Lens which normally sells for $391 and charge me $1199 for it!

Stay clear of these snakes!"

"If you have dealt with this company, change your credit card numbers immediately. Unfortunately I gave them my debit card and wow what a mess that was. Once they have your number, they can authorize charge after charge and drain your account. Even change your AMEX card if you gave them that number on the webpage, even though they don't accept it. Cost me to change the cards, but well worth the peace of mind."

"Outright Thieves
I ordered a flash unit and when I recieved the bill there was an extra 4100.00 added on to the bill for no reason. Upon calling to question this I was hung up on several times. According to some other websites their own people leave positive reviews especially on a site callled Pricing Depot. It seems they also do business under other names and web addresses. For a list of these see this website

http://thoughts-of-dave.blogspot.com/2008/02/update-on-sonic-cameras-soniccamerascom.html"

"Oh my! I have never been treated like this before. I could not believe my ears when dealing with the "customer service" or sales associate. I hear there is a camera company out there that conducts business like this and has to change their name every so often. Hope they catch them soon. I spoke with a Jason, Adam and a Bobby. ALL of them where extremely rude. I am sick to my stomach over their treatment of me and how they conduct business.
I ordered a lens on line. They called to confirm and tried to convince me to purchase a much more expensive lens. I refused but the sales person continued his sales pitch as if not hearing my voice. I again told him I wanted my origianl order, he told me their standard return policy would not be in effect for that lens purchase and I would be safer ordering this other lens. Somehow he changed my mind and I ordered another lense. When I recieved it yesterday (with no shipping delay) I was discusted with the lens. It was not what I thought I had ordered over the phone. I tried to get a return authoization number and was on the phone for over 50 minutes. The conversation elevated on there end which in turn I felt like a victim. I was amazed that a company of any sort would talk to a customer this way. He turned the conversation around and made comments like, "watch what you say" "you want to threaten me? Im going to make this as tough as possible for you" I asked if these conversations were recorded and he said "only the ones that are convienent for us." I was speachless, literally. Never have I been treated this disgustingly. In the end they would not give me a number so I could return the item. Even though I was going to pay for shipping and the 33% restocking fee. Those people who think they got a good deal on something and that it is a great product are taking Sonic Cameras word for it. Talk to professional photographers and you will learn they are shipping crap. Im going to end up losing money on this deal. More people are going to fall victim like me. I wish there was more I could do than just reporting them. Too bad we dont check out companies before we make our purchase. I learned the hard way and many more will have to do the same."

"I should have looked at this website before falling victim to sonic cameras. BAIT AND SWITCH!
I ordered a Nikon flash but received some knock-off brand that elsewhere sells for about half of what I paid. And I learned some new words from their "customer service" representative. Rude, obnoxious, yelled and explecatives! Said that "just because you didn't get what you ordered if no reason to complain to us ... it's you fault." Still trying to figure that one out.
Hope they soon go out of business."