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Verified
1/5

2008-06-20

"Bait and Switch - BEWARE!!!

Ordered a Nikon SB-800 Flash for $20 below most other sites. Recieved order confirmation but no itemized receipt and I could not get one on their web site. Called and asked for receipt to be emailed and got the hard sell for Extended Warranty, Rechargeable Batteries, Charger and more. I refused every offer and was promised a receipt would be sent. Three hours later I received the following email:

Thank you for your order.
The status of your order has been updated.
New status: Canceled

Below this message was my invoice. I called for an explanation and was told that the item was Out of Stock and would be unavailable for 8 weeks minimum.

Scam, Scam, Scam. If you don't buy their upgrades, you don't get the product at the advertised price. Be very careful!!!

"

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Verified
2/5

2008-06-19

"I googled the 5d canon and was brought to pricedepot.com, where the price was $1084. I ordered it and got a phone call from "Chris" who told me that it was plastic and didn't come with a battery and gave me a decent price on the magnesium one, but kept throwing packages at me and I bit, for the two sigma lenses. price S2700 w/tax. but I felt uneasy and went to google and typed sonic photo scam, bang many many sites popped up I immediately canceled my card and called them to cancel the order, it has not ben posted yet and my card company says it will be posted and I will have to challenge it, kit arrived today and I did not except delivery. I am an honest guy and think these people should be locked up. But it was greed that got me, If it looks like its too good to be true it usually is. from now on I will check before I make this mistake again. I have a friend who is a correspondent and if I don't get my money returned, I will use my ample retirement time to buttonhole everyone I can find.
Well, to follow up, I was in contact with "chris" who told me to send a check for a restocking fee of over $100 dollars, I told him they would not get another penny from me and I am in dispute with them through visa. I am on vacation now and will call my friend at the paper and perhaps go to the address that is on their website to do a youtube video. They are closed friday evening and saturday which leads me to believe they are orthodox jews, but that goes to show that morals and religion are not synonymous, I wonder how they justify their behavior in their minds.
whois for this server is:
Registrant:
Domains by Proxy, Inc.
DomainsByProxy.com
15111 N. Hayden Rd., Ste 160, PMB 353
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States
They mask their identity. If you go to domainsbyproxy.com you will find that the only way to find out the name of the company owning the website is through law enforcement or a civil subpoena, nothing like transparency, makes you feel all warm inside.
Prologue: Sonic Cameras returned the money to my credit card after I had told the that I would not pay their restocking fee, as I had changed my credit card number and they deposited the money to my old account, and I have to in all honesty say that they returned it on the 26th of June and I didn't find out until July 14th.
Still I learned a valuable lesson. Good Luck, Joe Evans

Joe Evans
"

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Verified
1/5

2008-06-17

"Sonic camera sent me an email saying I needed to confirm by phone my order. I phone Sonic and immediately Sonic salesman started a high pressure sales pitch to switch to an off brand camera flash instead of the one I ordered. I refused to switch, so the salesman said it would ship in six to eight weeks. I reminded the salesman that the website said it was in stock and ships in two days. The salesman said the flash had to come from their warehouse overseas and take 6 to 8 weeks. I cancelled the order since I had paid extra for a quick delivery. Typical bait with low price then switch. This practice is illegal.

DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS STORE. YOU WILL GET SCREWED!
"

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Verified
1/5

2008-06-17

"Don't waste your time with this vendor!! Classic bait and switch operation. I placed an order for a SONY camcorder that I saw listed for well below the average price on other sites. I knew something might be fishy with this, so I called the Customer Service line and asked if the item was new, a US model and if all accessories were included. Of course all the answers were yes. I then asked why the significantly lower price and they responded that they are a wholesaler. So I figure, why not? I place the order.
The next morning I have a message to call and confirm my order with Eric. Seemed different, but OK I'll call. When I got Eric on the phone, he confirmed the item I wanted and the shipping I chose. He then asked me what battery I wanted for my camera. I then asked why I needed a battery and he said it didn't come with a battery or charger (which was a lie). Since I had ordered a backup battery and wall charger elsewhere, I finally said, No I'm all set, I don't need a battery. He then tried to sell me an extended warranty which I declined. Next he told me that the item would arrive in 2-3 weeks because they had to get it from the warehouse in Japan. With all that strangeness, I decided to try to find some info on this vendor on the web and discovered resellerratings.com. After reading the many similar reviews, I fully expected to receive an email the next day saying that the Camcorder was out of stock and would be 6-8 weeks before I could get it so they cancelled my order. Just as expected, the email arrived. Again, don't waste your time with them. Also, change your credit card number if you placed an order with these scam artists. You never know.
"

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1/5

2008-06-13

"Totally scum!!! keep away of this !!!
I ordered one Nikon D80 and minutes later I received one email
"Unfortunately we are currently oversold on the item you have ordered, and it is currently on a backorder for 6-8 weeks. Therefore, your order has been canceled. Please note, your credit card has not been charged."
I'm not the first with this history so be aware and don't buy nothing of this shop and the "associates", neither the address they put on the site not serious...
I'd change my credit card number.
"

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Verified
1/5

2008-06-13

"Placed my order for just my canon 100mm macro lens with free shipping. Received the following email to call them up. Called and the sales rep trying to sell me overpriced filters and accessories, and a different lens for higher price. Said no thanks, just my order. And a day later, received a second email about my item oversold, nice... see 2nd email. I felt for the bait and switch.

--------- Email 1------------
Dear XXX,

Thank you for your order. Your order number is: XXXXX

This email is to confirm receipt of your online order with us. For your security, please call us at 1-***-***-****, Option 1 to provide a verbal confirmation so that we can ship out your order. If you have already called and confirmed your order, you may disregard this request.

Thanks again for shopping with us.

Sincerely,
Sonic Cameras.com

Our Business Hours
9:30 AM - 7:00 PM MONDAY-THURSDAY
9:30 AM - 4:00 PM FRIDAY
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM SUNDAY
CLOSED SATURDAY
*All times are Eastern Standard Time


------------- Email 2 --------------
Dear XXXX,

Unfortunately we are currently oversold on the item you have ordered, and it is currently on a backorder for 6-8 weeks. Therefore, your order has been canceled. Please note, your credit card has not been charged.

Your cancellation number is: XXXX The email address that you provided to us has been added to our "Notify List" and we will notify you as soon as the product becomes available.

How Does Our "Notify List" Work? Once the product you ordered comes back in stock, we will email you to notify you that your item is back in stock. If you which to re-place your order you may do so by clicking on the link which will be in the email.

Please accept our personal and sincere apology for any inconvenience you experienced with this order.

We know that you have many options for your camera/photo needs. We appreciate that you selected Sonic Cameras.com, which prides itself on superior products and services, and we are sorry that we were not able to meet your needs in this instance.
If there is any additional assistance we can provide, please feel free to email us.

Sincerely,
Shipping Department.
"

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1/5

2008-06-12

"I just received my order from Sonic Cameras. I opened the box and I have a box filled with junk. I ordered the Canon 100mm Macro Lens and the Canon Ringlight for shooting recipe shots for our Bone Suckin' Sauce barbecue sauce. I got a Pheonix 85 dollar light and a 14 dollar filter set with a pack of rechargeable batteries.

So I called and talked to my sales guy Bill. He said oh you got the wrong thing. Let me send you out the right thing. I asked for a brand name that he was sending me and he couldn't give me one. He said it was so good it was not on the internet. Wow. That must be incredible. I asked for a model number and he gave me a page on their website that had it listed as "Professional."

I said I want to send this order back. He put me on hold 25 minutes ago for a return number. He told me it was a 10 percent restocking charge and the $100 in shipping cost??? $52 insurance for $100 worth of junk. Still not picking up the phone. I am going to call my credit card and dispute it right now.
"

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Verified
1/5

2008-06-12

"I should have checked prior reviews of this seller on ResellerRatings before i ordered.

They had a great price on a Nikkor (Nikon) lens i have been wanting, so i bit. A week went by and no typical email with tracking number, etc. So i checked ResellerRatings and saw what horrible experitnces others had.

I called Sonic Cameras Customer Service the next day, figuring i would still give them the "benefit of the doubt". Response: "Oh, you didn't get the email that it is backordered for 4 to 6 weeks? We can sell you the Sigma lens for the same price?"

No i did not receive that email (which i doubt you sent.) No thanks, i do not have any interest in a crappy lens for the same price. Thanks for not getting me my lens in time for my son's graduation--for which it was intended. No, i will never order from you again. and yes--i will chime in with the multitude of other dissatisfied customers you have dealt with.

It is interesting that these people refrain from business every Shabbat to pray--because they are GANIFS (that's Yiddish for crook).
"

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Verified
1/5

2008-06-12

"I ordered a Canon Rebel XTI camera. I too got the call to confirm my order. They tried to upsell me memory and a battery telling me my camera will not work without the battery. I told them to just send me what I ordered. The next day I got the "your item is backordered for 6-8 weeks and your order is cancelled". Their great prices are a hoax to get you on the phone to tell you more expensive items. What a negative experience. Avoid this retailer."

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Verified
1/5

2008-06-11

"Why in the world did I not research this company before ordering?? (Kicking myself) Everything said here sounds like what happened to me! Came home from work to find an email telling me to call to confirm. Thought that was really wierd but called. They tried to have me upgrade my flash that I ordered and buy rechargable batteries that I didn't need. I declinded and told him that I only wanted what I ordered. He asked for my code on my credit card. He then told me that my item would ship in about 2 weeks. Will ship in two weeks?? I ordered it 5 days ago! He laughed and said you get free shipping, what do you expect? I then told him to cancel my order. He said that my card wouldn't be charged. After reading all of these reviews, I called my credit card company! These people need to be shut down!"

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Verified
1/5

2008-06-11

"I sure wish I had done more research on Sonic Cameras. I ordered a Nikon 18-200mm lens and one UV filter, had to call to verify the order and the "bait and switch" went into action. "Eric" sold me a "professional filter kit" for only $150 instead of the usual price of $499... so now the cost was $687 instead of $568. I did receive everything... the filters were low quality and when I called to return, they were rude, said that the price on the site for the lense at $519 did not include a mounting bracket for the camera! That of course was not stated on the site and I've never heard of selling a lense without the mounting bracket! Anyway, they said that the filter kit was free and that if I sent it back, they would credit $0. If I wasn't happy, then send it all back, but they charge a 10% restocking fee. Since I am happy with the lens, I'm going to eat the bad filters and chock it up to a good learning experience... Don't buy from vendors without doing the research on them. And don't ever buy from Sonic Cameras."

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Verified
5/5

2008-06-10

"Beware!!!! Sonic camera is in the process of moving their website (or making a second one) at this address: http://www.photodynasty.com You will notice that they have the same Holiday Schedule message up on this site (for Mon, Tue 6/9-6/10) as they do for http://www.soniccameras.com The prices and package deals are the same. They seem to have also fabricated all of the reviews at pricingdepot.com and diduprice.com Suspicious activity includes: Do not email you a line item invoice for purchases, just an order number. Do not ask for the 3 digit id from your card (until they call you) for online verification; this is probably a way to circumvent their shopping cart provider and gain direct access to your credit card. Upon making an online account you are informed of some of the site's features that you can take advantage of such as Order History and reviews. These features do not exist on their website. Do you know of a legitimate online retailer that behaves this way? I don't. I canceled my card and had it reissued, can't wait to get a phone call on Wed. about my order, should be fun. Again... Stay clear of Sonic and PhotoDynasty."

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1/5

2008-06-08

"I ordered a Nikon D80 camera, lens, carrying case, tripod, etc package from Sonic Cameras. I was called by them today to confirm my order, ask for my 3 digit security code for the credit card and ask if I would like to a set of filters since they are really a must have. I told him no I ordered those separately from a different company. He then asked if I wanted to buy a battery and charger for the camera since it didnt' come with one. I told them I was surprised that it didn't come with one since the web site talks about how great the battery life is for this camera. I refused the offer to buy a battery and charge for $300. He then told me that the 4GB memory card that comes with the package I bought is a slow speed card and I could only take about 1 picture per minute, not 3 per second as the ad says. He tried to sell me a higher speed card for a few hundred more. I refused and told him I would use the 1GB high speed card I had for my old camera. He then told me that the lens I was trying to buy crops and changes the picture and is not a good lens and tried to get me to upgrade to a different lens for a few hundred dollars more. I refused and told him I spent hours researching what I wanted to buy and I was disappointed that the camera did come with anything that the web site and manufacturers web site said it came with. He asked if I wanted to cancel my order and I said I did. He said he would cancel my order. After some of the reviews I read I am worried that he will charge my card anyway and not send the camera package. I plan on calling my bank and asking them to block any charges from this company."

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sld
Verified
1/5

2008-06-05

"I was scammed by the awful sonic cameras just like everyone else here. I've disputed the charges with my bank (I received the wrong item only to be told I knew what I was getting) and I also made claims to the BBB, the Internet Crime Complaint Center, and the FTC. I just got a response email from the FTC saying that my issue will be added to the database of complaints. Since they can't respond to every single complaint, they wait until they get enough to investigate. go to this link and fill out a complaint!!! The more they get, the more likely it is sonic cameras will get what's coming to them!

https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01
"

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1/5

2008-06-05

"As everyone has stated, this company is awful. They are pulling a bait and switch scam in which you must call to confirm your order, only to find out that everything you expect to come with your purchase, absolutely does not and that you must purchase it. They also lie about the products they are selling you and are incredibly rude. STAY AWAY. "

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