"I ordered a Nikon SB-600 Speedlight that was on sale for $155.00. When I got my credit card bill it showed a charge of $205.00. I contacted Sonic Cameras and they were very rude, swore at me. When I said I wanted the extra $50.00 refunded to me he said he would refund the entire amount and put out a warrent for my arrrest for having stolen property. When I tried to reason with him he cussed at me again and said he wasn't going to mess with this any more and not to call and tie up his phone lines any more. I reported Sonic to the BBB and also with the California Attorney General. They said they will go after them if they get a number of complaints, but they can't act on an individuals behalf. If you have had problems with Sonic will you please contact me at ****@****. I talked to the Federal Trade Commission also and have numbers for all of these agencies...please contact me!"
"I ordered a Canon EOS 450D from this vendor due to their seemingly low price. After ordering, I received an email asking that I call to confirm the order. Once I called, they try to sell me overpriced accessories that should have been included in the kit. After much debate back and forth, I finally asked them to cancel the order. The rep said it was cancelled and hung up. When I called back the following day to confirm it was cancelled and get some type of confirmation number, he told me I was "clogging up their phone system - don't call back" and then hung up on me again. This is the worst excuse for customer service I have ever encountered. DO NOT BUY FROM THIS MERCHANT!"
"I ordered and item from this company because the price was great. I had to call and verify my order and did. The man tried to talk me into a different more expensive item. I did my research and called back to verify my original order. They tried to tell me I needed and item that cost an extra $80. I did the research and found I did not need the item. I called back to verify a third time and the person who answered the phone asked if I could send him a picture of myself. I quickly rejected his request and asked that I just verify my order. The next day I got an email saying my item was backordered and my order had been cancelled. After all the heck I went through, I will never consider shopping there again. It would be a great price if they actually had the product. "
"I placed online order for 'Nikon D80 + Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR II DX Nikkor Lens' Package for $929.00. Soon after it, I received an email with request to call them to confirm the order for 'my security' reason. Upon a conversation their rep told me that the battery/charger package is not included - I need to purchase it separately. Even though it sounded a bit strange for photo camera, I thought some expensive electronic devices might have such selling practice. They offered me some '5h long-life battery with Professional charger kit' for $399. When I received the package, there was a standard 'Quick' charger/battery, and label on original camera box explicitly stated that 'Quick charger/ EN-EL3e battery' is in a list of Supplied accessories' - not in a list of 'Optional accessories, purchased separately'.
Documentation in the box was jammed/folded little bit - like it was used before and packed back.
Package came with 'Sigma' lens - not with 'Nikkor' lens as it was described on their web-page. Average online price on ‘Amazon.com’ for this model of ‘Sigma’ is $350 vs. $650 for originally requested ‘Nikkor’
When I called them to resolve the problem, they put me on hold 3 times for about 20 minutes and disconnected calls. Finally, they said they put 'much better' lens than the origiginal one. When I asked about replacement they said that if I wanted I could send them back 'better' one (Sigma) at my expenses, they would send me 'worse' one ('Nikkor') and I also need to pay bextra $150, because those better' Sigma' lenses is on promotion right now so they can give me such a good deal, and 'Nikkor' is not.
When I refused to do this and asked about 'unconditional' replacement for no charge, they said that I agreed to have this substitution upon my confirmation call. When I denied this statement and repeated my request for replacement, the Hispanic-accent guy I talked with started to use 'R-rated movie' language towards me for no reason. Because of those complications I decided not to give them a chance to fool me for third time in a raw, and I called them next day to say that I wanted to return whole package for 100% money refund. They said they would do it only after I send them a check or money order for 23% worth of entire purchase as a 'RESTOCKING FEE', and they will issue RMA number only 2-3 weeks, after they clear the payment. When I tried to insist on my right to return the entire purchase for 100% unconditional refund because I RECEIVED NOT WHAT I ORDERED, the guy used offensive language again and hung up.
I contacted my credit card bank (VISA) to put this payment on dispute and sent them package back. With proper insurance it was $41. Hope it will be the only money I lost on this stupid transaction (aside from hours of time and millions of brain cells)
Stay away from this company!!! If you know the lawyer who is willing to initiate a 'Class Action' against this company I would be one of the first to join it!!!
PS. I contacted credit card bank for dispute, sent complaint to 'NY BBB', ' New York State Consumer Protection Board' and 'New York City Department of Consumer Affairs'. Soon after this Sonic Cameras sent me e-mail about 100% money refund for the package. Couple days later I saw money back credited on my bank account. Still want to find a way how to get my shipping expenses back ($41). I am also planning to write a complain to 'Federal Trade Commission' and provide more details for complaint to 'New York City Department of Consumer Affairs' - I lost so much time and brain cells dealing with those Sonic Cameras crooks to let them go away.
DO NOT BE SCARED WHEN THEY TRY TO PUT YOU IN A CORNER TELLING THAT YOU CAN NOT RETURN THEIR CRAP WITHOUT 23% RESTOCKING FEE. AND DO NOT BELEIVE THEM IF THEY FINALLY OFFER TO REPLACE WHAT THEY SENT TO YOU WITH WHAT YOU ORIGINALLY ORDER - THEY FOOLED YOU ONCE OR TWICE - THEY WILL FOOL YOU AGAIN - AND IT WILL ONLY COMPLICATE THE CASE FOR YOU!!!
You can win ONLY if you stick with YOUR DECISION!!!"
"Sonic Cameras: I order a flash from this online vendor and later got an email asking to call for verification. Once i call one of the Sonic Cameras personnel told me that it was a Japanese version flash and not the real US flash. I told them to cancel and they hang me up. I kept recieving mass emails from Sonic Cameras for verification, and decided to call gain to put a stop to it. The Hispanic guy that answer start using very offensive names out of the blue without even a reason for it. What kind of opearation this business is running that they need to harass their customers to make a sale or by trying to use profanity as a sellers tool. Rest assure that i should have read the reviews before making a purchase as i have realized that i am not the first one with this kind of problems. Rest assure that this will not stand and the proper steps will be taken to correct their deceptive practices."
"Sonic Camera is the kind of company that gives ordering over the internet a bad name. There are wonderful honset companies out there --- B and H Photo Video, Adorama etc. Sonic Camera is not one of them. The advertised a Canon 24-70 f 2.8 zoom somewhat cheaper than other sites and I gave it a try. I got the dreaded please call to confirm number and eventually they called me and tried to sell me things I did not need, wanted me to buy a Sigma rather than a Canon lens and eventually lied to me and told me that for their price I would get the plastic instead of the metal lens. Canon makes only one lens! Avoid them like the plague. They should not be allowed to do business as they are dishonest. My New Year's resolution is not to stray from sites I know like B and H and Adorama and similar sites. As they say, if it looks too good to be true it probably is. "
"I needed to order a Panasonic DVX100B for my outdoor television show and found Sonic Cameras to be the lowest price. I went ahead and ordered the AG Panasonic DVX100B Premium package and thought everything was grand until today when I recieved the "confirm the order" email and I called just to find out the camera I ordered had no shotgun mic, no lense, and various other items. The seller told me I had to purchase the camera ready to film which would be another 1400 dollars more than what I was originally going to pay. He tried to get me to buy a bunch of different cameras and said he would even lower all prices for me. I immediately called my bank and had them cancel my debit card. Thank God for this website that made me realize it was all a scam."
"Do not shop with this vendor. They do fake advertising. Price show on search is not the price you get.
I recently bought a camera - Sony HDR-SR10 40GB. Advertised an new and they shipped me a used product."
"These guys are crooks!!! Do not purchase anything from them. Bait and switch. Told me I could return without restocking fee, than changed that. The guy who I spoke to confirming no restocking fee "dissapeared" when I tried to remind him.
TOTAL SCUMBAGS!!!
I REPEAT DO NOT MAKE A PURCHASE FROM SONIC CAMERAS!!!"
"I ordered a Nikon SB-600 Speedlight
flash for a Nikon camera for my brother for
Christmas. Sonic had the best price on the internet ($155). I got an email asking me to call to confirm the order and when I did I was told that the one I ordered is for cameras sold outside the US only. The same flash for cameras sold inside the US was available from Sonic for $215. I cancelled the order and found the US version of this flash from another site for $172.
I have reviewed the page on the Sonic site very carefully and found no indication that the $155 version for for non US cameras only.
I would not recommend Sonic to anyone."
"Like several other comments I have read, I wish I had looked up this website first. Bait and switch is what they do. Stay away."
"They suck.
Required to call them to confirm the order.
I called and some scum bad rudely stated what is your fuken number? After trying again they stated the the Canon Rebel XTi was out of stock and that they had a better camera pushing $300 more than what I spent. This is typical bait and switch crap!! "
"To everyone who have filled a complaint with the BBB have you gotten your dispute resolved yet? Pls let me know I just filled my complaint today against Sonic Camera"
"I purchased a Nikon D60 from Sonic Cameras via an online transaction in september 2008. The representitive Bill was very pleasent to deal with ensuring an excellent transaction. My item was promptly shipped and arrive in pristine condition. The camera was high quallity and well priced. I am very pleased with both the merchandise purchassed and the customer service recieved and will do business with Sonic Cameras again."
"I purchased the Canon 580 EX II Flash from Sonic Cameras in September. They were very professional and offered me extras that they thought I would need for the flash (batteries, etc.) I would definitely buy from them again! Thanks, Teresa from SC."