"This is definitely one to avoid. When I placed my order, the salesman aggressively pushed a warranty that I later discovered to be at a grossly inflated price. He also attempted to bribe me into placing a positive rating on this site by promising to expedite shipping if I did so. That is, he pushed me to rate the company as "excellent" before I had actually received the product.

I placed the order (why, I don't know) but had second thoughts and called back to cancel within an hour. I was treated extremely rudely. The same salesman first claimed that they had already shipped my order. When I said that seemed very unlikely, he told me that they would charge 6% for cancelling. (I later found this charge listed in an obscure part of their website). I told him what kind of rating he could expect and he then threatened to charge my card for the full price of the expensive equipment I had wanted to buy without actually sending it on to me! I was speechless, but apparently this was a bait and switch tactic because immediately after saying this, he offered to cancel the order without a charge if I didn't leave a negative comment. I told him to cancel the damn order.

This has been by any measure my worse experience purchasing an item on the web or off. I do not consider a promise made under duress as binding, but I haven't said anything up to this point for fear that my credit card would be charged.

I see that others have had very similar experiences and only wish I had read the comments before putting in an order. Given the pressure placed on me to give Starlight an excellent rating (I'm actually still receiving emails from them urging me to do so), I'm rather skeptical of several of the positive ratings found on this site."

"I have purchased about $1500.00 worth of equipment from Starlight, and am very satisfied with the speed of which my order was delivered. Shipping accidently forgot to package one of two memory cards I ordered, but once notified Starlight had the replacement at my home within a few days. After reading the reviews others have left on this site I would like to submit the following comments: Although the first salesman I spoke to had an unconventional sales manner, which quite frankly made me somewhat uncomfortable, a subsequent call made on an other day found a salesperson who was very well informed on the product I was inquiring about, which was a little surprising to me, as Starlight carries a huge inventory of varied equipment, but he still could detail the information I was requesting, which indicates to me that this person was a professional, not a fly by night artist. In addition my salesman was quite generous with his time. His patience in answering my questions was beyond what a reasonable person should expect. I didn't get that same feeling from the first salesman I spoke to, but I'd hate to see Starlight loose business account a single bad apple in the bunch. I would suggest that people making purchases from Starlight get their salesmans name right from the beginning. If you have problems, you can be sure Starlight will hold that person accountable. Finally, Starlight offers top quality equipment at basement bargain prices. You will have to expect they will want to sell additional items, which they may have a larger mark up on. I really don't think they are making much money on the basic equipment alone. Yes, the shipping seemed a little pricey, but once I questioned that, they offered to send an extra battery to make up for any problems I may have experienced...and that was delivered within a few days, at no cost to me. I happened to enjoy being able to get top quality equipment at bargain prices. I also liked the fact that I could get almost any accessory I wanted at the same time. I really don't think the mark up on the accessories was unreasonable, and I plan on buying all my camera equipment from them in the future. There is no excuse for abusing customers, as some of the reviewers have indicated. I think these people are legitimate business people who have a few salesmen that may need a good dose of bedside manners. While some mistakes may have been made by sale staff in the past, I would urge potential customers to give them a try. Get the salemans name upon calling, and consider the purchase of some accessories along with your main order. I'd like to encourage the competitiveness Starlight has demonstrated in their pricing strategy to sales, and will support this business in the future. Be sure to submit your reviews in the future, so Starlight management can make adjustments, if any are necessary, to insure they remain a leader in discount, quality camera equipment in the future. "

"I talked with Scott (ext 206. He was very helpful in confirming my order. I checked back today to confirm order was confirmed. I immediately had an e-mail confirming purchase after I hung up

John"

"I had excellent results with my purchase from Starlight Cameras. I would purchase photographic equipment from them at any time. The salesman called my home to make sure that my order was correct and had to call the hospital because I had surgery. Everything went great and I am well pleased with my contact with Starlight Cameras."

"I tried to order a panasonic camcorder GS70 for the advertised price of $549.99. Peter from starlight called me on 1/21/2004 asking me to buy a longer life battery. I told him I wasn't interested. He then told me tha the price of $549.99 was for a non-US version of the camera and that the US model would cost more. I told him that I would like to refuse the order if that were the case. Peter then told me that he would charge me $62.15 to cancel the order. I immediately called my credit card # to complain about this merchant. "

"Starlight Camera delivered as promised and were very helpful and courtious. I would recommend them for any of your camera purchases."

"Good prices, good service. I was missing a part, they handled it fast and courtious. Camera and accessories where here in a week."

"Excellent service.

Spent time explaining product and researching information.

GREAT price."

"Excellent! Got excellent deals I could not find anywhere else. camera was delivered on time as promised. My order number was yhst-3945695779427-485"

"The sales person was very helpful and informative."

"Very efficient. Answered all questions. Returned calls/emails."

"I ordered a camera from this company online. After waiting a week without recieving a phonecall or even an email informing me of a successful purchase, I called the customer service line to check on the status of my order. The man on the phone was extremely rude to me. He insulted me and then canceled my order because I did not need any additional parts for the camera and then he hung up on me. I'm disgusted and insulted, these people deserve to go out of business. Do not order from them if you expect to be treated with respect."

"I purchased, or so I thought, a Sony TRV19 from this company on Thursday. Pushy sales staff? sure! but that's their job right? Well, I got nervous and called monday for a tracking number. They said I had to call back at 11am their time, "that's when shipping opens". Fine, I call back, "Welcome to Starlight Camera, we're closed, call back during business hours." Uh, it was noon. OK, I tried every day last week and got the same message all day. Then on Friday I didn't even get a message, just rang off the hook.

Luckily they hadn't charged the card as of Friday.

I'm cancelling the credit card and moving on to a reputable dealer."

"This company is a scam. Purchased a sony camcorder last week throught their website (which was surprisingly was manage by Yahoo). Never received a confirmation and when I call more than 8 times they've always hung up on you and treat you like garbage. Manage to talk for 30 seconds with somebody and they just told me that items is not available and hung up. Called again and talk again for 30 seconds and the person told me "I don't have time with you" and hung up. This is a scam and I just hope they don't just charge my card as it's impossible to communicate with them although my card Amex will cover protection but it's just the hassle. Please don't even try to buy anything from this criminal."

"This company is a scam. If you refuse the overpriced extras they hang up on you. Then call back and now it is "not available".
DO NOT SUPPORT CRIMMINAL BEHAVIOR. just shop elsewhere."