"Please see http://thomashawk.com/2005/11/priceritephoto-abusive-bait-and-switch.html for potential relationships between Wisetronics and PriceRitePhoto.

Biggest scam I've ever encountered online, and I've been shopping online since the dawn of the e-commerce era. I ordered the Lumix DMC-FZ50 camera from Wisetronics because the price was $75 less than any other I could find, online or offline. They e-mailed me three times to ask for "additional information" about my credit card. Each time I called them (they refused to take an e-mail response) within 24 hours to verify the same question. I spent an average of about 15 minutes on hold each time I called. On the third verification call, the customer service department supervisor tried to upsell me on a battery ("the camera doesn't come with one"; I told him that the Web site description said it did and he said I would "need" a "longer life" battery) and on memory cards (I asked the price; he quoted me $75 for a 512MB SD card -- roughly quadruple what such a card would cost anywhere else). I declined to add anything further to the order. He confirmed the order -- the third person to do so -- and said that the camera would ship out the following week and take roughly 10 days to get to me. That was on Jan. 6. On Feb. 5, when I still had not received the camera, I contacted Wisetronics again. "Bobby" at extension 203 said my camera was "on back-order" indefinitely, but he'd be glad to send me the silver one -- for $200 more than the Web site was quoting for the black one (which also still showed on their Web site as "available to ship in 1 to 2 business days" and which had dropped in price by $30). When I protested the bait-and-switch, he said he had never heard the term before. I explained it to him. He then said he could sell me a silver "camera body only" for the price originally quoted to me. I explained that the camera body and lens are fused together so they'd have to take a blow torch to the product to sell me only the camera body. He then back-tracked and replied that of course the lens would be attached to the body, but there would be nothing else in the box -- no battery, no cables, no software, no user's manual. When I said that the Web site claimed that ALL those things would be included with every order, he said that they often "sell parts to other suppliers" and that the "part" -- the camera, all by itself -- was the only thing available at that Web price. "So it's black market?" I said. More like grey market, he replied. At that point I did what I should have done weeks ago -- I cancelled the order. But it won't surprise me a bit to see a false charge against my credit card in the next couple of months, so I'll be watching for it. Word to the wise about "Wise"tronics -- don't walk, RUN in the opposite direction. Bait-and-switch, false advertising, call it what you will. This operation is shady at best, but more likely out-and-out fraudulent. Another PriceRitePhoto or Chaim Pikarski, perhaps?"

"Bait and switch!! They advertise products as being "in-stock" and when you call them, they verify that the item is in-stock... then comes the hard up-sell (I mean HARD SELL). Lenses, extended warranties, lens filters, camera cases, memory cards, larger capacity batteries... and when you say no to these items, the item changes to backordered! Stay away. I cancelled my order."

"I purchased online on Dec. 31 2006 a video digital camera. After waiting for ten days I went to check my order and it was posted pending. I called wisetronics and told me they needed my 4 digit security numbers from my credit card. At that point also they tried to upsale me more products. The guy told me the camera does not came with battery. That I needed to buy the battery separate and also buy a 2gb SD card. I told him no, I just want the camera (I did not believe a word about this battery business) neither I needed the SD card (by the way the battery and the SD card is super overpriced) Well guess what today is February 3rd and no camera was ship to me. It appears that if you don't but the camera (bait) and some overpriced accessoris then it is no business for wisetronics. "

"This is an email I sent to them:

I am thoroughly disgusted with your abusive and illegal sales tactics. You had the Canon Powershot SD800 IS listed online at $294. Because there was no information about whether this was the USA model, I called and spoke to a sales representative, specifically asking if the model listed at this price was the USA model, or the import, and whether it came with the full USA manufacturer's warranty. I was told it was the USA model and came with the warranty.

I placed an order (#122870) online on January 31, 2007. On the night of February 1, 2007, I received an email asking me to "verify" my order. When I called, I was told to hold for 2 minutes, but was put on hold for over 15 minutes. I called back several times to be immediately just put on hold again. When I finally reached someone and "verified" my order, it was clearly just a tactic to try to sell me more stuff, like accessories. There was no good reason for the delay in processing my order.

The person "verifying" my order then asked me "if there was a reason I'm purchasing the import model." When it became obvious you had used a classic "bait and switch" on me, I told the person to cancel my order and began explaining what I have explained above - that I called and was told it was the USA model. However, rather than listen and address my issue, your representative simply hung up on me as soon as I said I wanted to cancel the order.

You have 24 hours to honor your promise to sell me the USA model at the price quoted, $294 + tax and shipping (total $349.50). If you do not honor this, I will report you to the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, and the New York State Attorney General, in addition to posting as much about my experience as I can on consumer review sites on the web.

Very truly yours,
XXXXXXXXX

------
After I sent it, I called to talk to someone in management. I waited on hold for over 17 minutes, during which time it told me there were 4 people ahead of me, then 2, then 1. When it finally picked up, it was a recording saying their customer service was closed (even though I was calling within the hours stated on the message that customer service was open), and even though it said I could leave a message, simply bumped me out to the main menu/recording again. Seems obvious they knew who I was and simply avoided talking to me."

"I ordered a Canon SD800 camera from WiseTronics, because of their low price. Now, 8 days later, I'm wondering when the camera will be shipped to me. Upon calling them, I was told the camera is a Japanese version, coming from Japan but on back-order. I wanted the USA version so I canceled the order. Never did I see any option on the web site as to what "versions" were available. I certainly would have never considered anything but the USA version. I think their web site is very misleading....low prices, but you don't get USA goods. I could have reordered via the customer service person I spoke with and gotten the USA version of this camera, but the price was much more than what I can purchase it locally. My advice to anyone considering ordering from WiseTronics is to personally talk to a customer service rep when placing your order, to verify what you want you'll be getting and to verify that the item is in stock. If I hadn't called them to check on my shipping status, I would not have known that the item was on back-order, nor that the item was not what I wanted. I suggest NOT using WiseTronics. "

"I ordered a digital camera at a great price. I then received an email to confirm my order, which I thought was "fishy". I was informed that th ecamera I ordered did not come with a manufactureres warrenty because it was a Japanese model. I only know this becasue they tried to sell me a warranty. No where on their site does it say that it is a model with no warranty. I told them I did not want the camera and the man told me he would cancel the order and then hung up on me in mid sentence. Very unprofessionsal, rude, and misleading! I will cerainly be watching my cc account on this one."

"Be Warned!
Wisetronics seemed to have the lowest price on the Canon G7 I ordered online. I then got an email saying that I needed to "call to confirm my order". Some guy named "Stevie" proceeded to bloat my order with what turned out be very low quality, overpriced accessories. The camera arrived with the language set to Japanese, making it very difficult to get it working. The accessory lenses that Stevie so enthusiastically recommended are of very poor optical quality, essentially worthless. The wide angle lens actually arrived dirty and with damaged threads. Wisetronics' return policy makes it extremely difficult to return defective merchandise, it's all or nothing, and they charge a ridiculous 20% "restocking fee". This is an abusive business and I will never do any business with them again. "

"A bait and switch operation. I attempted to purchase a digital camera from this business. They made confirming telephone calls. Promised delivery by January 26, 2007 all of the ordered product in stock. Today, January 29, 2007, suddenly the camera is on back order from Canon and will not be able to be shipped until the end of February. I canceled the order. I did NOT make a purchase. "

"Typical bait and switch scam. I shoulda known better. They called me to verify cc security code. Then tried to tell me the Sony T10 I'd ordered doesn't come with warranty or battery. I had some fun with them playing stupid. After 5 minutes I told them I know the routine and told them to cancel the order. i then called my cc company to make sure no charges were made."

"I guess i am just like the rest.i ordered videocamorder today for great price .I had to contact their office,and confirm some stuff,was asked if my card is issued in canada(never had that happened before) well,it all sounded like the guy(looser by name steven)was doing me a favor ordering from their site.Then he said I have to buy this and this,extrawarranties and such.i OKd it.after i hung up, i realised -I never ever had bought camera without bateries.it is always in the package when you buy it ,so it should be included in price.so i tried call back and the looser at cust.service give me big talk about wasting his time and hung up on me.i am sure they have call display,because i called again about 20 times and nobody answered,just voicemail.so i called Amex and explain what happened and asked to put stop on this 890$ order.That was real cust.service.The people at Amex were very understading.Even without confirmation number i didnt have at the time.But I called the idiot at Wisetronics back,who aswered without saying his name so when i told him that i called Amex he eventualy very hasitantly gave me with stupid remarks,that i am wasting his time the number.Wisetronics?NEVER AGAINI hope we all will know now"

"I'm extremely displeased with this company. Initially I was very excited with the competitive pricing. However, after making the online order i was emailed. The email required me to call and confirm the order. After being on the phone for about 15 mins, I realized that I wasn't getting the deal advertised. After I hung up the phone, my invoice had doubled. I called the company back and cancelled my order. I would NOT recommend doing business with this company. Furthermore, I'm reporting this company to the authorities. "

"They might as well be called "Wiseguy Electronics". They required me to follow up call with them and, as with other customers, tried to pressure me into buying questionable goods. I was put on hold four times for a total of 40 minutes, and all but one person I spoke with mouthed off to me, including the customer support supervisor. The Feds should investigate this racket-posing-as-a-retailer."

"I was trying to get my camera Nikon D40 and they had very convenient prices.
the thing is they are selling the camera kits without everyting on it but they don't say that in their websites.... I ordered or trying to order from them and they called me to confirm my order and said that the kit I choose doesn't have the battery and the charger and they could sell them to me at "special price", like the double of the market and spooky brands. And when I tried to buy only that kit (camera and lens only) they hung up three times at diferent extensions and the fourth time I could call the guy told me that the D40 is backordered and I had to wait around 24 days to get it (they said). So I canceled my order.

I know they want to compensate the low price of the camera with the accesories, but why the put someting in a website if they don't have the intention of sell it, I'm pretty sure they have the goal of not sell the cameras only, they have to sell you something else, they speak like timeshare sellers.

As per Nikon website the Nikon D40 Kit, has everyting you need but the memory card, because is an entry level DSLR. So I can imagine that the accesories these stores they are putting on the camera are not the best quality in order to have more profit.
I also, after reading that amount of complains cancel my credit card and ask for a new one, you never know with people like that.

I was just trying to save a few bucks, but honestly I lean my lesson with this scammers.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL WITH THIS SITE!!!!!!!!! "

"•SUMMARY - Horrible pruchase experience. Wrong parts sent, terrible customer service and non brand name components sent.
Contact NY States Attorney Office to complain. form is at http://www.oag.state.ny.us/complaints/pdfs/cns001web_consumer.pdf
DETAILS - Purchased Canon A640 camera from wisetronics.com. I received e-mail saying in order to process order please call. I called. They told me that Canon had special sale on lenses and filters for A640 & A640 specifically designed to be used w/ filters & zoom lens. Offered me a “package deal”, so I purchased filters & an optical zoom lens.
• When camera & accessories arrived, it became evident that a) accessories were NOT canon parts b) adapter did not fit on the Canon A640 & c) Zoom lens was digital zoom & NOT optical zoom.
• I contacted cust. svcs immediately & shared my issue w/ adapter not fitting & dissatisfaction w/ accessories in general. I was very rudely told I didn’t know what I was taking about - zoom lens was optical.
• I asked to return all accessories. I was told that in order to do that I’d have to return camera as well since it was sold as a part of a ‘Package’ & there would be a 15% re-stocking fee. In addition I would be out the S&H charges I had already paid. Would amount to about $180 I would be out w/ nothing to show for it. I was very upset about this & did not agree to it.
• Cust. svcs rep finally said he would send out new filters as he thought the wrong ones were sent. New filters sent with no new adapter, so continued to have issue where lenses & filters were useless w/out correct adapter.
• Contacted cust. svcs again. She asked me to send back adapter & she would have technical dept look at it. In the mean time I contacted the manufacturer. They said if this adapter did not fit I would need to try another brand as this was all they made. Also contacted Canon and they said they had no special sale on filters and lenses as Wisetronics had said.
• Wisetronics e-mailed back to say this is the right adapter & they are sending it back to me & are going to charge me another $12.99 S&H.
• I called back and complained, so finally agreed not to charge me the S&H charges
• Received adapter. It was completely different and specifically said it was made for a Canon A 640
• Telephoto lense still the wrong one. Contacted Wisetronics – Jennifer in customer service answered. Very rudely told me she is familiar with case and will get back to me
• Waited for 2 weeks – no response, so called her back on 8 Jan 06.
• Telling me now to mail in telephoto lense and then she’ll mail me new one.
"

"I placed my order for a Canon SD900 online. Prior to my placing this order I called to comfirm that the product was in stock and could be shipped immediately. I was told that it was and there was no shipping delay. I asked about the warranty and was assured that the camera was new and covered by Canon's warranty. I told them I was pressed for time and would place the order online.
On 1/7/07 @ 11:00 AM Scott called and told me that he needed additional information from my credit card. In addition he asked me to add a battery and additional memory to my order. I told him I had plenty of SD cards and another battery already. I was then told that I could expect my order to be shipped in 4 to 6 weeks(I was originally told that I could expect to receive the camera in 7-12 Business days). When asked about the delay he told me that they had the cameras in stock, but that I was on a waiting list. I politely canceled my order. After reading some of these reviews I'm glad I did. This has taught me a lession. From here on out I'll check the reviews before placing my order. "