"I had a bit of a problem talking to a real "live" person but once I did there was no hassle on adding items to the camera order. To help avoid that I started right off by saying my CoolPix 4500 had been stolen and that I still had all the auxiliary equipment (actually my 4500 was being repaired under an extended warranty and the ship back date was after I would need the camera for a vacation).
The price for a new in-the-box with all accessories camera was $309, but it was not made for the USA market and had no factory warranty. I planned to buy a Mack five year warranty from B&H for $49 (They seem to have the best Mack prices).
I paid $20 for fast three day shipping to avoid any back order excuse, and got the camera in two days, as described above."

"!!!Terrrible Selling Practices!!!
Don't believe the great prices they list! It's a total 'bait and switch' scam. The day I placed my order for an canon a80 digital camera, I got an e-amil asking me to call and verify my info. They then informed me that the model I ordered didn't come with ANYTHING, no CF card, no manual, no cables, etc, and if I wanted the model which does comes with all that, the price jumped $70!! I asked why they don't specify that on the web page for the camera with the cheap price. Their answer was that it doesn't say it comes with it!!! Uhh.. yeah.. it doesn't say it comes assembled either, but that's an assumption any sane buyer makes. Help yourself and DON'T BUY FROM THESE RIP-OFF ARTISTS!!"

"DO NOT ORDER FROM A&M PHOTO WORLD. PLEASE READ MY ENTIRE WRITEUP.

First let me show some background on the events and conditions surrounding my order.

I am in the military, and am deployed to Afghanistan. On August 1st, I placed an online order of a Sony DCR-HC85 Camcorder with 3 accessories. A&M Photo World had the best price on the internet (at www.streetprices.com) for this camcorder at $629.00, and the total for everything including the accessories and shipping was around $750.00 . I was purchasing this camera as a present for my wife, who I was travelling back home to see during my mid-tour vacation to the U.S. This item was to be a surprise for my wife, and I planned on making no further contact with A&M after the online purchase was placed and confirmed. On August 2nd, A&M left a telephone message at my wife's residence about the purchase, with a message to call them back to "confirm" the purchase. She did not know what the call was in reference to (since it was supposed to be a surprise) and did not return the call.

On August 3rd, I departed Afghanistan for the U.S.
I arrived on the 4th, and there was a package awaiting my wife and I at our U.S. residence. We were both excited- I was sure this was going to be a welcome surprise for her, as we hadn't owned a camcorder in a couple years.

She opened the package and the surprise quickly soured to disappointment. The invoice stated that the camera, accessories and shipping cost a total of $1789.99 (over $1000 more than I had ordered), and that I had already been charged this on my credit card. I noticed that something was odd because there were 3 extra accessories (extra battery, filters and a rapid charger) which I had not ordered, and which were also on the invoice. I had to tell my wife to stop opening all the things, and quickly called A&M Photo World. I was passed from person to person almost 5 times before finally someone talked to me in detail about the order. This was supposedly "customer service" I was talking to, but it was more like another sales pitch. I was told that "someone" in my household had talked to a sales representative, and that this "person" had authorized an "upgrade" to the U.S. model from the foreign model that I had ordered online, along with a few more accessories. I asked my wife if she had talked to anyone, and she said "No, but we had the message on the machine and I didn't call back". I have no reason to doubt my wife, so I told the A&M rep that my wife hadn't authorized this, and also told him that my name was the ONLY one on the order, and my name is the ONLY one on the credit card used to purchase, with not even my wife authorized to use it, and asked him why his company had changed MY order. So this customer service representative proceeds to try to convince me that its "not our problem", and "we have proof of the recorded phone conversation" and even insinuates that my wife had authorized this transaction.
I proceeded to go off on this guy, and told him to play back the conversation "on record", and he put me on and off hold over and over and finally told me "we have 100% proof of this conversation, and we don't legally have to play it for you, and a wife is authorized to use a credit card".

I then told him that I was going to ship this camera back. The best he could offer was "$100.00 off my purchase", and also told me that I would be charged a 15% restocking fee on my purchase ($268.50), if I returned the camera.
I could not believe what I was hearing. I basically told him the conversation was over and hung up the phone. I went to UPS on that same day and mailed everything back. Here is in summary my thoughts on this transaction and this company's tactics:

1. This company isn't just "shady", it is criminal, and the New York Attorney General should close them down and prosecute.

2. This company makes money with "bait and switch" tactics where they know a person needs a camera quickly, they advertise the lowest price on the internet, then after transactions are complete they know the person can't afford to wait for another item.

3. This company makes money in the end by charging restocking fees which line their pockets with pure, free profit. Credit card companies have policies which do not challenge restocking fees, and A&M takes advantage of this. And look at my situation- they would make 15% of their higher amount, rather than my actual purchase amount.

There is only one solution, which is what I did:
Call your credit card company to label the entire transaction as fraud. A&M's bank has to formally challenge this, and in the end I will at worse come out owing absolutely nothing to them.

At best, all of us affected by A&M's tactics should file a class action lawsuit which will close them down and punish them financially, even if the government doesn't close them down first.

As a member of the Armed Services, fraud and theft are not freedoms that myself or any soldier fights for.

Feel free to copy this message and pass it around the entire country."

"I placed an order on the company’s web site for a digital camera and lens.

I then received an email stating that I had to call 'Robert' to confirm my shipping information. When I talked to Robert he talked me into changing my order around and including additional items. After he realized I was hesitant to order these items he assured me that any of the purchases could be returned for credit with no problem or questions asked. I foolishly believed him and placed the order. My problems then started when I called to return some of the items.

1. First call was to Robert was to question why my charge card was charged more ($112) than the price quoted for each item. No satisfactory answer.

2. When calling to return items that I was assured would not be a problem I was told in no uncertain terms that I could not return just part of an order. When I explained that Robert assured me that any item could be returned within 21 days I was then told about a package deal of which no one made me aware of.

3. Called and talked to George and again was told I could not return individual items because of the package deal. He said I would have to return all of the items and incur a hefty restocking fee. He agreed to send an additional battery and a refund of $100. Did receive both, but still did not want the additional items.

3. 8/03/04, talked to 'Gabe' the customer service supervisor and again was told that this was a 'package deal' and I could not return parts of the order. When I told him I would be contacting the BBB and the Attorney Generals office he chuckled and said "Good Luck" and then ended the conversation.

At this time I am in possession of $780 worth of product that I purchased and can not return for credit.

As of this date I have filed with the following: BBB (NY), Visa, Attorney Generals Office of NY and more to come.

BEWARE OF THESE GUYS.
"

"Recently, I purchased a Sony Camcorder from A&M Photo World. I found they company when I was conducting research on camcorders on cnet.com. After a careful review I purchased the $629.00 camera from the site. I paid the extra shipping (3 day) to insure it would arrive for my vacation. A few days later I was contacted by a member of the A&M Photo World staff. He informed me that the camera had not been shipped yet and asked if I wanted to purchase a “kit” to go along with my camera. He stated that this “kit” included a camera case, 4 hour battery, 5 Mini DV tapes, rapid charger and a full one ear extended warranty. This warranty was for 1 year parts and labor, superceding Sony’s 90 day labor and one year parts warranty. After asking if this camera came with a charger he stated yes but it was a “over night charger”. I accepted this $899.99 offer. A week later I received the camera only to discover that there was no battery, no rapid charger and no documentation concerning the 1 year warranty (the deciding factor in the “kit” purchase). Realizing I was leaving for my vacation without a battery I had to purchase a $120 battery. While on vacation, I contacted A&M Photo World. I was told by customer service rep that I was mailed the battery. After pointing out that the battery was not listed on my invoice, the customer rep stated “we will send you another one” insinuating that I kept the first one. When asked about the rapid charger I was told it was included in the camera box. After further research, I then realized that this “kit” included a charger that was already included. When I asked about the warranty documentation I was told that that was held at Sony. Even though I know this can not be true I asked Sony. As I suspected, there is no extended warranty held at Sony. Upon returning a email message in responce to this issue I was greeted with "who are you and how did you get this number". Their attitude was much like it was in the previous conversation. Even after the effort, I still do not have any proof that this extended warranty exists. In my 1st conversation I was informed that the warranty was held by Sony after I have discovered this was not the case they now have informed me that they now hold this warranty but.... no proof will be provided. I am confident that upon retuning the camera in 7 months or so for repairs I will receive a very professional letter explaining that I must go through Sony for warranty repairs. Furthermore, I still have not received any explanation for the missing charger. Although this may be standard sales tactics have left me very dissatisfied with my shopping experience. "

"Scammers. At leat, call the guy who answers the phone Dorothy, he'll get upset!"

"bait and switch
add on hidden cost
misrepensatation
rude customer service
worst experiance ever on line"

"Yes, you could believe all the bad things you read. I wish I found this before I placed my order because I could have saved myself a lot of grief and aggrivation. I'm not going to repeat what everyone else says, but once you find an item you're iterested in go to the search field. Type in the model number of the item followed by a space and then "USA". You'll now see the item they will call you and try to sell you telling you that you ordered the import version with no warranty or accessories. In short, KEEP SURFING PAST A&M."

"Unethical selling paractices. I ordered a Canon 50mm 1.4 lens. Received an email instructing me to contact customer service to "verify" my order. Upon calling I was told this was not a US lens and did I want to upgrade. There was no mention on the web site or on my order confirmation that this was an import. Will never do business with them again."

"I ordered an item (Nikon Coolpix 8700), that was listed as available in stock, with 2-day delivery, which was quite crucial to my order, since it was meant as a gift for specific date.

Instead of confirmation, I've got a "validation" call request. I placed the call, and it was explained to me, that my order can only be shipped in 7-10 weeks. If I want to receive my camera any sooner, I'm invited to order an additional $250 worth of useless and overpriced accessories to this camera, in which case it will all be shipped to me in 3 business days. Otherwise I'll have to wait. So I just cancelled."

"The following is what I successfully did to fight back against the online scammer known as "AMPhotoworld.com"

1. Contact your credit card company and DISPUTE THE PURCHASE:

The credit card company will immediately credit the entire money you paid back to your account until they can finish investigating the complaint(even if you already received the merchandise). They will contact the company and try to settle your complaint within 90 days. In my case, the company never responded within 90 days when my CC company tried to contact them and therefore I kept the merchandise I had received and never paid a dime. If they can't get the company to respond to them OR has sided with YOU in your complaint, they will either let you keep your entire money or credit your payment back to the company minus the amount in question.

2. Make a complaint with the Attorney General of NY http://www.oag.state.ny.us/contact.html

I made a complaint myself. They deal with all businesses physically located in NY (many of these online scammers are located in Brooklyn, NY).

3. The better business bureau can also be contacted but they only work as an intermediary to get the seller and buyer to compromise. If the buyer and seller can't agree on a deal there is nothing they can do. They can't force the seller to do right.

Many online scammers look professional but come from the same location: Brooklyn, NY. I've seen pictures of their physical location and it is a rat hole. A small old building with no sign out in front. There is a street with a whole line of these online merchants living on it. Many of these online companies are owned by the same person. It is scary just how easy it is to make a professional looking website with a statement on the frontpage touting "curteous customer service" and the customer is none the wiser until they are screwed over."

"I didn't order.
I tried to place an order by phone and the guy was really rude. They place an add in Popular Photography Magazine saying they have the product but I've been trying to buy it and they keep telling me they dont have the product, but I can still purchase the same product by the internet on a higher price. I called them a second time and the guy was laughing at my face and didn't let me say a word , he was saying bye bye...
They are completely dishonest. I would never buy from A&M photo world. And then I start searching about them and all I found is people complaining about credicard charges and products that never been shipped , and now I understand why they have these good prices couse you will never get the product."

"Tried to buy camera. Was told it was USA and would ship immediately. After giving them my cc info, was told there was a 9% shipping and handling fee! Then was told it is not USA. Then told it was 30 days to ship. SCAM SCAM SCAM."

"Please, read and heed all of the other reviews of this company. They are completely dishonest and running a total scam shop. Don't waste your time or risk your money."

"Typical bait and switch International scam.
They list the best price- you order, then they email you and hound you for an order confirmation.

You have to call in for a false verification only to be scammed into paying another $300-$400 as they strip the camera and try and scam you into paying now $895 when they advertised it at $515.

What a joke. I thought this scam dried up 20 years ago. This company is a worthless piece of crap. Fraud and more fraud. Only an idiot after reading these complaints would deal with these people. I'm only upset that they have my CC information. God only knows what they will do with that. I'm serious, who could trust them after this foolishness.
Beware-go elsewhere. Amphoto blows."