Has anyone dealt with "FotoConnection", "Broadway Photo"?

[aeh]

Thinking about a 40D.(body only) Just looking for good price ! Has anyone delt

with these companies ? "FotoConnection", "Broadway Photo", compared to B&H ?

Thanks for your input, Al

[JDMvW]

As always, see resellerratings.com. Broadway has a rating there that is close to zero out of 10.

 

 

There may be occasional bargains, but always check out the reseller web site for any company you're not familiar with. B&H, and a number of others will usually give you an idea of what are 'too good to be true' bargains.

 

A common tactic is to refuse to sell you the camera unless you buy a lot of overpriced accessories, some of which are normally supplied with the camera.

[vilk_inc]

caveas :-)

 

http://www.resellerratings.com/reseller_list.pl?keyword_search=broadway

 

http://www.resellerratings.com/reseller_list.pl?keyword_search=fotoconnection

[joshroot]

If a price is less than 5% below B&H or Adorama (excluding special coupons or some other sale), then it is probably a scam.

 

Make things easier on yourself, buy from B&H, Adorama, or Amazon. You are assured of getting essentially the best price and your chances of getting screwed are virtually nil.

[stillbound]

all you have to do is google the companies and you will see all you need to see...

[steve torelli]

Forget about all these other places. You're not gonna get a legitimate deal on a camera body any cheaper than B&H, Adorama, 17th St.Photo etc. There are no $800 40Ds. If there were there would be a dozem threads about it here in Photonet and every other Photo forum on the web. If you want one it's gonna cost you about $1200-$1300. If you want to get ripped off contact FotoConnection, Broadway Photo, BestPriceCameras etc.

[paul_serafini1]

One source for good prices and excellent service that I never seem to hear people talk about amazon.com...I have bought many items from them and never had any problems whatsoever. Prices are excellent, on par with anyone else's, and in the event I have questions, customer service is excellent.

[stillbound]

the biggest problem with amazon is that they don't know anything about cameras...

For shooters they are fine - I agree but the fact of the matter is that the industry is driven by people that are hobbyists at best and those are the people that can greatly be helped by speaking to a photographer/salesman at a place like B/H.

JC

[alan_myers]

"I never seem to hear people talk about amazon.com"

 

Um, Josh mentioned it three posts above yours... And I often see it mentioned here and elsewhere.

 

However your point is a good one. I agree, Amazon is always a good place to check out too. (I'm getting a small delivery from them sometime today, in fact.)

 

One thing to be a little careful about: Amazon sells directly themselves, but also has "partners". Return policies, prices for items and shipping costs can vary a lot among Amazon and it's partners. I never worry when an item is being sold directly to me by Amazon (assuming their price checks out competitively against other online stores I use).

 

But if it's one of their partners that shows up on an item I'm considering, I'll stop and check them out carefully if I don't already know them. However, Amazon's partners are also often pretty reputable companies like Adorama and Beach Photo anyway. And Amazon does seem to have some clout with it's partners, to keep them honest and fair.

[colinsouthern]

""FotoConnection", "Broadway Photo", "

 

These are the people who give scum a bad name.

[hjoseph7]

I wouldn't buy nothing from "Broadway Photo" unless it was a small item. They are trying to make a comeback by changing their name, tell tale sign something stinks.

[phoneguy]

Plenty of people have "dealt" with them, that is why they are in business. Be a smart buyer.

[terry_smith2]

Buy.Dig is also pretty good and with competitive prices. I just got an XTi for my girlfriend from them. the actual shipper was Beach Camera.

[james_nealy]

Broadway photo is terrible. I called them about a 40D. They knew nothing, and were high pressure. I had a bad feeling about them, so I didn't deal with them at all. Remember if the prices seem to good to be true...They are! B&H or Amazon are the places to go!

[jemmie_wang]

RUN, DO NOT WALK AWAY!

 

I ordered an Olympus Zuiko 35mm f/3.5 Macro Lens for Olympus Digital Cameras for $184.95 with free shipping from FotoConnection.com on a Monday.

 

First clue of forthcoming problems: Their confirmation email included no details of order (you will see why this is important later on).

 

25 minutes later I receive an email asking me to call someone confirming my order. I do so.

 

Second clue: The guy tries hard to "upgrade" me to a "metal" lens instead of the plastic lens. I decline.

 

Two days later on Wednesday, I receive an email asking me to click a certain link to confirm my order (WTF?). I click the link and now the order is $219.95 -- again, no details of the order!

 

By now I'm done with them. I call to cancel my order. After being put on hold by various people for 15 minutes -- apparently no one there is allowed to deal with cancelled orders except one person -- I get sent to someone named "Jack". Jack immediately asks, "Why would you want to do that?" I explain to him why and he says, "The $25 is because you wanted the metal lens." I told him I specifically did not want the "upgrade" and told him to cancel my order. He says there's a cancellation fee. I told him he's going to get a chargeback if he charges the cancellation fee. He hangs up.

 

So the schtick is like this:

 

1) Customer orders Item A for $X.

2) Confirmation email contains no details.

3) Next email asks customer to call so salespeople can "upgrade" order.

4) Customer calls and some upgrade but most probably do not.

5) The customers that do not upgrade automatically get upgraded.

6) Customer gets another email asking for online confirmation with the higher price.

7) If customer refuses and wants to cancel order, there's a cancellation fee -- throughout the entire process there has been no cleverly no electronic confirmation of the details of the order.

 

I called my credit card company and had them immediately report my card as stolen so no charges can even be made -- I'm not even interested in getting into a two month long chargeback struggle with a company this slimey.

 

Buy from FotoConnection at your own risk. You have been warned.