Must Have GIZMOS editors’ review (me): Buyer Beware – Unethical Up-selling from 86th Street Photo & Video

I am disappointed because I just had a sleazy experience with a very unethical merchant, 86th Street Photo & Video. On 6/2/2008, I placed an order (Order # 556662-W) by phone for a new Nokia Coolpix P80 camera for $279.99 which retails for $399.95 – sounds like a great deal right? Wrong! Now the rest of the story...

My father bought the same camera from this merchant only 2 weeks prior for only $249, he told me that he also bought a memory card and an extra battery. My dad bought this camera because my son was performing in 5 theatrical plays in one weekend and he wanted to take pictures with a good camera for the family. My dad took 650 incredible pictures, so we decided it was time to upgrade our camera.

The following day my father emailed me the information on where he purchased the Nikon P80. To start off with I am an informed gadget blogger and I do product reviews. I purchase items all the time using my blog that I have partnered with PriceGrabber and have always been very happy. When I checked the price on my blog I was surprised to see that 86th Street Photo & Video was selling the camera for $279.99, beating my site by $50 dollars. This rarely happens, in fact I would almost say NEVER happens.

So, I called the number on the website instead of ordering online and talked to a salesman named Steven. Steven informed me that they had the camera in stock for the advertised price of $279.99. But he recommend that I buy an additional battery because the battery that comes with the camera will only last for about 15 minutes. I told him that I did not need his suggested extended battery for $149 (I bought a Nikon EN-EL5 Rechargeable Lithium Battery from BuyDig using my website for only $24.00). He then went on to tell me that I should get a memory card for the camera because the camera memory was too small and could only hold about 25-35 pictures. He suggested that I get a 1GB high-speed card for $139 (I bought a 8GB SDHC card with class 6 speed from Newegg using my website for only $34.98). Again I declined and told him to just ship the camera with the 3-5 business day delivery. And he said no problem and that I should receive a confirmation email in the next day or two. So, I thought great, I’m now going to get my new camera in time for my son’s black belt test with was 12 days from the date I placed the order.

Later that day I received the following email:

Dear R bruce Downs Jr,

Thank you for your order from 86th Street Photo & Video - Order # 556662-W.

Your order is currently:Processing

PLEASE NOTE: In case your shipping address is different from your billing address (the address to which your monthly credit card statement is sent), you will have to use the toll-free number on the back or front of your credit card to contact your credit card company and add an Alternate Shipping Address, which is simply a note on your account authorizing purchases that are delivered to a destination other than your billing address.

Failure to do so may considerably delay the processing of your order.

PLEASE NOTE: In most instances we begin processing your order shortly after you submit your order. If any modifications or deletions are necessary you MUST contact us via PHONE ONLY, at 800-815-2040 or 347-289-8971. Please refer to your order number when calling us. Orders CANNOT be changed, cancelled or updated based on E-mail requests.

We hope you enjoy your new purchase and look forward to serving you again.

Thank you,
86th Street Photo & Video

Please do not reply to this email. To contact us please visit our site and fill out the form at http://www.86photovideo.com/contact_us.asp.

What I found interesting with this confirmation email is that it does not include the product, the total sales price, or a tracking number. So, I called Steven back and asked for the tracking number and said that the product has not shipped yet and continued with…I just realized that you bought the Japanese model and it is not in English. If I wanted the English model I would need to pay $379.99. I told him that I did not order the Japanese model and that I was looking at the website as we were talking. And that I demanded that they live up to their side of the sale. He said no problem and we hung up with Steven telling me that when the camera ships I will receive an email with the tracking number.

After one week I call them only to get a message that they were closed on Monday and Tuesday, June 9th & 10th for a holiday (What holiday?). Now I’m getting even more worried because I only have 3 days until my son’s black belt test. So, at 9AM on June 11th I called them and again talk to Steven, this time he informs me that the camera was on 5 week backorder and asked me if I would like to cancel the order? At this time the camera was listed at $239 on their website and I told him no that I wanted the camera at the new advertised price, which is now $90 dollars less than my own price comparison site and $160 less than retail price on a camera that has only been on the market for less than one month, he said no problem that they guarantee the lowest price that that when the camera is shipped they will charge my card the lowest price they have advertised on their site, so we hung-up.

At this time I realized that I was not going to get the camera from this merchant, but I checked their site and the product is still shown available for 1-2 day shipment. My guess is that they have the camera, but they are only selling it to people that over pay with their up-selling of batteries and memory cards. I called and cancelled my order and immediately received an “About Your Order” email

Order # 556662-W

Dear R bruce Downs Jr

Following your request. Your order with our company has been cancelled. Your credit card has not been billed. All your sensitive data were deleted from our system.

Thank you,
86th Street Photo & Video.

Please do not reply to this email. To contact us please visit our site and fill out the form at http://www.86photovideo.com/contact_us.asp.

Lesson learned, even from a veteran like myself, is that I will never receive shipment on a good deal unless I use my own website that I have trusted and used for over two years.

Update:

After this debacle, I ordered the Nikon Coolpix P80 from BuyDig.com again using my website for $337.89 with free 3 day delivery. I received the camera yesterday only 2 days after placing the order with a total savings of $86.05 from local merchants which all are selling for $399.95 plus tax.

Warning signs when dealing with an Unethical merchant:

1. Confirmation email should have product name and number
2. Confirmation email should include shipping tracking number
3. No physical address on website
4. Up-selling overpriced accessories
5. Delay order when you do not buy accessories

Comments

[Margaret]

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Margaret

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[Bruce]

They claim to have been in business for 3 years, but the website was registered on 22nd June this year! There's no reference to them in resellerratings.com, and they say they're going out of business - I'd be very wary!

[shekar]

thanks. I was about to place an order on this cheat!!

[mark]

wow thanx i almost bought from them but it seemed suspicious. can you tell me if you think thi site is safe? http://www.mcallys-electronics.com/info.html and email me back markg143@gmailcom