I shopped and found four sites that were selling the Sony DCR Dvd 505 Camcorder for under $500.00. The lowest priced one was $449.00 fromhttp://www.thedigitalexpo.com.
I ordered and paid for by Credit card online for the Camcorder on Saturday August 12. I received this Email from them,
(Your order has been received. Please call us to confirm the order within 24 hours, so we may have your order shipped out to you as soon as possible.
Order ID: 85642
Order Date: Sat Aug 12 02:06: 57 2006
ProductID Quantity Name Price Total
SONDCRDVD505 1 Sony DCR-DVD505 DVD Digital Camcorder $ 449.00 $ 449.00
Sub Total: $ 449.00
Discount: $ 0.00
Shipping: $ 14.90
Shipping Method: Ground
Tax: $ 0.00
Grand Total: $ 463.90
Thank you for shopping with us.
For all support issues please login to our web site with your email and password. Go to http://www.thedigitalexpo.com, click My Account.
I called them and they mentioned other things that I needed to buy and I refused. They did not tell me that it was out of stock, they did not say anything about shipping. On Tuesday evening I went to the site to check my account and it had not shipped and the status had some kind of code in letters and numbers that did not make any sense. I did not think anything about it.
I told a buyer on EBay a day before that he could buy a DCR Dvd 405 for $349.00 at the same site, (http://www.thedigitalexpo.com/product.Asp? Productid=DCRDVD405). The next day he contacted by Email and told me that he had received a Email from thedigitalxpo.com and he called them and the first thing they ask him did he want to buy accessories and he refused and they told him that his order was canceled and that they did not have the Camcorder.
I called them back and I canceled my order and told them what I was told and that I was going to file a complaint with the Internet Fraud Division. They told me unless I could prove that they said that there was nothing I could do about it, (this conversation was recorded). I decided to search the Web for any info on thedigitalxpo and found another buyer, (Dan W. He posted his complaint on this web page.
Www.thedigitalexpo.com is a SCAM!!! Don't purchase anything from them. They make you call in to "confirm" your order and then they try to sell extras. If you don't buy any extras, they accuse you of waisting their time and cancel your order. The people are extremely rude also.
Posted: Sun Aug 13th 10:37 pm
The industry is very competitive right now, and if a price looks too good to be true, it probably is.
I've never heard of them. But, a quick whois search on the domain name shows that the registrant is in Brooklyn.
No offense intended to Brooklyn residents. But, if I see a price that looks too low combined with a Brooklyn Address, a vendor is automatically placed on my avoid list (since most of the well known internet scam artists around are in Brooklyn, where they seem to be able to get away with it for some reason). Some of the Brooklyn Based scam artists have been doing business under a variety of names for years, and the authorities seem to ignore it there.
Posted: Mon Aug 14th 04:39 am
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Also check at another site and see what other people say about the vendor before making the purchase. As JimC pointed out, Brooklyn NY dealers are some of the worst online, we call them "Crooklyn" dealers.
Posted: Mon Aug 14th 04:54 am
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I checked there first and see a listing but no customer feedback:
I'd normally avoid vendors with a small number of customer reviews, too (since vendors do get caught trying to pad their own ratings from time to time). Lol
Given the Brooklyn address for the domain name registrant, and the OP mentioning how much better their prices are, alarm bells ring with me. ;-)
Posted: Fri Aug 18th 12:10 am
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You guys are right. Even if they are a legit business, you should check out there store policies - anything you return has a 20% restocking fee, and you must send a product to the manufacturer if you have a problem with it. They don't stand behind the products they sell.
Posted: Fri Aug 18th 08:10 pm
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I can tell you my experiemce with Digital Exp. I called Wednesday to order a camera I needed for a trip starting Tuesday. 4 times in a row when I called and didn't order, but asked instead if they could get it to me by Monday, they hung up although yjhey saidit could ship "today".
Like a fool, I placed an order on the internet (3 days delivery to my house). The first call they said they had in stock and would ship today (Wednesday). Later on Wednesday, I got a call "confirming" my order and telling me the price did not include proper batteries or sufficent memory. We negotiated a price and he assured me it would ship today (Wednesday).
I got a UPS note last night at midnioght saying it was shipping from J&J Digital in Michigan today. They are a majopr Chinese owned wholesale distributor. Aaaargh!
There is no address on their web site. I have called 4 times thismorning to complain (Tony is the man). He is out each time, and I am told to call back in 20 minutes. The last call, he had left for the day.
Posted: Fri Aug 18th 08:18 pm
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Very interesting replies, I have found 2 price groups for this camera, one in the 300-339 range and the other in the 400 area, I don't know the names of the other low places but have them written down at home (I do know one is Banana Boat Camera) and will edit this to add the others when I have the correct names, I wish we had bigger prisons for the crooks that operate the bad storefronts.
Royalcamera is $319
Below is the digital expo that shows 1312 reviews and a "6" star rating. I think something stinks about this situation; price is $309
This kind of makes me a believer in the "if its too good to be true" statement
Hmmm... What to do... What to do
Posted: Sat Aug 19th 12:30 am
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Their address is:
83 Ave O
Brooklyn NY, 11204
Oddly enough, they have another web site which looks almost identical to thedigitalexpo.com. Can't figure that one out.
Posted: Sat Aug 19th 12:49 am
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I was looking closely at the reviews that are given for thedigitalexpo.com on everyprice.com. I noticed an interesting pattern - most of their positive reviews come from people who do not capitalize the first letter of their name and who also don't use apostrophes where they should be, such as in I'd (id) won't (wont) can't (cant), etc. Etc. Coincidence? Perhaps someone is padding their own reviews.
Posted: Sun Aug 20th 06:48 pm
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I just ordered a camera from this guy last thursday. He called me and left a message to confirm the order. I called back and he said "you did not order a memory card, would you like one for $99 or $129." I said "no" and he said "actually we sold out of the camera thanks bye." now im worried that this guy can mess with my bank account/credit score and all that stuff.
Posted: Sun Aug 20th 09:20 pm
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I just ordered a camera from this guy last thursday. He called me and left a message to confirm the order. I called back and he said "you did not order a memory card, would you like one for $99 or $129." I said "no" and he said "actually we sold out of the camera thanks bye." now im worried that this guy can mess with my bank account/credit score and all that stuff.
Yup! That's their typical MO, they post stuff at really low price, and if they can't squeeze more money from you, the product is magically out of stock. They then have your credit card and other info that they can sell to anyone or abuse themselves.
P.S. They have got my Credit number and info
8/21/06 3:51 PM
Do not do business with this store! I seriously doubt that they are a legitimate business. My boyfriend was attempting to buy a digital camera as a gift for me. He ordered during the weekend, and received an email requesting that he call to confirm the order. The man was extremely rude to him, and eventually told him that he cancelled his order because he was arrogant (believe me, he is not). What an annoying waste of time!
Order Date 8/21/06
Very Dissatisfied
Reviewer: sgtsunshine (1)
8/21/06 11:36 AM
Yes this is a scam. My mother had purchased a camera for me with her credit card. The next day he called back and sold her some memory and a battery charger at a rediculous price. When she told me this, I had her call them back and remove those items from the number. She was placed on hold for a very long time before she was able to speak with anyone. When the guy did pick up, the first thing he had to say was the order was cancelled because he "doesnt play games." She gave the phone to me, and he just kept telling me the order was cancelled. I asked to speak with his supervisor. He hung up.
I called him back, waited on hold for about 10 minutes. He said he couldnt help me without an order number. Well, we never got an order number. I told him this wasn't a bazaar in Mecca, and in America we have standards. This made him very angry.
I contacted his service provider and filed a complaint. You should too.
Avoid this seller.
This review was modified by its author, sgtsunshine, on 8/22/06 1:06 AM.
Order Date 8/19/06
Very Dissatisfied
Reviewer: Mike Moore (1)
8/18/06 3:22 PM
I ordered a camera on 16 August with the condition/promise it would ship that same day and I would have it before the following Monday. My need is critical. I paid for 3 day UPS service. 4 times they hung up on me when I tried to see when it would ship. I later got a call "confirming" my order and claiming the price did not include correct batteries or memory (another $100 plus! I later checked, and I did NOT need to buy those adds. (My camera experience is all Long's disposables).
I got a note from UPS saying it shipped today
(18th), meaning I won't have it when I need it.
I have called several times today to complain because I paid extra for shipping, got scammed into buying things I didn't need, plus I would have bought elsewhere if necessary. I was directed to Tony but each time they say he's out, call back in 20 minutes. Now he's gone for the day.
They are non-responsive. I will NEVER deal with these birds again.
Mike Moore
Order Date 8/18/06
Very Dissatisfied
Reviewer: Gurl (1)
8/15/06 2:04 PM
Scam. I "called to confirm" after I made my order online and immediately said it was sold out and my order had been cancelled.
I called 5 minutes later to check to see if another item was in stock and immediately was told it was also OUT OF STOCK. Ironically they responded without a second to check their computers.
Then I called a third time because I got a confusing email saying to confirm yet again even though it was AFTER another email from the same operator telling me that it was cancelled. This gets worse. Without looking it up, he remembered my order number from the previous calls. Then he tells me that I need to speak english (he's obviously not American himself) and said "Didn't u hear me before? Your order is cancelled!" He was completely rude and it was obvious he is the scam itself.
Order Date 8/15/06
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Look on this web page:
Photo: 253, Album: Brooklyn StoreFronts
Starlight Camera & Video, Inc., d.B.A. WAWA Digital, WawaDigital.net, AccessoriesLand.com, StargatePhoto.com and The Camera Whiz (TheCameraWhiz.com)
83 Ave. O, Bensonhurst
New location for these people. That may also be using J&J Digital and/or JES Digital. See 295 Ave. O for prior location. This address from BBB and NY Daily News article.
Http://usacomplaints.com/reports/ripoff206741.htm
Thedigitalexpo.com ripoff, dishonest, fraudulent, manipulative Internet thedigitalexpo.com Internet
Company
Thedigitalexpo.com
Address:
thedigitalexpo.com
Internet
U.S.A.
Phone Number:
800-9576628
Fax:
My husband and I recently decided to purchase a digital camera. We carefully researched before we decided what Make and model we wanted. At that point I began to look for the lowest price on the one we wanted. The Digital Expo had it for $269 which was the lowest but not totally out of range of others we were looking at. So I ordered it.
When I received my confirmation it said I needed to call to confirm before my order would be shipped. Which I did immediately because we wanted the camera for an upcoming trip. When the guy answered the phone he started trying to sell me accessories.
First a memory card at twice the cost of the name brand one I was looking at elsewhere. He didn't know the specs on the card and couldn't find the info. When I said skip it all of a sudden I had a great $50 camera bag thrown in and I could get the 1G card for the price of the 512 card. I said I will still pass (the price was still way over the name brand card and he still didn't have the specs on his card).
So now he starts trying to sell me a back up battery. I say no thanks and then he says you only have about 20 minutes on the one that comes with the camera. I knew that was balony because reviews had said that unless you would be shooting in a remote location for long periods of time you didn't need a backup because it would shoot for up to five days without a recharge. That was when he informed me that the camera was refurbished.
I said whoa I thought this was a new camera because the website had not said anything about it being refurbished. He said well okay how bout I make it a new camera for this price. I said how bout you just cancel my order. To which he I'll do that for you and quickly hung up the phone.
It was obvious to me he was hoping I had not done my homework and could con me into buying a whole bunch of stuff out of fear at prices way out of line because I didn't know any better. Then if you go back and look at their policies. All returns have to have management approval. Which sends up red flags. If there is a problem and you want a good name and happy customers you accept returns. So all in all I say I came real close to an out and out scam. So beware.
Judith
Southaven, Mississippi
U.S.A.
Date Posted: Aug/20 4:36 PM
Rating:
Do not use this company. The cameras are refurbished! It doesn't say that on the website, but the guy I talked to to confirm my order also said that no where on the web site did it say they were new! You must confirm your order and from there it's a fast pitch sales talk with $100 memory cards and batteries! What a scam!
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