I was looking to buy a specific digital video camera. After searching on the web, I came across a deal that proved itself too good to be true. 86th St Photo & Video was offering the very camera I wanted at a price well below any other vendor. They guaranteed the product was new, and the delivery was 7-10 days. That was a little longer than I had hoped for, but for the price, I felt the price was worth the wait... Besides, I would still have my camera in time to record my boys in their last soccer games of the season.
A couple days after placing the order, I received an email from the company explaining that I needed to call them for further verification before they could ship my order. Of course I called. I was greeted by a gentleman that sounded clearly offended that I had not purchased an extra battery for my camera at a cost almost equal to that of the camera. He offered me a special over-the-phone "deal" for the battery, but when I explained I would not pay that much for a battery, he abruptly hung up the phone. Somewhat in shock at the behavior of this "sales professional", I put the phone down myself. Immediately upon hanging up, I received an email from the company explaining that the camera was on backorder for 2-3 weeks.
Though I had never read about or been involved in anything like this before, I immediately suspected that something was not right with this company. Nevertheless, decided to play it out a little longer (at the expense of not capturing those soccer memories of my boys). Sure enough, one week later, I received another email from this fine establishment explaining that the camera was now sold out for 5-6 weeks. I am sure if I had the patience to endure, the mysterious run on video cameras would extend to 4-6 months.
After receiving this last notification, I did another search on the web. To my surprise (not), I found a description of exactly the same experience with the same company on the complaint. Dishonest business practices? I should say so!
0 comments