Here is my report. I was looking for a Nikon D300 digital camera. I checked with www.pricingdepot.com to find the best deal on the camera. Pricing Depot's website said that www.soniccameras.com had the lowest price.in fact, the price was unbelievably low. I was a bit concerned at first, but www.pricingdepot.com claimed that Sonic Cameras had over 5,000 postive reviews, so I felt fine about placing the order with Sonic Cameras
So I ordered the Nikon D300 with a 18-200mm lens from www.soniccameras.com. I paid for a bit faster shipping because I needed the camera for some special events I had to photograph. Everything appeared normal—they confirmed the order and gave me an order number.
But a couple days later, (on March 24) I recieved a phone call from Sonic Cameras. They just had to confirm a number for my Credit Card they said. So I gave it to them. Then the sales rep said that I needed a high speed Compact Flash memory card for the camera. I said no, I ordered the memory card from another place. Then he asked what battery and charger I wanted. I told him that I had taken care of all the accessories another way, and I wanted to stick with my original order. Alright he told me. I asked him if I would recieve the camera by Friday (March 28.) "Most Definitely, " he replied. (I needed it on Friday because I had some events to photograph on Monday)
So I figured that I'd get the camera by Friday. My charger and battery arrived from another company, and I charged up the battery so that it would be ready to use on Friday when my camera came.
Well, Friday came—and the camera didn't. I checked to see if a charge had been made on my Credit Card. It hadn't. I got suspicious that perhaps they hadn't even sent out the camera. So I called them up. Well, I got the "Sales Manager" and she said that my order had been placed on backorder. It would take 4-6 weeks for me to recieve my order. "No way, " I told her, I needed this camera for my events coming up in the next couple of days. I asked why I hadn't been contacted about the backorder. "We sent you an e-mail regarding the backorder, " she told me. "I never received an email, " I said. "Your computer may have put it in your junk email folder, " she told me. So I checked my junk email and it wasn't there. I told her this, and she said she couldn't help that my server "rejected" her email. I asked the "Sales Manager" why the guy who had called me on Monday hadn't informed me that my order was on backorder. She gave her excuses.
Well, I told her I needed to check this out, so I got off the phone with her. I got on the internet and I couple minutes later, I received an email informing me that my order had been placed on backorder. I searched on the internet and found that other folks had had similar problems with this exact company. Nearly everybody warned that it was a switch-and-bait company.
I called Sonic Cameras back up and told them I knew about there little game, and that they had one opportunity to redeem themselves and rectify this problem or else I was going to report them. The "Sales Manager" laughed and said: "Have a great time reporting us."
So I told her to cancel my order. She said, "Your order is already cancelled."
I went and closed out my credit card account to protect myself. And I was also left with photographic events the next couple of days that I had no camera for.
My take on what they did: I ordered the Nikon D300 at their unbelievably low price. When they called me to ostensibly "confirm my credit card number, " they were actually trying to sale me the battery, charger, and memory card. (I checked later and found out that the price they quoted for the battery, charger, and memory card was enormous compared to the real prices of items.)
When I didn't agree to buy the battery, charger, and memory card, they simply decided to put my order on "backorder." Personally, I don't think I would have ever received my order even if I had waited the 4-6 weeks.
Bottom Line?
Sonic Cameras is a scam. Their "Sales Reps" and "Sales Managers" and whatever else they call them are conniving liars. They lure you in with great deals, and then hope to catch you into a trap of buying other items (at huge costs.)
Consequently, I am reporting their business here. I hope that you will take appropriate action to bring these people to justice.
0 comments