US1 PHOTO,US1CAMERA-ONLINE CON ARTISTS

[doubletrouble]

My wife had the warranty cards filed in another spot. They are stamped u.s.a. and canada all over them so i now know it is not a grey market camera. I just think that I got a good deal. Hey, us1 camera ,us1 photo, photomania (same company) has problems with some deliveries., but i think they are a legitimate honorable company. I have almost been taken by one of the bait and pressure companies before I got experience in these matters so I do recognize a scam . This company is not one of them. They have a legitimate retail store (photomania) that you can see a google picture of. It is not an abandoned warehouse like so many other places.. They have been in business since 1988 as far as I can discover.
I just wanted the average reader to know what an average customer did and how I dealt with a problem and that there is a happy ending.

[rdn001]

To emzet2 reviewed Jan 24, if you are looking here, sorry for your trouble.
I am going to tell you more details about my order.
In my case, I upgraded the order from cheap one to the retailed version after I said to US1photo that I want to cancel. It may possible that this upgrade was help to order without problem.
Actually, US1photo demanded cancellation fee from me first and I did not accept that with strong words. Then he offered retailed version with discount.
He promised that I will get camera Friday so I accepted.
Since I have no problem with US1photo so I rated "very satisfied" and will not change now, but again I am sorry for emzet2 and everyone who are having trouble right now. I hope US1photo solve all problems as soon as possible. If not, I need to modify my review.

[bobcat242]

I wanted to share my experience with you with this online store I recently used to purchase a camcorder. I spent $869 on a camcorder and then decided to add on some accessories for $300 and a battery charger for $90, which brought my total sales to $1258.
I had to speak to a customer representative before my order could go thru which was a ploy to try and add things on to a already pretty hefty bill. In less than 2 min he(Mickey) told me that he would upgrade lenses and things like that and that I also couldn't use the lenses that came with the $300 package I was purchasing. When I asked him then why a $300 accessory package came advertised as catering to this specific camcorder if I couldn't use the lenses, he had no answer. so anyways for an additonal $150 he told me he would make the upgrades.
I asked him to send me an email with the upgrades as he was talking about upgrading a bunch of things and I had no idea what all they were going to be.
In the evening after customer services had closed he sent me an email and I was very surprised to find that the only things he had upgraded were a memory card from 2GB-4GB and a tripod from 57 inches to 62. Everything else was exactly the same as I had with the initially ordered accessory package.
so I was pretty upset and called Mickey up and asked him to revert back to my original online order. He told me in less than 20 sec and upset ,that things would be taken care of.
when I got a new invoice saying that my items were being shipped. I didn't see the $90 charger listed and an MP4 player that I was supposed to be getting for free as my order was large.
After being on hold for 30 min I was told that they forget to send me a new invoice and I should rest assured that I would get what I ordered.
When I did get the package I found that I was missing a lithium ion battery, the charger and MP4 player.
when I called customer service, I was told that deals I had with the sales person they couldn't honor. I was pretty furious by now after being on hold for close to an hour and told them that I had no deal and just wanted my original internet order.
I was also told that the MP4 player was not a promotion going on now, I didn't care.I told them it was a promotion going on when I made the purchase. They then told me that they didn't see a charger on the invoice and so I was asking for an other free item, I told them that I wouldn't be paying $1258 if I didn't have a $90 charger added on.
After going back and forth with a rude sales person who was pretty much yelling at me over the phone and cutting me off everytime I started a sentence or tried to explain my side, he finally said he would upgrade my memory card to 6GB and we should call the sales even. I didn't understand how a card would be the same as a battery charger I wanted.
Looking at different websites I found that all the accessories they had listed were hiked up in price and so the $300 package with their cheap lenses was really no deal for me at all.
After I get the changes made and end up with the charger and battery and Hopefully the MP4 player as well, I will never deal with this store again.
The customer service people are rude, dishonest and a bunch of liars and con men.
I should have never bought from this store in the first place.

[nomaxim]

[Most recent post and thread merged with existing thread.]

The Review Page here at RR gives this merchant a 6.82 out of 10 rating (Avg, rating at present is 8.10), so they are below average.

If you have purchased from this merchant you can leave a review at the above link.

Note that all reviews most comply with the resellerratings.com/terms, notably the 15 points listed.

[lenjack]

Did you purchase by credit card?

[bobcat242]

As per the advice of someone from Reseller Ratings I decided that it was in the best interest of other Internet shoppers like myself to be made aware of my experience with these bunch of con artists who sell as US1Camera or what ever other name they go by.

I purchased a pretty expensive camcorder on Thanksgiving and then foolishly added a $300 package and a charger for $89.99. I was then contacted by Mickey who in less than 2 minutes told me he was upgrading a bunch of other things for me which would now cost me an additional $150. I had no idea what he was saying as he kept changing everything all the time and so finally when I didn't hear back from him regarding the upgrades, but received an email that my order was shipping out, I contacted him and was surprised to find that a $150 upgrade included a change in the tripod size and a 2GB-4GB memory card upgrade. I told him to revert back to my original order and so he quickly said yes and hung up, sort of annoyed.

when I did receive my order, I realized that all the items in the package were hiked up in price on their website and those same items were selling for a lot less on other reputable sites and the charger wasn't what I had ordered in the 1st place.

so when I tried to contact customer service, I was on hold for about 20 min and then had to take an over an hour verbal bashing from Thomas who told me that dealing with me was costing their company time and money!!!
Anyways after a lot of mental anguish, he finally told me that he would send me the right charger once I sent the other one back, which was fine with me. I had tried to send the $300 package back too, but he was not willing to take them back, before telling me he would charge me restocking fees and a $40 additional shipping charge!!

I was pretty adamant that I wanted the exact same charger(model #) as shown on their website that I had originally ordered online.

Now I was contacted by Rodney Walker who didn't come across as being as rude or as obnoxious as the other 2 people I had dealt with, but he clearly let me know that he wasn't happy with the comments I had sent to Reseller Ratings.

I told him that if the charger arrived in a timely fashion and that was what I had requested in the 1st place, I would let people know that he wasn't as rude as the others and that I atleast got what I had wanted after going thru this ordeal.

The charger did arrive in a timely manner, but yet again, it wasn't what I had ordered. I contacted the manufacturer as I wanted to know how much this charger they had sent me was selling for. I was told to contact a few companies they dealt with and found the exact same charger selling for $17-24.

I realized that all the prices on US1camera were hiked up. Thus deceiving unsuspecting buyers to believe that they were getting a great deal on accessories.

By this time I was so fed up dealing with these bunch of con artists and all I wanted was atleast a refund on the charger as I knew they would never let me send the $300 package back without trying to charge me an arm and a leg for doing that!!

Rodney Walker told me that I could return the charger and get a full refund. I waited for almost 2 weeks and when I hadn't heard back, send him out an email asking him when the refund would go thru.
Now I was told that I would only get a partial refund and once my comments on Reseller Ratings were edited I would receive the rest.
Talk about blackmail, this was exactly what I was getting from this company!!

In about 2-4 days I was surprised to see a full refund for the charger, but was now told by Rodney Walker that he wanted me to remove my comments from Reseller Ratings.

I tried to forget abt this whole experience with this company, but was just contacted by Rodney Walker again who let me know that as they had given me a full refund I was now supposed to revise my comments and hold up my end of the bargain!!.


This is when I decided that it was time to make other buyers aware of what this company is all about.

They are dishonest and rude and a bunch of con artists who cheat unsuspecting buyers.

I am not happy abt spending $300 on a additional package which is just a bunch of cheap items that I could have picked up easily from other reputable online stores and am now stuck with them.
I am not happy about the verbal abuse I had to take or the mental anguish I had to endure and I am certainly not pleased with blackmail of any sort.
All I can say is that they sent me a cheap charger twice both in a timely manner and that Rodney Walker wasn't rude, but I certainly don't appreciate being black mailed by anyone when I live in a country where I am free to say what I want.
So just because I received a full refund which I was entitled to in the 1st place doesn't make me obligated to revise/edit or remove my comments.

[BURNSCAMARTISTS]

ACE PHOTO
BUTTERFLY PHOTO
DIGITAL HAWKS JUST TO NAME A FEW THEY ARE ALL SCAMS !!!

[bobcat242]

Photo: 21, Album: Camera and Electronics Dealer StoreFronts in Other Locations
ASV Electronics, d.b.a. Photomania, ShopPhotomania.com, a.k.a. US1 Camera, US1Camera.com and US1Photo.com, a.k.a. PhotoLoon.com, a.k.a. PrimoCameras.com
426 N. Wood Avenue, Linden, NJ 07036
ShopPhotomania.com from storefront, but the web site is under construction. A Google search on the storefront phone number (908) 718-8150 finds no web usage. On US1Photo.com web site this address is now used for returns and NJ sales tax is collected. (US1Camera forwards to US1Photo.) As evidence that US1Photo wants to be here see their web site's showroom picture. See a side-by-side comparison of my picture and their picture here: US1Photo: Their new face... Before this Photomania was located at 1910 Hylan Blvd, Staten Island. Update 2009: PhotoLoon.com is a new site registered anonymously. Initially the only thing they revealed about their location was that they charge sales tax in New Jersey. But click on Checkout, then on the Continue button, then on Click Here (following the red "Important" note), and US1 pops up! Now this address is on the contact page. PrimoCameras.com has this address on their contact page.


US1Photo Pulls The 'Buy Accessories Or We'll Cancel Your Order' Scam
By Chris Walters on February 13, 2009 1:06 AM 10722 views
Nate has stumbled across yet another scammy online camera retailer, US1Photo, also known as US1Camera. Longtime Consumerist readers and photography enthusiasts who visit camera forums are familiar with the routine: offer a great deal on a camera, contact the customer later and try to hard-sell expensive accessories, and if the customer refuses simply cancel the order and blame it on inventory issues. Nate is actually thinking about placing the order a second time. Nate, do not order from US1Photo.com. Their bargain-basement prices lure you in, but companies like this are only out to cheat you

[nomaxim]

'bobcat242'
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Thanks

[crimsonkimono]

Bobcat i hate to tell you this but these folks (regardless if they are legitimate or not... which i'm leaning towards NOT) do not have ethical business practices! I would try to get my money back ASAP.. if you cant. Write BBB, and Contact their state's Att. General.. this will document that there are issues with this company. they can investigate and usually get you something in your favor. usually the stores will cooperate by then. Also this will be well documented. Provide any and all necessary screen shots, emails, names, dates, anything that is relevant. The more people complain, the more investigating and the more likely they will be shut down if they do not comply with state law.

As of photo and electronic stores online selling cheaper prices than brand or other retail sites... This should always be proceeded with CAUTION! The reason??? This is just a very popular means of scamming people. In the day of computers and internet there are ppl who are good at researching before they buy and there are others that arent. even a simple mistake can best you. You must be vigilant. please check for addresses, phone numbers, reviews, and if in doubt, call the company yourself before you order online.


This is all to common... They are usually Brooklyn or Jersey based stores. some of them are smarter and use a store front to show some sort of legitimacy. in this case this store uses it as a return for goods sold on their various websites.. the address is always forwarded to this store. (and if you notice in the photo i'm showing you below and you check out the photo linked to photo mania.. the photo mania photo is photo-shopped to mislead you. i would know because i use this program.) and one or multiple other buildings which house grey-market goods and/or used/broken brand equipment. They either use bait and switch tactics, fraudulent advertisements, or hassle you to upgrade or buy accessories or even charge things you dont ask for.

As for this store... it has a plethora of associated names... and they do show a store front. here is a website i love.. this guy runs around and hunts down all of the fraudulent businesses around town and posts them on his blog.


Photomania, ShopPhotomania.com, US1 Camera, US1Camera.com, US1Photo.com, PhotoLoon.com, PrimoCameras.com

US1Photo / US1Digital Review (AKA US1Digital, Photomania): They're CROOKS!