US1 PHOTO,US1CAMERA-ONLINE CON ARTISTS

[doubletrouble]

i haven't had the final say on them ,but I ordered a canon xsi on November 18 with their 7-9 business day free shipping and here it is Wednesday January 7th and i still do not have my camera.My visa bill was alreadt paid. The package is in transit. finally. Its a long story about them running out of silver color, not being able to get them for the holidays for a decent price from their wholesalers ,lowering the price while still having mine on back order ,showing it as in stock on the website, 4 phone calls on hold for 20 minutes each time , limited customer service hours , and finally getting someone to promise delivery in 2 day shipping and it looks to be following through.U.p.s has processed the order and is on time.
Now they still owe me $20 refund for the price being lowered and also promised me a free battery as compensation for the delay. we'll see.
Luckily ,the camera was an upgrade for my wife's xt and her camera is fine. I just wanted it delivered for her birthday on dec. 30... not.
I see their ratings have gone down a lot recently. I did not want to blast anybody until the story is over but what does anybody think about this company?

[nomaxim]

Welcome to RR.

The ratings page here at RR does show over a 2 point drop for this company in the last six-months. Lifetime of 7.64/10, six-month of 5.46. The average rating at present is 7.97.

The BBB report gives this company a "C" rating, which is average. Of note, the BBB lists the reason for the "C" rating as, "Number of complaints filed against business." Since the company only has 20 complaints showing, 18 in the last year, that also implies something is not going as planned. The BBB keeps complaints on file for 3 years. The company has 'Resolved' 19 complaints and one complaint was 'Administratively Closed'.

For future reference, the FTC's MAIL OR TELEPHONE ORDER MERCHANDISE RULE sets the time for a company to ship a order at 30 days. For 'out-of-stock' items you must agree to the delay or the merchant should refund you without you even asking. Also see, Nolo.com,

A Federal Trade Commission rule that requires a seller to ship goods ordered by mail, phone, computer or fax to you within the time promised or, if no time was stated, within 30 days. If the seller cannot ship within that period, the seller must send you a notice with a new shipping date and give you the option of canceling your order and getting a refund.

Note that this is a rule and not a law. But, it falls in line with the time frame most CC company's give for doing a charge-back for 'non-delivery of goods'. The time most CC company's set here is 30 days from the time the charge appears on your billing statement, 30-60 days since you where billed and can vary by CC company. Under the FCBA the CC company can not bill you for a item you did not receive. After the charge back time allotted, if you do not receive the item(s), your only option is small claims court.

Generally, give a merchant 30 days to ship. If they don't file a complaint with the BBB, (the BBB generally can finish a complaint cycle in 30-35 days) and/or notify you CC company.

If you feel that a violation of the FTC 30 day rule has occurred you can file a complaint at ftccomplaintassistant.gov. These violations are generally considered a civil matter and if enough complaints are received the FTC may levy a fine against the merchant.

Hope everything works out and that you get the right camera.

[doubletrouble]

Yes, I did agree to wait for the silver model to come in on my second call about 20 days into the order. If I had not called the first two times I think the order would have been forgotten. You just get that feeling.The third call ,they had no record I had called two times before. I was told there were delays getting them ,but I never expected 50 days total. U.P.S. called today and they are delivering tomorrow.
Its funny but last week my wife and I were at costco and they were clearing out this xsi model for $10 more than I paid. They were gone the next day because we had to go back to costco and return something.
My luck ,everything will turn out o.k. ,but us1 will probably get another call from me just to get my final $20 back which I am sure they forgot about! I will also try to talk to someone there who may help get this company back on track. Its a shame that a once great seller has gone down hill in such a short time. I have no hard feelings because they were honest with me and did try to resolve any complaints i had. They just need to re-structure their order and customer service departments to meet the needs of average customers like me.

[doubletrouble]

Ah yes , another mistake by us1 camera . They finally shipped the camera kit and...... the wrong color. The exact reason I waited 50 days in the first place. I ordered silver ,they sent black. It is clearly stated on my copy of the invoice which they shipped a copy of to me with the camera. Yes, they did send the generic replacement battery which i can not use because it will void my warranty , but what the heck . At least I have a camera that I can't use . That is until they send the right one. I called my private line in to customer service rep -------------- and you guessed it , an answering machine. I also called customer service and waited a half hour until i got disgusted and hung up. Still don't have my $20 refund either. I could be angry ,but I don't live my life that way. I just keep on plugging until I get what I was promised . That is all I ask for.

[photomancs4]

Stay away from this company. They are deceptive, fraudulent, and use unethical business practices. I was a victim of this company. They tried to decieve me with gray market product when the order clearly stated USA Manufacturers Warranty. Read the real reviews from real screwed customers before you order. The ratings show some satistfied customers, but who know how many are from real customers, or just lucky ones. I finally got my product at a great price that they eventually lost money. I was a lucky one. DON'T BUY FROM THIS COMPANY. RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN. Laws need to be written to protect consumers who make these type of internet / mail order purchases.

[doubletrouble]

Today I talked to shawn in customer service. we have straightened out most of our issues. I will say that this is not a scam company. They have a real physical storefront and do try to resolve most issues. In my case , the company just screwed up. They are trying to make it right. This holiday season one of their suppliers did not deliver the goods and left both us1 and their customers high and dry. The company should have handled it much better and offered immediate refunds on their website ,but tried to line up alternate supplies. It did not work out.
They still could not get me a silver camera without an indefinite wait , but made it up to me by offering additional items at no charge. I could have returned the black one, waited for silver ,but I chose to keep the camera I received it and 2 other items plus the $20 price difference . Those items were shipped today. we will see how it all shakes out. I have spent a lot of my time to sort this all out. I am hopeful that it will all work out for my wife whom I ordered the camera for in the first place.
I hope that anybody else who has had problems with this company give them a chance to make things right. Yes , I have had better luck with b&h, cametta and amazon , but at least in the end I did receive decent customer service and my wife is happy. The story is not over and I will update it when my additional items are delivered and my visa bill is credited.

[doubletrouble]

After a lot of problems , I will say that us1 camera stepped up to the plate and hit a home run. My camera was delivered and 3 days later the accessories that were promised to make up for my inconvenience were sent also . I also got back my $20 because the price of the camera went down.
So the final deal became canon xsi kit with 18-55 is lens , extra battery , camera case, lens hood for my 70-300 is lens, including shipping and tax. total $569.
I just wanted to than Shawn for being such a stand up guy and following through on his promises . I will do my part to make sure that good customer service is recognized and us1 camera is praised for coming through even when their suppliers failed to deliver. The company never made excuses , they had a supplier problem between Thanksgiving and Christmas , they told me about it and asked for patience , then delivered when the camera's became available.I will post this in the other review section also.

[lenjack]

Sounds too cheap. Did you end up with a gray market camera? Is it factory fresh, or could it be a used unit?

[doubletrouble]

Originally Posted by lenjack

Sounds too cheap. Did you end up with a gray market camera? Is it factory fresh, or could it be a used unit?

I do not know how to tell if it was a Grey market camera without calling canon and giving the serial numbers. it has all the booklets and all accessories were factory wrapped. the box had been opened and i suspect it was just to check it all out before shipping . The camera works perfectly and did look new. You do have a valid point. how can you tell if it is grey market.?

[rdn001]

Here is one satisfied customer.
I received EOS50D this morning, Thursday (01/22/09).
I ordered it Sunday night (01/18/09) and talked with Bob on Monday morning (01/19/09). I got another discount and free-upgrade shipping. I got tracking number by E-mail (01/20/09).Camera are new in box with US warranty. Am I just lucky?

I submitted the review today so the detail will be there soon.