Not recommended. I purchased an "InStock - Available" item from the website. After several days my item was not shipped. I contacted Ritz Camera Customer Service via instant messenger. The rep could not or would not tell me the status of my order. He claimed that he would have to email the Warehouse and wait for a reply by which time the order would have shipped. I asked him to do this anyway and he said he would. After seceral more days of frustration without any reply I received an email stating that my item was discontinued and my order was now cancelled.

I somehow doubt that RitzCamera is going to post the unedited version of my lens review on their site, so just to make sure, I'm going to post it everywhere else I can find on the internet as well.  
 
Do not, do not, DO NOT buy from this company. Period. Their customer service was awful when I bought my Nikon D300 last year, and it's still awful. Who knew a photo company could work so hard NOT to sell me a $2500 camera? I was sure it had to be a fluke. Now I understand why their mall stores are going out of business!  
 
I went to buy the Nikon 105mm AF-S VR f/2.8G IF-ED lens from them about two weeks ago. Retails for nearly $1000, so you'd think it would be in their best interests to provide buyers with a smooth and positive experience, right? Evidently not.  
 
I knew when I ordered this item that it was on back order. That was fine with me. I didn't expect that I'd have to call India MULTIPLE times to "confirm" my order details. The second time I called customer "service," they attempted to tell me in hard-to-understand English that the address at which I've been receiving mail for the last five or six years does not exist. Right. I was then told that the person to whom I was speaking could not resolve my problem, so naturally I asked him to transfer me to someone else who could. I was transferred to one of his co-workers, who told me he could not solve the problem either. At this point I had been on the phone with India for about 25 minutes. I then asked to speak to a representative from the billing department and was told that customer service "did not have" this number. Finding it hard to believe that a company's customer service department could legitimately function without the ability to communicate with other departments in the company, I called the guy's bluff. I told him that if he was unable to get me the number of the billing dept., he had better cancel my order then and there. Obviously the guy didn't want to lose a $1000 order so he went and "looked up" the number. Bottom line, I finally got this resolved, but I got a fair amount of runaround first.  
 
If anyone has reached this page because they, too, are frustrated with trying to get an order processed through RitzCamera, I suggest you call 1 (301) 419-0000. I don't think this number is toll-free, but it does ring at RitzCamera corporate headquarters. Another one of those numbers they'd prefer you didn't have. The people at this number deal mainly with the brick-and-mortar stores, but they can transfer you to people who deal with the online retailing. Best of all, they actually speak English.  
 
Again, bottom line: TAKE YOUR BUSINESS ANYWHERE BUT RITZ CAMERA. But if you're already stuck dealing with them, try the above number and hopefully it helps.

TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE! I placed an order for a Nikon D60 kit as a birthday gift for my wife on 3/10/2009 and have not received it as of 4/6/2009. I needed it for 3/27/2009 and thought 17 days was plenty of time. I write detailed emails to their support address asking specific questions and receive what seems to be automated responses in broken English. I have used web chat several times and no one can give me a shipping estimate. They just tell me that it is on backorder and I will receive an email when it ships. I finally called and spoke with someone on 3/30/2009 who seemed a little more helpful. At least she was able to tell me that the order is being held up because one of the lenses is out-of-stock. She said she would release the in-stock items as a partial shipment immediately, but I have not received that portion of my order or even a tracking number.  
 
What really took the cake here is that I just received a newsletter offering a special on the D60s, all of which are out-of-stock.  
 
This site does seem to have the best prices, but hell, I can throw together a website with cheaply priced items that I have no intention of ever selling.  
 
Unfortunately, it seems like I have already crossed the point of no return, so I hate to cancel my order at this time. I already had to explain to my wife that her birthday gift is on the way.  
 
It may cost me a few bucks extra, but I will never, EVER consider doing business with this company again (if they do in fact remain in business - their retail stores are currently closing as part of Chapter 11). I chose them also because they donate 2% to UPromise. I am going to file a complaint with UPromise as well, as their valuable reputation is at stake.  
 
The little more you pay somewhere else will be worth the frustration you save by not having to deal with Ritz.  
 
Update (4/06/09): The "helpful" woman I mentioned above was not so helpful. I called back on when I still had not received the partial order and it was still not shipped. The person on the phone said it would ship in teh next 24 hours.  
 
Update (4/07/09): I called back and you'll never guess what - it did not ship. The rep I talked to this time said it would go our in the next 24-48 hours. I insisted on speaking with someone who would not give me the runaround and actually get this shipped. I spoke with someone else who told me that he would ship it "today or tomorrow" via FedEx 2nd day at no additional charge.  
 
Update (4/8/09): I finally received a "shipped" notification for my partial order.  
 
Update (4/9/09): I received an email saying the rest of my order had shipped even though their website shows the lens out-of-stock. I wonder where they dug one up?  
 
Update(4/10/09): Exactly one month after my order date, I received part of my order. No problems with the product at all.  
 
Update (4/13/09): Finally received the balance of my order and it appears to be in new and working condition.  
 
I am happy that my order is finally fulfilled and I will not have to deal with their customer service department ever again. Like I said, the prices are unbeatable, but the service is by far the worst I ever experienced, and I especially did not appreciate being lied to by everyone saying that it would ship "today or tomorrow." I think they knew an anticipated in-stock date (though they would not tell me) and were merely stalling the order in hopes of making one shipment instead of two.

This review was modified by its author, tim_b, on 4/13/09 12:52 PM.

BUYER BEWARE!!! I usually do not take the time to write negative reviews but feel compelled as a result of my experience with Ritz Interactive. I ordered a Canon package that was on sale in January. Seemed like a great deal, get 300mm lense for $100. I even paid for the express shipping since i was going on vacation and wanted to make sure received it in time. Guess what........STILL WAITING FOR THE LENS!! They send me a nice email each and every week telling me it's not their fault and that the lens is on B/O.  
I just visited their web site and was ASTONISHED to see that they are running the SAME promotion now!!! I've been waiting 10 weeks but they have the nerve to run it. And good luck calling their customer service line. the 'bots give the same line over and over and you can never talk to someone actually with the company.  
 
I have been in retail for over 30 years and if I ever treated a customer this way, I WOULD BE FIRED. Well, I AM FIRING RITZ!!! I wish I knew a way to get this message out to the masses. I left a review on their website but they never posted it.  
 
There, I feel better now.....still out $600 though....

This review was modified by its author, ritzhater, on 4/4/09 2:20 PM.

Please do not waste your time, if you have any problems you are on your own. Just the way it is!

Ordered a printer from ritzcamera.com. My order was accepted at the time with no problems. However, a few days later they cancelled the order - there was no notification to me whatsoever.  
 
when I called to inquire about the reason behind the cancellation, they claimed that the item was now out of stock. However, it is now back in stock (two working days after I placed my order) but at a higher price. Coincidence? Obviously, they raised the price on the item and then cancelled my order in an attempt to get me to order it again under the new higher price.  
 
Scammers with lousy customer service. Avoid!

This review was modified by its author, dbox950618, on 1/23/09 11:59 AM.

I do not take writing this review lightly. The customers need to be warned about what to expect from this on line service vendor.  
I placed an order for a camera (Nikon D90), printer and lenses on Dec 18, 2008. I received an email notice that the order was shipped on 12/19/08 in 'multiple boxes'. The printer came on December 22, 2008. The other part of the order has never arrived.  
The order status on the web site doesn't work. I used the interactive on line service and was connected on line to a customer service rep. I got the run around from December 19, 2008 through this writing on January 10, 2008 from the customer service representatives. Email communication was less than satisfactory also. I finally got the phone number to call and talk to some one in customer service. Ritz blames FedEx. FedEx claimed they never received the package and I need to deal with the vendor. Well Ritz billed my credit card on the 19th of Dec and wouldn't do anything until after 10 business days (1/6/09). They made me submit a claim even though there is no evidence that FedEx ever received the package from them. I submitted the letter on 1/7/09. On 1/8/09 they told me that in 7-10 days they would refund my money because one of the lenses on the order was no longer available. No offer for consideration for having my money for 30 days, ruining my wife's Christmas, or for the inconvenience. Ritz camera.com and ritz interactive are terrible to deal with from a customer service perspective.  
Their customer service is terrible. BEWARE!!!

I placed an order for a Nikon D90 Kit on the RitzCamera.com site to take advantage of a 10% off offer when paying with Paypal. I placed the order and completed the payment with Paypal. I received a confirmation email from Paypal indicating the payment had been made and it listed the proper amount reflecting the 10% discount. I then received a confirmation email from RitzCamera.com but it listed the full amount without the 10% discount. I figured that just may be the way their system works so I did not question the amount.  
 
A few days later I tried to check the order status on the Ritz Camera website using the order number that I had received in the confirmation email. The website did not recognize the order number. I used the online chat to customer service to see if there was a problem with the order. I was assured that the order was processing and it would ship "soon".  
 
Today I received a call from Ritz Camera telling me that there was a problem with my order. They told me that Paypal had denied my payment and that I could complete the order using another form of payment. I told them that I did not want to do this since I made the order to take advantage of the 10% discount. The caller told me that there was no discount on my order and that I needed to make a payment of the full amount using another method if I wanted the order to ship. The 10% Paypal discount ended on Jan 1.  
 
I insisted that the order was made before the end of Dec 31 and I had a printed confirmation screen that indicated the discounted amount. They would not budge, insisting that I had to pay the full amount. I told them to forget about it and cancel the order.  
 
I am not sure if this problem is the result of incompetence or unethical behavior on the part of Ritz Camera but it does not matter. I do not want to deal with them again in either case. I am still working with Paypal to find out if they actually sent money to Ritz Camera. The transaction is still listed in my account at Paypal.

Despite serious misgivings after reading all the negative reviews, I was pleasantly surprised with my recent experience. On 12/29, I ordered a Quantaray 18-200 zoom lens. It was delivered (with free shipping) as advertised on 12/31 in perfect condition. Tracking information was provided in a timely manner. Truly a positive experience! I wouldn't hesitate a minute to deal with Ritz in the future.

Ordered a wide screen LCD TV from Ritzcamera.com via Amazon.com at 6 PM on Saturday 12/6. Tried 3 different ways to cancel the order starting at 7:15 AM on Monday 12/8. No evidence of any follow-thru from anyone I spoke with, and later that day, their website order status said order had been shipped. I was told by customer service that I should expect it in10-15 business days, and that they had no way to track a shipment once it had been sent. I was directed to simply refuse the order on arrival and I'd get a full credit once they received it. First of all, no ability to track an $1100+ item is total nonsense, and, more importantly, the item never showed up. Fortunately Amazon made good on their guarantee and I got a full refund, but there was never any contact by Ritz explaining their non-delivery and misrepresentation of a shipment and no appology for the inconvenience. Ritz is a joke - I'd never do business with them again.

I ordered a Nikon Nikkor Lens and they sent me a Quantaray instead. Now their customer service people say: "Well it fits the camera right?" And they refuse to send me the lens that I ordered. What a truly lousy store. Never buy here.

I placed an order from their Black Friday ad and it ended up being canceled without notice. I had heard they run this scheme a lot but I trusted that they would honor an ad price - I was wrong.

Ritz Camera had a 10% discount promotion when paying with Paypal. So I placed an order for a camera on Friday.  
 
The next day, got an email saying I need to call them to confirm the order. So I did, everything was fine.  
 
Monday, Got a call from them saying I need to cancel the order because I need to update my Paypal address and re-place the order.(this is their way of saying they don't honor the discount)  
 
But now the 10% promotion is over. I had to order the camera at the regular price. At this point they promise to offer the same discount after I made the order.  
 
I ordered the camera again online for a full price.  
 
Call them back right away to ask for the discount. They seem to have a short memory, my call was routed to 3 different rep. each has a reason or excuse not to offer the discount.  
 
By this time, I'm sick of this sh!t. I canceled the order.  
 
Take your business elsewhere.  
 
 

Ritz had a billing problem with Google Checkout and asked me to contact them. When I did, they had already sold out of the item on the order (why couldn't they just put the stock allocation on hold?), despite several other Google Checkout orders going through before and after the Ritz order. The CSR wasn't very helpful; talking to the supervisor was only marginally better. Timing was a big issue due to a rebate.  
 
Ritz doesn't have its act together. This is the first and last time I'll shop with them.

Very Dissatisfied  
I ordered Nikon Coolpix s52.Its been 3 days I wasnt notified about my order.  
After 3 days , guy from Ritzcamera called me and telling me product is not in inventory and so they have to cancel the order.  
I was very frustated with their customer service and I would not recommend any one to buy from them.