I ordered a camcorder from these folks now about a year ago. Salesperson lost interest in the order when I didn'r order any accessories. The product went from in stock to out of stock during order.
I've been waiting now 1 year after order placed. No email or other communication. Checked with 'customer service'; were rude and unhelpful.
I will NEVER EVER order from these folks again.
Recommend treating them like the swine flu!!!
SCAM artists. I ordered a $205 camera. Was requested to "confirm" order by phone. Got some high-pressure sales pitch trying to sell me a package with items "required" to make the camera work for $600. I said no, and the sales guy got real antagonistic. Then they sent me an email notifying me that the camera was on back order for at lease a month. At that point I cancelled the order and notifed the credit card company not to authorize payment. When Discover heard the 86th Street Camera company name they recommended that I cut up my card and let them send a new one with a different number, which I did.
STAY AWAY...You have been warned. Bought a Pioneer Avic-f90bt head unit for a great price and then like everybody else sent an email to me to call and verify my order with Alex. They wanted to sell me an SD card for the unit at a rediculous price over $100 and then proceeded to flat out lie to me saying the card was specially formatted for the pioneer unit and that i could not update maps without it. I would have to send the unit in to Pioneer to have them do it. As soon as Alex argued with me about it I promply cancelled the order. I have run an online business in the computer industry for over 8 years and longer buying on the web and I have never seen price baiting like this in my life.
Some one needs to seriously report these guys to the locals.
My experience is just about like everyone else. I ordered the Garmin 885T for the relatively low price of $465 plus $9.95 shipping. The web site said the item should ship in 1-2 days. Sure enough, I get the e-mail saying I need to call "John" to confirm my order. I call and John asks which memory card I want. I tell him I don't need a memory card. He says the unit won't work without a memory card. I tell him the unit has internal memory and doesn't need a memory card to work. He says: no it doesn't, you need a memory card. I say, well, I don't want a memory card. Then he says that I wouldn't be able to download the 2009 maps without a memory card (which isn't true). So I said again, I don't want a memory card. So then he says OK, we'll ship the unit when it's available. I asked when that would be and he says 6-8 weeks, so I canceled the order, and got an e-mail confirming my cancellation. I'm thinking I got away rather easily. I guess if you can wait them out it might be worth it, but I didn't want to take the chance.
This place is a rip off! Once you place an order you are required to call to confirm. When you do that you are offered add ons at inflated prices. If you decline the add ons they cancel your order and hang up on you. Bait and switch is all they are about. Stay away!
The worst online experience that I've ever had. I ordered a GPS. They called to "confirm my order" and I got a hard pressure sell where they told me that my GPS didn't come with a memory card (which is does) and that I would need to order one with the unit. They wanted $199 for a memory card similar to one that I could have bought @ Best Buy for $30. When I passed on the card, they told me that the unit was on backorder and that it would be 4-6 weeks. After 6 weeks I called. Same sales pitch, same 4-6 weeks. Now into October, I emailed (I didn't want the pressure sales pitch)asking about the order. on Oct 23, I got a reply telling me that the unit was still backordered and that I needed to reply with the order # to confirm my desire to accept backorder. I did. "4-6 more weeks". Bear in mind that, all this time, their website showed a 1-2 business day lead time. This continued every 5-6 weeks into January. On 1/15/09, 5 months after the initial order, I called and spoke to Chris. He informed me that the GPS units were being shipped and that they would be in at the end of January. I allowed a little extra time (for UPS etc.) and called in early February. I asked for and spoke with Chris. He told me that my order had been cancelled. I asked why, after almost 6 months, my order had been cancelled. He couldn't answer. I asked to speak to his supervisor. I was given to Peter who offered me a "bundle" which sold for almost $300 more than the original order. I asked for my original order to be reinstated and he told me that they could not do that as the price had changed. I knew that the price had changed on the website several months prior as I had continued to moniter the "1-2 business day" lead time throughout. I asked Peter (The Manager) why I continued to get the run-around and and he told me, "you know what, we're not going to sell you the GPS. Your order is cancelled and how about I bill your card anyway". I told him that I still have every email and had logged every conversation that we'd had for 6 months ( which I still do ) and that, given the type of customer service they offered, it would bring me great pleasure to file the credit card fraud charges. He replied (explative deleted) and hung up. This is the type of business that makes people wary of internet transactions. So before placing an order with 86th Street, think twice and be wary.
These guys are jerks. I had to call to "confirm" my order. At that point they tried to sell me a battery. Heck, the cameral comes with a battery i said. They told me it is a "starter" battery, good for 15 minutes. Only a few pictures"
Told them I knew better and did not want to purchase a second battery for $90 dollars nor an extended warranty for over $150 dollars. Okay they said, we will ship you your order.
Ooops, in three hours I recevied an email stating cancelled, not in stock. Hmmm, still on website, still "in stock" if i call them to order it. Only not in stock if I try to buy it at their lowball LIARS price. Scam artists, liars, thieves. STAY AWAY FROM THEM!!!!
I ordered a nuvi 760 gps and was high pressured to buy grossley overpriced sd cards. When I declined the cards, I was sent a email saying that my order had been placed on backorder, but I could cancel if I wished. Same as the other reports that I read after I made the order. I cancelled the order, notified my credit card company to be on the lookout, and left this situation a little smarter. Stay away from 86th st. photo
I oreded the Nikon P80 almost 6 months ago, everytime I called to find out the status of my order it was still on back order. In February I was told that the would be getting a shippment in April, I called on April 3rd to find out if they have the Camera in stock and he said they did. Then when I ask about my order he said I had to order the package for $265, that the camera I ordered is still on back order. Its the same package I ordered in October for $189. I was also told that I would get the lowest price they offered and I believe the lowest price was $139. I have recently cancelled my order and will never recommend this company to anyone.
They basically wanted me to purchase a cord kit to go with refurbished Garmin 780. I checked several reviews and found that a car charger/antenna was included with the original product which means it should be included with the refurbished product. They basically low balled me to get me to purchase a charger kit. On top of this, at the end of the call their representative told me it would be 4 to 6 weeks for delivery. So it probably doesn't exist. I plan to reverse the charges if they don't cancel the order as I requesting in both a return call and email.
Just like all the others. I called to "confirm" my order. They tried to upsel me into a very expensive additional battery. I declined. Next morning I received a backorder notice via email. However they still have the item i want listed for sale and IN STOCK on the web site.
WHAT A RIP OFF company. I read a review where someone else called them LICE>, I feel that this is an insult to the LICE
Never filled Order. Many excuses none of which were true. Told us product was no longer available, yet it is for sale on their web site currently at a much higher price than previously listed. Not reputable.
They pulled the same ridiculousness. I placed an order on 3/12, they sent me an email on 3/13 saying they needed me to call to "verify", I waited on hold for about half an hour to verify the exact information they already had, then they attempted to sell me a lens cap that came WITH the product and hung up on me when I said I just wanted the lens I ordered.
And then 4 days later (mind you I opted for 3-5 day shipping), they say it's out of stock, backordered.
These guys are not to be trusted! I ordered a Canon SX10 IS for a significantly reduced price. A confirmation of the order came within 24 hours. Four days later I received an email indicating that I needed to call in to "complete the order process". I called in the next day and was told that it was out of stock and that it would be backordered, but that it could take 3 to 4 weeks. I said that the website indicated that it was in-stock and that this appeared to be a bait-and-switch. The guy got veery nasty, cursed at me and ended up hanging up. He called back a few minutes later ands sort of apologized. I told him that I wanted to speak to his manager. He told me that he didn't have a manager. I asked if he owned the company and he once again hung up on me.
I called back, got a different person and managed to cancel the order. I then tried to get the NY better business bureau to report them. Amazingly enough (not), there is no record of that company. If I could contribute in some way in bringing a close to their business... count me in... Rick
In a hurry to go out of the country on vacation, I ordered a Canon digital camcorder ONLY on-line from 86th Street photo and video. The list price was $599.99.
The website seemed legit with low price guarantee, all new products, manufacturer warranty, etc....
As all the other complaints state, I received an email to call and verify the order. After doing so, my total went to $1,200 with travel battery charger (perfect for overseas according to Brian), a $50 large waterproof deluxe camera bag (it is a small cheaply made piece of garbage which costs $10 on another website) and a 4 year extended warranty for $299.95. The charger is not the same one that is listed on their website with the same SKU #, but probably a counterfeit of some sort. It currently does not work.
Not doing research on these items before I was hounded into buying them, I was at a huge disadvantage. The extended warranty is through a company called Consumer Priority Services which I called this morning. They could not quote me a cost on an extended warranty as the dealers make up their own cost. Researching the internet came up with costs of $40-190 for same warranty and same company. But you guessed it, the fine print of 86th street states warranties are not refundable. I haven't even signed up for it yet.
Brian also tried to get me to purchase lenses, a tripod and filters. The prodding never ceased.
Having trouble with the Canon battery included with the camcorder, I called Canon today. I need to send in the camera, battery and charger. She thinks the after market travel charger that I purchased from them for $179.99 has ruined the battery contacts of the camcorder. HOWEVER, in order for my warranty to be covered by Canon, I have to have an itemized receipt. I only have a total invoice from these scam artists. Nothing is line item priced.
As other reviewers have stated, I did not know that I was receiving a "package deal" and therefore cannot send just one item back.
Point of story--- I have paid $1,200 for $700 worth of products and can't even get Canon's support since I cannot verify a legit itemized invoice.
What a rip-off. I hope these people sleep well at night while the rest of us make an honest living.
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