Bait and up-sell crooks, plain and simple. My story is no different from all the others on this post, so I won’t bother to recap it. If you’re reading this because Sonic Cameras disappointed you with an order cancellation e-mail, consider yourself lucky. If you are researching that company prior to giving them your CC number, you are luckier still. Put your card back in your wallet, and keep shopping. This company is a scam, ran by thieves.  
 
You know, the worst thing is the emotional rollercoaster they put you though. I did a lot of research, agonized over which model camera to buy, the perfect lens, then spent a great deal of time shopping online for the best price. (Sonic’s prices seem too good to be true… because they aren’t.) My order was not a fortune, but it was a sum that a guy like me can’t afford to throw around. When I finally screwed up the courage to commit to order, I was very excited!  
 
Then, the wait. Checking the front porch every day in hopes that UPS had paid a visit. Thinking that if I had just sprung for another $12 I could have upgraded to faster shipping. A full week later I’m told that my order had not yet shipped (in spite of two previous follow-up calls when I was told that the order had been “confirmed, and would go out today”).  
 
Then comes the incredible rudeness of their customer “service” person who wanted to sell me a $150 battery. (Because, you see, “this is WHOLESALE, not RETAIL, and wholesale NEVER includes a battery”). It’s not even the hard up-sell that made me so angry. It was the arrogance, disrespect, and harshness of the person talking to me. I speak to customers in my job, and I could not imagine talking to my customers like that. I wouldn’t even speak that way to another human being.  
 
Anyway, I was relieved when I read their order cancellation e-mail. I felt duped too, but relief was the overwhelming emotion. As far as I know my identity hasn’t been stolen, yet, but I’m still anxious over the fact that I was dumb enough to give those crooks my CC number.  

I located what I thought was the exact Nikon DLSR lens that I had been shopping for. I located the "AF-S DX VR Zoom-NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED" for 489.00 at the soniccamera.com and placed the order. Upon confirming the order with a call back number, the gentleman informed me that this was a wholesale lens. This puzzled me and I asked why that made a difference. His first description was that it doesn't come with a lens cap or lens bag.....this begged my follow up question with "what else is missing from the box?" He followed again with this is a wholesale lens. So I asked what else is different; this is when he informed me of the plastic mount. My complaint is that no where in the soniccamera website for this lens does it indicate this is a wholesale or imported lens, much less, they never disclose exactly what you are buying. Please see the website's "Specifications" tabbed literature which accompanies this lens. I have included it below. In closing, I am all about a good deal like anybody, but I am also more about full and complete disclosure. I will pay the honest price as long as they are up front. I spoke directly with the same person about this....a nice man, but it was very apparent that not too many people work there as he originally sent me to another extension to discuss about the website shortcomings. That person said "let me get you with our Nikon specialist." What a crock! It was back to the original gentleman. Going forward....none of my business will ever go to this organization. They are on the short road to failing and I would not refer them to my mother-in-law. Hope this helps anyone else. Specs...Nikon’s 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor is a high-ratio 11x zoom Lens with Nikon’s exclusive VR II Vibration Reduction technology. Nikon’s VR II provides the equivalent of a shutter speed 4 steps faster than would otherwise be possible, enabling substantially sharper pictures in challenging conditions. The Nikkor 18-200mm lens incorporates two ED glass and three aspheric lens elements to provide optimal color, contrast and clarity while minimizing chromatic aberrations and other distortion, resulting in outstanding image quality and versatility. In addition, Nikon’s compact AF-S Silent Wave Motor provides fast and quiet autofocusing while the M/A mode allows for simultaneous switching between Autofocus and manual focus operation. 11.1x High-Power Zoom: Get close to the action with exceptional Optical quality throughout the entire zoom range New Enhanced Vibration Reduction: New VR II function offers the equivalent of a shutter speed 4 steps faster than normal  
Two ED Glass and Three Aspherical Lens Elements: Extra-low Dispersion glass minimizes chromatic aberration-aspherical elements minimize distortion and allow for smaller, lighter Weight designs  
Silent Wave Motor for Fast, Quiet AF: Nikon’s exclusive technology enables ultra-high-speed autofocusing with exceptional accuracy and super-quiet operation. The M/A mode allows immediate switching between manual and autofocus operation  
Focuses to 20 Inches: Superior optical performance even at close-focusing distances

Yep another Yankee RIPOFF mail order company. They do not have the product unless they upsell you, another scam. Don't waste your time!

I had ordered a Nikon D90. They had sent one email that stated that the order has been received. The email had no information about the order itself. I waited for 10 days before calling them to check upon the status and I was told that the camera was out of stock and they will not get it anytime in the next 2 months. I promptly canceled the order. I called them mainly because I panicked after reading the reviews on this site. I hope they actually canceled my order. I think good business practice would be to contact me and let me know that the camera is out of stock.  
I checked their website and the camera is still listed as available for purchase. Hope no one else orders it and wait for eternity.

i tried to simply buy a camera package online. little did i know, the lenses they were selling WITH the camera, were NOT even compatible with it. so, i got the usual, " please call to confirm" B.S. letter that these cheap SOB's love to send, so they can go into their HARD SELL speech, and they did exactly that.  
The salesman was outright lying, saying the lenses would " vignette" if used on the camera i was buying them with. No, they would not WORK period, as I contacted the manufacturer directly, ( CANON ) and relayed to THEM exactly what the salesman told me.  
Secondly, the salesman insisted I needed an " 8 hr battery" around $300,,, there is no such thing.  
Batteries for digital camera are rated ONE way, and one way only, NUMBER OF SHOTS you can get out of them, NONE are rated " 2hr, 4hr, 6hr,, etc.." that is PURE B.S. and fraud.  
Also, the salesman insisted I needed "digital filters" for my camera, a $300 set of crappy standard filters. THere are no such things as "digital only" filters. other than a circular polarizer, which are about $79 for a good one, ANY UV, or SKY 1A, or FD filter WORKS with a digital camera.  
These guys WILL sell you a bogus bill of goods. 8GB CF card for ohhhh, $299... EXACT same one you can get for $49 for a Ultra High speed one EVERYWHERE online. a $9.99 CF reader,,, thats $89.00 ,... and so on...  
I would not only not recommend these jokers, I am tired of them ALL nesting in NY< and the state Attorney General not doing a damn thing, and YES< i have gone so far as to file complaints with NY AG, and got ZERO replies or help.  
I got replies and help from my OWN AG, here in Missouri, but NY seems to not give a damn who runs out a business from their state..

Thank you everyone! After placing an order I went back to the site and something seemed strange as my item was not on it so I looked up resellerratings and immediately cancelled my card before they could do the bait and switch.

It seems my experience was typical of those posted. I ordered the D80 Continental package which seemed too good to be true. That evening, I was contacted by Bill at customer support who gave me a 10 minute speech on why I chose the wrong package and should ‘upgrade’ to a D60 with a non-Nikkor lens which was part of a special one day only package. I told him I would call him back in about 30 minutes (since they were thirty minutes from closing).  
 
 
When I called him back, I told him I needed more to think about this so he put my order on hold and said he would guarantee the D60 package until tomorrow. When I called back the next day and told Bill that I wanted the original package he again lectured me on why I made the wrong choice. When I called him on the inaccuracy of his information, he got offended because I was calling him a liar and then he tried to say I didn’t know what I was talking about. When I told him I wanted to cancel, he threatened to charge a 45% cancelation/restocking fee. I asked where this was coming from and he had no answer so I just told him to send the original package. He then asked if I wanted to buy the battery and data cable. When I said no, he said that because I called him liar that this deal was too good for me so he would cancel my order as I requested.  
 
If I had to guess, they did not have the camera I asked for or where going to loose money unless I purchased the battery, charger and data cable for an additional $200. To sum up this review: DO NOT SHOP AT THIS WEBSITE!!!

i was just about to enter my bank card info to allow this company to charge my card $2,369 for an EOS 50D and couple of decent L lenses. I got the feeling that the deal was too good to be true so I did a search for a review on Sonic Cameras. God bless all of you guys for speaking up, cuz if you hadn't, they would have had another victim in me, and my wife woulda killed me.  
 
How could such a company still be in business online?

This company is not only aweful but deceitful as well. On Wed, March 11th, I ordered a Canon 580ex II flash from them for $355.00 a really great price. However, I never received a detailed invoice from them, nor did I receive tracking information. I called them on Friday and was assured that my package would be delivered as promised. That same Friday, the 13th, the funds were withdrawn from my account, but still no shipping info. I waited till Monday and called them. After being placed on hold several time I was finally given a tracking number. They gave me a boggus tracking number! I verified it with FEDEX and was told no package was in route to my home. I then called them today, I was given another tracking number - however when I called FEDEX they informed me that this was just a generated label and that nothing had been sent. I called back Sonic Camera's and was told that the package was on a delivery truck to FedEx, however, at 5:18 pm FedEX picked up my package from them. I've been told nothing but lies. Now I have to play the waiting game till Friday (March 20) when my pakcage is going to arrive. I hope I am not being sent some piece of junk just to delay sending my actual item. NEVER BUY FROM THESE PEOPLE. IF I had been smart I would have reviewed them BEFORE I purchased from them. HUGE LESSON LEARNED.  
 
**** UPDATE *****  
Well, my package did no arrive on Friday as promised, however it was delivered on Saturday. I was not home when the FedEx truck arrived and since they are closed on Monday I had to wait till today to find out if I got my Canon 580EXII. By 10:00a.m they were knocking on my door. I opened up the package and to my great suprise it was my flash. I called Canon tech support and was assured that this was a genuine canon flash and that it would work with my camera. I have already registered it with Canon. My final price for this camera after paying for the protection insurance and shipping insurance(shipping insurance was required by this company- even though shipping was supposedly free) was $466.20 Did I get a good deal? Probably not, but I don't feel I was as screwed as I could have been. I have kept an eye on my account to make sure that no unauthorised activity occurs. Would I deal with them again? No!

This review was modified by its author, soleilphoto, on 3/24/09 10:45 AM.

Stay away!! As I called their 800 numbers, I searched their reviews and started to read the horrible reviews as their agent answered the phone I asked him about "what can he say to me about all these bad reviews?". His answer was "I will say whatever you want me to say!". Then he proceeded "do you want to place an order or not?!" so I said sure I want to buy the Nikon Flash sb-900 and he informed me that it was $469!! Bingo!! Reviews are correct!! I asked him whether their website price was wrong!!!!! And he gladly confirmed!! I told him a couple of "NICE" words and hung up the phone! STAY AWAY!!!

Ripping off people at the speed of sound: an expose' of Sonic Camera  
On February 12, I made a purchase of a Canon EOS 50D camera from Sonic Camera online. I should have been more leary when they could not complete my order without first receiving a phone call from me. When I finally was able to contact them three days later, the agent - Patrick was his name - stated that I needed a battery for this camera, and that they would include one for $199.00. I first acquiesced, but then later called him within just a few minutes to nix that sale. He accepted it, but did not take off the battery, as the camera upon delivery had BOTH this battery and the factory battery as well! On the invoice, this sale is cleverly concealed as part of a package deal. So - what do we have? Sonic Camera plays a bait and switch game to mark up their sales, and will lie about their product to get it. As an advanced amateur photographer who is a member of several clubs, I will be actively steering all I come I contact with AWAY from Sonic Camera!

This is a horrible company! Avoid it at all costs. I placed an order, called to confirm it, and found myself threatened and abused by a salesman (who kept calling me "you idiot") because I didn't want to upgrade to a more expensive product. He even threatened to charge me $50 for canceling the order and said he would put the charge on my credit report if I didn't pay it -- and that I couldn't dispute it! Please, do not be tantalized by the low prices. If you buy from them, you will regret it.

I made an online purchase for a Nikon D80 from Sonic Cameras on 3-4-09. After doing so, I realized something strange after I received 2 e-mails from them with an "order number" thanking me, and telling me my shipment was on the way. I never received an invoice breaking down my purchase.  
 
I decided to get online and check the reputation of "Sonic," something I should have done first... I read the horror stories of past customers who outlined their experiences... They described perfectly how "Sonic" operates.... The following day I received 3 more e-mails asking me to "log in and verify your purchase." I did NOT log in... I waited to see if they would fill my order or call me with more enticing offers... They never called me, but today I received an e-mail saying the camera was "not in stock," and that my "order was canceled.  
 
They never called me and they never sent me an invoice... They never submitted a charge, but I have them blocked from doing so should they try...  
 
I'm kind of wondering if Sonic Cameras runs this "ResellersRatings.com because the complaints on this website about "Sonic" should be more than enough to get "SonicCameras.com" shut down...  
 
Sonic Cameras is an extremely dishonest company to say the least...

I spent $3k of our churches money on a video camera they talked me into buying instead of the one I had carefully researched and initially ordered. I should have known better. They will tell you whatever they think you want to hear to pull off a bait and switch. DO NOT PURCHASE FROM THESE PEOPLE. If the price seems too good to be true, IT IS.

SONICCAMERAS.COM  
This internet retailer is a scam. They are engaging in the oldest deceptive sales practice known. Pre-internet days this practice was known as “Bait and Switch” where the seller pressures the buyer into buying a product that is different and more expensive than the buyer was interested in purchasing. These days the practice is called “Up-selling”.  
In up-selling the seller (Soniccameras.com and similar businesses) use a deceptively low price in their ads to “hook” the buyer. Once the order is placed and agent from Soniccameras.com will call the buyer, supposedly to get the credit card security code. Once he has that number, the high pressure up-selling process begins. The caller tries to convince the purchaser that the product the purchaser is interested in is not a good quality product. He then tries to sell a different and more expensive product. If that does not work, he then purports to put together a “special deal” at some ridiculously low price.  
Don’t try to say no or try to cancel the order because the salesperson will then use the ploy that the order cannot be cancelled as it has been entered in their system. He will tell you that he will have to charge you at least 3% of the purchase price or more to cancel the order.  
 
The practice described above is exactly what recently happened to my wife and I in dealing with this company when I attempted to purchase a Canon EOS-1Ds, Mark III camera with an 18-200mm lens. Before it was over, the Soniccameras.com salesperson tried to sell us a Canon 5D MarkII with two Sigma lens, 4 G High Speed card, High speed card reader, 5 hour battery and external charger that was supposedly valued at $4,980.94 for $4,699.00. He claimed the Sigma lens was superior to the Canon lens. Despite my continuously telling the salesperson that I was not interested in this package and did not need these items. He persisted. When we tried to cancel our original internet order, the salesperson refused to do so, telling us that we would be charged about $300 to cancel the order. We had at least three heated conversations with representatives of this company trying to cancel the order both within an hour of purchase and over the next two days.  
 
We conducted our own researched and found that the order could have been cancelled the night we told the representative to cancel it. In fact the package had not been shipped at the time the salesperson said it had been shipped. Even if the package had been shipped it could have been intercepted from UPS even after it had been delivered to UPS.  
 
We ended up instituting the intercept process through UPS before it was delivered to our home, keeping us from having to accept the package and send it back to Soniccamera.com at our expense.  
 
We then had to contact our credit company for assistance in making sure we received full credit for the refused purchase.  
 
Finally, we filed a formal complaint with the New York State Attorney General’s Office. I would recommend anyone who has had contact with this company file a formal complaint with the New York Attorney General’s Office of Internet Business.  
 
Maybe if there are sufficient complaints on file, this business can be forced to either go out of business or at the very least discontinue their deceptive business practices.