The quick summary is, don't bother with them for at least online ordering. You're better off going to a larger and more reputable store like B&H to get what you need. If you're in LA and need local retail store then maybe it's okay.  
 
Similar to a previous review, Samys refused my credit card and stated that they can only do it via wire transfer or check. They told me that I had failed their arbitrary confirmation system (which they won't talk about) despite my credit card being approved by the bank and being used for purchases across hundreds of other online retailers. It's possible that they are a reputable business but they should know that asking for these types of payment methods look very sketchy. I offered to pay via Paypal since even shady Chinese online merchants take that for secure transaction, but they refused. Samys management needs to learn about the online retailing business and how credit cards work. Sure they might need some security to protect themselves, but so do their customers and if they can't provide a semblance of that then it's no deal.  
 
Worst part of the whole thing is that all of this happened over the course of more than a week. There was hardly any contact to notify me of the issues until I called or emailed everyday to ask what was taking so long. The emails were very unprofessional with no reference numbers or tracking similar to other online retailers. If it wasn't for the well spoken English you could've almost assumed this company is based in China.

Really terrible experience. My camera's been in for repairs for over a month and a half. I can't get anyone to return my calls to tell me when it will be ready and what is causing the delay. When I call, I get the repair counter voicemail. Messages go unanswered. When I have spoken to someone, they've told me they would look into it and call me back. No call back. I even spoke to the store manager, Carlos, and he told me he would call me back within 20 minutes. 2 days later, no call. At my wit's end. Would NOT recommend going there.

Samy's is crooked. They advertised a great price on a Cartoni tripod so I ordered one. A few days later they contacted me and told me "That particular model is no longer being made, and we don't have any left". I knew that was not true and confirmed with Cartoni.  
 
Like so many other crooked online retailers, Samy's advertised an extremely low price to get buyers in the door, so to speak, and then failed to deliver. Avoid them!

After reading alot of good reviews about Samy's, I decided to go ahead and order a Nikon D200, SB800 Flash, and MC36 remote control. I placed the order this morning with Jody, gave my credit card info and was contacted this evening - the call got cut off and she did not call me again. I called 20 minutes later to find out she had gone home. I then spoke with another lady who advised me my order was in "verification" status - whatever that was. She then placed me on hold for a few minutes while she investigated. She came back to tell me I had to pay with either a wire transfer or check - which is absolutely ridiculous. The only people who ask for this type of payment are scam artists - and there are plenty of those - add Samy's to the list. My credit card is a platinum card with no debt on it - I have excellent credit and have ordered tens of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise through the years from Amazon.com, Buy.com, NewEgg.com, etc without a problem. This is the first time I've ever encountered something like this. After my initial outrage, I cooled off for a few minutes, contacted them again and spoke with someone different who again investigated and advised me that since this was my first time ordering from them, Samy's management would not authorize my purchase! What? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around where the credit card company is supposed to authorize the purchase (which they did)? This is beyond stupid! Stay away from Samy's and avoide the headaches - moronic and frustrating as you can't escalate your conversation to anyone in "management".

I recently bought a Nikon d70s refurb from them since I didn't want to spend too much.. I paid 899.00 for the refurb and the salesman gave me a few items for free. Needless to say. It was a 1gb generic memory card, a slk-sdv20 tripod ($20), a jumpstart DVD, a medium sized camera case that was too small to hold anything. Then he added a Rear Lens cap for 11.50 on my bill without telling me and overall charged me with tax 1044.33 which included the 49.00 Helio UV filter since I only wanted the best..not knowing the GG was so dirty behind it. Now After I waiting to take the free Nikon class..which was great...I went out to shoot today just to notice that behind the ground glass that there was so much dirt that it got into my pix. Now I have to go to Nikon Service Center to get that cleaned up and wait 3 days for that to happen. Who know how much that will cost..but I found out that there is no warranty for even 30days for refurbs. I hate commission sales people. I will now just stick with BH Photo in NYC..so much better...Overall for Samy's customers...Buyer beware.

This review was modified by its author, smithy, on 3/23/07 5:02 AM.

This is about the collapse of Samy's once-vaunted service reputation. I have purchased plenty of costly Hasselblad gear from Samy's over the years and find the pro desk folks extremely on their game. So when my wife wanted to upgrade to a top of the line point and shoot, we went to Samy's camera expecting three things: 1. A helpful and knowlegeable staff. 2. Straightforward pricing policy 3. Customer-friendly service. Several unexpected glitches emerged. The staff, while outwardly helpful, must be over-dependent on sales commissions because she wound up with a completely inappropriate camera and all the pricey extras (some non-returnable such as batteries and memory cards --store policy in the fine print). Pricing was throroughly mixed up with rebates, discounts, gift cards and free printing gimmicks all stirred into the equipment decision -- rather like a bad Chinese menu. Finally, the return policy is just unacceptable. Samy's staunchly resists returns on volume consumer digital gear and only give a store credit, minus batteries and cards unless you've had the merch for more than 10 days in which case they deduct an additional 10% for restocking. This all assuming they pronounce the returned items "new and unused". The managers were rude and very insulting when my wife returned a very unsatisfying Nikon S-5 -- lots of features but no easy work around for night images that her old Canon handled without a hitch. Samy's reasoning: the camera had been used!! Well, yes, it was not what we asked for and you can't try it out adequately in the store. You only find out what it's limits are if you try it. So of course the memory card had stored data and the extra battery -- well, it was unopened. They could have very graciously helped my wife into a suitable 800 ISO/ SD600 Canon, and given her a full credit, but no --- first a protracted and very unpleasant argument - it's been a week and she's still upset. Unfortunately I have to revisit these characters one more time because they have a good chunk of my money, but lord help us if we have a problem. Too bad for Samy's, they must be feeling the pressure from the net .

Don't shop here--but sometimes you have to because they are the largest photo store in LA. My reasons I don't like them:  
1)if you purchase something you can only return it for store credit--why not just order from a NY Store and still have 2 weeks for a full refund and save on tax? 2) Half the time I purchase something with an expiration date it is very close to the expiration date. 3) If yo check the prices on their internet site and then go into the store expecting to pay a little bit more---you will end up paying a lot more. I will say this for the store-- there are some very knowledgeable people in the professional camera. department

Online store seems to be a total fraud. Their price on Pricegrabber for a Nikon 50, with one lens, was clearly listed at $599.99. Called in to check on an upgrade to a two lens kit. Shawn checked stock and said yes I have the camera plus two lens kit in stock for $699.99. I place order. Later that day I checked, customer service, Michael said we haven't stocked 2 lens kit in months but we did sell you the camera and only one lens for $650, $50 above their listed price. They refused to honor their published price. Salesman told me the camera was a loss leader and that they were tired of losing money so they raised the camera price to $699.99. They were however giving me a $50 discount "to save face". I sent a couple emails to their customer service asking for an explanation. They never bothered to answer anyone of them. I cancelled the order. The only good news here is that all it cost me was my time. Don't waste your time with this outfit.

Zero customer service.  
 
I called Samy's looking for a specific hard to find film. My first question to the salesperson was do you carry this film? I was told yes. I asked again if it was the correct film type. Again I was told yes. I asked how much and placed an order for the film. Before I hung up the phone I once again asked if it was the film I was looking for and was told yes.  
 
When I received my package, I opened it up to find it was all the wrong type of film. I called again and spoke with the salesperson only to be told that they indeed sent the wrong film- it was written on the order correctly, but that they do not carry the film I had ordered. ??? I was instructed how to return the film and was told that I would be recompensated for it in addition to the shipping and handling.  
 
I then received an invoice several days later for my refund. I was not compensated for any of my shipping. I again called the store and spoke with a manager. She claimed that they could only pay for half of my shipping charges. I asked why since they had made the mistake of shipping the wrong item. She said that was the way they did things goodbye. So, they made how many mistakes in my order? And I am left paying for THEIR MISTAKE???!!! Unacceptable.  
 
BUYER BEWARE: Samy's has NO CUSTOMER SERVICE- look on their web site. Who would you contact if you had a problem?

I was attracted to Samy's because of their reasonable price on the Canon Powershot SD630 point-and-shoot digital camera. While my ordering experience was satsifactory, probably even above average, I wish they would have sent an e-mail when my order shipped. As it was, I had to call the store to confirm that it had shipped and when it would arrive. Additionally, the representative I spoke to refused to provide me with a UPS tracking number as they "aren't allowed to give those out." It seems that plenty of other online retailers don't have a problem with providing tracking numbers?  
 
Overall, I'd probably do business with Samy's again. The shipping notification thing was a minor inconvenience.

I want to give a 10/10 to Samy's, I ordered my Gf1 by phone and in less than 2 days, with great customer service and no tax with free 2 day fedex I got my camera. When I was checking my order status i noticed how it kept me informed up to the minute as to the progress of my order. They shipped from a store to the warehouse to me and at one stage I freaked out because my status said "awaiting inventory" so I called and the guy was very helpful and pointed out that the status was reflective of them pulling the camera from a store to fill my order there at the warehouse, he told me they would never leave a customer hanging on an order without phoning first to let them know.

I ordered my new GF1 camera after Amazon couldn't ship (not their fault, Panasonic didn't give them cameras in time) and called Samy's to verify that the camera was in stock. The guy I talked to was very helpful, and told me the 14-45mm kit was in stock. I ordered online with 2 day shipping, and received it exactly as predicted. Very happy with Samy's!

They had the best price by far for the Canon Vixia HV30 refurbished camcorder. It was in a sealed Canon box and included a 60 day Canon warranty. Perfect condition. Shipped fast by way of FedEx. Signature was required upon delivery. No funny business like some of the other online camera shops. However, there was no email to inform me that the camera had shipped or to inform me of the tracking number. But it got here so fast that I didn't have time to worry about the lack of a shipping confirmation email. I am very pleased overall.

This review was modified by its author, Starman99, on 6/15/09 12:18 PM.

In LA (or anywhere I can think of) there is no peer to Samys camera. Wether it be a simple point and shoot to the highest end digital Sammy's has got you covered. Great service before and after and a good price to boot. Always my first choice!

Great and responsible service. The stuff is friendly and helps with any questions - even on items you have already purchased.  
Hard to beat prices!!!