I recently made a purchase through amazon.com of the Tokina AT-X116 PRO DX 11-16 mm wide angle lens which was supplied and shipped to me by Butterflyphoto.com. The lens arrived October 27 in good condition. When I opened the box, I found the lens instructions in Japanese not in English and no warranty information for the lens. The following day I talked on the phone with one the ButterflyPhoto agents and inquired about why there was no warranty card. The lady that talked to me told me there was a US warranty for the lens and I could get a verification of the warranty coverage by contacting tokina.lens.com. I did that immediately. I did not find any such information on that web site or telephone number that would allow me to talk to Tokina representatives. On October 29 I sent an e-mail to ButterflyPhoto inquiring why I had not received a warranty card and how this company would rectify the situation. Their reply did not provide any useful information. On October 30th and 31st I talked to another representative Danny. He again assured me that there was a US warranty of the lens and he would inquire further on this matter and send me information on this matter by mail.  
 
At present I am yet to see any replies form Danny and I am beginning to lose my patience with the way this company is ignoring and not handling my request.  
There has not been anyone at this organization with some sense of professional responsibility who could provide me with straight forward and honest answers whether there is a warranty for the lens or not. If there is, as I have been told it is a US warranty not Japanese where is this source to obtain it? I am not going to let this matter drop until I get a satisfactory resolution on what I am requesting. This company's advertising and promotional statements on their web site as well as at amazon.com portray it to be very efficient. They claim to take pride in their business doing everything possible to provide efficient service to satisfy their customers. Their inaction so far combined with the misinformation received from its agents on the lens warranty paints an entirely different and rather sad picture for Butterfly Photo. In the meantime I wish that Amazon.com is aware of this matter and wonder if they can lend any support or advice to my efforts to resolve this matter. If not at least they need to be aware that this company plays devious and unethical games with their customers.  
 
John Bodouroglou

First at 10/26/2009 i receive an email telling thats everything it's fine and in 1 o 2 days i will receivieng an email with a tracking number, after one week without any news i call to the company to see if everything was ok and they told me that my order was canceled because a problem with my phone but i don't receive any email telling to me that order was cancelled after 35 minutes talking with 3 diferrent mens, order was replaced but i was charged a second time for the same camera. i call again talk with justin extension number 214 and he correct the situation talking with the billing part, but when a i see the debit back in mi account i see a fee because my bank account was without funds. I call again to see if it's possible to correct this, first i talk another time time with the seller and he told i can't do nothing please talk to the billing part ok, i explain again the situation to this women and told me, please speak with the manager, i was trying to explaining the situation and the manager was talking over me i said can i speak first then you could understand the problem he saids no and hung the phone.

We ordered the Canon Rebel T1i DSLR camera (body only) because they had the cheapest price compared to everyone else (an extra 10% from google really helped). After a few days, they called my wife but she wasn't able to answer the phone, and since they didn't leave any messages, my wife never called back.  
 
A few more days went by and still no shipping confirmation. Then they called my wife again and did leave a message this time about calling them back (didn't say why though). So my wife called them back but no one answered. Another week went by and still no shipping confirmation, so I finally called them and asked if they plan to ship the camera. They first say they will ship immediately, then later emailed me saying that they are out of stock! I couldn't believe it so I called them back to cancel, of course, they somehow managed to find some more in the back. So they said they will ship out immediately but that took a few more days and I finally got it after more than 3 weeks.  
 
I would never buy from them again. The price was good but obviously, they want to sell other overpriced accessories with the call back (or useless warranty). There are plenty of other online retailers who ships promptly and they don't cost that much more (hello Newegg).

This is how you NOT do the business if you want to keep customers coming.  
 
1. Called customer service to verify if Canon 7D Kit 28-135 is in stock. CSR told YES, we have both, with 28-135 lens for $1866 and 18-135 for #2199 (significantly overpriced)  
 
2. I hang on the phone and placed an order for Canon 7D 28-135 for 1866 and got order confirmation  
 
3. Next day received an email and phone message to give them a call to verify my order so I called. It was obnoxious up-sell on various overpriced stuff (batteries, warranty, faster shipping etc.) which I politely declined. "Seller" told me fine, your order will be shipped in 24-48 hours.  
 
4. Called after 48 hours to check why my order status is still "Processing", CSR checked and said that the particular 7D I ordered is not in stock and they can sell overpriced one with discount at 1999 (still $100 overpriced). No surprise, since I declined all their other stuff my order all sudden become "not in stcok"  
 
Shady operations, buyers beaware!

I ordered Canon rebel t1i. The customer service called me one day after I ordered and try to sell me camera accessories I declined it. The person who handled my call told me that "its not a problem" Why would it be a problem? Before my camera shipped the price of it was decreased and i called and requested the differences, they told me that they dont have that kind of price policy covers it. (pro websites such as newegg.com pays the price differences if the price decreases before order ships) However My camera shipped after 6 days. But i received in 2 days.

I have ordered from Butterfly before without an issue and was always well pleased. Therefore, when it came time for this purchase I ordered from them again based on my previous positive experiences.  
 
Things sure did change... this order was followed by an email from Butterfly requesting that I call them. My calls went to a voicemail system, but were eventually returned. During the call, I was pressured to authorize additional costs for shipping and additional expenses for overpriced accessories. This is my last attempt to do business with Butterfly Photo.

Purchased a 40" Samsung LCD Series 6 TV from Butterfly Photo. I am very satisfied with the service they provided, especially since my bank refused to make the payment despite the fact that I had plenty of money in my account. I have since switched banks. Because of my bank I was forced to contact Butterfly Photo multiple times to get the order pushed through. I got friendly personal service, did not have to deal with multiple agents, and was never lied to. The TV arrived after the bank issue was ironed out in perfect condition, no dead pixels affecting the visible image, no scratches, and no other problems that could come up because of packing. They packed it up well in another box with an excessive amount of packing air pillows.

Butterfly photo has great prices, and great Camera, I have ordered 2 cameras from them, a Canon XS for my mother, and an XSi for myself. Shipping is cheap (for cameras 20$ for 1-2 day) Only thing that kinda made me mad is that they call you ask try to sell you more thing, which is fine, just say no. Great guys over there though, very helpful.  

On Oct. 1, I ordered a Canon HG21 camcorder. Later that day, I received the following e-mail:  
 
"Thank you for shopping at Butterflyphoto the destination site for all your electronics needs! Butterflyphoto prides itself on the overall positive consumer experience – from order placement to final delivery.  
 
We have found coupons associated with one or more products included with your purchased that have not been redeemed. Please contact Victor S at 800-339-9960 ext 236 , to review these new promotional offers and retrieve the coupon code(s) that best suite your purchase! Please have your order number handy to expedite the call.  
 
As a member of the Butterfly Photo Team, I take pride in making sure all orders are processed correctly and takes advantage of all promotional offers available to you . Thank you for your order and shopping at Butterflyphoto.com!  
 
Sincerely,  
The Butterfly Photo Team.  
 
800-339-9960 ext 236  
Customer Service Hours:  
 
Monday - Thursday 9:30 am to 7:30 pm EST  
Friday 9:30 am to 3:00 pm EST  
Sunday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm EST"  
_____________________  
 
Upon receiving this e-mail, I called to advise them that I wasn't interested in any coupons; although I called during their stated business hours, I got a recording telling me that they were closed. I checked my order online and saw that my order was "working"; my bank account had not yet been charged.  
 
I have since then called several times during their business hours and every time, receive the same "We are currently closed" recorded message. I even looked up the number for their store in South Plainfield, NJ and although I did get a different recorded voice, the two selections he quoted were both "invalid" and the system defaulted to the original female voice telling me they are closed.  
 
With a bad feeling about this order, I e-mailed them asking to cancel it. I received no response. The next day I e-mailed again asking about my original e-mail and affirming my wish to cancel the order, which is still shown as "working". As of a few minutes ago, my account hasn't been charged; this is a relief.  
 
I cannot get in touch with these people, even when they're supposedly open. I feel like I've fallen in a black hole! I ordered from them to save $30 over B&H Photo Video. This was a mistake. I will go back to B&H and pay the additional $30; the value of the time I've already spent on this debacle is worth WELL over $30.  
___________________________  
 
UPDATE on Oct. 5: I was finally able to speak to someone in customer service, who was gracious and  
helpful and canceled my order as requested. I feel better about this company now, but am not likely to order from them based on the aforementioned experience.  
 
 

This review was modified by its author, cbeasley, on 10/5/09 1:47 PM.

I ordered a 52" Samsung TV late Monday night. The next day I received a confirmation call by Butterfly Photo. They asked if the shipping address was on file with my visa company since it was not the same as my mailing address. I had asked that they deliver it to my work instead of my home. The sales rep politely asked if I wanted to upgrade from the free shipping and if I needed any cables for my new TV. I declined both and he did not push the subject any further. Later that Tuesday evening when I got home I found a voicemail from my visa company. They had blocked the charge thinking it could be fraudulent. I called Visa and corrected the issue. Wednesday morning I also called Butterfly Photo and let them know all was well and they could rerun the credit charge. I received an email from Manna that afternoon asking that I schedule my delivery. My earliest delivery option was for the following Monday, which of course I chose to have it delivered that afternoon between noon and 4pm. The TV actually arrived in B'ham, AL from NJ on Friday morning, only two days after they shipped it. It sat quietly over the weekend short of a courtesy reminder email from Manna, letting me know they were going to deliver it Monday. Around noon Monday, Manna called and said they were on the way. Upon arrival the driver brought it into my work and helped me open the box. He waited a few minutes for me to connect the power cord and a cheap antenna. After confirming it worked the driver asked that I sign for my new TV. I couldn't be happier with Butterfly Photo's or Manna's service. Based on this one time purchase I would recommend both Butterfly Photo and Manna delivery.

I found Butterfly Photo through Google Shopping. They weren't the least expensive, but lower than most. (The companies that offered an even lower price on a Canon Powershot SX1 IS camera had store reviews about deceptive practices, so I wanted to avoid them, thinking Butterfly Photo was better. WRONG!  
 
I strongly believe they are offering low-ball prices to attract business through Google Shopping. I paid for my order through PayPal and the next morning received an email that I had not taken advantage of coupons redeemable for my camera, and to call Victor at what ever extension. I replied by email that I was not interested in any coupons that were not posted online. (I've read plenty reviews that talked about this tactic. When you call, they try to sell you overinflated accessories.) I did not hear back, nor did I receive my camera. I called a week after receiving confirmation from Butterfly Photo that my order was received. The customer service rep. said my order had not shipped, even though it was paid for but the guy for the cameras was not at his desk, and could she call me back when she finds him. I waited 7 hours - no call. I called THEM back, this time talking to a different customer service rep. She told me that they had received my camera from the warehouse, but it was defective. (How would they know unless they opened the box?) She told me they could offer me the Canon SX20... and asked if I was I interested. Of course not, I ordered and wanted the SX1 IS. She told me, ok, then your order is cancelled. I asked for a cancellation confirmation. I was told one would be emailed to me. I've waited 3 1/2 hours - no email.  
 
I went back to Google Shopping, and pulled up the camera I wanted. Guess what, Butterfly Photo still shows it in stock, and at the same low price I had ordered my camera for a week ago. It also says that they ship within 1 or 2 business days, just like it did when I ordered my camera a week ago.  
 
Businesses with these "bait & switch" practices should be banned from being listed in trusted referral sites such as Google Shopping and Pricegrabber. They make a bad name for the honest online retailers.  
 
Furthermore, a reputable online retailer would send you an email if your order is delayed for any reason. Butterfly Photo's website says they ship within 1 - 2 business days. Though a week has gone by since they originally confirmed my order, other than the email telling me to call to "redeem possible coupons", there was NO communication.  
 
DO NOT SUPPORT THIS BUSINESS - ORDER ELSEWHERE!

my purchase started out fine. i bought a panasonic LUMIX camera, for one of the lowest prices i could find online. however, it wasnt exactly the cheapest, but they offered a cheaper replacement battery than the other sites. we talked to Steve when they called to confirm the order, and he was good about making sure my package arrived on the one possible date that it could be signed for before i left for 8 months abroad. My camera did arrive exactly when it was supposed to, but with one problem. the $35 spare battery that they sold me, that was listed with my camera, does not actually work for my camera. one person at customer service told me that the battery had been updated, but i must have gotten an older one. however they couldnt ship it to me in spain, so it couldn't be replaced. someone else told me that none of those batteries would work, since panasonic took precautions to disallow cheaper batteries made by other companies, soooo, there isnt really anything for me to do except for return the battery. and according to the return policies, not only do i have to pay the shipping to return their mistake, but i also need to pay a restocking fee. so now i'm upset for multiple reasons. i have to pay because someone screwed up, i'm leaving the country for 6 months without any replacement battery, and the only thing offered to me was the chance to buy an even more expensive panasonic battery  
 
ohhh, and the battery is still listed on the website. beware if you buy a panasonic through them

After reading the reviews I was somewhat apprehensive in placing my order with Butterfly Photo. There did however, seem to be one common thread and that was to place my order with a gent named Steve. I called in the morning and spoke directly with Steve. I asked the usual questions (factory USA warranty, no gray market goods, all 'accessories' included, etc.)and after receiving the answers placed my order. I asked Steve if anyone was going to call me tomorrow about my credit card and then try to sell me additional items to which he responded NO.. Several hours later I received an email with my tracking number and a msg that my product would be shipping out that afternoon. My camera arrived in the agreed upon time. It was as described - a USA model with ALL accessories a factory warranty card and was in a factory sealed box. I have NO complaints and have been satisfied with THIS transaction. I am thinking of buying another camera and will certainly look at ButterFly Photo when I get ready to order. Thanks..

I ordered the Panasonic Lumix ZS3 and an extra battery at the same time. They were shipped the next day and only took a few days to get to me. Everything was packed well and just what I ordered. I am pleased with my purchase from this merchant and would search their site when making another photo related purchase to compare prices with others. The price for this item was the best and they had my color in stock. :)

BEWARE OF GREY MARKET SCAMS!  
 
The price on my Nikon D90 was decent, lower than anywhere else but not unreasonably so (i.e. not enough to set off any alarms; perhaps I ought to recalibrate). Service was unremarkable, I was called a few days after to confirm the order and offered a litany of accessories that I did not want, which I declined. When the rep called, he did note that I had ordered twice, and helpfully canceled my accidental double-order without hassle, which I appreciated. Otherwise, the entire experience was uneventful.  
 
That is, until I received a package that was labeled entirely in Japanese. The manuals and paperwork were all in Japanese, the outside of the box was Japanese, and the power cord for the charger, though it apparently works fine with US power sockets, is labeled "JP". I also called Nikon USA, who confirmed that the serial number is not US market, which means that this GREY MARKET product is not covered under warranty and will NOT be serviced by Nikon USA under any circumstance.  
 
All of this on a product that was listed on the website as "Nikon D90 DX - 12.3 MP Digital SLR Camera - 1 YR Nikon Usa Warranty". The rep also noted over the phone, while pitching an extended warranty, that the camera carries a 1 year Nikon USA warranty.  
 
This was plainly fraudulent.  
 
Since I was not able to open the package until this evening, a Friday, I will have not had the chance to contact ButterflyPhoto directly. Though I am generally satisfied with the experience, the fraudulent nature of the product listing has compromised any semblance of trust or respect I had for this company.