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!
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.
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!
I can't say enough about how great Samy's service is. I've been using them for over 5 years and they've never failed to go out of their way to help me out. Fantastic service.
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.
I purchased a nikon d60 kit from samy's retail store in santa barbara and was very satisfied with the service and price.the employees know anything you could want to know about your camera, and are very helpful in finding the right product for you. when i bought my camera it also came with a dslr class for free at samy's. this class was very informative and taught by a professor from nearby brooks institute of photography. i will definitely return to samy's.
I have reviewed consumer ratings for Samy's in here and took a chance and went in with eyes wide open. I went in the store during their Father's Day No Sales Tax event and purchased "Non-electronic" accessories such as manfrotto tripod ($25 rebate), monopod and a couple of heads, as well as a backpack. Oh yeah, and an additional 8GB sandisk extreme IV ($50 rebate). All transactions went through smoothly. I came prepared with prices from their website and know exactly what I'm looking for. The guy on the counter matched the website prices and never hassled me with other stuff, he was calm, helpful and friendly. Eventhough, I made him go back to their warehouse more than a couple of times.
The only minor issue I have was about their inventory system; system shows they have it but warehouse says no, OR warehouse says they have it but the system shows no. It's no big deal though, because I always have an alternative choice (better price).
I would normally buy from B&H PHOTO and the likes but I have to pay shipping. In the end the "No Tax" deal was a whole lot better, plus, I get the products as I pay.
Overall, I'm happy with Samy's specially with the guy who helped me. I will always look for him in the future when I buy a new dslr system on their next sale event. We'll see how that one will go - review update to follow.
I have made three separate online purchases from Samy's over the past three years. These have included the Canon Twin-Light Macro Flash, the Canon Remote Timer, and the Canon 100-400 mm zoom telephoto lens. Each time the order arrived promptly and without any problems. I will continue doing business with them.
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".
