1/5
posted Feb-16-2009
**UPDATE**
As you'll see below, this seller assured me that I would have a FULL refund by Monday. By Wednesday that refund was still not showing up on my credit card, so I called the company to find out what was going on. They told me that there is a freeze on their bank account and they cannot issue any refunds! I have now had to file a dispute with my credit card company. A $1400 charge is still sitting on my credit card and I have NO CAMERA from Photo Dynasty.
Horrible, HORRIBLE experience!
I have never, ever, written a bad review but this will be my first - to add my voice to all the others here who say: DON'T DO IT!
I found Photo Dynasty on the web, and their prices were amazing. Being a trusting person, who has never had problems with internet orders before, I never researched their business or thought to make sure there were an authorized Nikon dealer (I'd never even heard of the "grey market" before.) I know better now! I placed an order, and the total came to right about $1200 for my camera, my lens, two batteries and the "extras" that they give with the camera purchase.
The next day, I was contacted by a sales rep to confirm my order and the man I spoke to informed me that I needed to buy a battery charger and some extra equipment in order for the camera to work. Adding all of this onto my order would cost me an additional $200, and I would only receive ONE battery. I told him I would have to call him back, and he told me I couldn't do that. I told him to cancel the order and he told me there was a $150 fee to cancel. Under presure, I placed the order.
I then contacted a battery store to find out how much a battery and charger is SUPPOSED to cost and found out, of course, that I'd been overcharged. I immediately called PD back and the rep was extremely condescending and told me that the $200 was for the charger and the "equipment" to make the camera work - that other camera stores would charge me $1400 for the camera kit, and that I was only being charged $800 for the camera and the rest was part of the kit I needed to work the camera. I'm totally new to SLRs, so I didn't know what to say.
This experience continued to bother me, and so on Friday night I got on the internet to research the company and found discovered all sorts of HORRIBLE information about them. I've since learned that they TAKE THE NIKON CAMERA KITS APART and sell the pieces seperately, with a bunch of "warrenties" and other things that aren't necessary. I also learned that because they are not an authorized Nikon dealership, Nikon will not honor any factory warrenties on products sold through them, and will often refuse to even work on a camera that is from an unauthorized dealer.
Obviously, I didn't want that!
Because I placed my order on a Friday, I had to wait until Monday before I could call to cancel my order. Based on some of the other reviews here I was expecting a fight, so I also contacted my Credit Card company to alert them of a possible fraudulent charge by this company, if they did not allow me to cancel the order, or if they tried to charge me for canceling.
Thankfully, when I called to cancel my order today everything went smootly. Because the item was already shipped, it will be Friday before I'm given the refund, so I'm praying that the money actually WILL be refunded, and I'll come back to give an update then.
As you can see from others here, this company has been reported to the BBB and their practices border on criminal activities. Watch out for their sister companies, as well (listed here: http://search.newyork.bbb.org/reports.aspx?pid=44&page=1&id=12668) Instead, find an authorized Nikon dealer (http://www.nikonusa.com/fileuploads/pdfs/Authorized_Dealers/Nikon_AuthDealers.pdf) and order from them. I just placed an order through B&H Photo and it was a wonderful experience, and their prices were very low.
This review was modified by
Rina on March 08 2009 08:53:38 AM
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posted Feb-16-2009 
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![Share](javascript:share_rating({"review_body":"**UPDATE**<br><br>My order arrived on time and in perfect condition. I loved dealing with B&H and will definitely be ordering from them again!<br><br><br>After a horrible experience with another store, I spent a lot of time reviewing the stores on the Nikon authorized dealer list. Of them all, B&H had the highest customer service rating and I appreciated the fact that they responded to those who rated them badly. It was obvious to me that they were an ethical company interested in pleasing their customers. I placed a phone order today and the representative was SO nice to me - I know virtually nothing about digital SLR\u0027s and he took the time to answer all of my questions and even gave me some helpful advice that will save me money. I hope to receive my purchases by the end of the week, at which time I will add to this review. But so far, I am extremely impressed and B&H has won a loyal customer.","link":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/B_H_Photo_Video_Pro_Audio\/review\/443466#comment443466","store_thumb":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/thumbnail\/B_H_Photo_Video_Pro_Audio.jpg","store_name":"B&H Photo-Video-Pro Audio","username":"Rina","rating":"5"}, "single");){kind=link}
![Share](javascript:share_rating({"review_body":"**UPDATE**<br><br>As you\u0027ll see below, this seller assured me that I would have a FULL refund by Monday. By Wednesday that refund was still not showing up on my credit card, so I called the company to find out what was going on. They told me that there is a freeze on their bank account and they cannot issue any refunds! I have now had to file a dispute with my credit card company. A $1400 charge is still sitting on my credit card and I have NO CAMERA from Photo Dynasty. <br><br>Horrible, HORRIBLE experience!<br><br><br>I have never, ever, written a bad review but this will be my first - to add my voice to all the others here who say: DON\u0027T DO IT!<br><br>I found Photo Dynasty on the web, and their prices were amazing. Being a trusting person, who has never had problems with internet orders before, I never researched their business or thought to make sure there were an authorized Nikon dealer (I\u0027d never even heard of the \u0022grey market\u0022 before.) I know better now! I placed an order, and the total came to right about $1200 for my camera, my lens, two batteries and the \u0022extras\u0022 that they give with the camera purchase. <br><br>The next day, I was contacted by a sales rep to confirm my order and the man I spoke to informed me that I needed to buy a battery charger and some extra equipment in order for the camera to work. Adding all of this onto my order would cost me an additional $200, and I would only receive ONE battery. I told him I would have to call him back, and he told me I couldn\u0027t do that. I told him to cancel the order and he told me there was a $150 fee to cancel. Under presure, I placed the order. <br><br>I then contacted a battery store to find out how much a battery and charger is SUPPOSED to cost and found out, of course, that I\u0027d been overcharged. I immediately called PD back and the rep was extremely condescending and told me that the $200 was for the charger and the \u0022equipment\u0022 to make the camera work - that other camera stores would charge me $1400 for the camera kit, and that I was only being charged $800 for the camera and the rest was part of the kit I needed to work the camera. I\u0027m totally new to SLRs, so I didn\u0027t know what to say. <br><br>This experience continued to bother me, and so on Friday night I got on the internet to research the company and found discovered all sorts of HORRIBLE information about them. I\u0027ve since learned that they TAKE THE NIKON CAMERA KITS APART and sell the pieces seperately, with a bunch of \u0022warrenties\u0022 and other things that aren\u0027t necessary. I also learned that because they are not an authorized Nikon dealership, Nikon will not honor any factory warrenties on products sold through them, and will often refuse to even work on a camera that is from an unauthorized dealer. <br><br>Obviously, I didn\u0027t want that!<br><br>Because I placed my order on a Friday, I had to wait until Monday before I could call to cancel my order. Based on some of the other reviews here I was expecting a fight, so I also contacted my Credit Card company to alert them of a possible fraudulent charge by this company, if they did not allow me to cancel the order, or if they tried to charge me for canceling.<br><br>Thankfully, when I called to cancel my order today everything went smootly. Because the item was already shipped, it will be Friday before I\u0027m given the refund, so I\u0027m praying that the money actually WILL be refunded, and I\u0027ll come back to give an update then.<br><br>As you can see from others here, this company has been reported to the BBB and their practices border on criminal activities. Watch out for their sister companies, as well (listed here: http:\/\/search.newyork.bbb.org\/reports.aspx?pid=44&page=1&id=12668) Instead, find an authorized Nikon dealer (http:\/\/www.nikonusa.com\/fileuploads\/pdfs\/Authorized_Dealers\/Nikon_AuthDealers.pdf) and order from them. I just placed an order through B&H Photo and it was a wonderful experience, and their prices were very low.","link":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/Photo_Dynasty\/review\/443472#comment443472","store_thumb":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/thumbnail\/Photo_Dynasty.jpg","store_name":"Photo Dynasty \/ enterprisephoto.com, et al.","username":"Rina","rating":"1"}, "single");){kind=link}