[stl09]

First I had purchased items from them in the past and had been satisfied with them.

The problems began a couple of weeks ago. They had posted a bunch of different pentax lenses for sale on a Friday afternoon. I completed the auction and paid for it thru paypal and figured it would be here in a week or so.
After two weeks and nothing I contacted them only to find out they did not have stock nor did the auction state this. They stated they were waiting for Pentax to deliver and were hoping for them to arrive by the end of the month, but this was not a guarantee. Needless to say I was not happy with them regarding their lack of communication and that had already charged my credit card.
Mind you I take feedback very serious and left them feedback that I felt was appropriate for their lack of communication. This really seemed to tick them off and they quickly said they were refunding. I responded and said that I didn't want a refund and was willing to wait, but they should of emailed the week before to tell us of the delay when they knew they didn't have product to ship out. They couldn't seem to get past this and I contacted Ebay customer support and told them of the situation. It still didn't make any difference to them and I got a refund this morning but with a little extra twist. They processed the refund so that I got charged a fee for the refund.

All I can say is that I will never be buying from them again if this is they way want to treat their customers.

[Mike.P®]

I understand your annoyance but why would you leave feedback before the item had arrived?. There is plenty of time to leave it after the auction has finished, personally I would have waited until I had the lens in my hands and then made my feelings known (in no uncertain terms). As for not buying from them again I would think they probably put you on their banned list from their reaction to the feedback so I doubt you could anyway.

[aleonx3]

Prodigital2000 can offer lower price because they do not own the stock (Pentax Canada does). I can see that they should have advised you at the earliest when the item is not in their "small" inventory of stock and they should expect some delay. I have ordered from them before and I will continue to order my Pentax gear from them (too bad I live in Ontario - pay all the taxes).

[stl09]

1. Because they didn't say they didn't have stock and were not expecting stock for quite some time. I don't appreciate paying for something and then not have it arrive within a reasonable time frame.
2. They could of avoided this whole thing with a simple email right after the auction completed saying they over sold the item but were expecting stock. They could of offered to continue to wait or refund.
3. They should not of charged my credit card for something that was not in stock. Other vendors do not charge when items are backordered, they only charge once it has shipped.
They are at fault not me and far as buying from them again they are not the only pentax dealer....

I understand your annoyance but why would you leave feedback before the item had arrived?. There is plenty of time to leave it after the auction has finished, personally I would have waited until I had the lens in my hands and then made my feelings known (in no uncertain terms). As for not buying from them again I would think they probably put you on their banned list from their reaction to the feedback so I doubt you could anyway.

[Mike.P®]

1. Because they didn't say they didn't have stock and were not expecting stock for quite some time. I don't appreciate paying for something and then not have it arrive within a reasonable time frame.
2. They could of avoided this whole thing with a simple email right after the auction completed saying they over sold the item but were expecting stock. They could of offered to continue to wait or refund.
3. They should not of charged my credit card for something that was not in stock. Other vendors do not charge when items are backordered, they only charge once it has shipped.
They are at fault not me and far as buying from them again they are not the only pentax dealer....

As already stated, I don't think you were wrong leaving the feedback you did, just maybe a little fast considering the transaction wasn't even completed.

[pxpaulx]

I understand your annoyance but why would you leave feedback before the item had arrived?. There is plenty of time to leave it after the auction has finished, personally I would have waited until I had the lens in my hands and then made my feelings known (in no uncertain terms). As for not buying from them again I would think they probably put you on their banned list from their reaction to the feedback so I doubt you could anyway.

I would have waited as well. Personally, if I haven't received notice in a few days I usually contact a seller (whether on ebay or elsewhere online) to see whats up. I can understand your frustration as well (especially with ebay, since it is primarily an auction site you expect listings to be stocked by the seller). The same thing happened to me with a hong kong seller with a $10 quick release plate - got an email 2 weeks after the fact that it wasn't in stock, but will be shortly. Now, 2 weeks is excessive, but given that is about how long cheap stuff takes from overseas I will give them the benefit of the doubt that it will be coming...eventually. Once received, I will leave feedback based on the product...the merchant themselves get rated via the star system and they'll get 1 for shipping time.

In this case with prodigital, its unfortunate and I don't think the listing should even be up unless they actually have the stock (that is how ebay treats individual sellers, why not their merchants as well). On the other hand, why bother with this seller in particular? Because aside from slight slip ups like this, they are generally thought of positively, don't scam their customers and typically offer the best prices around. buyers will probably be getting the best price, even before bing cashback on top of that (which was another 10% the last few weeks).

[speedoo]

Well, if they charged you any kind of refund fee, I would immediately take that up with ebay to get that refunded.

However, I agree with Mike... your negative feedback was premature because you evidently wanted the lens even with the delay. In this case you would have been better off keeping your powder dry and wait for the transaction to be completed, so that you would have gotten the lens you wanted and left feedback that reflected the completed transaction.

[dgaies]

For what it's worth, I also purchased something from them last week (DA70) and when I didn't hear anything from them after a couple of days I sent them a message asking about the status of my order. I was told they were out of stock and they didn't have an actual ETA. They said it usually takes 2-3 weeks. I told them I was disappointed as I assumed they only sold what they had in stock. They asked if I wanted a refund, I declined and said I would wait for now. Ironically, a few days later I got a generic/automated email basically saying the same thing about the backorder and offering the choice of waiting or getting a (full) refund.

[Mike.P®]

Well, if they charged you any kind of refund fee, I would immediately take that up with ebay to get that refunded.

What they probably did is make the refund as a payment so that Paypal make their usual charge 3.5% charge for incoming money rather than processing it as a refund in which case their is no charge. Either that or the fact Prodigital are Canadian so Paypal convert the payment from USA $ to Canadian $ for a fee and would then do the same converting it back. Either way Ebay wont do anything (have had both done to me before).

[hyyz]

I am waiting for my lens now. I have contacted them twice after winning the bid. Only today, I was told by them that the lens shipment won't arrive from Pentax to them until end of this month. I am think whether I should request a refund or keep waiting. It has been a week since I won the auction. My CC was already charged by PayPal.

I think we should alert eBay about such listing practice.

[FHPhotographer]

At least they gave you an automatic rebate. Last year I had the same experience with Prodigital2000: they'll take your money knowing they don't have the product or any expectation of getting in the immediate future, but fail to disclose that fact. I had to raise six kinds of hell with everybody so that they finally, grudgingly, gave me the rebate . They seem to have changed their refund policy, but they also still are using this unethical sales tactic . Lots of people had good service from them, more than a few others have run into similar problems. As far as I'm concerned Prodigital is an ethical low-life. Their underhanded sales technique is so deceitful that they make other sellers on the eBay free market all-skate look good by comparison,
Brian

[stl09]

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one having issues with them! I do feel bad for the others that are in the same situation as I was. Now having seen FHP, HYYZ, DGAIES responses especially's FHP, I don't think that my negative feedback was uncalled for. I'm thinking that the only reason I got the refund was because I filed a complaint very quickly with ebay. It wasn't even so much that they didn't have stock and the lack of notification but it was the fact they charged my credit card and the credit card would be due long before the estimated ETA. I can't even think of one single decent vendor that would charge your card if an item was backordered. I'm glad I posted and I'm sorry to see others are having the same issues. I sincerely hope that you get your lens. I would recommend that you call your credit card company and explaing the situation they may at least put the charge on hold for you until you actually get the lens.

[stl09]

Maybe you should seriously consider filing a complaint with ebay maybe if they get enough on this seller they may do something about them.

I am waiting for my lens now. I have contacted them twice after winning the bid. Only today, I was told by them that the lens shipment won't arrive from Pentax to them until end of this month. I am think whether I should request a refund or keep waiting. It has been a week since I won the auction. My CC was already charged by PayPal.

I think we should alert eBay about such listing practice.

[stl09]

Sorry to see that you got stuck with the fees as well. I contacted ebay but they have not responded as of yet. You're probably right they won't do anything its not that its that much money but it just adds insult to injury.....

What they probably did is make the refund as a payment so that Paypal make their usual charge 3.5% charge for incoming money rather than processing it as a refund in which case their is no charge. Either that or the fact Prodigital are Canadian so Paypal convert the payment from USA $ to Canadian $ for a fee and would then do the same converting it back. Either way Ebay wont do anything (have had both done to me before).

[enoxatnep]

When I won an auction with them for my K20D in October 2008, I went through several hassles with them and needless to say - after finally getting it three weeks later - was adamant that I'd never buy through them again. But then a few weeks ago I read another thread that spoke highly of their recent service, and now this one. So even though their prices are so tempting, I've realized that since I'll never know what kind of service I will/won't receive from them, I'm better off avoiding them altogether.

What I realized from my experience with them is they suffer from an incredible lack of internal communication. So if, for example, I seemed to have gotten something sorted out with one operator over the phone (the best way to deal with them - e-mailing is pretty much a lost cause), I'd phone back a week later and speak with another operator and they would have no record of my previous call, i.e. no details of what was worked out with the previous operator I had spoken with.

It would appear that this communication problem is still the case. I would have hoped in this day and age that it wouldn't be too hard for them to set up some sort of internal database that would make this communication better. But then that might cost too much and they'd have to charge more for camera gear.