I feel like an idiot!

stormdore · 06-11-2008, 11:55 AM

I've been bamboozled! Normally, I'm pretty good at recognizing scams, but this one GOT ME. I ordered a Pentax AF-360 from Broadway Photo. I got a call and the guy was talking a million miles an hour. I was distracted at work and somehow wound up agreeing to a battery pack and recharger for $69. Right after hanging up, I knew I made an error. I called back and while on hold, I looked up reviews for Broadway Photo.

Apparently, this is a huge tactic of theirs! They "bait and switch" and get customers to pay WAAYY more than what they bargained for. In addition, they sell "grey market" items. So, my "good price" of a flash winds up costing almost as much as a 540 with the rebate!!!

I don't even know if the flash is new, refurbished, or used!

By the time I got back in touch with Broadway, only 15 min had passed since I last talked to them. The "regional manager" said that the order had been shipped. NO WAY! Only 15 minutes had passed! I demanded that he cancel my order. He said that I could return the item, but had to pay shipping both ways ($25 each way) and a $25 restocking fee. So, $75 to return the flash.

So, I will wait for my almost $300 flash that is only worth $125 if I would have bought it from the more reputable Amazon with the rebate. I'm embarrassed and ashamed that I "fell for it."

My advice - Never EVER order anything from Broadway photo. This was a very expensive lesson. Please learn from my mistake...

Terri

**Lowell Goudge** · 06-11-2008, 12:07 PM

I am not sure what the US marketing laws say about the practice you have described, but in many places it is not legal.

Having been in NY many times, I regularly see products advertised in store windows, at an apparently low price, only to be told when you go in to purchase it, that you have no option but to purchase some very dubious options, and they say it is part of the package, get the product at say $249 but only if you spend $100 more on unwanted extras. Nowhere on the sign in the window, is there any disclaimer about this.

Tom S. · 06-11-2008, 12:16 PM

Broadway is great for doing that. They tried to sell me a $195 "10 hour" lithium battery and charger for the K20D I tried to order from them. The salesman claimed the stock battery only lasted 15 minutes! When I refused, the camera suddenly became "out of stock".

In the state of Michigan, you have 72 hours to cancel any sales contract. Check to see if your local state has the same or similar law. If you are still within the cancellation time frame, send them an email cancelling the order (so you have documentation) and if it has shipped (which I doubt), refuse the order and contact your credit card company.

BTW Broadway Photo operates under other aliases but I can't remember what they are.

stormdore · 06-11-2008, 12:17 PM

I'm making myself sick thinking about this!! The more searching I do, the more I realize that there have been thousands of people scammed by these frauds!! There should be SOMETHING that we can do! A class action law suit? How does one even go about doing that?

Terri

Jodokast96 · 06-11-2008, 12:20 PM

Theres a reason why places like resellerratings.com exist Broadway Photo / A&M Photo World, Regal Camera, Prestige Camera, Preferred Photo, Royal Camera, more Customer Ratings, Reviews and Prices at ResellerRatings

rormeister · 06-11-2008, 12:43 PM

stormdore, sorry to hear your horrible experience. After reading your post I did a quick google on "Broadway Photo Complaints" and the first item was this.
You're not kidding, these folks are real scumbags.
Thanks for the warning!

drabina · 06-11-2008, 12:54 PM

Ask them to provide you with tracking # if they claim that the item shipped. For $25 it should have one plus insurance. If they cannot prove to you that the item actually shipped, you should be able to cancel the order. You can also talk to your credit card company.

thear · 06-11-2008, 12:58 PM

Broadway Photo: $183.00

Amazon: $180.90

Adorama: $180.90

Why did you choose Broadway Photo over Amazon or Adorama? BTW, the rebate doesn't apply, unless, you purchase a body.

Andreas · 06-11-2008, 01:00 PM

Feel sorry for you.

Now the good news: I am from Belgium, Europe, and the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the name "Broadway Photo" is: no! A scam! They are becoming famous for that -even here.

christinelandon · 06-11-2008, 01:01 PM

As Drabina suggests, get in touch with your credit card company and cancel that order ASAP. Next time you want to order online from a firm you haven't done satisfactory business with in the past, take Judocast's advice and do some research on resellerratings.com. B'way Photo and its numerous aliases are pretty notorious. Hope things will work out OK for you this time.

Ed in GA · 06-11-2008, 01:17 PM

I was very fortunate in this aspect.

I remebered from back in the 70s all of the different companies that advertised in the various magazines. Most of them were "bait and switch" outfits.

When I re-entered to world of photography two years ago, I bought my K100D from a local. Once I had bought it, I started snooping around the internet for forums, such as this one, and I learned a lot about who not to purchase from before I ever made my first on-line purchase.

The first time I inquired about an online retailer, I was directed to ressellerratings.com. But, even after looking at the ratings, I asked here, and on two other forums, about the experiences people had buying from the various site.

One thing that came up most often was to avoid, at all costs, Broadway Photo and any of its aliases. I am thankful that I paid attention to what I was told.

So far, I have had no bad dealings with any of the people I have purchased from online.

They include

B&Hphoto.com
BeachCamera.com
Amazon.com
Calumetphoto.com
OneCall.com (I've had good luck with this one but some others have not.)
Adorama.com
CameralandNY.com (Good source for Lowepro Bags)

I've pretty much determined, at this point, if one of those seven don't have what I want then I probably don't really need to get it.

Ed

ps: I've made one purchase of used equipment from cameta.com. That worked out to be a good deal as well.

jsherman999 · 06-11-2008, 02:20 PM

Under no circumstances should you let them convince you that 'the order has shipped' and you can't cancel.

I dealt with Broadway Photo when I originally tried to buy my K100D, and I had the same thing happen to me, except they sent me an email saying they had to 'confirm my shipping address' or something, and then when I called they said that the original package (body only) was out of stock and they only had a package of crap including extra crappy batteries, tripod, etc, all way overpriced. I originally agreed to the crap package, but then after reading about them online I called them back a couple hours later and got the same sort of BS ("package has shipped", etc.)

I told them this: You will cancel this order immediately or I will call my credit card company and cancel the payment, and then contact the NY state better business bureau and report them. The guy said literally "OK your order is cancelled" CLICK - he hung up as he was finishing the sentence - on to another sucker, I guess.

DO NOT LET THEM BULLY YOU. Cancel the payment with your CC asap if they don't cooperate.

.

Confused · 06-11-2008, 04:13 PM

Hi Terri (stormdore)

Sorry to hear about your unfortunate run-in with Broadway Photo. When considering the purchase of an item via the internet, never has the well-worn Latin expression 'caveat emptor' (buyer beware !) been more appropriate. I guess we all like to believe that everyone selling stuff via the web are nice genuine people, but regrettably in many cases, experience often proves otherwise. Bargains are not always what they may at first seem and if an item appears way too cheap by comparison with other retailers, usually there is a pretty good reason for it, as sadly you've discovered to your cost ! The unpalatable facts of the matter are that there are plenty of disreputable 'outfits' out there, just waiting to rip-off unsuspecting or naive customers. If I were you, I'd do an awful lot more research about whom you deal with in future and take a great deal of care, before risking your funds unnecessarily.

Best regards
Richard

Antitrust · 06-11-2008, 07:00 PM

Here is a huge list of good and bad companies:

Where/Where Not to Purchase Your Camera

I suggest bookmarking it and telling everyone about it. So many people are still being scammed, it's ridiculous.

The problem is, if they tell about it online, they mention a single shop, which people promptly forget

Adam67 · 06-12-2008, 08:21 AM

Originally posted by Antitrust

Here is a huge list of good and bad companies:

Where/Where Not to Purchase Your Camera

I suggest bookmarking it and telling everyone about it. So many people are still being scammed, it's ridiculous.

The problem is, if they tell about it online, they mention a single shop, which people promptly forget

I would say that list is WAY out of date and questionable at best. Most of the "Ok" dealers on there are not good; some of the "good" one's are questionable and it's missing some "exceptional"(don't really like that term for any of them) ones like onecall & Crutchfield. Most people would classify Adorama as good (or even exceptional going by that list). IMHO all of the "exceptional" ones are good and the rest are questionable except as noted above. I would also classify Buy.com as good as well as Amazon and Ecost.

06-11-2008, 11:55 AM	#1
stormdore Inactive Account Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Madison, VA Posts: 35	I feel like an idiot! I've been bamboozled! Normally, I'm pretty good at recognizing scams, but this one GOT ME. I ordered a Pentax AF-360 from Broadway Photo. I got a call and the guy was talking a million miles an hour. I was distracted at work and somehow wound up agreeing to a battery pack and recharger for $69. Right after hanging up, I knew I made an error. I called back and while on hold, I looked up reviews for Broadway Photo. Apparently, this is a huge tactic of theirs! They "bait and switch" and get customers to pay WAAYY more than what they bargained for. In addition, they sell "grey market" items. So, my "good price" of a flash winds up costing almost as much as a 540 with the rebate!!! I don't even know if the flash is new, refurbished, or used! By the time I got back in touch with Broadway, only 15 min had passed since I last talked to them. The "regional manager" said that the order had been shipped. NO WAY! Only 15 minutes had passed! I demanded that he cancel my order. He said that I could return the item, but had to pay shipping both ways ($25 each way) and a $25 restocking fee. So, $75 to return the flash. So, I will wait for my almost $300 flash that is only worth $125 if I would have bought it from the more reputable Amazon with the rebate. I'm embarrassed and ashamed that I "fell for it." My advice - Never EVER order anything from Broadway photo. This was a very expensive lesson. Please learn from my mistake... Terri

06-11-2008, 12:07 PM	#2
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,888	is it legal? I am not sure what the US marketing laws say about the practice you have described, but in many places it is not legal. Having been in NY many times, I regularly see products advertised in store windows, at an apparently low price, only to be told when you go in to purchase it, that you have no option but to purchase some very dubious options, and they say it is part of the package, get the product at say $249 but only if you spend $100 more on unwanted extras. Nowhere on the sign in the window, is there any disclaimer about this.

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06-11-2008, 12:16 PM	#3
Tom S. Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Michigan Photos: Albums Posts: 4,317	Broadway is great for doing that. They tried to sell me a $195 "10 hour" lithium battery and charger for the K20D I tried to order from them. The salesman claimed the stock battery only lasted 15 minutes! When I refused, the camera suddenly became "out of stock". In the state of Michigan, you have 72 hours to cancel any sales contract. Check to see if your local state has the same or similar law. If you are still within the cancellation time frame, send them an email cancelling the order (so you have documentation) and if it has shipped (which I doubt), refuse the order and contact your credit card company. BTW Broadway Photo operates under other aliases but I can't remember what they are.

06-11-2008, 12:17 PM	#4
stormdore Inactive Account Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Madison, VA Posts: 35 Original Poster	I'm making myself sick thinking about this!! The more searching I do, the more I realize that there have been thousands of people scammed by these frauds!! There should be SOMETHING that we can do! A class action law suit? How does one even go about doing that? Terri

06-11-2008, 12:20 PM	#5
Jodokast96 Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Erial, NJ USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,134	Theres a reason why places like resellerratings.com exist Broadway Photo / A&M Photo World, Regal Camera, Prestige Camera, Preferred Photo, Royal Camera, more Customer Ratings, Reviews and Prices at ResellerRatings

06-11-2008, 12:43 PM	#6
rormeister Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 626	stormdore, sorry to hear your horrible experience. After reading your post I did a quick google on "Broadway Photo Complaints" and the first item was this. You're not kidding, these folks are real scumbags. Thanks for the warning!

06-11-2008, 12:54 PM	#7
drabina Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: NJ Posts: 525	Ask them to provide you with tracking # if they claim that the item shipped. For $25 it should have one plus insurance. If they cannot prove to you that the item actually shipped, you should be able to cancel the order. You can also talk to your credit card company.

06-11-2008, 12:58 PM	#8
thear Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 83	Broadway Photo: $183.00 Amazon: $180.90 Adorama: $180.90 Why did you choose Broadway Photo over Amazon or Adorama? BTW, the rebate doesn't apply, unless, you purchase a body.

06-11-2008, 01:00 PM	#9
Andreas Inactive Account Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 75	Feel sorry for you. Now the good news: I am from Belgium, Europe, and the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the name "Broadway Photo" is: no! A scam! They are becoming famous for that -even here.

06-11-2008, 01:01 PM	#10
christinelandon Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Seattle, Washington, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 812	As Drabina suggests, get in touch with your credit card company and cancel that order ASAP. Next time you want to order online from a firm you haven't done satisfactory business with in the past, take Judocast's advice and do some research on resellerratings.com. B'way Photo and its numerous aliases are pretty notorious. Hope things will work out OK for you this time.

06-11-2008, 01:17 PM	#11
Ed in GA Guest	I was very fortunate in this aspect. I remebered from back in the 70s all of the different companies that advertised in the various magazines. Most of them were "bait and switch" outfits. When I re-entered to world of photography two years ago, I bought my K100D from a local. Once I had bought it, I started snooping around the internet for forums, such as this one, and I learned a lot about who not to purchase from before I ever made my first on-line purchase. The first time I inquired about an online retailer, I was directed to ressellerratings.com. But, even after looking at the ratings, I asked here, and on two other forums, about the experiences people had buying from the various site. One thing that came up most often was to avoid, at all costs, Broadway Photo and any of its aliases. I am thankful that I paid attention to what I was told. So far, I have had no bad dealings with any of the people I have purchased from online. They include B&Hphoto.com BeachCamera.com Amazon.com Calumetphoto.com OneCall.com (I've had good luck with this one but some others have not.) Adorama.com CameralandNY.com (Good source for Lowepro Bags) I've pretty much determined, at this point, if one of those seven don't have what I want then I probably don't really need to get it. Ed ps: I've made one purchase of used equipment from cameta.com. That worked out to be a good deal as well.

06-11-2008, 02:20 PM	#12
jsherman999 Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,237	Under no circumstances should you let them convince you that 'the order has shipped' and you can't cancel. I dealt with Broadway Photo when I originally tried to buy my K100D, and I had the same thing happen to me, except they sent me an email saying they had to 'confirm my shipping address' or something, and then when I called they said that the original package (body only) was out of stock and they only had a package of crap including extra crappy batteries, tripod, etc, all way overpriced. I originally agreed to the crap package, but then after reading about them online I called them back a couple hours later and got the same sort of BS ("package has shipped", etc.) I told them this: You will cancel this order immediately or I will call my credit card company and cancel the payment, and then contact the NY state better business bureau and report them. The guy said literally "OK your order is cancelled" CLICK - he hung up as he was finishing the sentence - on to another sucker, I guess. DO NOT LET THEM BULLY YOU. Cancel the payment with your CC asap if they don't cooperate. .

06-11-2008, 04:13 PM	#13
Confused Inactive Account Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: London Posts: 1,067	Hi Terri (stormdore) Sorry to hear about your unfortunate run-in with Broadway Photo. When considering the purchase of an item via the internet, never has the well-worn Latin expression 'caveat emptor' (buyer beware !) been more appropriate. I guess we all like to believe that everyone selling stuff via the web are nice genuine people, but regrettably in many cases, experience often proves otherwise. Bargains are not always what they may at first seem and if an item appears way too cheap by comparison with other retailers, usually there is a pretty good reason for it, as sadly you've discovered to your cost ! The unpalatable facts of the matter are that there are plenty of disreputable 'outfits' out there, just waiting to rip-off unsuspecting or naive customers. If I were you, I'd do an awful lot more research about whom you deal with in future and take a great deal of care, before risking your funds unnecessarily. Best regards Richard

06-11-2008, 07:00 PM	#14
Antitrust New Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 17	Here is a huge list of good and bad companies: Where/Where Not to Purchase Your Camera I suggest bookmarking it and telling everyone about it. So many people are still being scammed, it's ridiculous. The problem is, if they tell about it online, they mention a single shop, which people promptly forget

06-12-2008, 08:21 AM	#15
Adam67 Forum Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: MI Posts: 62	Originally posted by Antitrust Here is a huge list of good and bad companies: Where/Where Not to Purchase Your Camera I suggest bookmarking it and telling everyone about it. So many people are still being scammed, it's ridiculous. The problem is, if they tell about it online, they mention a single shop, which people promptly forget I would say that list is WAY out of date and questionable at best. Most of the "Ok" dealers on there are not good; some of the "good" one's are questionable and it's missing some "exceptional"(don't really like that term for any of them) ones like onecall & Crutchfield. Most people would classify Adorama as good (or even exceptional going by that list). IMHO all of the "exceptional" ones are good and the rest are questionable except as noted above. I would also classify Buy.com as good as well as Amazon and Ecost.