Be aware of photoalley, Liar!

[saturngarden]

Recently a lot of people bought camera from photoalley for the MSN promotion. I'm one of them.
Photoalley has following return policy on their website.

What is your pricing policy?

PhotoAlley does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or reliability of information appearing on the site. The site may contain errors and omissions relating to product description, pricing and availability. We reserve the right to correct or update errors or omissions and to change information at our discretion without prior notice. We also reserve the right to cancel an order for a product in the event of an error or omission in the description of such product, including incorrect pricing information, whether due to a typographical error, an error in information received from our suppliers, or otherwise.



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What is your return policy?

PhotoAlley.com will refund the full price, less shipping costs, of any item purchased from us if returned in the condition received and within the return period. Due to the holidays, products purchased as gifts must be returned by January 15, 2001. Returns will not be accepted without an RMA number. Please refer to the procedure below regarding the returns process.



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How do I return an item?

To ensure full credit for your returns, please do the following:


Inspect your order immediately upon receipt. We cannot accept returns after the 30 day authorized return period.

Call us toll free or email PhotoAlley.com for a Return Authorization Number:

By Telephone, (800) 311-8120
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
By Email, at customercare@photoalley.com

All items must be returned in original condition, including all warranty cards, product manuals, cartons. Include your Return Authorization Number and a copy of your shipping receipt in the shipping container.

Pack all items in a strong shipping container. Return your package freight prepaid. We cannot accept any returns sent C.O.D. or "shipping charges collect".

Return your package to:

PhotoAlley.com Returns
B96
80 Micro Drive
Jonestown, PA 17038
Please write the RMA number clearly on the outside of the shipping carton.


Credit will be applied to the same credit card you used to purchase the order.

Returns that do not meet the PhotoAlley.com Return Policy will be assessed a 15% restocking fee, if accepted.

For any questions regarding a return, please call Customer Care at (800) 311-8120


When I called (800) 311-8120 today to request a RMA for returning item. What I bought is a DV camcorder, unopend , in original box.
The CSR told me every returned item will be charged 15% restocking unless it meets their return policy. My item doesn't meet their Return Policy because it is not defective.

Did they try to tell us full money back gurantee on their website , then rip off us when returning.

What should I do?

 

[Rally1]

resellerratings.com

 

[saturngarden]

<< resellerratings.com >>


I already did it. The restocking fee is $100+

 

[TekDemon]

Play by their rules and break the camera then send it back for a full refund. lol.

That would work no?

 

[flight23]

Here's what you should do:

First, return the product if you do not want it. If you want to try and get past the hassle of the 15% then call them again, ask to speak to a supervisor. Nowhere in what you posted does it say that the product must be defective to return it so as far as the web page is concerned you are within the return policy. Make sure you print out the page and take screenshots of the page with the return policy in case they change it.
If manager/supervisor man will not accept the return without the 15% then send the product back and dispute the charge. Call the place again and tell them that you were within the return policy as per the webpage and should not be charged the 15% and if you are then you will leave the charge under dispute and file a complaint with the BBB. If theyre still pissy file a complaint with the BBB IN THEIR DISTRICT (check their address etc).. and then sit and wait, as long as the charge is under dispute you wont have to pay it on your CC.

 

[TekDemon]

lol why do all that work with the hassle when you can just play with a hammer?

 

[labooboo]

I am not going to order anything from them.

 

[saturngarden]

<< Here's what you should do:

First, return the product if you do not want it. If you want to try and get past the hassle of the 15% then call them again, ask to speak to a supervisor. Nowhere in what you posted does it say that the product must be defective to return it so as far as the web page is concerned you are within the return policy. Make sure you print out the page and take screenshots of the page with the return policy in case they change it.
If manager/supervisor man will not accept the return without the 15% then send the product back and dispute the charge. Call the place again and tell them that you were within the return policy as per the webpage and should not be charged the 15% and if you are then you will leave the charge under dispute and file a complaint with the BBB. If theyre still pissy file a complaint with the BBB IN THEIR DISTRICT (check their address etc).. and then sit and wait, as long as the charge is under dispute you wont have to pay it on your CC. >>



I alreay printed the web page for proof. I will attach a letter in the box claiming that I'm not willing to pay the 15% restocking fee, and I will not give up if they chrage me.

 

[sm]

I also had a bad experience with Photoalley. The camcorder they sent me was in a badly damaged package meaning the retail box and not the outer package. They had the conciense of packing a beaten down product and sending it to someone who paid a full price. The box was all taped up and then packed inside shipping carton box. They show no regrets or dont feel bad about it when I reached them over phone. Mail it back and we dont offer replacement in such case was their answer. I lost time which is of significant essense at this time as this was a gift for someone.

In nutshell, a bad customer service and bad ethics.

Will never buy from them again and would never recommend them to anyone.

 

[VaG]

AVOID PHOTOALLEY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm tired of telling my horror stories. Just trust me on this one.

 

[saturngarden]

<< I also had a bad experience with Photoalley. The camcorder they sent me was in a badly damaged package meaning the retail box and not the outer package. They had the conciense of packing a beaten down product and sending it to someone who paid a full price. The box was all taped up and then packed inside shipping carton box. They show no regrets or dont feel bad about it when I reached them over phone. Mail it back and we dont offer replacement in such case was their answer. I lost time which is of significant essense at this time as this was a gift for someone.
In nutshell, a bad customer service and bad ethics.
Will never buy from them again and would never recommend them to anyone. >>


Did you complain? Anyway, it seems they don't care.

 

[saturngarden]

<< AVOID PHOTOALLEY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm tried of telling my horror stories. Just trust me on this one. >>


Why don't you tell us early?

 

[Justincase]

I agree - PhotoAlley has no ethics. They also have no customer service (it's outsourced to a fulfillment company), and no direct phone number (800 number is the fulfillment company, and I can't find a local San Francisco number for the company).

I had a bad experience with them on the Dimage 7 cameras, and still haven't received the $100.00 Gift Check for my orders after 3 weeks (actually hoping they won't send it, so that I can dispute and get back 100 real dollars instead, but I have to make a good faith effort of 2 phone calls to try to obtain that gift check, before I dispute it).

I am surprised their resellerratings are so high - it does not reflect their true level of 'service'. If everyone that's had a bad experience with them would fill out the comment form at http://www.resellerratings.com it would more accurately reflect this company's poor level of service.

 

[vette9898]

Their Customer Service is the WORST I have ever seen in my life. I am one of the people that ordered the night before Thanksgiving for 2 Dimage 7s. I finally just recieved the second camera. I had to call and email them every single day since then to get my cameras. On one problem I sent customer service 12 emails and never got a response. Plus I am still waiting on one gift check plus a $300 credit. One of the cameras was an open box with everything opened inside. I WILL never order from them again. :|

 

[Speedy3D!]

why even bother with them?

 

[phreeco]

way to go, TekDemon,

well if they r not playin by the rules, why should we ? TAke the hammer, fix the baby. There are various online store rating sites, easy to find, just do a search, don't miss any of them.

also be polite when dealilng w/ the seller...and know what you have to do, by all means.

*just my 2 cents, or maybe 3.

-phreeco

 

[sm]

You are right speedy3D, why bother with them !!

Thats the whole point of this thread to warn others not to bother with them. More than likely you will have a bad experience with them.

Their dealings made me register with resellerratings and leave a bad eval for them so that true ratings gets reflected and thats what I will recommend to everyone else here also who have been treated shabbily by them.

 

[saturngarden]

I will post negotive commnet on resellerrating, and bizrate. Any others?:|

 

[Justincase]

>>>why even bother with them?<<<

Well, they did have a good reputation (in fact, someone over at Fat Wallet got upset when I said I would share my poor PhotoAlley experience at resellerratings). And the fact that they made a $300 pricing error on the Dimage 7 + $100 MSN + $100 Gift Check + Pricematch made that deal IRRESISTABLE (my final cost is going to be under $250 I think, for this $1,500.00 retail camera). My single prior experience with PhotoAlley on a Sharp VL-WD450 Camcorder was OK, and I did not anticipate any problem with them. I would still buy from them on a big pricing error, but not under most normal circumstances.

BTW, Vette: I don't know if "open box" means yours did not come in good condition, but both of my Dimage 7s did not have a manufacturer's seal on the box. In my experience with 15+ digital camera purchases, it seems only Hewlett-Packard puts a seal on their boxes...so far, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus and Fuji, do not (at least not on the models I have purchased). My Dimage 7s appear to be new, but no seal. The Dimage 7 lens is outstanding - first picture taken with my Dimage 7: Bad Hair Day There are some annoyances with the camera - the ones covered at Steve's Digicams. My 2 biggest problems are that the batteries are dead after 2-10 flash pictures - totally unacceptable...and that the focus for 'self-timer' has to be set before one steps into the picture (totally bizarre - never had a camera that does this).

 

[Justincase]

>>>I will post negotive commnet on resellerrating, and bizrate. Any others?:|<<<

Yeah...Gomez Advisors probably. And also one or more of the price search engines have customer reviews - probably Priicegrabber and/or ZDNet. The more negative posts the merrier

 

[masterjp]

JustInCase: I can remember once you were saying buy from PhotoAlley, don't buy from any company in NY.
I can see that you've burned yourself with PhotoAlley and you've learned something.

Let me tell you in short my story with my Dimage 7:
I wasted 3 days on the phone with really mean and rude reps trying to buy Dimage 7. They refused to give the gift check (because it expired although the site says it valid till the end of December), refused to allow me to use the MSN promo (because the site is not working, but of course you can buy without it) and most important they bumped the price with $300 (because they are too greedy to sell it at the price everybody else does).
Than I just bought my camera from MPSuperStore AND used the MSN promo. I got the camera on the 5th day. There is not even a shadow of a doubt that MPSuperStore is shady, bait and switch Company from NY, but if you are hard the rep can't sell you any overpriced accessories and extended warranty. And most important I was able to get the same camera for $300 less. Brand new, retail, with all accessories in the box.

So for me the conclusions are the following:
1. Never, ever buy anything from PhotoAlley.
2. Never, ever buy anything from MPSuperStore.
3. When someone is trying to push the people to jump on his commission don?t defend him.
4. AT is the best place for deals.
5. MSN promo rocks.

 

[doodoodoo]

I bought a bracket and a flask from photoalley and I received the flash today. The panel on the back was scratched and I found it was weird for a new flash. Now I know the reason.

 

[vette9898]

<< >>>why even bother with them?<<<

Well, they did have a good reputation (in fact, someone over at Fat Wallet got upset when I said I would share my poor PhotoAlley experience at resellerratings). And the fact that they made a $300 pricing error on the Dimage 7 + $100 MSN + $100 Gift Check + Pricematch made that deal IRRESISTABLE (my final cost is going to be under $250 I think, for this $1,500.00 retail camera). My single prior experience with PhotoAlley on a Sharp VL-WD450 Camcorder was OK, and I did not anticipate any problem with them. I would still buy from them on a big pricing error, but not under most normal circumstances.

BTW, Vette: I don't know if "open box" means yours did not come in good condition, but both of my Dimage 7s did not have a manufacturer's seal on the box. In my experience with 15+ digital camera purchases, it seems only Hewlett-Packard puts a seal on their boxes...so far, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus and Fuji, do not (at least not on the models I have purchased). My Dimage 7s appear to be new, but no seal. The Dimage 7 lens is outstanding - first picture taken with my Dimage 7: Bad Hair Day There are some annoyances with the camera - the ones covered at Steve's Digicams. My 2 biggest problems are that the batteries are dead after 2-10 flash pictures - totally unacceptable...and that the focus for 'self-timer' has to be set before one steps into the picture (totally bizarre - never had a camera that does this). >>



I actually ended up getting 3 dimage 7s. One was sent by accident. What i meant by open box was this one did not have the rechargeable batteries or recharger, had older software version and the cables and compact flash card bag was torn open. But thats cool because I have to send one back so I will send back the open box one and keep the other 2.

 

[poolshark]

I am sure there are merchant laws these criminals are breaking by sending used merchandise in place of new.
Let this be a lesson for everyone reading this to never buy from them and always buy with American Express so you are guarnteed a return and double the warranty period.

 

[Justincase]

>>>JustInCase: I can remember once you were saying buy from PhotoAlley, don't buy from any company in NY.<<<

Nope. Never said that. You are mistaken. I said there are many vendors in Brooklyn that should be avoided, but I have NEVER said not to buy from ANY company in New York. In fact, there are plenty of places that have very good reputations...Willoughby's, Adorama, B&H Photo, 6th Avenue Electronics, to name a few...in the past, Olden Camera & Camera Barn were both excellent (both are now defunct). Over the past 25 years, I have made purchases from all of these New York stores, and 47th St. Photo and other NYC stores, and have been quite happy with my purchases. But I wouldn't touch most of the Crooklyn, NY stores.


>>>I can see that you've burned yourself with PhotoAlley and you've learned something.

They gave me problems...I didn't "burn myself" - not sure where you're getting that from. I haven't actually lost anything, and I do intend to get everything I am entitled to from them. The ONLY issue left now is whether they send me the 2 $100 GCs, or Amex charges back $200 to PhotoAlley - there is no other possible outcome. Yes, I have learned something...how to better deal with these companies.


>>>Than I just bought my camera from MPSuperStore AND used the MSN promo. I got the camera on the 5th day. There is not even a shadow of a doubt that MPSuperStore is shady, bait and switch Company from NY, but if you are hard the rep can't sell you any overpriced accessories and extended warranty. And most important I was able to get the same camera for $300 less. Brand new, retail, with all accessories in the box.<<<

If you are happy with your deal, great. I'll be very satisfied with my final price of $250'ish on these Dimage 7s when all is said and done, but not so happy with the company. I despise some rotten companies such as Dell, but I still bite when they have killer deals that nobody else offers.


>>>2. Never, ever buy anything from MPSuperStore.<<<

Huh? Why? You just said you did.