[Lincoya]

On July 8th, I found a great price (or so I thought) on a new Nikon S600 from 86th Street Photo & Video online. The price was listed on their website for $75-$100 less than the average retail price offered from other online companies. So, I ordered the camera. Shortly thereafter I received an e-mail confirming my order with a note stating: “Your order is currently:Processing” .

On July 10th, I received another e-mail, which reads in part:
“Dear Mr. Graham,
We thank you for choosing 86th St. Photo & Video (www.86photovideo.com) as your choice for all your photographic equipment.In order to further verify your order, we will need to speak with you on the phone. Please call our Verification department at 1-800-815-2040 Ext. 213 Jason so we may verify and complete processing your order.If you have already called and confirmed your order, you may disregard this request.”

I called the 1-800-number and let it ring until I got an answering machine. I hung up and waiting about 10 minutes and called again. The phone rang about 15 times and then some background music started. Finally, a recorded voice said, “Thanks for holding. Your order is important to us. Please continue to hold and we’ll get to you soon”. After about 15 minutes of this, I finally got a real person. He asked for my order number and then asked me to confirm my shipping address. After that he said, “The Nikon S600 is a very nice camera but I noticed that you didn’t buy a battery for it.” To which I replied, “It said on the website that it comes with a battery.” He said, “Yes sir. But that battery only lasts for 20 minutes. I can sell you an upgraded 5-hour battery.” I said, “I see. You want to sell me an $80 battery.” He then said, “If I could, I would. But I’m going to give you better deal. I’m going to let you have that battery for $49.95.” I told him very emphatically, “I don’t think so. I’ll tell you what. You can cancel my order.” He said, “OK” and hung up on me. I received an e-mail a couple of minutes later stating that my order had been cancelled.

Later I found these comments on ResellerRatings.com at this web address: http://www.resellerratings.com/seller17545-p2-s1-d1.html . There are over 300 BAD reviews listed there about this company. Beware that this company is also listed as Wisetronics.com. according to the Better Business Bureau which also has an unsatisfactory rating for 86th Street Photo & Video. Please don’t order from these people and read, at least, some of the other reviews.Thanks for your patience with my long post but I felt it necessary to report this to my friends here at TU.

Gene

[Delw]

never buy any cameras/electronics through ebay or online cause its not like you can go into the store and kick there #$$. I paid 200 bucks more for my cannon with alot less accesories and bought it local just because of this.
Online though I do trust Dell Computers, they also sell cameras and Tvs and they are just as cheap as places on ebay and online. My wifes lap top is from Dell and we have had no issues and when we needed something for it it was fixed immediatly.

[boomah21]

I am a manager at a best buy and although I would love everyone to shop with us I realize that isnt quite possiable. However I have had customer pay thousands for tvs and other equipment from that 1st site along with a few others run by the same folks and ended up getting broken/used equipment...heck I have even had some that never got anything other than a bill....Always buy from brick and mortar...most the times they will offer some type of price match.

[Travis]

B&H Photo, Adorama, and Ritz about the only online vendors one should ever deal with when it comes to camera, video, etc... I typically have used B&H and have bought over a grand of stuff from them with no problems ever. Many I know have used these three and spent 10k or more and never had any problems.

[King Bait Co.]

What state is this place in? Isn't this aginst the law in the U.S.?

[Lincoya]

Originally Posted by King Bait Co.

What state is this place in? Isn't this aginst the law in the U.S.?

Brooklyn, NY.

[Palmetto Balsa]

Just Google 86th st. camera - Google Search and read the first 3 or 4 items on the page. Someone had $259 charged to there account for a battery they didn't order.
I have purchased a Rebel XTI from Abe's of Maine and another camera and lens from BuyDig.com and was very pleased with my purchases, delivery time and price. I have found that the reviews off of Google Product Search are a reliable indication of the type of company you are dealing with.
B&H seems to have a 5 star rating every where I look, must be a good company.

[jmik26]

B&H Photo
Amazon
Dell
Calumet Photo

All are very reputable places to buy stuff from.