(Updated December 17, 2008): US1Camera/US1Didigtal/US1Photo previously had a 8.89 rating on resellerratings, but it has plummeted to 6.46. Most importantly, there are recent, very negative reviews which appear to indicate they are trying to "upsell" buyers with overpriced accessories, and if the buyer declines, the original item is then out of stock. Here's the resellerratings link.
US1Photo (aka US1Camera, aka US1Digital aka Photomania) appears frequently on even legitimate price comparison sites such as Nextag. Read an overview of them on sheddingsomelight.com here. Here is their favorable better business bureau report.
However, it appears that there has been some degree of manipulation of ratings with fake feedback.
Note that they simply cut and paste favorable feedback of other e-tailers from other price comparison sites:
Review of US1Camera on Nextag posted on April 29, 2007:
""I never had any better Internet shopping experience. My new camera came one day before I expected.My experience with US1Camera.com was one of the best experiences.""
Review on Priceshaker of Abe’s of Maine submitted on November 8, 2006 by miclarry03:
“I never had any better Internet shopping experience. My new camera came one day before I expected.My experience with abesofmaine.com was one of the best experiences.”
Review of the camera professionals on Ratingsplanet:
“never had any better Internet shopping experience. My new camera came one day before I expected.My experience with thecamerapros.com was one of the best experiences”
They also appear to post the same feedback on different sites:
Review of US1Photo on Nextag:
"I was first a little skeptical about the company. After reading some of the great reviews, I figured I'd give them a try, since they beat everyone's pricing by ~ $80 for the Nikon 70-300mm VR AF Lens with free shipping.
Review of US1Photo on ResellerRatings:
“I was first a little sceptical about the company. After reading some of the great reviews, I figured I'd give them a try, since they beat everyone's pricing by ~ $80 for the Nikon 70-300mm VR AF Lens with free shipping.”
Review of US1Camera on PriceGrabber:
“I was first a little sceptical about the company. After reading some of the great reviews, I figured I'd give them a try, since they beat everyone's pricing by ~ $80 for the Nikon 70-300mm VR AF Lens with free shipping. I recieved the lens in only 7 days and I'm quite happy about the whole experience. I would definately use them again.”
Here’s another example:
Review of US1Camera on Epinions.com:
“US1Photo offered a great price on a Canon HV30 and then followed through with free delivery. The product arrived as expected and in new condition. No issues.”
Review of US1Photo on Nextag:
“US1Photo offered a great price on a Canon HV30 and then followed through with free delivery. The product arrived as expected and in new condition. No issues.”
The recent upswing in complaints on resellerratings against US1Photo is troubling, but they still have a favorable report from the Better Business Bureau. Per Nextag, their price for the Canon HV30 was $50 cheaper than Dell, a known, reputable dealer. For me personally, $50 is more than worth the peace of mind.
22 comments:
I placed an order for a Canon 40D, 17-85mm IS lens, and 50mm 1.8 lense in late March 08. Total price shipped came out to $1329, which was about $100 better than I could find anywhere else. After placing the order I read some of these kinds of warnings and got paranoid.
They called me a few days later to tell me the 17-85 was out of stock and offered to swap for a 18-55 for free. I said I'd wait for the lens to get back in stock. A week later I hadn't heard anything, so called them to cancel. Suddenly the lens was in stock and they shipped that day. Everything came and was in perfect brand new condition with USA warranties.
Bottom line, clearly they like to pull some bait and switch where they can. In my case I held firm and got what I ordered for a great price. Not sure I'd do business with them again though. Would depend on the discount and how patient I was about getting the product.
They guys are pretty shady. Do a few Google searches, and you'll see that their low prices are not nearly all they are cracked up to be.
In the photo market, the three guys that lead the way are:
(1) Amazon
(2) B&H Photo
(3) Adorama
Always compare you prices with these guys. If you see ANYTHING $100+ cheaper than the prices at these companies, then you can pretty much be sure you are dealing with a shady company....so expect delays mixed in with hassles.
Who knows what happens when/if you ever have to return anything to these guys. Chances are they'll never take 'em.
You've been warned!
Take a look at this doctored photo on their website:
http://offtopic.glennchan.info/us1photo/
Lol.
Order placed on 10/25/08-> Credit card charged on 10/26/08-> Received shipping confirmation email on 10/30/08-> Receive package on 10/31/08.
The Nikon D700 seems to be legit USA model (I will check with Nikon USA)and no one calls to sell accessories. If you can live with the fact that they charge your credit card days before they ship out your order, then you should check them out.
I always shop at B&H, Adorama and Beach Camera. I decided to try out US1Photo and it turned out fine.
I used this company three times so far. I bought Canon P&S camera, sony camcorder AVCHD one and finally ordered Nikon D300 yesterday. Except the first one, I got on same BS with the company... about shipping time. It seems it is everybody's complaint about this company. When I ordered Sony camcorder 9 months ago (it was $200 or so cheaper than other company), my credit card company messed up and denied the order. When credit company fixed this problem, it took them three days to process order again. Then, I didn't get any tracking number, so I called again. Then, they said it takes 2-4 days to process order. I waited couple more days (one week cuz 5 business day/week crap), and they still didn't process order. The sales person is so rude that I never saw any sales person in my life that beats them. Everyone who works there are rude and put you on hold forever. After calling 10 times or so with getting really upset many times and talk to manager multiple times (who was rude as well), they processed the order. Then, a day later they called and told me they cancelled my order because they double ordered. Anyway, it was big mess.
I got my stuff. It took two weeks or so to process the order (and they upgraded to express 3 days shipping for free because of that and gave me $20 discount on next order).
The item is legit and brand new without problem, just like the previous order I received from them.
Bottom line?? So far they gave me right item and brand new one as promised. Order processing and Shipping is nightmare and may take one month to get your stuff.
I ordered a Sony HDR-SR12 from US1photo/US1Camera online. The order said it was in stock. 6 business days later I got an email saying they need to confirm my CC info. I spend a few hours calling because no one picks up (it was during business hours). Finally get a hold of someone there and they inform me that they are out of stock. US1Photo was the cheapest but one of the lowest rated merchants. Now I know why. Do not buy from them!
I had a pretty bad experience with this company - bait and trying to upsell, high-pressure sales call etc. Canceled the order but am still waiting to see whether they charged my card or not. Prepare to be on hold forever. In short... Avoid!
I ordered a Canon Digital Rebel XSi with the 18-55mm kit lens, which was the same price as the body alone many other places.
They said that they would take 2-3 days to process my order, then sent me an email a week and a half later saying that they needed me to "call Bruce and confirm the order" because it had such a "high value".
Bruce proceeded to attempt to upsell me a memory card and a battery "that would last for more than 20 minutes", which I found suspicious because Canon states that the stock battery for their camera lasts 600 shots.
I politely declined, and got an email the next day stating that my order was canceled because their wholesalers couldn't keep up due to the econonmy.
I call bullshit.
I ordered a Canon Digital Rebel XSi with the 18-55mm kit lens from the and they had the cheapest price around.
More than a week passed by and i heard nothing so i called, spoke to an extremely rude agent who made sure to get his point across that the camera would arrive in 3-4 weeks even though site said in stock. i proceeded with the order but then read some onine reviews which scared and annoyed me, so i called back a million times and at every single time would get the message telling me theres an incredibly high call volume coming in, and i woudl be on hodl for 20 mins or more, since i was a t work i let it hold it was more like 30 minutes and I literally left my office & went to the store and came back and thats when i finally got through. I immediately cancelled my order with a more polite agent.
Today is Jan 8th, 2009 and i got my camera yesterday after paying nearly $50 more from some seller on amazon. I'm sure that I still wouldn't have my item had i kept my order with US1. Their phone system sucks, order processing time sucks and cust srvc sucks. spened the extra money, get your item , and be happy. Maybe my order woudl have been fulfilled but I don't like waiting a whoole month to get my orders.
Dont waste your time, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED
BUYER BEWARE! I placed an order for a Canon VIXIA HF100 camcorder, no accessories, on 12-30-08. The item info said it was in stock. With free shipping this was supposed to arrive in 7 to 9 days. I used the link provided in the confirmation email to check up on tracking it and the link went to a generic page with no way to track. I emailed them twice. No reply. Called them. On hold for 30 minutes before an operator told me it was "out of stock." He said they'd emailed me twice. Well I have ALL my junked and trashed email and they had NOT contacted me. Further evidence--when he sent me an email while I was on the phone confirming my cancellation, that email DID arrive. SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've never posted a comment slamming a business before, but US1Photo is unquestionably the worst seller I've ever dealt with. Ever - internet or otherwise. They had no trouble charging my CC. They were, however, incapable of sending me the product I purchased. They just could not figure it out. And the Eagles-heavy soundtrack to the hour-long waits for "customer service"? It left me clinically depressed. Thanks for absolutely nothing, US1Photo.
Ordered a camera (Canon SD 870 IS) from us1photo a month ago. Received order confirmation via email. Never received shipping information.
Called 3 times over the next month. Each time, the hold time was over an hour. The representatives were very evasive and uninformative. When confronted about the hold times, they gave me a 'direct extension'. This was the same extension time after time...even for different representatives. It went directly to a voice mailbox.
Decided to cancel the order after a month and no shipment (claimed it was out of stock --> yet still shown as "In Stock" on website). Attempted to email info@us1photo.com and sales@us1photo.com in order to cancel since I didn't want to wait on hold for another hour of my time. No response via email.
My experience is extremely lackluster. The lack of customer service, no verbal or electonic correspondence and shifty tactics leaves me nervous about them having my credit card information.
Ordered Canon 50D on January 2nd. My credit card was almost immediately charged the full amount. Almost one month later I am still waiting for the camera (the website lists it as "in stock"). No communication from the store whatsoever despite my numerous emails acquiring about the status of the order. When tried calling they hang up on me(!!!) I am not even able t ocancel the order. My credit card trying to resolve the issue, but in the mean time, they have my almost $1000 on their account. If able to find couple hundred of easy riders like me this amounts to nice business without doing anything.
Same as most on here, I was shopping around and found their Canon ef 100-400mm much cheaper and figured I would give it a shot. I just figured they were an outfit that didn't carry any stock, placed their own order when they received an order for a product and kept prices down that way. WRONG.
Order was placed Jan. 26, got a verification phone call the next day and was told the lens would be shipping then. My card was charged on Jan. 27th. I called Feb. 4 to check on status of order and they said "Oh, you didn't receive an e-mail that the order has been cancelled?". I immediately got on my bank account to see if I had a chargeback and nothing. I will be calling my credit card to refuse the charge now. SCREW THESE GUYS. The price on Amazon came down $200 since I last looked and ended up ordering it there now. Nice.
2/12/09:
BUYER BEWARE!!!!
I placed an order early in the week and did not received any shipping confirmation via email for a couple of days. I called US1PHOTO and only to be told that they attempted to call me about shipping problems with my credit card. The first problem was that the rep took down the wrong cell number. Secondly, I told the second agent that I talked about resubmitting the order in "30 minutes" as I was going to contact my credit card company to add a second shipping address. Today friday, I called a third time only to be rudely and belligerently told that it was my fault that the rep took down the wrong cell number. I asked him if he was the owner and he answered ALEX HENDERSON. I find this very ironic and almost to the point of ridiculous that this fool who claims to be the owner is willing to tell me to "take your money and go screw yourself." The moral of this story is that the prices are good but if everything that comes with it include all of the forementioned above, I strongly urge you to purchase from a reputable seller and avoid US1PHOTO OR US1CAMERA at all cost!!! If this is a representation of how they will take care or don't take care of you once the purchase and commissions are issued then run far, far away as possible!
Dr. Ryan L.
I ordered a Nikon D80 with US1photo in mid January, 2009. Two weeks ago, they called me to inform me that my order had been cancelled and that I would get a refund in a few days. I didn't get the refund and called them a week later. They promised I would get my refund within a couple of days. Again, I didn't get a refund.
I called the company again today and they told me that they "cannot give me a refund at this point", and that the only way to get my money back was to talk to my credit card company and report the transaction as fraud. Seriously. So after talking to my personal banker, that's what I did.
If US1photo owes you money, talk to your credit card company as soon as you can and make sure you get your money back. There are indications that US1photo will go out of business soon.
I have used us1photo before with no complaints, BUT...
I placed an order for a Canon 50d on 2/18. There was a message on the site about them experiencing phone system problems but given my past experience I didn't worry.
As of 2/23 the website order status indicate no action had been taken. I checked with my credit card company and they said there had been no authorization request.
Phone calls get a recorded message saying something like "Due to an unforeseen emergency we are closed and will reopen Tuesday February 19th (sic)".
The credit card rep said I should cancel the order (which I've done, via email) and check back every couple of days on their (the cc company) site and file a dispute if the charge comes in. So far there's been no attempt to charge my CC.
They took our order for a Nikon D60 18-55 VR Kit + a 5 year extended warranty in mid-October 2008.
In spite of the order coming to over $700, they failed to confirm the order for over a week and then when they did, they reported that it was now not in stock. I got immediately suspicious and wanted my boyfriend to cancel the order. He refused because it was a purchase for our 16 year old (instead of a car).
He insisted I be patient. So another 5 1/2 weeks passed before the camera/kit actually got sent and then they used a super slow delivery so add another week +.
Once we got the camera however, everything seemed okay and we were all pleased. Within a month & 1/2 however, the lense rack mount broke and needed to be repaired. So we called the extended warranty place ("Repair Tech" - $100 extra for their warranty). Repair Tech never answered their phones, never replied to our emails and were never able to be reached - and we tried for a good 2-3 weeks before giving up & calling US1Camera directly about the problem.
That's when we realized US1Camera is difficult to reach as well. I was on hold for 48 minutes before the phone answered and when it did, went to a voicemail recording offering me a chance to leave a msg. That pissed me off but I called first thing the next morning, explained the issue with the camera as well as with being unable to make use of the warranty given their unavailability.
They assured me it was just a phone number issue and that they'd received some other complaints but that it should be getting resolved soon. In the meantime, they told me I should be calling Nikon directly given that it's less than a year old. So I did.
That's when I found out that the products - both the camera AND the lens are "gray market" and absolutely not serviceable within the U.S. They said that the equipment is real Nikon but by law, it was not meant for distribution in the US and therefore not serviceable and that the retailer would KNOW that they were selling gray market equipment and what the laws are that govern their servicing because there explicit disclosure laws which require retailers to fully and clearly state that they're selling gray market products. Further, they said they would have known that directing me to call Nikon USA would've been pointless.
I immediately tried calling back and waited for over 45 minutes on hold only to be bumped to a voice mail. I left a deliberately calm message requesting that they call me a.s.a.p.
I waited for a few days, no answer. So I called back again and long story short, the "manager" told me I "should've known that the camera kit was gray market because otherwise it would've cost so much more" and that they "clearly state that they are on their website". I've since gone back onto their website & of course, no mention of "gray market" or that their gray markets would have to be sent out of the country in order to serviced by Nikon.
Now, 5+ months later, I ended up calling a Ritz Camera shop and they gave me the number a guy who fixes cameras. Thankfully, he's saying it should cost approximately $70 to get fixed, but the $100 for the RepairTech warranty - completely useless & wasted money, and although I'm at least glad the products are actual Nikon products & not imitations, it's essentially been a nightmare that ruined what was supposed to be a special gift for our daughter's 16th birthday.
How the US1PHOTO.com SCAM works:
1) Their website says “Call In Your Order & Get Upgraded To Express Shipping for FREE!” and “Limited Time Offer: Order By Phone & Get A FREE Case, Tripod & Lens Cleaning System w/Your Order!”
2) It sounded funny that only phone orders qualified for the free accessories and not Internet orders, but I called in anyway. I transferred to their “Sales Department” and immediately got hooked up with a slick scam artist.
3) After indicating the Canon camera that I wanted to buy, he immediately began hard selling overpriced accessories. First it was a battery that listed on their site for 2x the street price. Then he “discounted” it to make it 1.5x the street price. Then it was the overpriced memory card. Then it was the extended warranty. Then it was a lens filter, and on and on it went.
4) The “Free Express Shipping” includes a $29.99 “handling & insurance” charge.
5) The “free Case, Tripod & Lens Cleaning System” is probably worth $15 at most. It’s a cheap no-name case and a table-top tripod (i.e., junk that you wouldn’t normally buy).
6) According to Canon, US1PHOTO is not an authorized distributor. This means your Canon OEM warranty is null & void and you may be buying a “grey market” camera.
7) Your credit card gets charged immediately, even before the product ships.
8) If you return the item, the $29.99 “handling & insurance” charge and shipping charges are non-refundable.
9) If you call their “Customer Service Department”, you’ll sit on the phone for 20 minutes and then get connected to the same guy you talked to in their “Sales Department” when you placed the original phone order.
These guys are good! I’m embarrassed that I fell for this.
Yikes, thanks everyone for the feedback and saving me a lot of trouble :-/
We bought a HD cannon at a very good price and they did push a high priced accessory pack on us. We debated and they reduced the price of the accessory package. When it came in they sent the wrong filters. The accessory package was garbage way over priced we are still waiting for the filters they were supposed to be to us one month ago.
I, too, have recently had a VERY NEGATIVE experience with US1Photo. I found them through a shopping search engine (interested in purchasing a Canon L series lens for my DSLR). Their's was the best price. On September 8, 2009, when I called them, I placed the order, giving them my CC # and the three digit code from the back of the card. I was only THEN told that the total would include the shipping and insurance charge. They tried to push filters and other unneeded and unwanted accessories. I cancelled the order, so it was never placed. However, they had my info...
This morning, I've received calls from TWO separate computer companies indicating that someone is trying to use my CC # (that I gave to US1PHOTO) to purchase high end network server equipment.
I've since cancelled my card, but this experience is UNBELIEVABLE! DO NOT USE THESE YOYOS!
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