Hotbuys Electronics Inc. Says "new" but is used, very used. Rip-off! Brooklyn New York

I ordered a Canon Rebel 2000 camera body and a Canon lens from Hotbuys because they were much cheaper than the nearest competitor. I placed my order online, then they called up to confirm the order, and also to sell me something the American version of the lens that was $20 more, saying they did not have the grey market (foreign) version that I wanted, despite the website saying clearly that it was in stock. They said the website is not up-to-date. I should've smelled a rat. Besides, all the feedback on the website were not "live" and ALL of them are positive!

Anyways, I went ahead and ordered the more expensive lens and the camera body. I specifically asked for a grey market (foreign) model because I was going to move abroad in a few weeks and needed the international warranty. They took forever to send it, and when it arrived, I found that the camera was an American model - NOT what I had ordered! I inspected the camera body. There was a blob of what looked like dried-up spaghetti sauce on the top, and a very deep scratch on the bottom. Inside, the frame where the film passes by was covered in many, many scratches, like 10,000 rolls of film had passed by. The lens looked alright. I was so upset that I failed to notice that there was no guarantee card or documentation of any sort.

I called the company and they quite blithely took down my complaints, like they were very used to hearing it already. They said they would exchange it, and also refund me the postage, and that I should include the postage receipt in the package.

I sent the camera body back (since the lens looked ok) and they took a really long time to reply. I called them several times and they said they haven't received it, they have already sent the replacement, and again, that they haven't received it - in that order. Many weeks later, they finally sent me a replacement - but yet another used one. This one was not as badly beat up as the first one, but they had switched the original strap for an ugly replacement, whose viewfinder cover was missing. They never reimbursed me for the postage.

As I was moving in a few days, I did not have time to ask for another exchange, nor to file a dispute. My credit card company told me that it was a lengthy process. I lost a lot of time (on the phone) and money (on phone calls and postage) and got a lot of aggravation in return. In the end, I calculated that everything that I spent on this piece of crap ended up costing the same as it would have if I had ordered from the more reputable company. And I would've gotten a brand new camera for my money, and with all the parts intact too. In fact, legitimate used stuff cost far less than what they were charging. The moral of the story is, if it's too good to be true, it is.

Jo
Hawthorne, California
U.S.A.