42nd Street Photo BUYER BEWARE OF 42nd Street Photo New York New York

BUYER BEWARE: LITERALLY THE WORST ONLINE EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE, and its not over… I wish I would have read up on this company before purchase; lesson learned…

Ok, so I ordered a camera and a few lensed from 42^nd Street Photo on June 16^th, 2015 totaling over $2200.  As with many other reviewers, the first transaction was DECLINED, and subsequently processed shortly thereafter.  On their website they state that my card would not be charged until the items were shipped, but they charged me the same day I ordered the items.  I got a call from them attempting to sell me their warranty for the items, and I declined, not knowing the items were “Grey Market” items.  (Read up on Grey Market items if you are not familiar; there is NO factory warranty and often the manufacturer will not even repair the items if you pay for it yourself). 

After that phone call, I became skeptical, and researched the company a bit.  I found numerous complaints about their customer service, business practices, and grey market merchandise with questionable warranties.  The next day I called attempting to cancel the order, and was told that “the items have been processed to our shipping department, and was probably already out for delivery”.  I accepted that, as I do not expect to be refunded money for products that are already out for delivery. 

My grievance is with the fact that they were not being shipped at the time, and were not even sent out for delivery for several days after my call attempting to cancel the order.  I then called my credit card company to see what I could do about disputing the charges, since this appeared to be setting up like a real nightmare.  They informed me that I should simply decline the delivery, if possible, and that would help me in the dispute process if it came down to that.

I was at work when the items finally arrived, so I was unable to decline the delivery.  On the 42photo.com website, it states that there is a 20% restocking fee for all returned items, and that an RMA number is required to be written on the box or they WILL NOT accept the items for return.  I called 42^nd Street Photo and explained the situation, and was told that I would have to pay them $452 BEFORE they would issue me an RMA Number, at which point I told them (as nicely as possible) that I was not interested in paying the money since they would not process my return while they still had my merchandise.  They informed me that if I were to exchange the items, they would not require the $452, but unless I bought something else from them they wanted the money for the RMA.  I politely declined their offer.  They arrogantly told me that I was out of luck unless I paid them the money for the RMA Number and that I would be forced to keep the items.  I felt as if I was being extorted, and it pissed me off. 

I then called my credit card company (again) to ask for advice about how to proceed with the situation, and they recommended that I send the items back to 42^nd Street Photo with tracking and a signature delivery confirmation.  I did just that, and never even opened the package that was delivered.  I gave them copies of the receipts from the return shipping, a letter of explanation, and screenshots of when the item was delivered to back to 42^nd Street Photo. 

I have yet to receive a refund for the items, and my credit card company is still handling the issue.  I typically don’t write reviews other than the obligatory eBay sellers’ review, but I feel that this information should be known and consumers should be informed of things like this.  

I hope this helps someone out there, looking to save a few bucks on camera equipment.  I’ll never buy anything from them again, despite their low prices.  There’s a reason they’re so cheap; there is no factory warranty, and once they sell you their “In-House Warranty” you’ll be paying the same amount as if you bought it from a licensed reseller. 

Again BUYER BEWARE.

Sincerely,

-Just another disgruntled consumer of 42^nd Street Photo