
Esther of Bountiful, UT on Jan. 30, 2008
On November 20th, 2007 I ordered a Nikon D40x online (bestpricecameras.com) for the advertised price of $399. I thought that this was just a great deal for this camera. A day or two after I ordered the camera, they sent me an email to call and confirm my order. I talked to a man named Steve who said that he was handling my order and that it was ready for me he just needed to know which battery I would like to purchase with it, giving me the choice of two very expensive batteries with different life capacities. Also I would have to buy the battery charger separate.
I do not remember the exact prices he quoted me, but the charger and the battery together was over $300. Suddenly this good deal wasn't a good deal anymore. It was very shocking to hear the battery was not coming with the camera since it used a specific Nikon battery and normally other electronics (example: cell phones, lap tops) come with their needed battery. However, I discovered that I could purchase a battery and charger somewhere else for much cheaper (about $30), so I told Steve to proceed with my original order without purchasing a battery.
I fully expected my camera to ship that day or at the latest the next business day. There was no indication of anything different. When I didn't receive it right away, my husband called them only to be told that this camera was on back order and would not be coming for 4-6 weeks. We were disappointed because we had wanted it by Christmas, but felt like we could wait the extra few weeks.
After that time expired and there was no sign of a camera being sent to us, my husband called again to be told that it would arrive the second week of January. Still the camera did not come the second week of January. Calling again, we were told their systems were down and they couldn't give us any information but would give us a call after their systems came back up, within a day. We received no call. Finally I called them again on January 29, 2008, over two months from when I ordered the camera. I was beginning to feel like this company had no intention of actually selling me a camera because I did not purchase their over priced battery.
On this call the customer service representative said he was a manager and could give me not estimated time to when my camera would arrive. I found it really hard to believe that 2 months after I ordered a camera, they would have no indication of when it would arrive. He said that they had no idea and there was nothing they could tell me about when it would arrive and that if I could not wait that I should purchase it from someone else. Him telling me to purchase it from someone else solidified my feeling that they never intended to sell me this camera in the first place. I don't know what person can wait this undefined, but possibly infinite amount of time.
At this point this manager proceeded to tell me that the camera I purchased was just a replacement camera and didn't have software or firmware required to use the camera and was just intended to be used by someone who already owned that same camera. Imagine my shock at hearing this!! Their website gave no indication of this device being anything but a Nikon D40x. There was no way for me to expect that it would not be a perfectly working camera when I received it. I feel like this company is very deceitful. I have since seen that other legitimate companies of course sell the camera with a battery and charger, and you don't have to specifically ask if the software is already on the camera so you can use it, it absolutely comes with it.