Adorama Camera

After spending almost an hour with your Philippine service people who could not be understood except for the ("I'm so sorry Ron" ) my total frustration caused me to finally hang up. I have spent thousands of US dollars over the past 20 years with Adorama and never had a problem. Now with your total lack of US Customer Service, long holidays and short US hours, I'm sad to say I'm done with Adorama. I'm giving up on the overcharge to my account, the lack of properly equipped accessories and poor customer service, My money will now be spent with businesses that respect their customers and are US reachable for service.

Adorama ultimately did nothing to make any of this up to me. They offered me a coupon code for a future purchase but without giving me a reason to make a future purchase. They had an opportunity to impress me and earn a loyal customer but they failed miserably. Also they shouldn't be allowed to have "prime" on their items because they're unable to deliver anything in the promised two days. My shipment will take five days...

With restored credit, reordered another used lens listed online Tuesday afternoon. By Thursday, with neither shipping information nor confirmation, found that the lens was listed as back ordered. Huh? A used lens... When I called, the rep claimed that the lens really was available, simply that the SKU has changed. (It was more expensive than others similarly graded, for unspecified reasons.)

Naively agreed to proceed with assurance that this was the SAME lens as before. Hours later, under the order number, found the old SKU lens marked cancelled, and the new lens (that I was assured was the old lens) marked back ordered. Two unneeded 82mm filters ordered with the lens were in the warehouse for shipping, and the order could not be cancelled. I would be responsible for any return postage, or a penalty if I refused delivery. The lens was not prepared to ship, since it was back ordered. This is after 48 hours for the online order of a lens listed as in stock. That was it. Cancelled the lens again. Will keep the B+W filters. And never again any NYC seller. Even any with the interest-free financing.

So camera lens no longer on sale, I can reorder but for hundreds of dollars more than the first order, and never mind the hours of my time trying to fix this. There are plenty of retailers who sell all the same things that Adorama does but with a functioning customer service department. I will repurchase this lens, just elsewhere. Time to cut my losses. I do place a value on my time especially when that time runs into many hours on the phone engaging in exercises of futility.

Coincidentally, I also received a message at about this same time, saying that the item was now out of stock, and had been back ordered - and that I'd receive an email when and if it ever came back in - ALL WHILE THEY'VE STILL GOT MY MONEY. Now, I need to call back again, to see if their CSRs in India (which are ALL of them - they have no customer service in the US) will even grant this reversal for a refund. If not, we'll simply be disputing the charge with our credit card company. This falls into one of the top worst, most frustrating and borderline felonious purchasing experiences I've ever had, in my 50 years on this planet. Absolutely horrible. ONLY SHOP WITH ADORAMA IF YOU HATE YOURSELF.

We emailed customer service immediately for more information. An email response from a rep on November 29 stated that only one item, the filters, was on back order. The email stated: "If you would like to modify the order to a different in-stock item, email us back with the item you would like to replace it with..." I emailed back a request to have the filters replaced with an extra Sony battery. On Nov 30th, I received an email response stating: "We regret to inform you that since this is a bundle we can only check for a comparable filter kit and we are unable to replace the backordered item to a Sony battery.". On December 1, I emailed back the same rep and requested that she simply swap out the filters then for a comparable set of filters. That customer service rep never responded.

Two days later, on December 3, I received an email from a different rep stating: "the Sony A6000 is currently on back order but we were able to allocate the item on your order. This means we can fulfill this item in your order." At that point, we were pretty confused. We had thought only the filters were on back order. According to this new email, the A6000 had been on back order but was not any longer? Adorama had been able to "allocate the item"? Apparently not, because despite many more emails to a total of three reps over two weeks, the A6000 camera and filters were still on back order when we checked the status of our order online today, December 11. We canceled the entire order today.

At this point, we no longer have any confidence in Adorama, its business practices, or their customer service. Their response time via email was repeatedly prompt, but we received contradictory information from their reps, and none failed to answer our questions or resolve the issue and get our order shipped out in a timely manner. The company should absolutely NOT be selling kits or items and advertising them as "in stock" when they're not actually available. We regret that we ever placed our confidence in this company. Had we ordered from B&H or Amazon, we'd have our order before Christmas. This was the first and last time we'll ever purchase anything from them.

When I got off the phone, my co-workers informed me that no signature was requested. I then called UPS. After being on hold for more than 15 minutes, I spoke with someone. Their records showed that the shipment was not requested to require signature. I called Adorama for a second time. The young lady I spoke with said they had not received the e-mail with the details and pictures, so I re-sent them to her direct e-mail address. I requested to speak to a supervisor. I explained to the supervisor about the issue and the contradicting information from UPS and Adorama. I asked to get UPS on the phone so all three parties could discuss and resolve. She said they would just send labels to have the packages returned. It took nearly 15 minutes of back and forth before she agreed to get UPS on the line. I was on hold nearly 25 minutes before she came back and said she was still on hold. I told her that was fine.

20 minutes later, she said they had referred her to damage claims, and she had been put back on hold. She said they would just generate the labels and have the packages returned. I asked if they would re-send my order once UPS had possession of these boxes, and she said no; she said they would not re-process the order until they received the original order back. She said it would be two weeks or more before I received the replacement order. I told her that was unacceptable. I said I had a direct number from speaking with UPS previously and would call them. It took three times mentioning that before she agreed. I got UPS on the phone in less than two minutes. They pulled up the tracking information, and I explained that I was getting conflicting information. She said their system clearly showed that the box for requiring a signature had not been marked.

We were more than 90 minutes into this phone call. I asked the Adorama representative how they were going to handle this since they had not requested signature to be required. She said she would "elevate" the issue to their shipping warehouse. I told her I was going to take a chance and open the box, and I would be back in touch if anything was missing or damaged. I asked for her supervisor's name and e-mail address so I could send a written complaint about the misinformation and the error.

Later Monday evening, I received an e-mail from someone else at Adorama. They said they had received my request to return items, and labels were being generated for UPS to pick the boxes up. I responded that I never requested any such return. I sent a separate e-mail to the customer service supervisor. Tuesday morning, I received a response from the customer service manager. In summary, it said that the package should not have been signed for if it was damaged (I had already explained in the original e-mail that UPS requested no signature). She also stated, "We do generally ship with signature required but we allow UPS to use their discretion to leave it with or without signature." That statement indicates that they do not require a signature - as all three individuals I spoke with Monday afternoon had indicated.

In the exchange back and forth, I soon received an edit of my picture where the supervisor had drawn a red arrow pointing to the "STOP" logo on their packing tape. The package tape says if the seal is damaged, the recipient should check contents before signing for the package. She again said that the person in the office should not have signed for the package (and, again, no signature was required by UPS). She offered a $50.00 gift card after apologizing multiple times for what UPS did. At no time was there ever an apology for what Adorama had done or their misinformation.

In my final e-mail, I said I had not requested any refunds, credits or other compensation. I simply wanted someone to confirm what their policy was and who (even though I knew) was at fault for not requiring a signature. In at least two separate e-mails, I requested the name and contact information for her supervisor. She never provided it. Early afternoon Tuesday, a UPS delivery person showed up with two return labels to pick up the packages. Despite my immediate response that I had not requested the packages to be returned, they had not canceled the return order.

The final straw came on the next e-mail from her which obviously was intended to be sent within her company rather than to me. It said, "This guy does not stop. He is being unreasonable. I don't believe we should further contact him." I called again. I explained what had occurred, gave the manager's name, and asked to speak to her supervisor. I was put on hold and was on hold for more than 40 minutes before the third person I had talked to on Monday (the person whose supervisor I had e-mailed) got on the phone. I explained about the e-mail and how unprofessional it was. She laughed and said, "OK." After putting me on hold again, she came back and gave me a name for a supervisor who would call me by the end of business. She confirmed a phone number.

Five hours later, by the time they had closed, no one called. Among speaking with three of their representatives via phone and one via e-mail, I received four different statements about their shipping policies and signatures being required. I had co-workers blamed more than once for signing for the package (and once again, no signature was required) without checking it. And then I was sent an incredibly unprofessional e-mail.

So let me make this as clear as possible. The issue with Adorama has never been about UPS’ actions. They repeatedly “apologized” for UPS, but I’ve never once said the condition of the package upon arrival was Adorama’s fault. My issue with Adorama’s customer service is the misinformation that ultimately wasted entirely too much of time (as well as their staff). They have admitted that, in reality, they do not require a signature. Allowing UPS to use their own discretion/choice isn’t requiring a signature.

On my first call Monday, their representative said they require a signature. When I called a second time on Monday, a different representative said they require a signature. The supervisor I spoke with also said they require a signature. When this specific call ended after more than 90 minutes, UPS had confirmed the order was not marked for signature required. The supervisor said she was “escalating” a report with their shipping warehouse to find out why it was not marked for signature required. So, at that point, I had spent nearly two hours on the phone with Adorama representatives, and three different people had told me that they required a signature. The third, a supervisor, went so far as to say she was following up with their shipping warehouse and “escalating” a report.

Then there’s the product return. I never requested such or asked for such. I told all three people I spoke with on Monday that was not an option, even though they suggested it repeatedly. These were gifts, and I couldn’t wait for their required process of getting the items back in their possession (minimum of 2-3 days just for that, per the supervisor) and then 10-14 more days to re-process and deliver to me. It was December 4; I could not risk 17-21 days to get the items back as they were gifts. Yet, Monday evening, I received an e-mail from them saying I requested to return the boxes, and they were generating labels. Again, I never requested this. I immediately responded to that e-mail that I had never made such a request and, yet, UPS still showed up Tuesday afternoon with labels in hand.

Finally, we have the “customer service manager” who I exchanged e-mails with on Tuesday. She repeatedly suggested it was somehow my fault or the fault of my co-workers; she repeatedly misstated that someone had signed for the package. UPS has confirmed they got no signature upon delivery; the delivery driver merely entered a name of an occupant of the office (there is a sign on the door showing the occupants of the space). The UPS tracking information online does not say that is a signature; it simply says that is who received the package. I explained that more than once, on Monday and Tuesday, yet she continued to bring that up as some sort of “defense” for their actions.

If I had been told on the very first call on Monday that Adorama leaves the decision for signatures up to UPS, that would have been all I needed. That didn’t happen. If it’s on their website as they have claimed, how do their customer service representatives, and supervisors, not know that? I filed a Better Business Bureau complaint. They responded with more claims about the package being signed for, presented a quote of mine out of context and submitted an anonymous semblance of an apology for the rude e-mail.

My only request with the BBB complaint was to be contacted by whomever is in charge of their customer service to discuss the misinformation and the unprofessional responses from the manager referenced above; it’s clear that they refuse to do that as well. Hopefully, future customers don’t encounter this type of misinformation and runaround from Adorama going forward.

One other very important item to mention, this is all VERBAL negotiations. If you plan on going this route make them put it in writing their evaluation and what you have agreed to just as if you are buying a car! I was assigned a customer number and was given notification that my camera would be sent out. When I called in I was told that they were going to send me a D750 when, in the very beginning of our negotiations had told them I was interested in the D500 with the 16-80 mm lens. So, was told by the Used Dept that they would make it right and they sent me the D500 with the lens. I receive an invoice for $2200.00. When I called in to inquire I was told that my trade was $1600 and that I owed $600. I explained to the customer service rep that this is not what we had agreed to in our initial conversation.

I was really upset when I saw how they had packaged this camera. It was the worst packing job I have ever seen especially for $2200 worth of camera equipment. I added a pick of how they sent the camera to me. So, here we are I spoke with the Used Camera Dept. I told them that all the items that we had agreed to have not come to fruition. I asked for my original equipment back and I was told that it all had been sold. The best they could do for me is give me back the original eval. of $1600 in a check and $600 that they had charged to my CC. So, negotiating again with the used camera department we struck a compromise. I was told that they would send me a new D500 w/16-80mm lens plus the battery grip AND give me 300.00.

When I went to check my email tonight it said that I have a credit of $2200 to use at Adorama. That basically, breaks down to $1600 trade in and $600 from my CC. I am hoping that someone from Adorama sees this and makes this right. In closing, if you're trading in equipment any quotes or verbal promises need to be in writing so that there's no confusion. Like I said, I hope they get this review and make it right. If they do I will gladly change my experience. Helen you out there?

They shipped them to the wrong address, an old address of mine which is no longer valid - and then required that I pay UPS to correct the shipping address (when I had provided them with the updated address prior to the shipment). Then, because I now need to return an item to exchange for the correct item, I have been told I must pay the return shipping fee. B&H is another company with the same pricing/tax/shipping structure who I have never had an issue with- and obviously Amazon is now matching everyone as well. I would strongly recommend any other company for your photographic needs.

About a week later I got thinking about it and I went to the Adorama Site to do a comparison. Every item I sent to Adorama was in excellent condition except for the Canon Flash Unit so I didn't even add that into my calculations. I went in and priced the exact items I sold to Adorama and used the "lowest price" they had listed for a used one of each model that I sent to Adorama. I then took that total and deducted 30% since they claim to pay 70% of retail. After that deduction, I had a value of $1,550.00 that I should have received for my items. That is a big difference from what I actually received. I learned from this experience to go to the Adorama Website and see how much they are actually selling the items or item in used condition that I am selling to them "before" they call to quote me a price on my items.

Some time around the 4th about $275 (the total) was added to my bank account, it was taken out again 3 days later on the 7th. Then it happened a second time between the 9th and the 11th. There were no warnings or any kind of notification when that was happening, I just had to watch my account balance fluctuate. I talked to my bank and I don't think it was an error on their end. I tried to reach out to Rakuten about it and they told me to contact the seller, Adorama, who told me to contact Rakuten. Frustrated I hung up and decided to wait for the tablet. When the 11th came around UPS said it was "Delivered to Customer Woman". I'm a guy and I know my girlfriend didn't sign for it so it was probably left with the wrong person. After 3 days of checking the leasing office, we're sure it's not on the complex, nor is it at my old apartment or billing address.

I filed a lost package claim with UPS on the 16th who said I should also contact the seller. They told me the investigation would take 10 business days as of the 16th. On the 18th I checked Rakuten to see my order information, they said "all orders before Sept 13 are hidden". I had to call Rakuten and navigate their automated menu until I got put on the line with an actual person who gave me the phone number and connected me to their line. He asked me to stay on the line for them to pick up but I hung up and called the number myself after 10 minutes of waiting.

Once I got past the buggy Adorama phone system (the buttons straight up stop working sometimes and you stay on the same menu) I got through to customer service in about 5 minutes (It's faster to call them directly if you need to) who told me that they had to submit their own UPS ticket and wait up to 10 days to do their own investigation. Today, the 25th, I called UPS who told me that they'd only be contacting the seller until everything has been worked out and that they still have 3 days to run their investigation. After going through the whole rigmarole of their phone system, they told me that the investigation could take anywhere from 10- 15 business days from the day they submit their ticket, which they said was the 19th (even though I called the 18th).

It's now been 25 days without any update that I didn't personally seek out myself. The only time I was contacted was for the original receipt and by Rakuten on Sept 20th asking me to review a product they knew I never received. The link to the review was broken. At this point I either want a refund or the tablet but I can't have either until the investigations are done. Until then I'm a college student who's just out almost $300 who is renting tablets to do his homework. I see a place for me to add images of the tablet for review but seeing as I never even got it, here's a picture of my desk where the tablet would have gone had I actually received it.