Adorama Camera

IN STOCK AND READY TO SHIP actually means what it means! IT SHOULD BE IN STOCK AND READY TO SHIP! Freaking common sense right? Therefore, if as soon as you pay top dollars, the order is modified and items are missing, because supposedly in BACK ORDER, it was indeed a lie, a bait and switch technique to force a sale, because OBVIOUSLY that bundle of items was never IN STOCK AND READY TO SHIP... How lame!!!

They said since I had purchased VIP360, I was eligible for 60% of what the original price of the laptop was. That sounded great, so I tried to go ahead with that. Since then I have made claims over the phone and online to get the process started, where I will get a few different responses. 1. I get transferred multiple times then hung up on. 2. They make a "claim" which they never actually have. 3. They tell me to wait for a call back from them, which they haven't for 3 days. And 4. They tell me to contact the manufacturer for an RMA (WHICH I CAN'T DO BECAUSE ITS WARRANTY STARTED WHEN ADORAMA PURCHASED THE LAPTOP).

This process has been beyond frustrating, and I firmly believe that they will continue to do this until my VIP360 subscription ends, so they can either get another 50 dollars from me or so they aren't obligated to do anything. At this point, I will never purchase from Adorama ever again, as B&H has a great customer support team, that has never let me down.

I recently placed another order! Again, Wednesday (yesterday)! No idea what it is with me and Wed! For overnight shipping it was 110 dollars, so I debated back and forth with myself. And my husband talked me into picking the two day shipping, that it would be here Friday bc I need this stuff Sunday! I was AGAIN, informed it would be here by Friday! The next day, Thursday, my husband got a email stating it had shipped, so I was excited, and happy it was actually going to arrive on time! He sent a screenshot of the email...BUT, I caught their wording VERY quickly, they worded it very sketchy. Your order has been packed and is being shipped! It had not been shipped! This was around 3pm (my time, Missouri). My order was sitting in their store ALL DAY, before being shipped.

Let me stress, this is the part I DON'T UNDERSTAND...Everything is already in boxes and packed up. They just need to box them up to ship them out. Adding the padding/bubble wrap and whatnot. THAT DOESN'T TAKE ALL DAY TO DO! If it does, then you guys need serious help. From talking to customer service prior, I was informed that if a order is placed by 11 am the next day it will be shipped that morning. So, with my order being placed the evening before, I was good to go. They would ship it out the next morning, and it would be here by Friday. My order was not actually shipped until Thursday evening.

Today, is Friday, it is currently, 5am. I have talked online and on the phone to customer service, several times yesterday. The first woman on the phone BARELY spoke English, I had to ask her to repeat herself several times! She ended up hanging up on me, bc I started reading the shipping information they had on THEIR SITE, stating two days. ETC... So, after that, I wait a few minutes and call back hoping to get someone else, I can understand better, and maybe actually knows what they are doing! I call back and I get another woman, again WORSE English than the lady before! I have NO IDEA why this company would hire their customer service, in ANOTHER country! Who can't really speak our language, let alone they have no idea what they are doing. And they just simply don't care.

With the second woman, I couldn't even get out my issue, before she just stopped me and told me, "Sorry, there's nothing I can do!" So, I asked to speak with someone higher up, then she claimed she didn’t understand what I was asking. Then the line went dead, yet again. I was shocked at this point. And decided to do some investigating. My husband, found the site, and he's normally REALLY good at finding fair and respectful businesses, so I didn't think to much of it. Until THIS CURRENT ORDER! I Started finding more reviews, which concerns me EVEN MORE! I am convinced I will not receive my order today. And I am not sure what I am going to do.

I simply don't understand why my order sat in that store all day, before it was shipped. I own my own photography business and I plan to make a lot more purchases, but probably not with this site. And it's sad, bc I do love the store. I just don't like the fact they screw over SOOOO many people, and not one post I have read, has stated their issue was resolved. I know some people do not update their reviews, but most do. After, I get this order, IF I get everything I ordered, or if I get it at all, I may just cancel the credit card, and find another business. Bc, this is NOT how a business should be ran. If I was the CEO/Owner/or upper manager of this one, I would be EXTREMELY embarrassed of the company and all the reviews. And there are A LOT of reviews, with very similar issues. It's either with shipping, or customer service. This could be an easy fix, IF they truly wanted to fix it and actually care about their customers.

One other thing I just remembered, I mentioned to them that they should have more shipping options, for customers who need their stuff faster. Bc they only have UPS online. I was informed while chatting online, if you call in to place a order, they offer Saturday shipping, Fedex shipping and other options! But WHY not online...Specially for the VIP members and regular customers! He also told me they don't have a contract with Fedex.. And that UPS doesn't deliver on Saturdays. But, UPS informed me they do, if asked... And that any company who uses them can have that option, and at times at no extra cost!

I don't know I am just REALLY upset, and frustrated. I am going to see if I can get ahold of UPS and maybe see if I can come pick it up somewhere earlier. So, I can have it. SO, yes just like ALL the other REVIEWS, the customer is the one who has to try to fix the problem. I know a lot of photographers, and I have told them about this site, but I plan to let them know to be cautious, bc you might get screwed over. I hope this review helps someone, and I have to ask, I know we can't reply to other reviews, which sucks, but has ANYONE had their issues resolved? FAIRLY and PROFESSIONALLY, with this company? My email is **.

Once I finally reached the "claims department" I was told that I would need to wait 10 more business days for UPS to finish their investigation. I waited 12 business days, with no response. Then I decided to call and get in contact with a supervisor, which is nearly impossible. I was told that I would be called back by a supervisor on two different occasions, and I never received a call. At this point it has been 22 days (16 business days), since starting this journey and it has been the worst experience of my life.

Now that the "UPS Claim" is finished, they now say that they need their own security department to complete an investigation. However, they won't provide a time window or specific date that the investigation will be finished. While some of their customer service representatives are nice and helpful, the majority of them are not. One specific "claim representative" named Red R. is extremely rude and belligerent. On all three occasions that I attempted to contact a supervisor, I was only ever transferred to Red R, who is definitely not a supervisor. He then proceeded to raise his voice and argue with me because I nicely asked to speak with his supervisor.

Today, 04/29, I successfully waited nearly 1.5 hours on hold to finally speak with a supervisor named Lance. Lance reviewed my case and said that he "doesn't know how long this will take." Obviously, with no end in sight, I have had to take matters into my own hands. I am lucky enough to have a colleague that practices e-commerce law and he advised me to file a small claims lawsuit for the purchase and lost wages, which has totaled to around $4300 at this point. If you are unsure about this company, just go check out their BBB reviews, then make a decision about making a purchase with them. WARNING: You do not want to have to deal with their customer service department. They will give you the run-around to save their money.

Adorama may be a generally respected vendor, and everything may be fine when they get the order right, but their customer care is an absolute nightmare. Over the course of the last week, I have dealt with at least 8 different customer care associates through exactly 44 emails (so far), multiple chats, and my initial phone call. They simply do not care about me as a customer enough to fix THEIR ERROR in a timely manner.

It’s not a complicated issue. I purchased a Clearsonic drum lid kit that was supposed to come with 6 pieces. Two of those pieces did not arrive. All they have to do is either locate the missing box and send it or refund me for the value of the missing items ($190). That’s it. But for an entire week, I have been getting emails telling me that they are trying to get hold of their warehouse, but are getting no response. It’s constantly, “Please give us 1-2 business days”. Well, it’s been a week at this point. I keep getting passed off from one person to another. They can’t simply contact their warehouse and locate the box. Or, it’s not that they can’t, it’s that they don’t care to.

It has become clear to me that this is a greedy company that does not care at all about their customers after the sale. Their customer support department has been outsourced to another country, so the associates have no investment in the company or motivation to truly help. They have no interest in resolving my problem, but it seems they plan to just sit around and try to wait me out until I give up. That’s not going to happen.

Unfortunately, they have me at a disadvantage because I can neither make them contact the warehouse nor make them refund the value of the missing items. I just have to sit here and wait on them… Do not, do not, do not purchase from Adorama unless you really enjoy ending up in “Customer Care” sinkholes like the one I am in at the moment.

Now once my new gear arrived I was happy, but I had a slight problem on set with the new Ronin gimbal as one of the motors seemed to have a hiccup at about 70% movement. Adorama told me to send it in and they would offer an expedited service to replace it. I figure I am going to be down a gimbal a day or two and I'd make it up. 2 days pass and I hear nothing, even though I was promised a replacement. I call back and they tell me they are sending it today. Another day passes and nothing. I call and get online again, and they tell me it is being sent. Again, nothing comes. Now it's a week later and I'm trying to explain to my client why there's no gimbal.

I call Adorama for a 5th time and the customer service rep tells me there is none in stock and they have no date to ship. They will offer me a $350 credit when a new gimbal costs $499. After all the lies and ** they spit at me, it's 8 days later and I have no replacement, no plan and no way to make this right. This is the last time I ever buy from Adorama. I urge everyone to save themselves the headache and avoid this company.

When I asked for my gear to be returned it did not arrive complete and they even kept a Sony A6500 body I had sent. The excuses then began and the camera body I sent in (in original packaging and perfect condition) was sold to someone and they sent a replacement that was physically damaged and not in original packaging. After months of phone calls I had to simply accept a $500 offer to be done with the nightmare. I received an email with the $500 credit however Jack ** only credited my account with $250, so I have been unable to get the remaining $250 because anytime I place an order the account does not show the credit and I'm transferred to Jack ** who takes the order and then the orders are cancelled and I never receive the credit.

My guess is that this tactic is used repeatedly by Jack ** to get steal from great Adorama customers, and they get tired of dealing with the headache and go away. Quite simply Jack ** of the Adorama used department has stolen gear from me and there seems to be no supervisor or anyone at Adorama I can report this to as I always get transfer to Jack ** when I call to resolve the matter. Adorama as whole has treated me well over the years and this review isn't about the store but rather Jack **, everyone else at the used the department has been empathetic and polite. Beware when dealing with this individual as he comes across as a skilled career criminal. Much like the despised archetypical, sleazy used car salesman.