Adorama Camera

The first issue began when they sent me an email on 3/25 (a week later, they claim to process returns and exchanges in 2-3 days) saying the returned was “declined” because the serial number on the camera I sent did not match the one on file. I responded promptly that this is not possible, at least on my end. I sent the exact camera they sent me, exactly as they asked, in the condition it was sent to me in. I told them either they had recorded the wrong serial number to begin with or something seriously wrong happened during shipment - both issues are beyond my power. They responded TWO days later saying they’re working on the issue.

On 3/27 they told me I had sent the camera in the wrong box. I sent the camera back in the Nikon refurbished box it came in. I responded promptly and said I sent it back in the box it came to me in, as their return form asked. No reply. Yesterday, 4/1, I called customer service. I exclaimed my issues and they returned with the same thing that I’ve heard through emails. “The serial number doesn’t match, the box isn’t right” and I again told them how this wasn’t possible on my end. I’ve done everything they asked exactly how they asked. The customer service agent was absolutely no help. She told me she would forward my message over to the agent who had been emailing me and have her call me. 24 hrs later and I haven’t heard anything.

I understand small companies have to watch their back for scammers, but if these issues are true they are completely beyond my power. I sent the camera I was sent initially, the exact way they asked. I have emailed them multiple times with no response. The customer service agent on the phone was useless. It’s been almost two months since the initial purchase and I have nothing to show for a $1,399.95 camera. I am a college student who is completely self sufficient. I don’t have $1,400 to throw around. I have dealt with lots of companies, and this is easily the worst I’ve been treated. I have been left in the dark after 7 attempts to get the issues straightened out.

I waited five more business days and called the man who had sent the email. He did not return my call and I was later told he had gone on vacation. I then called my original contact who said I would have a quote early the next morning, but he would follow up with an email and that I would probably already have my quote when he did. Well, he did follow up, but that next morning still no quote so he referred me to a supervisor. I told him about the broken promises, and he said, "You will have your quote by 5:00 this afternoon. If you don't, contact me." Well 5:00 came and went and still nothing.

I called him the next morning and he did finally have a quote which I agreed to. He referred me to someone to take my order. I asked when I would receive my new merchandise and he said, "I can have it to you by Tuesday." I guess he didn't really break a promise because he said can have not will have. Tuesday came and went. No camera. It finally arrived on Wednesday and while checking out everything in the box they did not send me the adapter so that I could use my older Canon lenses. I called and they are shipping it to me hopefully tomorrow. I thought finally I'm finished, but when reading the camera manual it referred me to the lens manual, which since the lens was not in the box I did not receive. So, here I go again...

Talked to the guy there yesterday who is the one and only guy who can make decisions on offers for their used items, to make an offer on about $4000 worth of junk they got listed in their ads listed as "for parts or not working" and I told the guy my offer and he was OK with it and accepted my offer of $3800. HE, NOT ME, HE wanted me to check with the company that manufactured the items first before I bought them, to see about warranty coverage and gave me a serial number that wasn't even a serial number at all. Just a big waste of time for me and everyone else involved at the manufacturer.

I also told him that I could tell him how to fix items like these very quickly and easily that weren't working so that they could list them for full price, saving them thousands of dollars over time. Guy wasn't even interested at all. Smart huh? And this is a department manager there, or so they tell me. Called today to talk to him and buy the almost $4000 worth of items we made the deal for yesterday and no answer at his extension at just after 9 am when they open. I talked to other people there who were claiming he was coming in late at 11 am, then he was in meetings until 1 pm, and since 1 pm, I have called numerous people there numerous times and got nowhere. Called his extension as well all day long. Left message in his voice mail and no return call as well. No return call at all by the end of the day. I called early to buy the items before someone else bought them up before I could.

This is how important a $4000 sale is to them at this company. So just imagine how important a $4 or a $40 or a $400 sale is to them if a $4000 sale doesn't matter. But how stupid is it to not even be curious, to just blatantly not care that there is a simple way to fix items they have and double their money on? If that's their business model, something's wrong at Adorama. I'm quite sure if upper management or the owner got wind of this kind of stupidity, somebody would be looking for a new job. They would be if they were my employee. And to ignore information that would have saved or made a company thousands of dollars, well, I think most companies would slightly frown upon this.

Even after I said this, Helen **, their Customer Service Ambassador, responded in true corporate fashion to my reviews out there. Make the customer look like them problem. But it seems there are a lot of problem customers leaving them bad reviews at multiple sites out there. That's strange isn't it? So many people who are just bad, problem customers.

Talked to FedEx several times, and was told that they never received the package. Customer service outright lied to me multiple times telling me that it was shipped on Thursday. 4-5 PM Friday, no delivery, customer service is still lying to me telling me that it was shipped overnight on Thursday and "Rest assured" it would be there on Friday. Tracking updated at 4:35 PM Friday indicating that it was only then picked up from their warehouse. Seriously? I paid almost $50 at the beginning of the week for express shipping, and you don't even give it to the shipper until Friday? Needless to say the package never arrived on Friday. FedEx told me that the shipper could call them and change it to Saturday delivery. I sent emails to this effect, but once again I was lied to when they insisted it was picked up on Thursday and there was no need.

Horrible customer service. They will tell you anything they think you want to hear to make a sale, even if they can't deliver and you will be hurt in the process. I'm going to have to spend hundreds of dollars now to change my plane ticket because of this mess, and they won't even refund the shipping fees. I still don't have my computer, but at this rate it'll probably be used, damaged, or the wrong item. Stay away. I would not recommend this company to anyone. The email attached in images was received on Friday evening just a few hours before the delivery cut off. The FedEx screenshot proves that he was lying. He made the claim about having it there on Friday, and shipping overnight on Thursday multiple times. This is just one of the most recent.

I called yesterday to complain about the order that was delayed and spoke to a supervisor named Lime. He explained to me that because of my financing choice, there was a delay in processing. I asked him why there was no warning that my finance option may delay my shipment... He had no response. I asked him if he thought it would be a good idea to include this kind of warning so consumers can decide if they want to continue with the purchase, again, no response. He asked me to give him an hour to try to come up with a remedy. Three hours went by with no word...

I finally got an email from him stating the best way to resolve my issue was for ME to repurchase the items and they would expedite shipping and once the original order was returned to them they would issue a refund, this process normally takes two to three days AFTER they receive the items back. This was unacceptable to me so I canceled the order. This may seem minor but it's one of many over my last couple of purchases that have left a bad taste. I will be going elsewhere from this point forward.

They received the return on 2/1/19. I was contacted on the following Monday by Adorama asking if I wanted store credit and the amount she gave me was not the 1399.00 I paid. I informed her that I wanted a full refund for the amount charged. She agreed. I noticed the same day a refund to my card for 600.00 less than the cost I was charged. Today is 2/14/2019, they still have not refunded it. They have the lens, charged me 1399, tax and shipping and refunded 824.00.

What really happened that I cannot get them to understand even though it's documented in my account and in the orders is, the trade in for MY NIKON lens was not applied to the order for the trade in. It's showing up as what they said a credit on the other order. How is it a credit if they refunded 824.00 of 1399 or more and they have the lens? My trade in, my own lens should have never been involved in another order. They have admitted on the phone that this was their mistake on the back end, I get a different story every time I call but they haven't refunded the full cost to a lens I returned, and I think our also trying to charge me for my trade in. Charged 1399 refunded 824.00, they still owe me the difference. As of typing this, a refund came to my e-mail in the amount of 192.00. That doesn't even make sense now I have to deal with that. I have called 6 times, latest person I spoke to is Amber.

On 2/3 I emailed again because there was no sign of a refund. I got an email response on 2/4 stating he submitted a follow-up on this and that I should allow 'today or tomorrow' for the refund. So I waited again. On 2/8, I still had no refund. I do understand that this can take time. The issue is the poor responses from the customer service rep telling me to wait for the refund "today or tomorrow." I was told this not once but twice. This shows either poor training on policies on Adorama's part or just poor customer service. I still don't have a refund as of 2/13 as now I am waiting for PayPal to take care of it. Buyer beware of situations like this. Customer service is not helpful. Being told 1-2 business days for a refund is false. I am now going on 2 weeks and PayPal is now involved.

A few days go by and the order is still marked as "processing" on the website. So I call Adorama to find out what's going on, only to find out my order was placed on hold AGAIN because they still think it's fraud, which I never received email communication about AGAIN. Spoke to somebody from Adorama customer service who was very very rude.

Adorama refuses to say it's an issue on their end, and Comenity also says everything is approved on their end, which I believe is the case. Nobody can seem to figure out what is going on with my Adorama order. The only thing they offered me to help is that they will update it to 2-day shipping for free once it's finally approved.

So in conclusion, don't be fooled by the nicely designed website of Adorama like I was. Their customer service seems to know nothing and will only offer to make things right if you keep complaining over and over. Been over a week of me trying to get my items sent and still nothing. Currently, I'm awaiting Adorama to call the person who placed my order on hold. I will update this as the situation evolves.

They then told me they would need an additional 1 to 2 business days to submit a claim to a different department before they could "have a response for you". I expressed that this was unacceptable to wait this long and all I got was "we will add a note to your account that you want this expedited. We just received your photos"... No you received them 24 hours ago. I don't want it expedited, I want a non-broken speaker and this 80 lb giant box of junk out of my house. Instead I will now have to wait almost a week for a response and they haven't even told me they will take it back (I will not rest until they do, they can count on that). In the meantime I have an expensive stereo system with no left front speaker, a box of junk in my living room, and a charge on my credit card. Completely unacceptable.

I haven’t even taken the computer out of its packaging, because I don’t want to assume responsibility for any damage it may have suffered. Even if it seems to be in perfect condition, there’s no telling how shock damage might affect its lifespan. Aside from simply being unacceptable, receiving a damaged computer affects my education and livelihood, as this is replacing a dead school and work computer. I can’t afford to be without a computer as I wait for a return process, so I’m not sure of how to proceed. As of the writing of this review, I’m waiting on Adorama’s response, and I will update as the situation unfolds.

In about 1.5 weeks, a rep named Jessie contacted me by phone and email. They said the kit was out of stock and asked if they could send me the individual pieces of the kit (camera, SD card and mic) instead. I was amazed that a company even cared that I got my product in time to offer an alternate solution. I was the one that ordered out of stock so Adorama did not owe me anything to separate the items out. I took their offer and just got the entire package today. I am amazed at their customer service. I've never had this type of treatment before. I know I was a bit concerned about ordering from Adorama initially due to online reviews but after this experience, I felt I owed a positive experience so people can see that it's not bad at all. It was actually beyond what I expected. I will for sure order directly from them for any future camera needs. They have a customer for life.

It is going on 2 weeks trying to resolve this with Adorama and DJI...and no resolve. How is an extended coverage plan backordered anyways? Why can't DJI issue it themselves. I was so excited on ordering my first Adorama items... Now I am sad and frankly upset. I am blown away on how this has not been resolved yet...it seems like a simple resolve. As of right now...over 35 emails in chain and multiple phone calls and ZERO RESOLVE... BUY ELSEWHERE.

I called customer support and they stated that I could return the item for a refund or for a replacement. This was an easy process and I dropped the bass off at UPS for return the same day Thursday the 27th. I had inquired about receiving expedited shipping on the replacement item since the originally item was damaged. Customer support stated this was not an option. So overall ordering and returning was easy but the item was received damaged and the idea of expedited return shipping on the replacement item was not an option. Depending on when the replacement item arrives I will also need to take time off again to receive the item when delivered.

The returned item arrived at Adorama today Wednesday 1/2. Depending on the turn around time of the replacement item and its condition once received would allow me to provide a higher rated review for Adorama. All of this is written knowing there can be delays due to the holidays. I guess overall I'm just a bit disappointed that the item was received damaged and having to wait a couple of weeks to get to play this sweet new bass.

On Christmas Eve I finally get my order and lo and behold, the printer and paper are damaged. I had a rude rep who was arguing about the weight of the printer claiming it’s only 10 lbs and why I couldn’t take it to UPS myself (which it weighs more 50 lbs+ and I have a small vehicle. It can’t fit). I call again and get Iris who I explain I that I understand it’s Christmas but can I either: 1.) Return this printer and have a replacement sent, it’s for a gift and my family are leaving for the end of year. 2.) Keep the printer and get a partial refund for the inconvenience.

Iris puts in a request to pick up the printer and to expedite a undamaged printer and paper the day after Christmas, and she promised a $50 in store gift card which I had no complaints and was a satisfied customer. I end up having to lose 2 days of work and staying home all day waiting for UPS because they never came nor did the gift card. Actually UPS put on the 2nd day they came and no one was home, which I have footage of them clearly bypassing my home without stopping. Sure enough I had to get on the phone again and finally UPS came that day and picked it up. All is well right? Nope Adorama ends up sending me a refund for only the printer so now I can’t even get the $350 rebate and no printer or paper (or gift card as promised).

So after waiting over a month, losing money for two days taking off from work to wait for UPS, and dealing with rude reps, I am currently sending the camera back and getting a refund, but I don’t EVER want to do business again with this company! At least they could come with a better solution when they inconvenience customers, but a simple robotic “we appreciate your interest and sorry” that’s the standard for most companies is all you get. I ended up just getting my girlfriend another gift. When companies inconvenience like this, it’s terrible, especially when it’s your first time ordering from them.

Originally, they stated a refund would be issued by them on December 14, 2018, after UPS completed they investigation, which was part of their procedure. I have actually looked into this and this is very rare for merchants to do, but I trusted them. After no response from them, I again contacted them on a number of occasions and was told, the UPS investigation would be completed on December 24th, and that a refund would be processed. After Christmas, I was given yet a different story by Helen **, one of their rep. stating they would not issue the refund and, or a replacement. She was also not responsive to my other concerns.

They have essentially stolen my money, and will not take any responsibility. This company has no ethics. I week after this order that went missing, I had trusted them and bought over a 2k camera, with a defect and they will not even respond to my concern yet within 30 days. From speaking to many representative, (including a senior rep in NYC -Helen ** -- their call centers in Asia are of no help) both email and some voice calls, I have they lying. When you buy items, merchants should be more interested in building loyalty and repeat business. This company has no care or respect for its customers, and they have lost a very expensive account. Be very careful with you hard earned money, stay away from them. Check out their very many negatives online and via the Better Business Bureau.