Adorama - I Adore this Retailer!
Written: Jan 23 '08
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| Full Review |
In order to help complete my lens collection, I searched around the internet for the Canon EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM lens. After purchasing my fisheye lens, I realized that there are some legitimate online retailers that offer significantly lower prices than gray market retailers on eBay. I found the lens for $464.95 refurbished by Canon. This was even cheaper than what many used lenses actually go for. I made the order on a Thursday night if I remember correctly. It then said that the order would not be processed until next week, something about orders not being processed during the weekend. I received an e-mail saying that my credit card has gone through and the order would be shipped on Sunday. Then I received the lens on Tuesday. It arrived in the Canon box and as promised.
-PRICE-
*Similarly to eTailers such as B&H, Amazon, J&R, Beach Camera, and others, Adorama offers very competitive prices. Unfortunately, it does not have a saver shipping option that gives free shipping. For this, you will need to purchase either from Amazon.com or Beach Camera. Also, for new merchandise, I found a few products that I randomly looked up to be slightly more expensive by only a few dollars than retailers such as Beach Camera and J&R. But something that Adorama has is a very competitively priced section for factory-refurbished goods. I compared both the Canon EF 70-200mm F4L USM and Canon EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM lenses. They were priced $499.00 and $464.95, respectively. These prices are actually lower than eBay, and I have seen auctions run up above these prices. While it may not exactly be cheaper than Craigslist.com (Which can be a long pain-staking process), you will receive the good as promised from a reputable retailer at a very competitive price. Overall, Adorama offers excellent prices. While you should still shop around with other online retailers, you really can't go wrong with Adorama. It also beats out any brick & mortar retailer like Best Buy or independently-owned camera store by a long margin. As far as prices go, Adorama is very good. While it may not always be the best, it is still extremely competitive. Also, the refurbished products had very good prices that will save you quite a few bucks over eBay.
-PRODUCTS-
*Adorama offers a wide variety of different electronics. It's biggest selection though is photographic equipment. Here you can find plenty of different cameras, lenses, and accessories from your favorite manufacturer at very competitive prices.
-SHIPPING-
*The one downside to Adorama is that it did not offer me saver shipping. Therefore, I had to pay $9.00 for the cheapest ground shipping option. Despite the shipping charges, the price was still excellent. The product also shipped very quickly, I received it in only a couple of days. I received tracking information, which is also a plus. This comes in handy if you live very far from New York and choose ground shipping. There were no delays in the process, and I was very satisfied.
-CUSTOMER SERVICE-
*I did not have any problems and therefore did not call. I did receive two e-mails though, that explained two parts of the process. The first e-mail said that my order would be processed the following week and that they would notify me if there were any problems with processing my credit card. I then received another e-mail Sunday saying that my card was successfully processed and that the order would be shipped. This was nice, since I was informed about the different parts of the process.
-THE VERDICT-
*I have been very satisfied with my purchase from Adorama. I received the product in a very timely fashion just as it was described. The price was also right. While Adorama might be a few bucks more expensive on a few products, it still is very competitively priced, and can save you hundreds over a brick & mortar store. Also, the refurbished lenses are extremely well-priced and are actually quite a bit cheaper than eBay. I wish Adorama offered saver shipping like Amazon and Beach Camera, but the competitive prices make up for it. If I decide to purchase refurbished products for my camera, I will definitely look at Adorama again.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Canon EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM Lens
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