gary_camera (Gary Camera & Video) - One of the Rudest Vendors I've Ever Encountered
Aug 21 '08 (Updated Jan 12 '09)
The Bottom Line If you shop eBay, remember gary_camera. If you have any questions for them, expect a rude response. Isn't that enough to NOT patronize a vendor?
Last weekend, my wife performed her first wedding shoot. As a growing photographer with a natural eye and a tireless work ethic, she had accepted the assignment with a strong sense that it would be both a positive challenge and a lot of preparation work. Of course, preparation for shooting a wedding is massive: you have to plan your shots, communicate with the couple to get lighting and staging requirements, research the wedding location to find the best positions, and prepare and/or purchase the equipment that will be needed during the assignment. One of the items that my wife needed was a lens, and not just a consumer-level lens that does well in normal situations, but one that could shoot in low-light, autofocus quickly, and be rugged enough to meet the demands of the assignments. This meant getting a fast-aperture zoom lens with a reputation for sharpness; for a Nikon shooter, this means a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S ED lens.
The Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens is the essential lens for wedding and event photographers. It's constructed almost entirely of metal, is visibly bigger than consumer lenses in that range, and comes with a hefty price tag. Thus, the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens is an investment for the burgeoning wedding photographer and requires much research and comparison among vendors to ensure that this investment is not only purchased at the right price, but also purchased from a trustworthy vendor.
With that in mind, two months ago, I began my research to find a good vendor that offered the best price. Initially, I found one vendor, BuyDig.com, that was Better Business Bureau-certified, had a wonderful rating at ResellerRatings.com, and offered the best price on the lens. Sadly, I waited too long and their price went up on the lens. I then looked at other vendors, like Adorama and B&H Photo, and saw that though the vendors were reputable, the price for the lens was equally high among them. So, I turned to eBay. At eBay, as many of you readers may know, you can either "win" items put up for auction or purchase "Buy It Now" items at a set price. Besides the price of the desired item and the condition of the item, the key to shopping at eBay is the vendor. Is the vendor reputable? Does the vendor have a high approval percentage? How many transactions has the vendor completed?
Like any other selling website, you can buy excellent products through eBay if you perform the due diligence necessary to ensure a good purchase. One of the vendors at eBay that caught my eye was a vendor named gary_camera. As it turned out, gary_camera is actually the eBay storefront for Gary Camera & Video located in Merrillville, Indiana; on eBay, this store was rated at close to 100% approval, which was impressive considering the volume of business they had conducted to that point. However, despite the apparently high approval rating and competitive prices, their return policy was not clearly indicated on any of their item listings, especially for the lens I intended to purchase.
Now, it should go without stating that you do not purchase anything of substantial cost from a store that does not have an acceptable return policy. For example, Wal-Mart offers a 90-day return policy on almost all items save media, consumables, and certain electronic items. This return policy has proven to be a boon for my wife and me as we have purchased our share of sub-standard appliances from Wal-Mart; fortunately, we were able to return those items without a minimum of fuss. Likewise, vendors like Costco offer extended warranties on electronic items as well as a 90-day return policy. Having a serviceable return policy for items purchased is what separates great stores from stores people should avoid.
It was from this perspective that I reasoned that it would be best to contact gary_camera and ask questions about their return policy, especially considering that I was about to make a substantial purchase of an expensive lens. I asked three questions:
1) What is your return policy regarding defective items?
2) What is your return policy regarding items with which we are not pleased?
3) How soon do you ship a purchased item after you receive the order?
I asked these three questions without any intention to accuse the seller of anything but their inability to clearly state their return policy in their item listings. These were questions that I had asked eBay sellers in the past and received straightforward answers with no hint of irony or haughtiness. If anything, sellers I asked in the past seemed to understand that answering questions was an important part of conducting business successfully...
Gary_camera did not seem to agree with that concept...
The day after I contacted gary_camera, I received a reply not through eBay (which is how vendor replies are commonly handled), but to my personal email address. At first, the vendor seemed to answer my question, stating that items are shipped right after payment is sent. Gary_camera also stated that they only accepted returns on items that are dead-on-arrival. However, what the vendor stated next was eye-catching: the vendor continued to state that the item was new, that they were not in the business of selling "open-box" items, and that if I didn't like it, then I shouldn't bid on it. This struck me as odd; why would a seller tell a potential consumer that "if you don't like it, don't buy it?" I cannot fully convey the tone of the email except to say that it was sarcastic and confrontational.
Upon reading gary_camera's reply, I was upset. It has always been my impression that sellers should answer all questions from prospective buyers with courtesy and a desire to do business, but gary_camera communicated everything but that. Feeling a sense of injustice, I wrote an email back to gary_camera, which read like this:
"I would thank you for your reply, but, to be honest, your response was completely unwarranted. I asked three simple questions that could have been answered quickly. I have posed the same three questions to other eBay sellers (even Power Sellers like Cameta Camera, which clearly states their return policy with each item), and they have all replied with reasonable answers that reflected a willingness to do business. However, your response was sarcastic and unprofessional.
Furthermore, if you would review my questions, you will see that I never questioned the newness of the item or whether it was an open-box item or not; I simply asked about your return policy and how quickly you ship. I don't know why you raised the points you raised.
Anyway, because of your unprofessional response and inability to answer my direct questions with any hint of a desire to do business with me, I will NOT bid for your lens, and I will be sure to warn my other eBay friends of your poor customer service. I hope you have a nice day."
Naively, I thought my scathing reply would be the end of the email thread and that the seller would, somehow, learn from their mistake and be better in the future. Yet, to my surprise, I received a reply from the seller, who took the time to compose an email that accused me of being the kind of consumer they didn't want. In the email, I was told that, as a business, gary_camera had been cheated by consumers in the past who would purchase items, and then return them because "they received the same item as a gift." Gary_camera told me that they do not have a liberal return policy for that reason, but what insulted me what that gary_camera intimated that, based on the three questions I asked initially, I would be the type of customer who would buy and then return an item. Gary_camera criticized how I had phrased my questions, asking me about why I didn't simply ask about the return policy. Gary_camera ended their email by informing me that they would be blocking me as a buyer in eBay, banning me from purchasing any of their goods.
After reading gary_camera's reply, I knew that this email thread was going nowhere fast, so I resolved myself to not reply. But, funnily enough, gary_camera sent another email to me to remind me that my previous purchase through eBay (a Nikon D80 digital camera) was a demo item and how it could NOT have a one-year warranty because it was a demo item (Note: Cameta Camera, an excellent eBay Power Seller, sells demo items from Nikon that are covered with a 90-day Nikon warranty, but is extended by Cameta Camera to one year). In a way, it was flattering that gary_camera took the time to research my purchase history.
Needless to say, I ended up not purchasing the lens through gary_camera. In my experience as an online shopper, I had never encountered such an unwillingness to answer questions and be civil from a seller before gary_camera. Even in situations when I have written complaint emails, I had almost always received apologetic replies from businesses who were genuinely interested in setting things right. Conversely, gary_camera seemed to project such a strong sense of pride that it had become more important to protect themselves from fraudulent buyers than to address every correspondence from potentially legitimate buyers with even a modicum of respect. To me, gary_camera's initial response to my questions was unwarranted, and their follow-up to my deserved criticism was equally appalling. Heaven forbid someone has an honest question for them in the future regarding their return policy, which they don't state clearly anyway!
To conclude, there is a happy ending to this story. My wife and I ended up going through Amazon and purchasing the lens from a third-party vendor selling through Amazon: The Shutterbug. Not only did The Shutterbug state their return and shipping policies clearly at Amazon, but they also offered a reasonable price for the lens, shipped it shortly after ordering, and did well to have the item arrive four days before my wife's wedding assignment. The lens was obviously new with all of the included accessories, and it ended up performing nicely during my wife's assignment.
***
Note to Mr. Blane, Gary Camera's representative: I ended up paying $16 more for the lens through The Shutterbug, who provided superior phone customer service AND clearly stated their return and shipping policies on Amazon. If your company had simply answered my questions in a professional manner, you would have had my business; instead, you lost my past and future business, not to mention the money I paid The Shutterbug to buy the lens from them.
I hope you have a nice day, Mr. Blane.
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Epinions.com ID:
kedsand1
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Location: Circle City, USA
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Even if you're homeless, you can still write Epinions at the local library.
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