i'm joining the long list of people in this forum who have been scammed by the crooks at bestpricecameras.com. the salesperson also sold me a $250 charger (it was high-speed though) and a $170 no-name battery! i emailed them to cancel the order and they informed me i had to call customer service (which conviently for them opens at 11am the next day, after your order has been processed!) i waited on hold for 46 mins before someone picked up and argued with me for 10 mins that it was too late to cancel the order. i finally convinced him to say "i'll cancel your order", although my debit card was charged AFTER our conversation. thankfully, my work phone tapes all conversations and i have pulled all the tapes and sent them to the FTC. by coincedence, one of my law school roommates (fordham '95) works for the FTC so he's doing us all a favor and expediting the complaint. pretty soon www.bestpricecameras.com will be "url not recognized"...

I ordered a Canon Rebel XT with Best Cameras online on the 25th. The guy called back to "confirm" the order, which is another way of trying to sell a battery for $180. When I wouldn't bite, they sent out an email saying "sorry we don't have the item in stock". Except that I never received the email. When I tried to track down the order today (12 days after we placed it), they told me about the email. I asked them why, if they didn't have the item in stock, they sold it to me anyway ? They had it in stock until they found out I didn't want a battery, warranty, etc. Crooks.

I just made a purchase and gave my credit card # for a Nikon D80 package. Silly me. I should have done more research beforehand.
I just called American Express and asked them to stop the payment from this company. Hope that would stop me from any loss to this scam shop.
Also I wrote an email back to BPC to cancel and am not sure if that would make them cancel. I will call them to cancel at business hours.
thanks everyone for sharing the experience.

This sort of business should have been shut down months ago. Hope someone can do that soon.

I placed an order for a ridiculously priced camcorder. When I didn't recieve the e-mail they said I would recieve shortly,
I looked up the website and noticed all the negative reviews. I immediately called the bank and cancelled the card as lost.
Luckily, the sale wasn't even posted. I guess crooks and scam artist have to sleep sometime.
Thanks to all of you who have posted your bad experiences,
you saved me from a potentially very bad experience. The moral
of the story is that con artist con greedy people, and they
apparently also scam thrifty people who are trying to save a buck.
If it sounds to good to be true, back off and buy from a reputable merchant. Thanks again for your input.

SCAM... we will be reading about these guys in the papers.... GOING TO JAIL.. DO NOT BUY FROM THESE GUYS..... WOW.... WHAT I JUST WENT THROUGH..... SCAM... SCAM...

Over the past 2 weeks I have went thought the exact same scenario as most every other post. I attempted to buy a Nikon D80 with Lens and of course got the typical email and the run around with the sales rep and I cancelled my order. He became very rude and hung up on me. 8 days later I had several fraudulent charges on my CC that luckily the fraud dept caught. I then researched the company, which I should have done in the first place, and found out they are pure criminals. With the amount of people that are getting scammed & violated there has to be a more productive way of alerting the authorities than online complaint forms, etc. Someone must have some contacts in the FTC, FBI, BBB that could expedite the investigation/lawsuit against bestpricecameras and all affiliate companies. Hopefully something will be done in the near future!

OH MY GOD!!! They pulled the same scam on me but I told him I was aware of the old "bait & switch" then he(ken) told me that I wasn't worth his time and told me to go watch the grinch(???)He said that it will take 6 weeks to ship so I said I will pick it up to call his bluff then uhhh its not in stock so I cancelled the order and cursed at me then hung up. I called back and got a manager and he said I will send that bad man home then continued with bait and switch. I also cancelled my credit card. They need to be reported. DON"T BUY FROM THEM!!!!

JVC GZ- MG77 --OK, so as you all know the bait and switch was attempted on my mother who was ordering a gift for me. Pressured her into a "upgraded" package that would include a battery that should already be included- you know the one that if you would buy this at a retail store is called included accessories. So she tells them to hold on don't place the order, she wants to check with me to see if I want this "package". She does not authorize the order. She calls me and I say no, just cancel- see the light already. She calls these "crooks" back to cancel and of corse has to leave 5 messages with no response. Next day she actually gets a "crook" on the phone they say it already shipped, can't cancel. In the mean time I find the reviews on epinions and inform her that her cc info is now stolen and they will be using her cc to buy "kevin", or whoever else there christmas gifts on her dime. I have her report her card stolen, and notify the cc company of this issue and they put it to their dispute department. So of course it has been 1-1/2 weeks and no package has arrived, (buit it already shipped- i bet they sent their elves out to reclaim the package out of the back of the delivery truck), so of course it DID NOT ship.
If you wish to be ripped off, taken advantage of, treated rude, hung up on, and your credit card info stolen to by these crooks christmas gifts- then bestpricedcameras is for you. I can picture their office now, 4 guys in a 200 sf apartment loft above a crack house in brooklyn, ny using stolen cell phones and computers to rip you off. When the order comes in, your credit card info goes out to the highest bidder or their cusin Bob. Just so you know I did some research after this and ordered through beach camera. Paid less then the "package deal" at crooksrus (bestpricedcameras) and it arrived in 2 days with free standard shipping, in the original sealed mfg. box and with std. mfg. included accessories. Imagine that getting what you paid for. So speaking for myself, beach camera was a great experience, bestpricedcamera a.k.a. "crooksrus" is only for you if you dont have enough stress in your life and need something to occupy your time. Good luck and Merry Christmas. Kevin, or what ever your name is enjoy the coal from santa

I also had a bad experience with this online business (bestpricecameras.com). I had ordered an Infocus IN72 projector and the confirmation I received did not contain any information about my order, other than an order number. I called them after a couple of days and was told that they needed additional information in order to process the order. They wanted to know what kind of bulb I wanted in the projector.

These projectors come with bulbs. I shouldn't have to purchase a separate bulb. It is like buying a car and then having the dealer ask if you want an engine in it. The rep said he would gladly cancel the order. I am monitoring my credit card to make sure the charge does not go through.

I would definitely advise anyone to stay away from this business. You can google bestpricecameras and come up with a long list of unhappy customers.

I ordered a Canon professional series lens and wanted overnight delivery.

2 business days later, a rep from the BestPricesCameras.com calls and first thing tries to get me to agree to the inferior Sigma lens. He told me it was just as good, actually better, for the camera I have (Canon Digital Rebel XTi).

I told him it isn't, said I wasn't interested and asked how long it would be until I got the lens I ordered.

He said 3 weeks.

I said that won't do and I want to cancel my order.

He said, "Fine, not a problem." - and hung up on me! No confirmation that the order has been canceled, not a goodbye, sorry we couldn't help you, and all that nice stuff a good company that wants to keep customers does.

I tried to call the number that my Caller ID said called - it was a bad number.

I called the customer service number and talked to a guy there who sounded slightly nicer, but still a weasel. He confirmed who I talked to and that the order had been canceled.

Then I asked to speak to the first guy's manager.

The manager made no apologies. I accused him of bait-and-switch. He had no defense. I told him about the above rudeness. His reply was "That's weird. Chris has been with us for years and we've never got a complaint about him."

It is obvious from 5 minutes of interaction with these people that all they want is to speak to suckers they can pull their crap on. As soon as they get someone who is on to them, they get rid of them as soon as possible.

Don't! Don't! Don't do business with this company!
-edj

Sounds like this website is specializing in a bait and escalate scam. My experience was exactly the same as those many others have described. Ordered a camera kit (Canon XT) and got a call the next day to try to sell me overpriced accessories. When I refused, the salesperson (Victor) got very rude and hung-up the phone. I e-mailed several times to check the status of my order - no response. I tried to call several times - customer service only open from 11 AM to 6PM, WHAT?? I finally got through two weeks later. "Oh, sorry your order was cancelled because of backorders. We sent you an e-mail." NOT. I thought I had this problem covered when I checkrd other "review sites" about this company before I ordered. over 1000 five star reviews on Webbiz and Shopping Cart.com. I don't know whose worse, the rip-off company or the review sites which support their scams. Bottom line - you get what you pay for.

From looking at all the posts these con artists have been pulling a scam for two years and are still going strong. I placed an online camera order for a Nikon D80 in April 2007 and received an email confirming my order. When I would not play their game of purchasing over priced items they sent me an email telling me the camera was out of stock and my order was canceled. I agree with other posts on this company I don’t know which is worse, these scam artists or those that claim to represent honest reviews and keep a company like this in business. This company should be shut down.

I think these guys are operating under yet another name now.. expresscameras.com

I tried ordering from both companies and got the run-around.

When ordering from bestpricecameras they did the same thing everyone else has mentioned -- tried to sell me a battery..etc..etc.. then hung up on me when I said I'd rather cancel my order. Hold times on the phone average about 10-15 minutes and their reps never really try to help you place an order.

After canceling my order with beststopcameras.com I called expresscameras.com to make sure their item came with a battery, etc.. I was on hold for about 15 min, then when I finally got through, the guy on the phone was very short with me and rude. He even sounded just like the guy from bestpricecameras. I told him what product I was inquiring about and all he said was "what about it?". He answered my questions but was very rude about it telling me to look for myself on the website. So after he hung up on me, I ordered the items on the website. This time I received the dreaded "item is back-ordered" email so I called them to find out more information. Again, I got the SAME guy (i think) and I gave him my order #. He immediately asked for the CC code on the back of my card...then when I asked him what was back-ordered he transferred me to a recording that said "sorry this dept is closed" and hung up on me. I called back to find out what items they DO have in stock, thinking I could buy something different. I asked him if they had the Nikon d70s in stock, he said "no" immediately, then I asked about the d50 and he waited a moment then said "no". Then I asked about the d40 and he said "hold on let me transfer you" and it went directly to a that same recording and hung up on me AGAIN.

So, it looks like they now have an automated process for getting rid of callers they don't want to deal with.. or who they can't successfully SCAM. I think it's pretty much just a couple of guys (at most) in a little room taking calls all day long. I bet their phones are ringing off the hook (hence the repeated placement on hold so they can take incoming calls).

More evidence that bestpricecamera.com = expresscameras.com is that both of these company's "customer services depts" were closed on Monday and Tuesday after Easter weekend.

Anyhow, I have logged into my bank account site and changed my mailing address and tomorrow will call to try and block any charges. I might have to cancel the card :/

It really sucks that they've been in business this long. Why can't we shut them down? Reading all these posts makes me want to fight back somehow. We should all ban together and war-dial them or something. Or.. if any of you actually live in NY, how about going up to their actual business location and causing a ruckus?

*bump*

Moving this up to the front page. Spam pushed it to page 2.

I recently ordered a camera for my sister from ExpressCameras.com. They were significantly cheaper than other websites, so I had to wonder why. However the order went through seemingly fine.

I later received a slew of "Confirm your order!" emails from the website, 2 a day until I called in. Upon calling in I was asked my order number, gave it, and this conversation followed:

Rep: Would you like to add a memory card to your order for just $199?
Me: No, that's alright I'll figure that part out later.
Rep: I haven't even told you how large the card is - 1 gigabyte. That's a good deal at $199.
(Note: It isn't.)
Me: No, that's fine. I'd just like what I ordered on the website and nothing more.
Rep: You're not going to have a memory card then. Nothing useful, anyway.
Me: That's fine. Is my order confirmed?
Rep: Now do you want the 2 hour battery of the 5 hour battery?
Me: Neither. I only want what I ordered on the website.
Rep: I haven't even told you how much they cost. Is it a money issue?
Me: No. I just want what I ordered.
Rep: It's a money issue. What if I told you they were free? Would you say no still?
Me: Anyone would be silly to not take something for free. It's a buying issue - I don't want to buy more than what I selected on the website.
Rep: It's a money issue then. You're cheap.
Me: No, it's a research issue. I did a lot of research in picking out the items I ordered. I don't want to buy additional items right here on the phone. If you'd like to email me these offers so I can research them as well, I'll consider them.
Rep: Oh please, it's not like you need to do a lot of research to buy a camera! You go on the website and you order it!
Me: ...Is my order all set?
Rep: Is your order all set? YOU aren't all set, because you're going to get a camera and not be able to do a thing with it! You'll have a dinky memory card and a dinky starter battery!
(Note: My sister has a memory card, and no camera comes with a "starter battery" - outright lying.)
Me: *silence because the man has shown himself to be crazy*
Me: Is my order confirmed?
Rep: Alright goodbye sir good luck with your useless camera.

And today I check my email to find? Not a "Your order is confirmed" but rather, "Unfortunately, the item you ordered is on backorder and your order has been cancelled." Notably the "Cancellation number" is the same as the "Order number" which suggests to me this entire website is a scam to force you to call in and get a sales pitch about parts that no one needs. Who knows if one can actually ever receive the items on the site itself.

It's time for a class-action lawsuit.

I've been on hold for 45 minutes now trying to cancel my order. The people on the other end keep picking up and asking if I need help then putting me on hold again. It turns out that the things they sell do not come with ANY accessoried, no cables, no batteries, nothing at all. TOTAL SCAMMER SITE. The hold recording says "helpful and courtious associates will help me soon" that is a a lie. Strongly recommend that you do not purchase from this site.

I almost bought a camera at best pricecameras.com but looked at this site first thank god! I will stick with the better known and proven sites where I have had sucessful relations before. PHEW.....
So glad you sent in your review!

I agree with other posts on this company. I ordered a video camera and then called to see about the bonus specials listed on advertisement . The bonus items were never mentioned again as I went through checkout. I didn't even get a straight answer on the items, and the man immediately asked for my 3 digit code on the back of my card and then asked if I wanted the 199.00 battery added to the package. Wow, i cancelled. I called my bank to try to put a stop payment on my debit card. They said no! I made them aware that I would not pay for this, so will see what happens next. As of 3 hours later, no charges applied. BETTER NOT BE! DO not buy from them!

Thank you everyone for your posts. I was looking at the Nikon D200 body which normally sells for $1200-1600 and BestPrice had it listed for $499.00. It definitely pays to research the company beforehand.