Did you buy anything from these people? at DVinfo.net

Mark Monciardini · July 7th, 2003, 12:04 AM

I was just reading the latest Computer Video Magazine and I came across many Video store advertisements. Most of the stores had cameras like the PD-150, XL1s and DVX100 for a really low price. Is this legit? They say they do C.O.Ds but I am still a little skeptical.

The companies are:

http://www.digitalliquidators.com
http://www.royalcamera.com
http://www.ccicameracity.com
http://www.bwayphoto.com
CameraTopia
http://www.amphotoworld.com
http://www.premiumphoto.com
http://www.starlightcameras.com
http://www.smilephotovideo.com

Most all these are Mail Order places. Has anyone ever ordered from them? Would you recommend them?

-Mark

Alex Knappenberger · July 7th, 2003, 12:09 AM

All of them are a joke.

www.resellerratings.com

Brad Simmons · July 7th, 2003, 01:54 AM

It's a shame that Computer Video Magazine advertises for such slime.

Especially Broadway photo. I find it hard to believe those guys are still in business, after all the people they've ripped off.

The reason they are so cheap is because they sell grey market cameras and cameras without essential accessories that come included with normal camera packages. Give em a call and talk to one of their con artists and you'll see what I mean. The second you mention US warranty, they start mumbling incoherently.

http://www.amphotoworld.com
http://www.digitalliquidators.com
http://www.bwayphoto.com

are all the SAME company. Just different website names.
It's an absolute joke.

Avoid them all like the plague.

John Garcia · July 7th, 2003, 02:10 AM

I was looking at digitalliquidators a while back for a camera. I wondered why their prices were so good!

It's a wonder why reputable magazines host advertisments for such scum, knowing that loyal readers will take advantage of such deals, only to get ripped off...

I guess all that matters is that they are being compensated for ad space. Kinda sad. Research before you buy. Better yet, buy from the DVINFO.net sponsors...

Matt Betea · July 7th, 2003, 06:20 AM

There isn't one "legit" store out of any of the ones you listed. I think it was PC World that did a big spread on a few of these stores a few months ago. The article is probably somewhere online. There is a thread here about these places too. About how even DV Mag has advertisements for 2 or 3 of those places. Like I said before, it's sad these magazines just care about the bottom line and not the people that are keeping them in business.

Bill Pryor · July 7th, 2003, 02:13 PM

You gotta understand our capitalistic society and the increasing domination of corporate America--the magazines are ONLY interested in profit, not in serving the consumer or production community. The only reason they run articles is so people will accept delivery of them and they can then tally circulation figures so they can sell advertising. They are in the business of selling advertising, not helping people out. It's sort of like the difference between the point of a TV spot and its purpose...the point is to be entertaining so you'll watch it, but it's purpose is to sell product. That's the way the world is.

A few years ago when I was an active SCUBA diver, I subscribed to a journal about diving. It would review things, analyze accidents, and provide all sorts of great information to the dive community. But, it existed only on subscription fees and accepted no advertising. Something like that in our world today would be nice. I guess some of these discussion groups sort of serve the same purpose, but you may have to dig through the..uh...organically-derived verbose irrelevancies and inaccuracies and opinions, shall we say, to get to the guts of the info.

Anyway, just because the bad guys advertise a lot in all the magazines does not mean they are ethical. The ability to make a lot of money and grow into a nationally-recognized supplier has little to do with good business ethics, as we all know from reading about all the U.S. corporate criminals that run our largest companies and rip off billions of dollars from ordinary folks and then reward themselves with millions more to not work because they're crooks.

You did the right thing in asking on here about those companies BEFORE ordering anything. Others have not been so fortunate.

Brad Simmons · July 7th, 2003, 02:28 PM

The thing I don't understand about these companies and how they remain in business is that they don't merely survive by being ambiguous about their products. They actually lie to customers on a daily basis.

For example, I just called up Broadway photo just for a test and inquired about their Canon XL1s package for $3,200. Now, all the respectable, trustworthy companies sell the exact same package for $5,000. His reasoning for this HUGE price difference was "We're just a good camera dealer that sells at low prices".

I asked him if there was a FULL US parts AND labor 1 year warranty on the camera. He said, "It's a full year parts, 90 day labor warranty, just like all other stores like B&H."

Errr wrong! I told him the regular warranty was for a full year labor as well. He put me on hold, then came back and said that he was mistaken, the camera they're selling does have the full year parts and labor. Now, that is a bold face LIE. He also insisted that the camera was not grey market, another outrageous lie.

So basically, these people not only avoid giving you the full story, but they won't hesitate to lie to your face. I simply cannot believe that it is legal for companies like this to remain in business. BroadWay Photo has been reported to the BBB dozens of times, and nothing has been done about them. I just don't understand why.

BTW, our phone conversation ended up with him hanging up on me once he realized I actually knew what I was talking about.

Buy from www.zgc.com and you can't go wrong.

Chris Hurd · July 7th, 2003, 02:58 PM

Now you all know why we have our (very carefully evaluated and selected) DV Info Net Sponsors. Takes the guesswork out of where to buy. Hope this helps,

July 7th, 2003, 12:04 AM	#1
Mark Monciardini Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Posts: 158	Did you buy anything from these people? I was just reading the latest Computer Video Magazine and I came across many Video store advertisements. Most of the stores had cameras like the PD-150, XL1s and DVX100 for a really low price. Is this legit? They say they do C.O.Ds but I am still a little skeptical. The companies are: http://www.digitalliquidators.com http://www.royalcamera.com http://www.ccicameracity.com http://www.bwayphoto.com CameraTopia http://www.amphotoworld.com http://www.premiumphoto.com http://www.starlightcameras.com http://www.smilephotovideo.com Most all these are Mail Order places. Has anyone ever ordered from them? Would you recommend them? -Mark

July 7th, 2003, 02:58 PM	#8
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Now you all know why we have our (very carefully evaluated and selected) DV Info Net Sponsors. Takes the guesswork out of where to buy. Hope this helps, __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

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July 7th, 2003, 12:09 AM	#2
Alex Knappenberger High School Student Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Canton, Ohio, USA Posts: 609	All of them are a joke. www.resellerratings.com

July 7th, 2003, 01:54 AM	#3
Brad Simmons Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Washington DC Posts: 304	It's a shame that Computer Video Magazine advertises for such slime. Especially Broadway photo. I find it hard to believe those guys are still in business, after all the people they've ripped off. The reason they are so cheap is because they sell grey market cameras and cameras without essential accessories that come included with normal camera packages. Give em a call and talk to one of their con artists and you'll see what I mean. The second you mention US warranty, they start mumbling incoherently. http://www.amphotoworld.com http://www.digitalliquidators.com http://www.bwayphoto.com are all the SAME company. Just different website names. It's an absolute joke. Avoid them all like the plague.

July 7th, 2003, 02:10 AM	#4
John Garcia Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Posts: 199	I was looking at digitalliquidators a while back for a camera. I wondered why their prices were so good! It's a wonder why reputable magazines host advertisments for such scum, knowing that loyal readers will take advantage of such deals, only to get ripped off... I guess all that matters is that they are being compensated for ad space. Kinda sad. Research before you buy. Better yet, buy from the DVINFO.net sponsors...

July 7th, 2003, 06:20 AM	#5
Matt Betea Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: detroit, mi Posts: 187	There isn't one "legit" store out of any of the ones you listed. I think it was PC World that did a big spread on a few of these stores a few months ago. The article is probably somewhere online. There is a thread here about these places too. About how even DV Mag has advertisements for 2 or 3 of those places. Like I said before, it's sad these magazines just care about the bottom line and not the people that are keeping them in business.

July 7th, 2003, 02:13 PM	#6
Bill Pryor Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 4,449	You gotta understand our capitalistic society and the increasing domination of corporate America--the magazines are ONLY interested in profit, not in serving the consumer or production community. The only reason they run articles is so people will accept delivery of them and they can then tally circulation figures so they can sell advertising. They are in the business of selling advertising, not helping people out. It's sort of like the difference between the point of a TV spot and its purpose...the point is to be entertaining so you'll watch it, but it's purpose is to sell product. That's the way the world is. A few years ago when I was an active SCUBA diver, I subscribed to a journal about diving. It would review things, analyze accidents, and provide all sorts of great information to the dive community. But, it existed only on subscription fees and accepted no advertising. Something like that in our world today would be nice. I guess some of these discussion groups sort of serve the same purpose, but you may have to dig through the..uh...organically-derived verbose irrelevancies and inaccuracies and opinions, shall we say, to get to the guts of the info. Anyway, just because the bad guys advertise a lot in all the magazines does not mean they are ethical. The ability to make a lot of money and grow into a nationally-recognized supplier has little to do with good business ethics, as we all know from reading about all the U.S. corporate criminals that run our largest companies and rip off billions of dollars from ordinary folks and then reward themselves with millions more to not work because they're crooks. You did the right thing in asking on here about those companies BEFORE ordering anything. Others have not been so fortunate.

July 7th, 2003, 02:28 PM	#7
Brad Simmons Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Washington DC Posts: 304	The thing I don't understand about these companies and how they remain in business is that they don't merely survive by being ambiguous about their products. They actually lie to customers on a daily basis. For example, I just called up Broadway photo just for a test and inquired about their Canon XL1s package for $3,200. Now, all the respectable, trustworthy companies sell the exact same package for $5,000. His reasoning for this HUGE price difference was "We're just a good camera dealer that sells at low prices". I asked him if there was a FULL US parts AND labor 1 year warranty on the camera. He said, "It's a full year parts, 90 day labor warranty, just like all other stores like B&H." Errr wrong! I told him the regular warranty was for a full year labor as well. He put me on hold, then came back and said that he was mistaken, the camera they're selling does have the full year parts and labor. Now, that is a bold face LIE. He also insisted that the camera was not grey market, another outrageous lie. So basically, these people not only avoid giving you the full story, but they won't hesitate to lie to your face. I simply cannot believe that it is legal for companies like this to remain in business. BroadWay Photo has been reported to the BBB dozens of times, and nothing has been done about them. I just don't understand why. BTW, our phone conversation ended up with him hanging up on me once he realized I actually knew what I was talking about. Buy from www.zgc.com and you can't go wrong.