Just a warning to all those people who are thinking of buying a digital camera whilst on holiday.
There are those companies out there who are willing to give you a very good deal and those who are definitely out there to con you for verything they can squeeze out of you.
Whilst on holiday you are usually in a positive state of mind and quite possibly not on your guard against those sharks.
This is a story to warn you of what can happen and to warn you against one particular store.
The Store:
Global Camera Gallery in Orlando and Kissimmee
11025 International Drive
&
The Shoppes at Vista Del Lago
8681 W. 192
What happened:
I went into the store enquiring about a particular camera:
A Sony DSC-W1. I had been quoted a price of $450.00 by another store. They asked if I had been quoted a price and I told them the price. They came back with a price of $395.00. This was a very good price. I deliberated for a while and decided to purchase the camera. Immediately, I was told to wait and was passed on to another sales person. He approached me and asked me if I had considered any other camera and proceeded to tell me of all the bad points of the Sony camera.
He then showed me a different camera:
A Nikon Coolpix 5200. He told me of the advantages of this camera over and above the Sony. He said that Nikon were manufacturers of quality "cameras" where as Sony were known for their quality in TV's and NOT cameras. He demonstrated some of the advantages of the Nikon camera.
Now here is the rub! Having been led into a false sense of security by being given a VERY good price for the Sony W1 I was given a price for the Nikon which he stated was 30% off the MRP of approximately $1130.00. This translated to $792.00 - a little more than I wanted to pay. After some discussion I decided to leave. He then offered to swap my Sony memory sticks for SD memory and download my existing pictures (I already had an old Sony DSC-P1). Again I tried to leave and he offered me a free case.
I wanted to check on the price on the camera from some other outlets and giving the excuse that I would return with the memory sticks to do the swap I said I would leave.
At this point he stopped me and offered a further 12.5% discount bringing the price down to $692.00.
Call it greed, incompetance, not on my guard having been lured into a false sense of security or simply a rush to purchase due to a combination of all of the above I agreed to the purchase.
With hindsight I now realise why he fell over himself to help me. He even gave me a free CD to take to his other store (much closer to my apartment in Kissimmee) to help them download my pictures.
He then prepared the receipt. Here is the, what I call, true deceipt within the transaction. Whether it is legal or not, at the moment, I am not sure. However, he said even though he was supposedly giving me the case and memory free he needed to put down a price against each item for his manager. He put the marked price of the case and a charge of $75.00 to convert the memory. This then adjusted the price of the camera down to $525.00. I stupidly signed this receipt and left with the goods.
As I left the store, I heard the two salesmen laugh. At the time I thought they had heard something funny on the TV. I now realise they were laughing at me - and for very good reason. I had been "fleeced" good and proper.
When I returned to "swap" the memory I had realised, in part, of the deception. At that stage I hadn't realised the extent of the deceipt. I tried to re-negotiate with the same saleman.
He then told me that they didn't countenance returns as, although he didn't think, "I was the type of person to do so", they had to protect themselves from those customers who just tried to use a camera for a few days and then give it back on some false pretext. Anyway I had signed the receipt and didn't I realise the terms of the contract.
I then tried to argue that the price was much higher than other stores. His reply was that they were competative with some cameras and not so much with other makes - Nikon obviously being one of them.
He then proceeded to tell me that the deal was a "complete package". This was to back his arguments that I had received a good deal. Later in the same conversation he stated that I had received the case and memory exchange free of charge - again that was to back his arguments against my later comments. He was totally contradicting himself throughout the conversation.
There are other points which I am now sure were part of the overall scam. He said that he would put the camera and all its accessories together for me. He said that I surely didn't want to pay the VAT on my return - did I!!!??? Whether I did or not was surely not his concern but he said it anyway. In so doing he opened each plastic container and bag and threw it away. At the end he said, "Do you want the box?" Seeing a completely empty shell I simply said no and he dramatically threw it over his shoulder behind the counter.
Facts are these:
- The marked MRP on the camera as stated by Global Camera Gallery was $1130.00
[list]Price watch ranges from $499.00 down to $377.18
- To wet my appetite they offered a 30% reduction. This made the price $792.00
- They told me my original choice, the Sony DSC-W1, was a much worse camera - subjective I know but the reviews I have read since seem to disagree.
- To stop me walking out of the store they offered a further 12.5% bringing the camera down to $692.00
- They threw in a "free" case and a "free" memory swap - and then put down the full prices on the receipt seemingly reducing the camera price to $525.00
- They threw away all the packaging not mentioning that the receipt said they would charge a 30% re-stocking fee if all the packaging was not present - that was only if the item was defective.
At the end of the day I have been scammed, deceived by a, in my opinion, a crooked firm who will, I am sure prey on any unsuspecting customer.
In some respects it has put a shadow against ALL camera retailers as I can never be sure that a salesman is telling me the truth.
Therefore PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE research your purchase first.
DO NOT jump at the very first deal unless you have done the research first.
I have been preyed upon - PLEASE DO NOT LET IT HAPPEN TO YOU.
Beware of Sharks that feed off Holiday Makers
Digital Camera Purchase Problems
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