If it sounds too cheap to be true, it is. Stick with a good seller like B&H, check ebay for a good camera, or go to a local reseller, if you have one. The hassle you put up with to get anything from some of these Brooklyn hacks isn't worth any amount of money you might "save."

aqm, what they do (as well as others) is advertise a super low price but if you don't agree to buy lots of accessories (mostly junk or things you don't even need) then they are suddenly "out of stock".
Randy

Aqm, avoid these people like the plague! Buy from B&H and appreciate the money you are saving.

Jay

I must disagree with the general negative sentiment about the NY mail-order resellers. They always have the best price and I have bought audio, video and photographic stuff from them for many years with no problem except one - always figure the SHIPPING into the final price as the rates vary considerably between shops. These shops are often not authorised resellers so check out the warrenty situaltion.

I've had really good luck going through EVS (http://www.evsonline.com)

Good prices (on par with, or slightly less than B&H for most things), excellent customer service and fast shippment. Highly recommended.

Broadway = bait and switch. Oops, you don't want that $250, regularly $99 battery, well, on checking, we are now out of stock. Avoid

The name is broadwayphoto or something like that. Can't remember it exactly. Thought i'd NEVER forget it. On the other hand, I'd like to forget the whole mess.

You could checkout globalmediapro.com, seem to have competitive prices, ship anywhere and will quote you in local currency including shipping costs.

To add to what I said before, the NY mail-order discounters do try to "bait and switch" and they do make a sales pithch for extras and things you might not want. When you deal with these guys you must know just what you want before you order and except to substitutions or additions - that I thought was a given.

B&H Photo is the only NYC online retailer I will deal with. I have bought loads of equipment from them and have never had an issue of any kind. I have also had excellent luck with videoguys.com, but they sell NLE stuff, not camcorders.

John

If you find the stores that you deal with in these pictures, you're in a whole lot of troubles.

http://www.panix.com/~donwiss/pictures/BrooklynStores/

Man, I live three blocks from one of those stores, the one with the graffitti.

This one could be a real store if all it did was mail order. That building is the old Brooklyn Army Terminal. If you ever used a Tota, Omni or DP, it was built there, because the Lowell Lights factory is in that building. So there are legitimate business there.

Let's be realistic here. This threat is generating so much crap.

Sure B&H photo may be more "respectable" than a grafiti covered Brooklyn storefront, but it all hinges on the DEAL. The Sony PD-170 at amphotoworld.com is $1779, and at B&H $3699 - a whopping $1920 extra profit for B&H!

Is the paint job on a strore front that you will never see worth two grand to you?

Actually, yes. A real US warranty, a unit guaranteed new, no games when it comes to what will be in the box, no missing UPC codes, no games regarding whether they really have the unit, no pressure to buy "other stuff" in order to get that low price on the gray market camera, and on an on and on.

Last year I tried to talk a friend of mine out of calling one of the places mentioned in this thread. He did it anyway because the item was under $250. He ended up in a walking nightmare. They even tried to slam a large type II compactflash card down his throat that is not even designed to work with the camera he wanted to buy. He ended up canceling everything after numerous calls, emails, being hung up on, receiving veiled threats, etc. Eventually he bought the camera at a major brick and mortar retailer and is very happy with it.

Buy from a major reputable dealer who's authorized and spend the money for the peace of mind, especially on items over $200. My .02


Ken

Michael, have you bought anything from A&M Photo World? I see that they and Broadway Photo got high marks from PriceHead.com. That alone is enough to make me suspicious. After all, there is more to doing business than the lowest price.

Jay

"After all, there is more to doing business than the lowest price."

EXACTLY! Why people go out of their way to persue a "too good to be true" deal, then complain when the experience goes bad is completely beyond my comprehension.

Price is a factor, a major one, but should never be allowed absolute control over where you get stuff. I had a problem with B&H once, they fixed it, and I've bought stuff there since. If I know exactly what I want, I tend to get it there. If I want advice or to get "touch feely" with some gear, I'll go to a B&M store. And no - I've never used one to assess gear, then bought online.

I don't have the link handy, but there is a website dedicated to users comments and ratings for many of the NYC and other bargain discount price stores. I started researching these kinds of stores earlier this year when I was shopping for a new DV Camcorder.

Some of the horror stories that happen include:

Bait & switch, having to pay extra for the accessories which actually come free with the product (they will argue to the contrary), unexpected and/or additional shipping costs above normal and what was quoted, additional or extended warranties being forced upon the buyer, charged credit cards with the item(s) still on backorder, and on and on.

The list of problems was unreal, so buyer beware. Some people got great deals, others did not. So it's up to you to decide. Call and talk to a salesperson, with just simple common sense, you should be able to see any yellow or red flags of caution along the way.

The question is not simply the price. The question is are the actually selling the same product for that price?

The way they can afford to list a Sony PD-170 at nearly two-grand less than B&H is that they never sell the camera to you at that price. They use high-pressure tactics try to upsell you on everything, the warranty, the actual lens, etc, etc, etc.

If you stick to your guns and try to get the price they advertise, they all-of-a-sudden find the camera is not in stock.

www.resellerratings.com is one.

Camcorderinfo.com is a great website for reviews of products, but most importantly their users forums have great information and advice about buying video equipment from questionable stores.

Here's a link to the page you might find valuable, and doing a search for your particular store on their website may turn up useful information too.

Buying A Camcorder

If you try to access camcorder.com with a spyware detector like Spybot you will see just how this site steals data from your computer. If you block spyware this site will not even load. It's not easy to see the good and baddies out here.

Regarding the thread, if someone wants to pay more for what they perceive as "peace of mind" that is fine, but the NY discounters sell the same brand new factory packed and complete goods that the authorised dealers sell. I buy stuff all the time. The only reason they can do it is beacause being an non-authorised dealer they are not forced by the manufacturer to hipe the price, and hence you might loose the warrenty - but only might. In the few cases I have had problems the manufacturer has honored the warrenty because the discounters get their stuff from the same authorised dealers that are overcharging you.

Very polarized opinions on this... but what it really boils down to is that the people who have been burned by this have negative feelings, and the people who have not been burned think they got a great deal. Can you get a good deal from a car salesman? Maybe, if you come prepared, if it's the right salesman, and the right day, etc. No different here. If you go with one of these guys, your price will be less but you run a bigger RISK of hassle. It doesn't mean you will get screwed, but you are taking a larger chance. Is it worth it? Only you can decide. If you get away with it, it was worth it. If you don't, it was not. It's all a gamble. Maybe these resellers should be setting up shop down in Atlantic City where gambling is legal!

There are also some places on the Internet that really do have legitimate low prices. They never try to play games with you because there whole model is to sell without effort... time on the phone with a salesperson is money spent to them, so they just take in orders, ship them immediately, and forget about them. Customer service won't be the best but if you're lucky enough not to need it, you'll do okay.

Personally, I like to buy without ever even talking to a person; I hate dealing with salespeople. I want to research it myself, ask questions in truly helpful environments like this forum, click on a picture, hit "Add to cart" and have it magically appear at my door in a few days. No games, no hassle, just no nonsense.

-Jayson