Has anyone had problems with Adorama?

jovitta

I was wondering if anyone had a problem buying used equipment from Adorama. I am looking to buy a canon 1DS mark II from them. Any info would help.
Thank you Jovitta

ziggy53

jovitta wrote:

I was wondering if anyone had a problem buying used equipment from Adorama. I am looking to buy a canon 1DS mark II from them. Any info would help.
Thank you Jovitta

I have only bought 1 or 2 used items from Adorama, but many new items. I have never had any problems with them and, in the one case I had to send something back, they made it as painless and trouble free as possible.

Never buy used from anyone unless you are also willing to pay for return shipment charges and restocking fees (as appropriate). I don't know why, but many people forget to consider these things when they purchase and seem surprised or even outraged when they "discover" the fees later.

The Adorama return/cancellation policy is here (one of the best in the business):

http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=FAQ#Our Return Policy

Also understand that Adorama, like B&H, observes Jewish holidays. I suggest consideration and patience during those periods, which Adorama is very good about posting.

Cygnus Studios

+1 Adorama is great. I have bought a couple of used items and their descriptions of the items have been spot on.

lilmomma

I bought my D90 from them, and had no problems at all. I referred them to my friend who bought a K20d and she ended up with a canon 30d a few days later (that was supposed to go to florida, we're in st. louis?) AND her k20d which showed up right on time. Of course she's honest and called to send it back but they gave her a pretty hard time about it, which didn't make sense to me.

Other than that, I have heard nothing but raves about them, i'm sure it was an isolated incident.

AlbertZeroK

lilmomma wrote:

I bought my D90 from them, and had no problems at all. I referred them to my friend who bought a K20d and she ended up with a canon 30d a few days later (that was supposed to go to florida, we're in st. louis?) AND her k20d which showed up right on time. Of course she's honest and called to send it back but they gave her a pretty hard time about it, which didn't make sense to me.

Other than that, I have heard nothing but raves about them, i'm sure it was an isolated incident.

Love Adorama. Bought a used 2x Converter and refurbished 24-105 L from them. Great service, fast shipping and good customer service. I would expect to wait on hold for a few minutes if you call though (long enough that you notice, not long enough that you get pissed.)

SKnight

Been an Adorama customer for many years, but only bought one piece of used equipment, actually a floor model. Canon 70-200, $200 off retail and it was in better than stated condition with everything included.

While I try to support my local brick and mortar, they do get most of my business.

Shell's Photography

Shell's Photography

jovitta wrote:

I was wondering if anyone had a problem buying used equipment from Adorama. I am looking to buy a canon 1DS mark II from them. Any info would help.
Thank you Jovitta

I've purchased several items through them and have never had problems. (My Canon D40, studio equipment, camera bags, etc.) I've shopped Amazon first and found that Adorama sells through them, too, but often times the shipping was cheaper to buy directly from Adorama. And I've also found if you call them up, instead of placing a web order, they will actually dicker with you. They're fast talking New Yorkers and I had them offer me free shipping if I bought my items right then. Hope that helps.:D

ziggy53

Shell's Photography wrote:

I've purchased several items through them and have never had problems. (My Canon D40, studio equipment, camera bags, etc.) I've shopped Amazon first and found that Adorama sells through them, too, but often times the shipping was cheaper to buy directly from Adorama. And I've also found if you call them up, instead of placing a web order, they will actually dicker with you. They're fast talking New Yorkers and I had them offer me free shipping if I bought my items right then. Hope that helps.:D

Shell's Photography, welcome to the Digital Grin.

Thanks for your comments.

Shane422

I bought a used lens that said it came with a hood. When it showed up, it had no hood. I made a quick call and they said the hood was out of stock, but B&H had it in stock, so Adorama had me order the hood from B&H and reimbursed me. I wouldn't hesitate to buy anything from them new or used. They are awesome.

SKnight

Shane422 wrote:

I bought a used lens that said it came with a hood. When it showed up, it had no hood. I made a quick call and they said the hood was out of stock, but B&H had it in stock, so Adorama had me order the hood from B&H and reimbursed me. I wouldn't hesitate to buy anything from them new or used. They are awesome.

Holy crow I've never heard of a company doing that! They've supported my local astronomy club several times over the years too, I forgot to mention that earlier.

jovitta

thank you
Thank you for yuor comments I believe Iam going with purchase.
Thank you
Jovitta

swintonphoto

Good move - you will be glad you did. They are my primary source for gear.

Shima

I've bought all my memory cards from them since they tend to have really good prices and it has been a great transaction. No experience buying lenses or camera bodies from them though.

chrismoore

Never anything "used", but I have bought several refurbished items, including my 5D II. They are for all intents and purposes new, and usually a couple hundred dollars off retail. The only problem I have had with Adorama lately is their shipping. Their shipping costs, especially rush type orders are twice B&H and Amazon and sometimes it will be a day or two until your order ships, despite their site telling you that orders placed before 5pm are shipped same day. I did order a lens recently I had to have for the weekend and ordered well within that window on thursday for next day air to arrive friday. It did not ship until monday. I sent them an email and the only response I got was "we did not get your order until late Friday." I thought maybe they would refund part of the $50 next day shipping costs as a courtesy, but they didn't.

rsi1986

I have made at least twenty orders with them, and have had no complaints. I will be a life long customer.

TOSU

A little late but here is my Experience.

I have purchased a Canon 1D MarkIII from Adroama and A G-10 both used.

I have had nothing but great luck with them and always recommedn them to folks looking for good used equipment.

However when selling equipment to them I had a very poor experience. THe claim of 70% of market value was not true and actually they offered me less than Half the market value. I had to escalate to a MGR after doing researchas to what they were selling my equipment for and then 5 days later it was agreed to the 70%. Not easy and definitley time consuming.

So in the end. Great to buy from!!!!

canon400d

TOSU wrote:

A little late but here is my Experience.

I have purchased a Canon 1D MarkIII from Adroama and A G-10 both used.

I have had nothing but great luck with them and always recommedn them to folks looking for good used equipment.

However when selling equipment to them I had a very poor experience. THe claim of 70% of market value was not true and actually they offered me less than Half the market value. I had to escalate to a MGR after doing researchas to what they were selling my equipment for and then 5 days later it was agreed to the 70%. Not easy and definitley time consuming.

So in the end. Great to buy from!!!!

I have never heard of Adorama until I saw this thread. I have usually bought my lenses from B & H but the Canon 24-105 is out of stock so I will probably just buy it from Adorama as the aforementioned posts really do credit this firm.
Regards
Bob

Scott_Quier

Slightly off-topic, but here's my short list for equipment stores. The "lifetime" ratings (from Reseller Ratings) are current (as of 29 Sep 2009)

• B&H PhotoVideo - Rating - 9.55
• Adorama - Rating - 8.77
• 17 Stree Photo - Rating - 9.77
• NewEgg - Rating - 9.77

Back OT - I've had zero problems with the above listed stores. In fact, both 17 Street and Adorama have gone out of their way to make sure I was a happy camper on more than one occasion (it's sometimes amazing the amount of trouble I can get into with a credit card and a keyboard ).

HelenOster

Message from Helen, Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador

chrismoore wrote:

Never anything "used", but I have bought several refurbished items, including my 5D II. They are for all intents and purposes new, and usually a couple hundred dollars off retail. The only problem I have had with Adorama lately is their shipping. Their shipping costs, especially rush type orders are twice B&H

We aim to be competitive, and will price match to reputable photographic retailers.

chrismoore wrote:

...sometimes it will be a day or two until your order ships, despite their site telling you that orders placed before 5pm are shipped same day.

The only thing that should prevent an order from going out same day, would be if it needed to go to the verification department, if, for example, the delivery address didn't match the card holder's address

chrismoore wrote:

I did order a lens recently I had to have for the weekend and ordered well within that window on thursday for next day air to arrive friday. It did not ship until monday. I sent them an email and the only response I got was "we did not get your order until late Friday." I thought maybe they would refund part of the $50 next day shipping costs as a courtesy, but they didn't.

I'd firstly like to apologize; this should not have happened. Please contact me directly with your order number and I will give this my immediate attention

HelenOster

Message from Helen, Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador

TOSU wrote:

I have purchased a Canon 1D MarkIII from Adroama and A G-10 both used.

I have had nothing but great luck with them and always recommedn them to folks looking for good used equipment.

However when selling equipment to them I had a very poor experience. THe claim of 70% of market value was not true and actually they offered me less than Half the market value.
So in the end. Great to buy from!!!!

My apologies. If you ever experience any kind of problem with a purchase from Adorama in the future, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

catspaw

The above two messages are why Adorama rocks so hard I go to them before B&H for just about anything I don't pick up locally.