Wow. I never thought it was that bad with that company. I've ordered stuff from them all the time. Maybe I should leave a real nasty comment to recieve store creit. Hmmmm.

On further review. I realized that it probably isn't worth it.

So, on the open market a bad comment is worth $75? Sounds like a bar has been set, Microsoft...

@BayTraveler:

"So, on the open market a bad comment is worth $75?"

Nah, if that were true, strider_mt2k would be rich!

"Stay away from Cameta Camera or any company that offers to pay to get rid of negative feedback."

Better yet, stay away from small camera/electronics dealers based in NYC entirely.

The big names (B&H, Adorama, J&R) are safe bets. Or hit OneCall (Washington). Consumers need to quit relying on these ridiculous price scan services, where these shady rackets end up on top.

If the price sounds too good to be true - it is.

Although I have no experience with Cameta, I can say I have nothing but praise for my photo/video equipment experiences with B&H Photo (several purchases), Adorama (two purchases) and Amazon itself (enough purchases to fund a floor of this [gizmodo.com])

i lived right down the street from that place with my parents until i was about 3. i had no idea they were so known, and seeing them on gizmodo was weird.

This is kind of a toss-up... On one hand, when I have dealth with Cameta before, they have had great service, and I got an awesome deal on a lens that's normally in pretty high demand... and if all they did was try to fix the Customer's bad experience, that would have been applauded. The problem here is that the asked in return that he get rid of the negative feedback. Not going to lie , I would have taken the offer if I was in his shoes, but i'm a notorious cheap-ass. I think if he was allowed to update his feedback to say "...They later contacted me and offered me compensation for my bad experience, they were very proffesional in making up for what was probably an isolated incident."

I kind of do feel sorry for the business in this kind of circumstance. People can rave all they want about how great a business is, but it seems all that is outweighed by one or two bad reviews. It kind of encourages the mentality of "well, we can't be perfect, so why bother even trying to be good" that I'm sure we're all familiar with. Tough call...

I've lived about 3 blocks away from Cameta for years and never liked the place. There is a much better camera store just a couple of blocks away.

For the record, this isn't a shady NYC camera store. It's a shady Long Island camera store.

It's funny. I've bought quite a few things online, from small NY camera stores and never had a problem. Guess I was just lucky.

I've ordered a few things through these guys and never had a problem.

Interesting.

Actually, after reading the article over at Dethroner, this isn't that big of a deal. Sure it's a little questionable, but the email from Cameta that is posted is very friendly. To me it seems that they're just trying to make things right and preserve their good reputation. They offered to refund the shipping charges and apologized for the poor service the person received. I think this has been blown out of proportion.

Sorry, this isn't AT ALL like those shady outfits in NYC. He got his camera. Packed poorly, ok, but he got it and (i'm going to assume) it isn't grey market and was new, etc.

The NYC shysters? He would've placed the order, then immediately had a call pushing him to buy an extra battery, a charger, a lens cap, filter, etc for $300-400. If he said no? Sorry, D3 not in stock any longer. Or they'd scream at him and tell him they were going to kick his ass, etc. THAT is what the NYC scam artists do.

@DestroyerMTL: I don't. Regardless of how it was sugarcoated in that letter, they're still trying to bribe the guy into removing his negative feedback, end of story. A shop that was really focused on customer service would have taken their lump and tried to do better next time. This is the action of a shop that is focused on appearances and appearances only -- i.e., they just want to look good, not actually be good.

They wanted to do nothing until it showed up on a public review. They still want to do nothing until he's retracted his review. This is nothing more than damage control. If they made the offer and *suggested* he update his review its one thing. The fact the offer is conditional on changing the review is slimy. It makes me wonder how many other negative reviews have be surpressed.

This practice is not an isolated one. This past christmas I purchased a book a full 5 weeks before the holidays to be dropped shipped for a christmas present on Amazon (third party seller just like the story above). The book arrived after the New Year.

I had asked on several occasions on the status and was given the "its been shipped". I left a negative rating based on my experience and just like in the story the merchant contacted me offering me money to take back the rating.

Ratings are there for a reason, to tell one merchant from another one offering similar goods. If ones rating can be bought then they are meaningless and why have ratings then.

Cometa is not in NYC, and is definitely not a shady NYC camera shop. Most gadget gurus should be familiar with them and I've heard of nothing but good experiences. Granted this specific action is a bit over the line, but by no means should you lump them with the shady unauthorized/off-the-truck places in manhattan and brooklyn.

Sure beats buying your gadgets from the tricksters on Kijiji. I'm 3 out of 4 on shady dealings.

Cameta is actually a decent shop.

We just purchased a bunch of Nikon gear from Cameta after doing so background checks on them.

Everything we found was positive...actual store on LI, good customer service, ships all of the parts, etc.

We got our gear in 4 days, good prices, all around excellent experience. We would definitely buy from them again.

Yeah I live pretty close to these guys (I think they are on 110 - for anyone from Long Island) and I've only heard good things. They definitely aren't one of those shady brooklyn upseller places.

I'm considering picking up a D300 from them and looked online for reviews about them some months ago. I've found nothing but good reviews and they are highly recommended from some of the regulars over at dpreview.com

Another Cameta fan. I've bought a D2H and a D200 from them. These guys aren't the standard NYC camera fraudhouse (and of course neither are B&H, Adorama and the other big ones).

I got a camera from cameta, d70, a couple years ago and I had a great experience. Cameta imo is a great place to get a camera. A lot can change in 3 years but I would still risk it for the savings and because of my previous good experience.

i have to echo the people who said this is NOT one of those NYC stores. i live a few miles from them and they have been around a long time and i've never heard anything bad about them.

and i just checked their eBay feedback rating and it's a pretty respectable 99.8%.

not to say that bribing people is right. but everything is so cutthroat these days that people and businesses are getting desperate.

Reader opinion doesn't seem to jibe with the story at all in this case. Maybe Giz posted the story in hopes of a yooge payout offer from Cameta?

(Please don't ban me for this comment, I'll take $5 to amend it)

@divideby7:
i agree. i live on long island as well and remember going to cameta years ago with my parents to get a camera, and i don't remember it being a problematic camera.

also, i believe you're right that it's on 110 (or at least very close) because there used to be a sign posted on sunrise highway underneath the train tracks (which could still be there) on the border of amityville and massapequa.

@lpranal: Except they didn't offer it to him, they were bribing him to take down a negative review. That's too bad.

Cameta is really, really, really, really bad.

Bad service. Bad products. Bad shipping. Bad prices.

[Ok, Cameta, when you want me to reverse my review, send the gift certificates to ideaman2020...]

BestBuy just offered him a hundred to put it back up! LOL

I guess Cameta has to do damage control again because apparently they're not so bad.

They should put up a blog or send a note to the public apologizing for their "poor decision", etc.

I've used Cameta before--got a nice deal on a digital SLR..

they will offer you so much to take down this post.. lol

Yeah, "those" companies are beyond shady but I have to agree with the commenters who take exception to lumping Cameta into that group.
I've ordered tons of stuff from them over the years and I've never had a problem with the products or the service.
In fact, I'd I'd put them right up there at the top of the heap with B&H.

I've used Amazon to buy from them too. Great experience & a great price. Before I made the purchase I looked them up online. Looked like they had a large and well respected store amongst photographers. I'd buy from them again.

PS. Can anyone tell me why the Nikon D40X + the 55-200mm lens I bought for $800 is now listed at $1,900!!! Cameta is out of them, but it looks like all shops have really jacked up the price. Anyone wants mine...$1,500 + free shipping lol

the problem with most of these business rating sites is that most people only post when they have a problem...

Comment on Shady NY Camera Store Offers to Pay User to Take Down Amazon Rating I purchased a Nikon F100 from these guys a few years ago and got a great price fast service and everything that should come with the camera did. It came with a manufacturer's warranty which I was looking for. I would still buy from these guys again.

@bms: They have great prices! And look at the stores urban artwork on the front.

Interesting, I've always heard good stuff about Cameta Camera

I've purchased multiple things from Cameta and have always had good experiences. While they are idiots for offering to pay someone to retract feedback, I think blanket statements that they are like shady NY camera dealers is a little bit harsh.

@med: Probably because they bribed people to not tell you the bad stuff.

I purchased my D50 from them after researching, and was only able to find positive reviews. I'd recommend them in the future, and would consider them when looking for more camera equipment.

[www.lemis.com]

I've tried in the past to buy a camera from Cameta on eBay. Although they agreed in advance to take PayPal from me (a lowly Australian), they refused the payment, and even returned it. The problem was too difficult for their "service" department, and I had to cancel the purchase.

I gave them negative feedback, of course, and they promptly gave me negative feedback out of spite, then called in some equally incompetent mediator to get both ratings removed. They certainly didn't offer any money. I agreed to the retraction, but it left a very bad taste in my mouth.

The sad thing is that I don't think Cameta is worse than the other discount stores. If it's easy, they'll sell you somehting. If you're an enemy alien (their definition of "enemy""), they don't want to know.

See [www.lemis.com] for part of the story. After they started bullying me, I stopped reporting.

@matusel3: You know, considering you just joined the Gawker affiliates today, and your statement being your first post.

I am just sayin'...

I've made several orders through Cameta, both large and small, and I've never had a problem with them. Everything I ordered arrived new with all the correct supplied accessories and US warranty.

I must admit, I was really nervous to order from them at first and the majority of my purchases go through B&H.

Cameta is the store that sent me a 'factory refurbished' Nikon camera full of dried soda. They /did/ replace it, but still -- last camera I bought was from a local shop.