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Categories: Electronics, Photography Stores & Services [Edit]
Neighborhood: Union Square"It's been a while since I've put a review up on Yelp (been busy), but I figured that this store was worth the time. I'm a newbie audiophile…" read more »
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Discount camera?? Yeah right... more place like the shady salesman camera store...
The salesman who'd help me claims he was selling me a brand new camera with a 90-day manufacture warranty. Then I ask where's the 3-year warranty that manufacture listed on their web page, the salesman then admit it was used and say they were a authorized dealer and buying a camera from him is the same as buying a new one.
The asking price was also $50 more then retail price for a brand new one.
Tip on how to use this store... Go elsewhere, find the CORRECT price, go back to Discount Camera and tell them how much you are willing to pay.
Like almost all of the previous reviews state, these guys do mark up their prices. Sometimes by quite a bit. Their attitude is that of a hard selling door to door salesman without the charisma. The customer service sucks ass, and you can almost feel their sweaty hands grasping for your wallet. I bought a camera explaining it was $50 cheaper down the road. They matched the price. Be firm and I believe these guys will bend.
Discount Camera do have a great array of cameras both new and used, and the guys are knowledgeable. Not giving refunds which I haven't seen in person only picked up from previous reviewers is a little unfair. So here is my simple note to the guys at DC:
*Stop marking up your prices, smile, be a little friendlier and your star rating would surely improve.*
I don't understand all the bad reviews. I'll admit Discount Camera wasn't my first choice to go shopping for a camera. That's only because I didn't even know it existed.
First I went to Best Buy hoping to score a decent reasonably priced camera. We got one of the salespeople to break one out of the glass case for us so I could test it out. The salesperson actually said, "Um, are you going to be awhile?" Hell yeah... if I'm going to spend $1,000 or so on a camera!
So we're testing out cameras while the salesperson who doesn't know anything about cameras gets antsy - despite the fact he's not even helping us. I get frustrated with the salesperson and the cameras so I walk off. My boyfriend suggests we go to Discount Camera, where he informs me the staff are very knowledgeable and how he's found some rare parts for his cameras.
The guy who helped us, Aljoe, was totally mellow and didn't try to pressure me into buying anything. He could tell I felt intimidated testing the DSLRs so he told me once I got comfortable with the auto focus mode I could start playing around with the manual override. Until then, he told me to stick to the two beginners modes.
My boyfriend had a lot of questions for him and he answered all of them professionally and intelligently without sounding the least bit condescending. They were even talking shop for a bit which I found amusing.
I settled on the Canon T1i which is the latest installment of the Rebel EOS series. Aljoe told me I could test the camera out for a week and if I didn't like it I could exchange it for something else. That definitely put me more at ease. He also told me he doubted I would bring it back because I would love it.
He was totally right. I love this camera and even my boyfriend who studied photography is blown away by it. I'm by no means a professional photographer but this camera makes me feel like one.
Way better service than Best Buy.
I was looking for the closest place to walk to for a lens that I need. And I wanted to know the price over the phone. I explained that it was a bit difficult to walk there with a knee injury and had no idea of how much it was going to cost me. Didn't want to walk there and find out it was over $1500.
This place is just plain rude. In this economy you do not treat customers this way. Good luck with keeping or getting customers.
The place I normally go to was out and I know they would have told me the price over the phone, they always do.
Good Salesmen. That's all I can say.
I needed a camera lens bad that I couldn't afford to wait for an online order so I came to this place.
Prices are just outrageous! Canon 75-300mm zoom lens is for $230, and it's $135 on Amazon. I mean come on. That much mark up. Same as Canon 18-55mm kit lens $249 vs. $144? And I felt like they just matched my price to the previous lens since i was replacing. Why this much mark up? No refunds sadly.
Ironically, they are a member of BBB.
If you buy anything from Discount Camera more expensive than a camera strap, you are a SUCKER!! Avoid these rip off artists at all costs.
I would love to buy locally since I work just down the street from them but their prices are so marked up! I needed to buy a remote switch for my dslr camera in a rush for my class so instead of being able to buy it online at Amazon for ~$53, I went to Calumet, also in San Francisco, who had it for $60.
This place? They were selling it for $89! What a rip off place! I suggest going to Adolph and Gasser just about 3 blocks away on 2nd Street. This place just takes advantage of tourists...
Sometimes I'm not sure how to rate a business, if they haven't outright been rude, or screwed up, or done something fabulous, and yet have an essential characteristic that makes me want to rate in a certain way. This was the quandary I had, anticipating writing a review about Discount Camera.
Then I hopped on Yelp and saw how everyone was reviewing them.
I bought a non-proprietary battery from them. Once home I discovered that the proprietary version cost HALF what I had been charged. And not from some weird online site, but from many standard sources like Amazon.
This strike one is aggravated by a 5 day exchange-only, no-return policy. This means that, with receipt, credit card purchase, and unopened product, I cannot get my money back! Frankly, this is the kind of policy that few stores have, and is generally to be found in ones trying to screw you.
The guy who helped me was fairly neutral in comportment.
I cannot support this business for this double-whammy of highly marked-up prices (we're talking $50 for something that I can find a better version of for $25), and a poor return policy.
I'm ambivalent whether this should be make it a one star or a two star rating.
At Discount Camera, the only on discount is consumer intelligence. Everything is marked up, cameras, cases, tripods, lenses... you get the point - everything. I've been in this place a dozen times just comparing prices and finally made my first purchase this past week. When I go home and discovered the items was a complete POS, the next discovery I made was their NO Refund clause. BOOO.
Save yourself the trouble, run the mom and pop crap into the ground and support best buy.
I have discovered a secret mathematical formula.
List price at Discount Camera divided by two = actual price on eBay, CL or even f-ing Wolf Camera.
It's absolutely unbelievable. Take the Nikon SB-400 flash they have in their window (it's mislabeled as an SB-40 but ignore that). They want to sell it for -- wait for it -- $279, over DOUBLE what you'd pay online, and much closer to the list price of a Nikon SB-800, which is -- the name misleads -- about five times the flash of a 400.
For the life of me, I cannot fathom how or why this place stays in business, other than to fulfill my secret mathematical formula. "Well, Discount Camera has it for 1.5 times that, so..."
It's insane. Avoid at all costs. Absolutely no reason on earth to go here.
This place has been around for decades. I dont get it. Most reviewers give them a poor rating. I highly question the 5 star folks. They do have a steep mark up and a zero return policy. Just that makes me shop elsewhere. there is no deal to be found in this place. Friends at work also avoid this place. The sales reps work hard on commission...my assumption...because they are extremely helpful and courteous. Some are very knowledgeable, others fake it. The sales attitude is above par. the prices are the worst.
I'm an avid photographer and am purchasing equipment regularly. I know my stuff so I'm not looking for a ton of customer service/help, but I'm a firm believer in supporting local business, so I wanted to give Discount Camera a shot before I went to Amazon.
I know from past experience that their prices are consistently 20-25% higher than you can get elsewhere (and they won't budge) but I suppose if that comes with a ton of great service/advice/instruction it would be worth it.
I'm writing this review to tell you to avoid this store and buy your gear online.
I called the store today (mind you, I'm a previous customer) and they put me on hold for 16 minutes while they went to check to see if a lens was in stock. I eventually hung up, called back, and explained that I had been on hold for over 15 min. The guy didn't even apologize but was able to confirm that the lens I wanted was in stock. When I asked how much it was, he refused to tell me (SHADY). I said that I lived far away and didn't want to come down to the shop if it was out of my price range. He still refused. I then politely said, "Ok well it's going for $135 on Amazon so..." and he HUNG UP ON ME.
Again, save yourself 25%, buy online and note that in this case, it's not worth it to buy from the local jerks who could care less about customer service. I give them a year before they go out of business. They deserve to.
If this place earns one star, its strictly for the cleverly ironic name. Discount? I work nearby, buy loads of camera gear, love to shop locally, and still avoid this place like the plague. I made the gargantuan mistake of getting talked into a purchase here once and still feel chagrin. I spent much more than the lens would have cost me at the already pricey Adolph Gasser, and got (foolishly, I admit) talked into buying a lens I new little about. The sales assistant assured me that it would work with both my current camera and the one I had on order from another shop. He went into a long schpeel about the differences in ordering from Amazon and buying from knowledgeable professionals, convinced me that this was the best lens possible for both cameras, and... I got duped. The lens was admittedly fine on one camera, but the other, which I had had on order for sometime, eventually arrived and the lens didn't work at all.
I took the lens back and politely explained that there had been some mistake, and that I would just like to exchange the lens for another, functional model. No dice. One sales person assured me that it should work fine with both cameras, and when I demonstrated, he corrected himself but stated that it could be no fault of the shop. I found the origional sales assistant, who denied ever having had a conversation with me about the lens.
Whether fraudulent or ignorant, I can't say, but I can say NEVER, NEVER, NEEEEVER again will I darken the doorstep of Discount Camera. ever.
I just recently purchased a Nikon D 60 SLR and I couldn't be happier!
Marco was informative and professional. I walked out of Discount camera on several occassions both satisfied as of my purchases and a lot more educated and confident in regards to the product and technology.
I am treated like a client not a "customer" the service and transaction is personal and personable.
Please Support your Private local retailers, I live locally and I shop locally...
I was about to write a nasty review of my experience, but then after seeing all the hate already posted on here I felt that I could relate to most of you..
Service - horrible,First I had to ask for help and then the salesman basically gave off a "Im smarter than you" attitude but in the end had no real knowledge of this basic camera taht most of you already know abut Canon Rebel XTI.
Price - super over priced, i should of known earlier since this place is a trap for tourists to buy cameras. How can you get away with charging people these ridicoulous prices, its ridculous.
Discount Camera...wHAT DISCOUNT!?!?! I should sue for false advertising!!!!
*sigh* Is there any places in San Francisco that anyone can recommend buying a camera from? I dont want to go to BestBuy or Costco or Target. Some place that has hard knowledge of cameras and are decently priced to say the least.
Their must be some sort of training program the employees take to treat customers like they are insignificant pieces of crap who are beneath them. the guy on the phone was not helpful and i had to interrogate him about a certain camera i wanted to buy there. do you have? can you check if you have it? can you tell me the price? no price? i need to stop by to get a price? can you tell me the address plz? where in downtown, i need the actually address? i dont have internet right now. do you not know your address?
i am trying to buy a camera from them but they wouldnt give me any info on it and wanted me to stop by their shop but made it difficult to get the address from them. unbelievable!
As soon as I walk into the place the sales people are overly aggressive in greeting me. Obviously they work on a commission based wage/salary. Non-verbally they were all screaming, "ooOOOOOooo pick me! pick me!"
I'm taking a beginning photo class and have little knowledge about the camera supplies. The guy helping us with a minor repair of my kit lens was nice and honest. However, when I asked for a complete lens cleaning kit and hurricane blower this bald guy with glasses (not the same as the repair guy) just slapped them on the table and started calculating the total cost for the transaction.
I think, "HEY! I didn't even say I wanted the stuff yet!" I relented and paid. Only to realize later that the stuff was overpriced. I feel cheated. =(
I've never been to that place, howcomes do I rate it?
Pretty simple, I had two phone conversations with these guys, and they were super rude. They refuse to quote you on the phone. Thing is, they did it over email, and they were quiet responsive (~ 24h). Indeed, their prices were probably 20-25% more than what you can get online (in respectable businesses) .
Now in all fairness, considering the insane amount of bait-and-switch rip-off artists in the camera industry, they probably don't deserve the lowest score.
LESS THAN ONE!!! What I really dislike about this place is that nothing has a price on it. Although I have bought a few things here, you need to know exactly what the cost should be. When I was looking for a new camera, I had one salesman refer me to a camera review in a magazine that listed the suggested retail price on the cover of the magazine. The price he quoted me on 2 separate visits was $100 more than SRP. On the 3rd visit when I was ready to buy, he said that he would have to look up the price - and then quoted the SRP. Sleazy. At another time I was looking for a new tripod. The price varied by $70 on 2 visits with 2 different sales guys. I certainly want to help keep independents in business, but I would rather drive to Palo Alto to Keeble and Shuchat where everything is marked with the price.
Wow, this is the true power of Yelp. I am need of some camera service / advice. This place is close to my work so I thought I'd try it but after reading the reviews here I will go elsewhere. It also reminds me of a bad experience I had there several years ago.
I bought a flash for my camcorder there. Something happened, I can't remember, but basically it didn't work. When I tried to return it I was given the cold shoulder. I remember going back in 2 or 3 times to fight with them over this and they finally exchanged it (for store credit only). I remember a bald guy with glasses was the jackass that put me through this. I'm not at all surprised to read such negative reviews. Sounds like they still haven't pulled their heads out of their asses after all these years. Hard to believe they're still in business. I definitely won't go back this time or ever again.
Hey, salesgirl: If you're not going to be even polite to me when I hit on you, don't get a job called "customer service." Your cameras are crazy overpriced. Smile at least. Can we get a zero-star feature, plz?
Shoot! I wish I would have read the awful reviews first. I needed an SD card reader so I went over to "Discount" Cameras across from my work and they charged me 29.99. I figured they may be charging me a little more since it's not a chain store, but I'm all for supporting small businesses. I get back to the office and just for shits and giggles I check the price and the highest price was $7.00! They charged me 4x the retail cost! I even went to Radio Shack and they had the same thing with a brand name for 7.99. So I went back to DC and asked for a refund and they guy said "store credit only". So I tell him they are charging waaay too much for this and it retails for $7.00 everywhere else and they guy goes "Okay" and doesn't even look at me. What a PHUCK!
I've casted my "go out of business" spell on them. I casted the same spell on Compusa on Market st.
This place is terrible. Prices are more than double what Amazon charges. And they have a strict NO REFUND policy, meaning you are hosed once you find out you got cheated. I am all for keeping local retailers alive but these guys exist purely to cheat tourists.
Wow! This place really sucks!
I did about two weeks worth of online research on digital SLRs before narrowing down my choices to 2. I then went into Discount Camera thinking:
1. It's close to work, I can hold the cameras and see which feels better in my hand.
2. It's not a chain, it's a locally owned business, so I would rather give them my money than an online retailer.
So...visit #1
I am quoted $599 and $699 for the cameras I am most interested in. I buy nothing and tell them I have to sleep on it. Both prices quoted are about 10-15% higher than online prices.
Visit #2, the very next day.
I decide on the $599 camera. I go in and ask to hold the two cameras again, just to make 100% sure I want the less expensive one. This time, I am quoted $699 and $899 respectively. Excuse me? The price on one camera has jumped by $100 and the other has jumped by $200- in 24 hours???
So of course, I whip out my internet price quote from B&H of $554 (including shipping). Allan, my salesperson, tells me he has to go ask his manager in the back if he can come down from $699 (does anyone ever believe that OZ is actually sitting in the back giving a nod on price cuts? Why do these guys even bother with this charade?). Allan returns to tell me he will go down to $599 but no lower. Now here's where I'm THE FOOL. I think that it is worth an extra $50 to support a local merchant, and local employees, so I agree to pay $599.
Then he asks me if I need anything else. I say no. He asks me about what I plan to do about memory cards- I'm thinking "I'm going to buy one online" but he goes on and on about how a slow memory card will break my camera. So, I buy the $129 2 GB card he recommends.
I go back to my office, get online, and see that the exact same memory card I just paid $129 for at Discount Camera is $33 at at least a dozen retailers. Huh? That's a 300% mark-up. Also, my UV filter is $5.99 at most other retaillers (same brand, same model#) and I was charged $23. Again, a 300% mark-up.
Visit #3:
I leave my desk with memory card and receipt in hand, along with a dozen print outs of other vendors charging $33 for this $129 card he sold me. "Sorry kid- no refunds, but you can return it for a store credit." So I go back and forth with him, tell him I feel like I was "had", ask him if he really wants me to leave feeling ripped off, an unsatisfied customer, etc, to no avail. I ask to speak with the manager. Suddenly, he is now the manager! (I guess the guy in the back retired and promoted Allan to manager in the 20 minutes since I last saw him- congrats Allan! ) No refunds. Of course I have *zero* intention of ever shopping here again, and with their prices my store credit of $129 would get me an equally overpriced (yet unmarked) something else. So, he (Allan) offers to switch the card out for a 4GB card to make me leave a little more satisfied.
So...I get back to my desk and take a close look at the packaging of my new 4GB memory card. What's this? It's not high speed- it's in the packaging for a 2GB high speed card, but it's a regular 4GB card. I thought Allan said that if I didn't get a high speed card my camera would break????
Visit #4:
I go back and talk to Allan. I tell him I'm SURE it was just an honest mistake but that he had just given me a low speed memory card in high speed packaging. He caves and gives me the high speed card. This card usually costs $75, including shipping. I have still paid $129.
In all:
They charged me around $170 more than I would have paid at a chain. I paid about $200-$250 more than I would have spent buying a much better kit with all kind of goodies from an Ebay store. I was okay with $50 more to support a local biz, but not $170. Combine the losses above with the general feeling of being taken advantage of- and, well, that makes for a one star review. Also, don't they know that charging different people different prices for the same item = discrimination lawsuit? Why aren't there any PRICES on anything in this place????
Now why wouldn't a small shop try and do right by a local customer that knowingly overpaid $50 for the camera in the first place? Because these guys don't give a care in the world about treating people fairly, or building a reputable business, or sleeping well at night feeling good about what they do for a living.....they care about the almighty dollar. Period.
So, friends, my rosy view of "buying local" and keeping money out of big chains has only bittered me. Had I bought this rig at Best Buy I could have opened it up, used it, licked it, crushed it, and still returned it for a cash refund if I wasn't satisfied.
Discount Camera, when you finally get taken down by online retailers (which can't be more than a few years off, with policies and prices like this), I will be the first to buy a sandwich from the chain vendor that moves in afterward. Bye Bye!
I wish I had checked these reviews before we spent time driving there and paying for parking nearby, only to find that 1) they are charging TWICE the going price for the digital camera we wanted to buy and 2) they didn't even have the other item that they confirmed they did when we called in advance. They wouldn't quote prices over the phone and are rude on top of it. Stay away from this scam operation.
Hoo boy, what a museum piece! This is a bona fide overstaffed, overspecialized, overdue-to-be-put-of-business-by-comp-USA-down-the street venue for all your camera needs until that happens. There are several gentlemen in shirts and ties present at all times. Several. It's a little baffling, the place is as big as my living room, fer chrissakes.
As it's been said, while prices are somewhat above average, the service is abundant and great. After Oksana's hotness busted up the battery in my camera, causing it to swell and destroy the tiny device from the inside, like one of those chest-Aliens (see Poleng review), I was distraught, and showed it to Michael at Discount Camera, who in turn showed genuine puzzlement. "Hmm, this is interesting. Never seen one of these before." Filled out paperwork, sent it back to Casio (no jokes please) and in a month and a half, I'll have a new camera and battery, hopefully one that won't buckle under the pressure when looking at pretty ladies.
Crooks, with a capital "C".
I, too, am interested in supporting small, local businesses over large, corporate companies. This has most recently been an unfortunate thing for me as I have been the latest victim of Discount Camera's scams.
For a couple of weeks, I watched as the price slowly dropped on the camera I really wanted. I needed to get it before my trip to Europe, so so when it hit the "right" price, I decided to buy it. I went in to the store, where I have purchased a number of things within the past three or four years, and asked for my camera. The salesman (who conveniently had no name tag, but I later learned his name was Michael) said it was now $50+ more than I had thought. Keep in mind, I walked by the store the night before (AND all week before) and the price was lower. I was initially a little bothered and thrown off by his terrible demeanor, but I really needed the camera.
He told me he could do 10% off if I bought it right then. Ten percent? That barely covers sales tax! Whatever, fine, I get the camera since I waited until two days before I leave the country.
When I got home, I checked their website for my camera to check the price. Big surprise! The camera was significantly less on their website. So, I go back early the next morning with the page printed out and the old men behind the counter explain that those prices are only for people who live outside of California. Does that make sense? No, absolutely not. Of course, I throw a fit and tell them how ridiculous that is, and that Circuit City and CompUSA have better service, prices, and products. They say they will throw in a 1GB memory card... Right, a memory card... Since their return policy does not allow returns for money back, I decided to take it and get the hell out of there.
It is unfortunate when small businesses do things like this, because the big businesses are so much easier to shop with and will soon put companies like DC out of business. I will never shop here again and I would recommend to others that they do the same.
DO NOT SHOP HERE!!! Discount in the name is a joke.
Overpriced, terrible service. I stopped in on my way to work to pick up a small tripod and I paid $29.99 for it. When I looked it up online, it retails for $21.99. You can even get it at REI for $22.99. I went back for a refund less than 1 hour after the purchase and they said too bad. No refunds. I don't mind paying a couple dollars extra for the convenience of shopping downtown, but %136!! I don't think so.
When I told them I'd be sure to Yelp about it, the manager actually said, "Well, it won't be the first time."
Is there an option for zero stars?
I'm in the market for a mid level DSLR's so I figured that I'd stop in and see what they had. Getting the guy to "sell me" a camera was like pulling teeth. When I asked about the difference between the two brands his response was "there is no difference some people like them some people hate them". Fair enough. When I asked to see the two cameras together he ignored me. When I went to turn on one camera he responded "oh that one doesn't have a battery". When I asked a few basic questions about the camera that did have a battery the guy said "this is how it works, when you buy the camera we teach you how to use it". He actually felt compelled to tell me twice. My problem was I don't know what camera/brand to buy and the sales guy refused to explain even the basic differences between the two cameras. In fact he told me "I would be confused if he showed how each one worked". I feel like I got better and more information google searching than I did physically going into the shop. I understand that the internet is killing camera shops (so they get a pity star) but to be rude and provide zero customer service is the wrong approach.
I can't imagine how this place is still in business.
Some of the rudest sales people I have ever met. I walked in happily ready to plunk down $600+ on a new Nikon wide angle lens for my D80. The sales rep was outright rude from the get-go as if I was keeping him from something _really_ important. The last straw for him was when I pulled out my D80 and asked if I could test out their demo lens. His immediate reaction was a very petulant "Are you going to BUY the lens NOW?" No, doofus, I'm here because the customer service is so nice. Yeesh... I turned around and walked out and I'm not likely to walk back in any time soon.
Anyone looking for a GOOD camera store in the area with PROFESSIONAL and COURTEOUS sales people, would do better to check out Adolph Gasser on 2nd St.
I don't go out of my way to criticize most places, but I would stay away from this place if I were you. Expensive and high-pressured, ask them why they don't give refunds before you buy. They act friendly but they are not. They want your money and will sell you equipment marked up 20% or higher than most other places.
AVOID THIS PLACE.
I really wanted to like this camera store really. I pass it nearly everyday going to lunch at work and I always stop to atleast look at the used stuff in the window.
Three times I actually went in with intent on purchasing a lens. The first time I wanted to sell a used lens and buy a new one. They wanted $790 for a fisheye lens that was online at $570 on adorama. They also offered me $150 for a lens I sold on ebay for $450. I overall paid $120 for the lens that could of cost me $640! Of course there was the inconvience of waiting for ebay, paypal, and shipping. Still I couldn't justify paying over 5 times more for convience. The second time I went in looking for another lens hoping the price wouldn't be so ridiculous as this was an all around cheaper lens. They wanted $379 that is $279 on b&h. Since I was hoping to use the lens the next day I considered it, but they wouldn't let me demo it! The third time I went back looking for a new camera bag, thinking there was no way they could mark up camera bags like they do lenses. Yet they did.
Why 2 stars? Just because I still like browsing that used window, they never tried to force me into anything, and I still have hope one day I'll find something there.
Edit 2/15/2008: I had given them 3 stars but have dropped it down to 1 star. I called to ask if they had a charger for my Canon Rebel XT and they told me they had two in stock but that they don't quote process over the phone. Seriously, WTF? I aint's no genius but something is definitely wrong with that.
Went in here to look at some lenses and the guy wasn't friendly, but he wasn't mean or anything. He answered my questions and seemed to know what he was talking about. Price-wise I wasn't blown away considering it's called discount camera so it was comparable to what I had seen at Wolf Camera.
This store is a great place to try out tripods, monopods, DSLR bags/back packs, cases, quick releases, and anything else that you want to try before buying ONLINE or SOMEWHERE ELSE.
You will not want to buy anything from this store. Everything is highly OVERPRICED and they have the WORST customer service ever....if you could even call it service.
They're overpriced because the owner need the cash flow to pay the 6 guys behind the counter give shitty customer service.
SAVE your MOOLAS and buy else where! But definitely come in and mess around with their displays and give those 6 guys something to do.
EVERYTIME!!!!!
I get great service. I feel honesty from the sales person....
Everyone was super unhelpful and rude. I think they're more worried about people buying expensive cameras.
UPDATE:
This place still sucks my balls. Why would you go here when they are so rude and there so many other great camera stores.
everyone with a good review works there or is the owner
Balls
These guys are crocks!
They swindle tourist and non-photographers with their overpriced cameras and accessories and useless information.
Example: I tried to purchase a 50mm f/1.8 prime lens for my D70 camera last month and they had it in stock. They were asking for $120 for a $80 lens I can get anywhere else. (only reason why I asked was a portfolio shoot the same night).
Craigslist comes to the rescue. Everything here sucks.. just like in NY
Horrible wretched place. Not only are they overpriced, but I found the man to be utterly condescending. FIrst off, I usually like to support local businesses too - but only to a reasonable extent. These guys totally tried to rip me off (maybe it was because I look young, but that's just stupid business practice) ...
So, I was looking for a canon digital camera. At that point, I was comparing an A710 and another one (forgot the model number). I asked him if I could take a look, and he said yes. I was trying it out, yada yada, ask him for the price, and when he told me 699, I had to tell him that I saw it for 399 at Ritz camera down the street. He said he was willing to consider selling me that price. I thought, "strange." I then looked at the second model, and again, he quoted me the price. This time, I didn't know another price comparison. I asked him, if I were to purchase this now, but I find the same model for cheaper elsewhere, can I bring it back?
His response: "we are not a non-profit organization, we are in the business of making money." Um, huh? Guy just tried to jack up the price of a camera for almost double the manufacturer's suggested pricing, and he tells me he's in the business of making money ...
Anyway, I walked out of there and said thanks for your time. He had almost yanked the camera out of my hand anyway.
I agree with Cassio - they are overdue to be put out of business. By the way, I did go home and price out both models. I ended up getting the Canon A710 for 329.99 at http://Costco.com - AND it came with 2gb high speed memory card. WAAAAAY overdue ...
AVOID THIS SHOP!!
I called asking if they stocked a certain Canon flash, the salesperson replied yes, I asked if he could give me a price, he said no I would have to come into the store. When I asked why he could not give me the price over the phone he yelled at me "If you are looking for the cheapest price which I guess you are, then don't come here because we are not the cheapest!!!" Then he hung up on me!
He was so rude I nearly called back to talk to the manager, instead I voted with my wallet and bought my $500 flashgun at Calumet (an excellent camara store) for a discounted lower price.
Wow ths place has horrible reviews. Okay okay, this place does seem to have higher prices on some (maby most?) things. But 2 things i've bought here were actually priced well. In the past i bought a tripod+camera bag and both were almost same price as ones i found on the internet. Nikon remote not so much, priced double than prices i found on the internet. but putting money aside, i think this place has a wide selection of camera equipment. I feel that most likely if you are looking for something specific, they will most likely carry it here. Especially if you don't want to hassle doing online orders and just perfer buying/testing things in person this place is okay. I haven't had any bad service incidents as other people stated about this place. Honestly if you come here and the price is more than what you have seen. just dont buy it.
Neighborhood: Marina/Cow Hollow
Category: Photography Stores & Services
Neighborhood: Potrero Hill
Category: Photography Stores & Services
Neighborhood: Financial District
Category: Photography Stores & Services
San Francisco, CA
Category: Photography Stores & Services
Neighborhood: Civic Center/Tenderloin
Category: Photography Stores & Services
