BEWARE! Words cannot express how awful my customer service experiences have been with this company. I had a simple order (1 camera) that was in stock on Monday. I call on Tuesday to try to get assistance with the online account access (which I still don’t have) and was place on hold 3X’s and when the a rep. ("Mr.C") finally answered, he was rude and tried to cut me off multiple times. He stated my order was processing and that everything was ok. I asked for his direct extension and he said he could not give it to me. So, I was so surprised to see an email from them with his extension asking me to call AGAIN to verify my order. I call on Wednesday, get put on hold again, and finally Mr. C (who doesn’t even realize he talked to me yesterday) goes through the verification then tells me that my order was complete. I asked if I could upgrade shipping to 3-5 days and he says that he will “try” to do that at no cost.

Not 1 minute later, I get ANOTHER email saying my order was on a 2-3 week backorder!! I call Mr.C directly, after yet another hold, he transfers me to the “warehouse” and I wait for another 2 mins. so that "Ms.R", can tell me that I won’t get my camera for 2-3 weeks, Mr.C had no idea they were out of stock, that I was on hold for so long because I chose the wrong options from the menu (which I didn’t), and that this happens “all the time”. Well, this just sucks! I will ask again with the hope if someone being able to explain to me that if situations like this happen all the time then, “How in the world can this company be a 5-star merchant with such poor inventory interfaces and deplorable customer service?” And I guess since Mr.C wasn’t able to “upsell” me, I wasn’t considered an important and valuable customer. They didn’t even TRY to make this situation right at ALL! Just beware- when you think a deal is too good to be true… IT IS! I will be happy to update this entry if the situation changes in their favor, but for now- BEWARE!

And be sure that I read may reviews from other sites about this merchant and there were no negative ones. Not one. I should have realized it then. Oh well, you live and you learn.

I figured out their scam. their camera and gps prices are very low but they will not ship those units out They want to sell you the sd cards at 5 times the price of those cards other places also the extended warranty is 4 times other places So there is no way they will sell you a camera or gps system without ripping you off on accessories and extended warranties

This place is a SCAM. They advertise low priced cameras and then if they are unable to up-sell you on over-priced accessories, they will indefinitely place your item on 'backorder'. I ordered a Canon S5 online (it was 'in stock' when I called to verify) in Feb and suddenly when I didn't by any accessories I got my first "temporarily out of stock" reply. I decided to be patient instead of cancel and have since (2 months later) received 2 more of these e-mails.

I called today and spoke with someone who refused to give his name, refused to let me speak with a supervisor and then hung up on me. I called back and said I would report him to the BBB and he said juvenille things like "oooh, I'm scared". This place is NOT a legitimate business. RUN, RUN, RUN away! They have an unsatisfactory rating with the New York BBB - you can go to http://search.newyork.bbb.org and search their name. I'm just bummed that they have my credit card number.

You get what you pay for. Those words were never truer than for 86th St. Photo. Everything written in the posts below is true. My story must be typical. I ordered a digital camera on April 16th, 2008 from them because -- well, you guessed it -- it was the lowest price around! Their ad promised 7-12 day delivery, which would get me the camera in time for an overseas trip in May. Well, I got the usual e-mail the next day requiring me to call them to "confirm the order." On the phone, they resorted to high pressure sales tactics to sell accessories. To make a long story short, the camera hadn't arrived by the end of April, so I called and they said it was on 5 weeks back order. Angry, I hung up and they canceled my order, even though I hadn't canceled it myself! Reading various internet reports on this company, I find that they automatically put you on back order if you don't buy the accessories and notify you by e-mail. In my case, they didn't even notify me! They obviously are losing money on the cameras or making marginal profit, but making it up on the extras, for which they are overcharging. For example, they wanted me to buy a battery charger and overseas power adaptor for $119, which I thought was way too expensive. My next letter is to the NY State Attorney General.

Similar story, their customer service litteraly hangs up on you, no resolution. Paid for a camera, paid for fast shipping none of it happened. Now I'm worried they have my info and email, how can I guarantee that they won't scam me or sell my email address... beware!!

Next time go Amazon!!

http://www.86photovideo.com/ is the same exact company as http://www.wisetronics.com/, it's a fake company, a scam...because they have the same exact mailing address and are not open to public, here's the address 2845 86th St Brooklyn, NY 11223

what they do is post a super low price online, once you've made an order through their website, they will email you saying you have to call to confirm the order...once you've talked to their sales rep, they will insist upon you to buy additional accessories, if you don't, they will email you later stating that your product has been back ordered and will never mail you the product...if you choose to cancel the order, there's a 10% process fee off your purchase...if you've received your product by mail and wish to return it, there's 20% process fee

bottom line is, the company is basically made up for 3 people, with access to internet and a 1-800 number, first they get a 5 star rating from a top review site such as this , http://www.lowpricedigital.com/merchant.asp?merchant_id=2440&view=reviews

if you click on the link, you'll notice all those reviews are 1 line...which raise the question that those reviews are actually written by the people of the company who has set up multiple email accounts

all they need to do is to get you to buy overpriced accessories, or get you to cancel your order...even if they need to mail you a product, they just need to walk over to bestbuy to buy one that's much much cheaper...on average i think they overcharge $300+ per order...it's like shooting fish in a barrel legally

what i suggest everyone to do is to file a complaint at http://us.bbb.org/WWWRoot/SitePage.aspx?site=113&id=6cda12e2-5967-437f-876e-bd452a591b91

just click on the drop down menu of I am...a consumer --> file a complaint...with enough complaints, Better Business Bureau will do an investigation, there's no up-to-date law to protect us from internet scams, it's up to us to stop it

stay away from this one. they make you call for a so called verification after you order the camera. then if you dont order accessories they tell you the camera is on backorder.

I agree with Coronel Slage(Al Pacino in sent of a woman) 86th video they should take a flame to this place

The stories are true… THIS COMPANY HAS NO INTEGRITY! Ordered a gps unit and got a call from a rep saying “I’ve got good news, the unit that you ordered is in stock.” Well, they tried selling me an overpriced SD card and after refusing to buy the accessory, I got an email stating that by the time the order reached the shipping dept, they ran out of the product and the backorder would be 3-4 weeks.

I wrote an email asking how, one minute a rep could say that the unit was in stock, and 5 minutes later, an email is sent out with the backorder blurb and asked if they would honor the original order price. They promptly sent an email canceling my order. Don't waste your energy on this outfit!

The company is a joke…same goes for www.TechonDIGITAL.com

86th Street Photo and Video first had me call to confirm my shipping address for a Garmin GPS. Then they tried to get me to buy an unnecessary accessory that wasn't needed as well as an overpriced extended warranty plan when I called in to verify my shipping address. What did they do when I emailed them about this? First they said "now the item is on backorder for up to 60 days" and then in a separate email (because I complained about them), they canceled my order without my permission. I should have know their prices were too low. I'm contacting the New York BBB and give them a complete copy of my email exchanges with 86th Street Photo and Video. A complete rip-off so stay away from them!

Theyre really good at what they do because evryone who posted has the same story, its just like mine!! i ordered my best friend a digital camera that she wanted for her birthday with my parents credit card. The day after i ordered it i got a call asking me if i wanted a battery and i said no because that was weird, the kit said it came with one!! when it didnt come after 2 weeks i googled them and saw everyones warning! thank you soooo much!! my parents canceled the card i used and i just ordered the camera from B&H- im lucky there was no damage done to my parents credit card account

Same scam, buy low, call to confirm address, don't buy add-ons and the camera is then back ordered. I canceled my credit card #. Now I will wait a week and then cancel my order. Hope I get out with-out any charges.

My wife found a great deal on a Garmin GPS unit for father's day. She placed the order online, and the the order screen showed her having paid the listed price. She then received an email that said her order had been placed (no listing of what was ordered or the price paid) and a request to call customer service. She called and they explained she needed to 'verify the expiration date on her credit card.' They also took the opportunity to try and sell her a 1GB SD card for $100. My wife declined the card several times. However, when the package arrived, she had been charged for the GPS unit and the memory card. There was no itemization of produts on the invoice, just a total cost. The next day after calling she was told that the card was a good value, and we could only get it from 86th St. Camera, which is completely untrue. They refused to take back the card, insisting we had to send the entire order back, and would have to pay shipping and a 20% restocking fee. They finally offered to send us a "$100 value" package for our trouble. The kit consists of a hard case, an LCD protection screen and a cleaning kit--retail value probably around %40 at other merchants. We'll see if it comes in. I would advise anyone to NOT BUY FROM 86th St Camera and Photo in NY!!!!!

I ordered a Garmin 660 for my husband for Father's Day ($289.00). My order confirmation did not have what I ordered or how much. I thought that was kind of odd, but didn't think much of it. A few days later I got an email stating:

In order to further verify your order, we will need to speak with you on the phone. Please call our Verification department at 1-800-815-2040 Ext. 207 Clarke so we may verify and complete processing your order.

I called and was told the month of my credit card expiration date did not come through and they needed to verify it. I did so and then was being pushed very hard to order a memory card. I stated no several times. The pushy lady finally gave up and said goodbye very rudely. Our package arrived a few days later. My order had been updraded to a package deal, Garmin 660 and a 1GB memory card. This added $100 to my order. I called customer svc. I wanted to send the memory card back. I spoke with Rachael, who said they don't take back parts of a package only the whole package. If I send it back, there will be a 20% restocking fee. After telling her that I did not order a package, she told me that the order was modified via phone. OMG - I can't believe this!! After going around and around with her, she finally offered to send several accessories at no cost or shipping. I made her send an email stating this before I hung up. I still will be reporting them to the BBB and every website I can find.

Do not buy from them!!!

WISH WE HAD SEEN THESE POSTINGS EARLIER!!!

We received a $10 compatible battery that the site advertises for $150; a $10 2GB memory card advertised for $270.

~MAJOR ALERT TO YOUNG, INEXPERIENCED BUYERS~

BELOW IS POSTING I DID YESTERDAY.

:( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(

FISHY! 86th Street Photo & Video
Written: Jun 16 '08

My daughter purchased a $140 camera online from 86th Street Photo & Video. The next thing I knew there was a $600 charge to my credit card.

Apparently, 86th Street called my daughter after receiving the $140 order. They proceeded to talk her into buying additional accessories. In my daughter’s words afterward, ”…felt quite pressured into buying the additional items”.

Even more peculiarly, no itemized order confirmation was ever sent. No cancellation policy was explained over the phone.

When we called back to get the itemized charges, 86th Street would not provide them. We fished around its web site to get individual pricing. For the $150 replacement battery, instead of sending us what is shown on its website, 86th sent a Canon compatible battery (that is at best ~$10…I know because I just purchased one for my old Canon camera). (The sales guy had told my daughter that the original Canon battery that comes with the camera would only last for 20 minutes. Now, that is a lie.)

When I called and asked to return the purchase, the guy began to offer me freebies so I’d keep the order. Then he got nasty when I declined, and would not give me a RMA# without me faxing to him an agreement to pay 20% restocking fee.

I’ll let me credit card company deal with 86t Street. Thank goodness for VISA.

Do not do business with 86th Street…it’s a fishy merchant. The company that finally charged to my credit card is “WISETRONICES” ; you probably want to watch out for it also.

Just an update. I did report them to NY BBB office. I got an email back stating the file was claimed under WiseTronics.com. Don't buy from that website either!

This is rediculus! 86th Street & Video needs to be stopped! It wasn't until after I placed an order that i noticed their web page title is "F**k Th3 W0rld". This should've raised suspision.

I will be researching how to report this company to the Better Business Bureau, because they need to be stopped. Internet shopping sites like this give other reputable sites a bad name.

They advertise the lowest prices on the net for cameras, and items show in-stock and will ship in 1-2 days. Turns out that for the specific Canon camera I purchased, that price only comes with a "15-minute battery" and it was nearly twice the price ($330 vs. $179) to get the camera with the real battery.

I happened to have a compatible battery on hand, so went ahead and ordered the one with the 15-minute battery. But did they ever ship it? No... My order was mysteriously "back-ordered" for months, even though the product continued to show available online.

This is the classic bait and switch -- they lure you in with the low prices, but then won't actually send you the product unless you get the "upgraded" battery, and add in all of the extras. Otherwise, they just won't ever process your order at the low price.

All of that, and crappy customer service people too. What more could you ask for??

Thank you all for your posting about 86th Street Photo and Video. I just bought 2 GPS from them, and it left me with feeling that I have just being bitten by a snake!

I will give the details if anyone is interested, I am filing a report on http://www.ripoffreport.com/ right now about my experience. I will probably copy and pasted here after I filed it there.

But my point is, why do we allow such a horrible company keeping ripping people off? What shall we do about it?

I know we are all so busy. But it comes to a point that we need to do something. When I googled it, there is a site listed customer satisfaction for this company as -0.8 out of 10!

We are all bitten by this snake! Let's do something!

What a rip off. I was told the GPS I purchased needed a High Speed SD card to work. Total LIE. Was charged $179.00 for it! THEN IT WAS A USED UNIT! I am contacting the New York State Attorney Generals Office. I hope they might have some insight for me. HOPE NO ONE ELSE FALLS FOR THEIR HIGH PRESSURE SALES TACTICS!