Royal Camera – a study in deceptive practices

No_cameras_1
Royal Camera is a star in the firmament of "bait and switch" retailers. They have a long history of rip off sales and substitution of damaged or used equipment. They make the worst used car salesmen look upright and honest by comparison.

Most Recent Update: Add CCI Camera City
Inc., 342 Kings Highway, Brooklyn, NY 11223 to your list of online
camera shops to avoid. CCI has the same address as Royal Camera!


If you Google "CCI Camera City problems", you will find the same list
of bait and switch complaints and grey market product complaints that
Royal Camera is known for.

Royalcamera0009Here the Brooklyn storefront which houses Royal Camera and CCI Camera. Would you buy a camera from this store and expect to have a warranty that meant anything? Click on image to enlarge.

Thanks to Don Wiss <donwiss@panix.com>

Their business plan and brand mantra would make a fascinating study project for a Business School grad, because they have managed to turn this activity into a long term paying proposition.

Their deceptive business practices are well-documented in scores of forums and business alert sites. If you contrast their website with the links provided below, you can see that they seem to employ con artists at many levels in the organization.

I have been buying products on the internet for many years and have never encountered a more determinedly corrupt set of business practices.

I purchased a Sony DSC-F828 camera from them in November at the advertised price of $405.00. It was advertised as in stock. The next day, I received a call from a salesman who tried to sell me memory cards, batteries and filters at prices 35% – 50% above retail. When I didn’t go for that, he told me that delivery would take 4-6 weeks.

Six weeks later, I checked on my order and was told that delivery would take another 10-12 weeks.

I finally did what I should have done earlier. I Googled: Royal Camera problems, Royal Camera complaints, Royal Camera scams, Royal Camera rip offs, Royal Camera ratings, Royal Camera bait and switch. The negative reports went on and on and on

The results were appalling. These were not isolated bad reports, these were entire forum threads devoted to Royal Camera’s deceptive business activities. The reports went back years and numbered in the hundreds.  Contrast these reports with their web site that promises a smooth online shopping experience. It was so well written that I believed the web site. Live and learn!

I will cancel have cancelled my order, so the only thing I lost was time. I have learned from this experience because this was the most outstandingly deceptive business I have encountered on the web in many years.

Calling Royal Camera a camera retailer is like calling the James Gang a bunch of cowboys. 

I could have saved myself time and trouble by Googling the company name combined with every negative remark I could imagine.

If there is a company that you are concerned about, I suggets you use Google to see if they specialize in corrupt practices.

You may be surprised.

You also should read my other posts on this company:

Warning – Royal Camera has reinvented itself.
Is there a meltdown in store for Royal Camera?
Google + blogs = influence

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