Big IDEA

Scam alert: Broadway Photo (bwayphoto.com)

02 May 2008

My family has needed a new digital camera for some time, and I’ve been holding out for a Nikon D40. With a little help from Uncle Sam, I decided to go ahead and buy one. I searched for the lowest prices online and Broadway Photo was among the lowest. I visited the site and read the description of the camera and the site terms. Everything seemed on the up-and-up so I placed my order.

The confirmation email from Broadway Photo was the first warning (emphasis mine):

Please allow a minimum of two days for order processing.
To expedite order processing, please give us a call.
If the address to which your package is being delivered is different then the address where you receive your monthly credit card statements (billing address). You must list that address as an alternate ship to with your credit card company by calling the customer service number on the back of your credit card. (This is simply a temporary note on your account that will allow us to ship to an alternate address)

They’ve got a high-tech website, why should it take them two days to process my order? Why should I have to call them to “expedite” order processing? See how convenient Internet shopping has become? Finally, poor English.

The second warning was the email I received from Broadway Photo the next day:

Due to verification issues with your order # Wxxxxxxx we are unable to process your order. In order for us to process your order, please contact our verification department at 1-800-307-1148 Extension 233.

I have used the same card to purchase items from several online merchants and never had a “verification issue.”

The third warning was when I actually called the 800 number, or the “verification department.” Nobody answered and I was sent to a voice mail system. Thinking that there might really be a problem, I actually left my telephone number! A few hours later, I received another email detailing the “verification problems,” so I called back and spoke with a human.

To call the person I spoke with human is probably too kind. The first thing he needed to do was “confirm” my mailing address. Next, he informed me that the battery that came with the camera was low capacity and would only last for 15-20 minutes, and that it would take 12 hours to charge each time. I knew this wasn’t true because I had read reviews of the camera and learned that the battery was good for several hundred shots; in fact, I knew that the D40x model’s battery lasted longer than the D40’s, but I still found it acceptable. When I told the guy I didn’t want the battery, he said I’d need to buy one anyway and it would cost a lot more somewhere else. How much do you figure he was selling it for? The bargain discount price of $99 (normally $199)! From my previous research I knew that I could buy a Nikon brand battery for under $40 on amazon.com; knockoffs are available starting around $10. $99 didn’t really seem like such a bargain. In addition, I was told I’d need a battery charger. I said I’d just use the battery charger that came with the camera. He said it didn’t come with a charger. I said it did, I know what’s in the kit. He said it was an AC adapter that you had to plug into the camera. (What?!) I re-emphasized the fact that I just wanted the standard kit with no extras.

At this point I’m thinking to myself that I can just refuse the high-pressure sales tactics of Broadway Photo and still get the camera. But then, he asked whether I wanted the 5- or 3-year warranty. I said I didn’t want to buy an extended warranty and that I’d just take my chances with the 1-year warranty that came with the camera. He said it didn’t come with a warranty. I said it did. Then he asked if I wanted the Japanese version or the US version, and if I even knew what the difference was (asked as if I were a total idiot). I said I guess I wanted the US version and he reiterated that the camera didn’t come with the warranty. At this point I was so angry with this worm that I said, “I’ll tell you what, let’s just cancel this order.” He said, “OK, I’m cancelling your order,” and hung up. Period.

I thought it was odd that he was willing to lose the sale despite the fact that I wouldn’t be buying the ridiculous battery, charger, and warranty. I decided to call Broadway Photo’s customer service to see if this was their business model or if I had just talked to a bad seed. Customer service wasn’t any better. I got him to admit that they sold grey market items (he didn’t deny it, it’s clearly stated in light grey text buried in the Warranty Coverage section of their About us page). I got him to admit that the sales rep I had talked to lied about the camera not coming with a charger. I got him to admit that the web site does not state that the camera I was trying to buy was grey market. I told him that their practices were deceptive. He apologized that the Broadway Photo web site did not specifically state that the Nikon D40 kit was a grey market item. He explained that the camera did in fact come with a one-year, in-store only warranty, but that Nikon would not honor it.

In the end, the Broadway Photo customer service representative wasn’t willing to make things right. Oh well, lesson learned.

After this experience, I decided to google Broadway Photo sucks and found lots of hits to forum posts of folks who had exactly the same experience I did. Luckily, I didn’t waste nearly as much time as some of those people who actually had their orders go through, only to be faced with all kinds of delays.

A little further digging revealed a seemingly incestuous relationship among some price comparison sites like lowpricedigital.com, shopcartusa.com, and everyprice.com and shady businesses like Broadway Photo. These comparison sites always list the shady businesses first with the lowest prices and the highest customer ratings. They throw in a few legitimate businesses for appearance, and it’s odd that the legitimate businesses have lower customer ratings. One site even says that the shady Broadway Photo has earned the “Customer’s Trust Award!”

If you want to see just how shady Broadway Photo is, see this post from the Consumerist with photos of the actual buildings of Broadway Photo. (found via Thomas Hawke’s blog)

OK, I know, I should have googled first.

Feel free to share your experiences with shady businesses like Broadway Photo.