A warning to those in the NYC/LI area

[Wannabe29]

Hi, all. First, I want to say that this post is not meant to endorse one store over another (You'll see why this statement is made by the end). However, I feel compelled to warn everyone about a particular store in the NY area, should you be looking for camera equipment.

The store in question is called Labelle and the one I went to is in Lake Grove, NY (that's on Long Island). They were advertising a "sale" on some of their cameras and equipment. One thing that was advertised was a "macro lens" that was compatible with several name brands. There was a picture of the lens on the circular and the price of 89 bucks. I thought that was too good to be true but I went down with my wife to check it out. There was no brand associated with the lens on the ad.

So, we went to the store and, lo and behold, it's not actually a lens that was on sale. The "sale" was for a macro lens filter kit of 4 lenses from a company called Zeikos. Supposedly, they didn't have a picture of the lens kit so there was just a lens posted on the ad.

Ok...so, $89 was not for a macro lens...makes sense. I have no idea how much the filter kits cost but, we were allowed to try them in the store and they seemed to do the job. So, I figured $89 is a bargain compared to what an actual macro lens costs. We buy them and go home.

To find out a little more about the filters, I go on-line and, lo and behold, find out that they sell for around $20 or less for the kit on Amazon. Not only that, if you went to another LI camera store's website (Cameta Camera, in this case) you'd find that, for around $50 you could get the lens filters, 3 other types of filters, a tripod and a cleaning kit. I mention that simply for a verifiable price comparison, not as an ad for Cameta. I can't vouch for them as a store, nor can I vouch for any sellers on Amazon. I'm trying to highlight the level of the rip-off I received.

So, we're going back tomorrow to see what we can do about the obvious price-gouging. I'm thinking, not much. Apparently, they have a no refund policy which you find out about after you turn over the receipt that you sign to complete the transaction. I also looked on-line to find out about this place and, apparently, they're a bunch of scammers. They don't really work with anyone they scam. Seems like they know they're doing it and don't care.

So, stay away from Labelle Cameras, Computers and TV's. They supposedly have stores in the metro NYC area and at least one on Long Island. They are rip-off artists. Research them and any camera retailers/equipment before you buy. Know what you're getting into. But, spread the word. The particular guy we were dealing with seemed like a really nice guy but, he obviously lied through his teeth about the value of what he was selling. The really funny part is, the original price tag on the "on-sale" macro filters was $169. $169 for something that's really worth around $20.

Buyer beware. I really didn't think that there were businesses like this out there now a days but, obviously I was wrong. Know your prices before you shop.

 

[r-balljunkie]

you have got to be kidding me. a NYC based camera company doing shady business????
kinda like saying, some people in Nigeria might try to scam u by internet.

sorry, but NYC has sullied there camera reputation a long long time ago. they are the originators of the bait and switch pricing scams....even though you live there, shop elsewhere.

GL

C

 

[Nicholas41]

My 30 dollar rolex looks nice, but stopped ticking a week after I got it lol.

Thanks for the heads up though. When I go to NY I typically look for deals and I would have been ****ed if I had gone over to Long Island for that.

 

[astrogazer]

Caveat emptor

 

[Wannabe29]

Yeah, I know it's "buyer beware." The purpose of the post was to help others with the "beware" part. I personally have no idea what camera equipment is supposed cost. I don't buy it all that much. I know that the lenses are expensive as all hell. So, it's reasonable to assume that the accessories might be expensive as well. I also expect local stores to mark up prices......but not that much. That's ridiculous. I'd like to get a tamron AF 90mm f/2.8 Macro (it's for a D5000). It's supposed to cost around $450.00 with a mail-in rebate. Does that sound right to everyone? I looked on-line at multiple vendors and that seems to be the going rate for that lens.

 

[BlueCorn]

A word of caution
There are a ton of really sleazy resellers in the camera business. The typical method of operation is this:

You see an unbelievably cheap price on the a camera on their website. You place your order online. A few minutes later you get an email telling you to call and verify your CC information. Once they get you on the phone the start selling you add-ons (that would normally come with the camera) like batteries, software, cables, etc. If you refuse the upgrades your camera suddenly becomes back-ordered and never ships. If you agree to them you end up getting a grey market camera body (no US warranty) and a bunch of 3rd party add-ons for more money that the camera would have cost from a legitimate reseller.

If the price seems too good to be true check out the vendor at: http://resellerratings.com

Here's an example.

 

[Wannabe29]

Yup...wish I knew about reseller review beforehand. However, even stores with great ratings have numerous negative feedback stories on the web, like Cameta Camera. Great rating on reseller review, but claims that they are scammers all over the place. So, go fig.

I went down to the store today armed with pricing on the filters from all over the place. Local competitors, stores on the web, etc. The guy seemed surprised that they were selling for so little.....yeah. He implied that they might be knock-offs. I told him, I could see that if it was just one or two stores...but everywhere? Unlikely. He gave me a store credit for the filters...he better have, since I expressed interest purchasing a macro lens. Would've loved to just get my money back but that wasn't going to happen.

I came armed with prices on the lens I wanted and he claims he can match it....we'll see how this goes. He didn't have the lens in the store (I asked about it before I made it clear I was unhappy about the filter prices so, I'm pretty sure he didn't actually have it). He did call all over the place to see who would have it. So, we'll see how this goes over the next few days.

 

[BlueCorn]

My basic rule of thumb is if someone is selling camera gear for more than a few percent below B&H's price, there's probably something wrong with the deal.