Purchase of camera and supplies from Express Cameras .com

Online camera and accessories sales in Edison NJ:

I contacted Express Cameras.com via phone and spoke with a sales rep

named Edward and asked about a Canon EOS Rebel Xti 400D body, and was

told that they did not have any more of the bodies in stock..... But

that they had the camera in a 'Package Deal' which included the EOS Xti

400D, and a 'Professional Quality Digital Lens', a '2 GB High Speed

Compact Flash Card and High Speed Reader', a 'Professional UV Filter', a

'Deluxe Case', a lens cleaning kit, a screen protector kit, a tripod

and a cap keeper. Edward confided in me that this was not even on their

web sales, that he was putting this together to accommodate me on my

upcoming trip. I got the system shipped express so that I may evaluate

and learn about it before my trip, and I was very disappointed to see

what my $1,248.98 got me. The 'Secretive Package' that was put together

for me consisted of a Canon Rebel Xti 400D, a Sigma 28-70mmDG lens, a

Merkury UV Filter, a Dane-Elec 2 GB compact flash card (non High Speed,

with a cheap High Speed Sticker affixed), a Merkury High Speed card

reader, a Digital Concepts Flash, a Deluxe case (NON Deluxe), screen

protectors, lens cleaning kit, tripod and a cap keeper. I checked out

the equipment that I received and the camera body, the lens cap keeper,

the screen protectors and also the lens cleaning kit were on par with

what I was expecting. The "Professional Quality Lens' made by Sigma,

which is not a bad buy for $120.00 to $175.00, cost me $599.00 and after

consulting 2 different representatives and being lied too about

it(Edward stated that it was brand new and not out in the market, but

Exceptionally High Professional Quality), I contacted the manufacturer

and spoke to a representative and told her of my suspicions and she

asked me if I had purchased it from Express Camera.com to which I said I

did and she then told me that they had gotten many COMPLAINTS about this

company and that the retail of this supposed 'Professional Quality Lens'

was a mere $180.00. If that were not bad enough Edward told me that the

'Professional UV Filter' was $99.00, the high quality Merkury UV Filter

lists on several sights for as low as $6.99 up to the $20 dollar range.

The supposed '2GB High Speed Compact Flash Card' lists on their site for

$499.00, lists on other sights for $23.99 up to the $40.00 range(the one

I received was not the High Speed and list from $17.99 to the $30.00

range). All in all I am a fairly considerate and well tempered and

mannered person, and I was VERY CALM when I contacted Express Camera.com

and was treated VERY Unprofessional by Several of their representatives

and LIED to by more than one also. I tried to work with them till the

point of keeping some of the equipment but in the end decided to NOT do

business with them and would NOT recommend them to ANYONE. I am now

playing a waiting out game with them to send me an RMA to send the

equipment back to them the next day after receiving it and they decide

not to answer the phone or let it stay in the hold loop for upwards of

15 minutes at a pop and then hang up only to have to redial and get in

the ridiculous loop of messages and even after sending in a request via

E-mail to their web address have yet to get them to issue the RMA. Seems

that they are reluctant to do so even though Edward stated that they

could really use the camera back to sell to some one else(even though he

admitted that the persons releasing the RMA were VERY BUSY, Imagine

that). So as it stands now I have a camera that I do not want, a

supplier that states that they want it back to sell, and I am unable to

accommodate them by returning it to them so that they can re-sell

it(must be the Very Busy RMA process).

Unhappy and Wiser,

Danny Landry =20