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ShopDigitalDirect.com Complaints - Fraudulent business practices

Review all ShopDigitalDirect.com complaints

ShopDigitalDirect.com

Posted: 2008-07-15 by Rayan Paul [send email]
Fraudulent business practices
Complaint Rating:  100 % with 28 votes
Company information:
ShopDigitalDirect.com
United States
shopdigitaldirect.com

I searched for a good price on a canon HF10 digital camera on a search engine and diduprice.com came up with a listing for a seller offering the camera for $449 which is about half the price that reputable retailers are selling the same product. This website listed several retailers with higher prices and also listed shopdigitaldirect.com with a price of $449 and a rating of 'trusted seller' so taking them at their word and relyin on good faith, i placed an order on a thursday. I called back the following monday to find out if my order was being processed since I got some lame autoresponder with very general information about my order.

I spoke with someone who was clearly uneducated in either general schooling and clearly ignorant of the product I had ordered. He proceeded to tell me that Canon only had a 90 day warranty on the camcorder. I immediately became suspicious of this guy. He then went on to try to sell me all types of packages including one so called 'presidential' package, another red flag went up, I know enough about deceptive advertising practices and this started to smell fishy.

Their Presidential package included some HD software without which I would not be able to use the camera. He repeatedly told me that if I did not buy this software I would not be able to use the camera. I found it hard to believe that a company like Canon would sell a product that you could not use unless you bought additional junk so I inquired on more specifics about the 'HD software'. I was asked in a very rude and condescending way 'what part of HD software don't you understand'?. at that point I figured I was being had by some 2nd grade dropout who probably could not spell his own name.

I proceeded to request that my original order be canceled and was told that they could not do that as the order was already being processed in the warehouse, unless I paid a 15% restocking fee. He tried to sell me on other things and I then requested that they honor the order I placed only for the camera, no extended warranty or 'presidential' package or filters or any of that nonsense, at this time the fellow said no I am not going to do that either, your order is canceled, then hung up on me.

After spending about 2 more hours calling and trying to speak with customer service, I was transferred to non working extensions, the manager was never available, etc. etc. etc... I finally gave up without ever getting even a comfort level that my order was indeed canceled and I would not be charged any cancellation fee. The entire experience left me with a very bad taste in my mouth for online retailers. I have had some great experiences shopping online so I know that thankfully this is not how most retailers act.

I would recommend anyone having the misfortune of coming across this ripoff artists to stay clear away from them, they are not a reputable company and they DO NOT HONOR their advertised product prices.
Comments United States Consumer Electronics
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Comments

142 days ago by Trey [send email]
They tried to upsell me, but when I didn't take, said that it would take 6 weeks. Same as 86photovideo.com
141 days ago by Steven [send email]
the folks at shopdigitaldirect.com are, quite simply, scam artists...the item i attempted to order was never, apparently, even available..they attempted to sell me a battery that should come with the camera and they hung up on me when I began to say that they were nervy for advertising a product they didn't even have
141 days ago by Marini [send email]
man. i wish i'd done better research before ordering. same story as above. scam artists indeed. bought the sony sdr-11 presidential package. 3 days later, 'victor' called. camera doesn't work without the charger (an additional $170 or $250, depending on which one you get). victor was VERY rude - you know the drill. wouldn't cancel the order. talked with 'tom' - the BOSS who runs the 'new york' division. end result: couldn't cancel. he sold me the first (cheapest) package with a charger, PLUS added glass filters instead of plastic (woo hoo, huh?) and 2 day shipping - all for FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! lol.

i intend to find 'the' boss and pursue my dissatisfaction. probably won't do any good, but have to try. frustrating. DO NOT USE THESE PEOPLE!
138 days ago by Dgles [send email]
I too received the plain box that everyone else sells and they overcharged me about $500. A guy called to say my Powershot SD770 came with a "temporary" battery and no charger! Even if I had purchased the camcorder (Vixia HF10) and camera from BHcamera, my total for the same boxes would have bee $1, 020! They charged me $1299! They list a "premium package" with no breakdown and their web site has no "premium" package at all. I have sent a serious e-mail demanding a call, and have contacted my credit card company. I will post a dispute with my credit card and include all of these complaints along with my story and copies of the web-sitc.

I will cause MasterCard to stop allowing these guys to do business. It is that simple.

It is truly disgusting.
137 days ago by David [send email]
I ordered a Canon Powershot G9 they listed for $299 shipped. I was contacted by Chris from ShopDigitalDirect.com who said the camera came with nothing and he wanted to "sell" me the battery that is included with the camera at other retailers. Chris wanted to sell the battery to me for $116 then he tried to push me into buying the battery charger and a flash card...all of which are suppossed to be included with the camera in it's retail packaging. Chris wanted over $600 for the package which is $200 over regular retail anywhere else. I cancelled the order by phone to Chris who promptly hung up on me. I've reported them to my credit card company and will be contacting the BBB. Here's a copy of the email he sent:

The status of your order has been updated.
New status: Emailed Customer

Dear Valued Customer Thank you for placing your order with www.shopdigitaldirect.com Please call me to confirm your order. My name is Chris and I will be personally handling your order. Please contact me at 1-888-313-7468 X.244 Thank You Chris www.shopdigitaldirect.com Mon-Thur 9:30am - 7:00pm EST Fri 9:30am - 3:00pm Sun 10am - 5:00pm

PLEASE NOTE: Since in most instances we begin processing your order shortly after you submit it on our website, If any changes are necessary you MUST contact us via PHONE ONLY, at 888-313-Photo (7468)

Qty Name Price Total
1 Canon PowerShot G9, 12.1 Megapixel, 6x Optical/4x Digital Zoom Digital Camera $299.00 $299.00
Sub-Total: $299.00
Shipping Method (Ground (6 to 8 days)): $0.00
Total: $299.00

We will follow up with another email when your order is being shipped. Orders are still subject to verification before shipment is made.

Thank you for your order.
125 days ago by David D [send email]
Same story for me - wished I had googled them first. This is actually a three-level scam. I was interested in the new Olympus E-3, so I googled it. Every time I did a Google on this or other cameras, one of the first paid advertisers was always a price comparison site called "DidUPrice.com." They were always showing a significantly lower price than the other returned results. So, when I went to DidUPrice.com, there were 3-4 sellers listed, including ShopDigitalDirect.com with a very low price. The thing is, DidUPrice.com lists ShopDigitalDirect as a TRUSTED SELLER with 5 stars!!! This is obviously a conspiracy between the two sites (or maybe they are run by the same people).

I tried to find a way to tell Google about this, but could not find any complaint email address for this kind of thing.

Anyway, my initial order was for the E-3 camera body plus a $34 camera bag. I get a confirmation email with a total of $972, and it asked me to call the salesman who was assigned to my order to confirm. That is when the BS started. He told me it did not come with a battery charger or the battery. He told me that ALL digital SLRs MUST be cleaned every year, and that cost $300, and their extended warranty covers that for free (except the cost of the warranty, of course). When I asked, he also told me that the battery from my old E-500 would not work in the E-3. All LIES!

Finally he said he could save me some money with the "Starter package, " which included everything I was adding on. He said it cost 1999 (I thought this was the original price PLUS $19.99). I agreed, and the next thing I know, I get a call from Visa asking me if the $2, 100.00 charge is legitimate!

So, I called Chris back and told him I wanted to cancel the entire order. He said that would cost me $350 for the cancellation fee. I told him this was bait-and-switch, and he denied it and became very rude and condescending. I told him that the transaction on my credit card was still showing as pending, and he could cancel it without any fee. He refused.

So, now the transaction has posted, and I opened up a dispute with my credit card company. I've told Chris and others at ShopDigitalDirect that I wanted the order cancelled and the charge reversed.

Geeesh!
Dave
114 days ago by Steve [send email]
Same story as the others, but maybe they are becoming more sensitive to the complaints.

Every time I called to confirm the order I got a different person, each trying to sell me something different that should have come with the camera (a Nikon D80 with 2 lenses, etc, their package #6). The last time the sales guy tried to sell me the lens "mount", plastic or metal. He said the lens did not come with a mount.

Of course, $499 is much too low for this $1, 300 - $1, 500 package, so shame on me, I should have known better. But the cheapskate got the better of me, and I fell for it.

The last time the sales person transferred me to "Customer Service", Vinny, who made the story that the camera was direct from Japan all in Japanese, primarily directed at professionals who already had the extra accessories they were trying to sell me. Even he was stumped when I told him the sales guy wanted to sell me a lens mount.

Vinny said they had so many orders that it might be 6 - 7 weeks before it shipped. I got the message! I said can you cancel, he said OK. I got a cancellation number, CN420, which also is bogus I think. But the good news is that I did get an email canceling the order. I will be on the lookout to see if my credit card is charged, just in case.

Thanks to the others for the update. I, too, should have Googled shopdigitaldirect before placing the order.

Steve...
113 days ago by Nenad [send email]
I order Canon S5 digital camera on 05. august. I got email stating that order is recieved and that i will get another email when order is shipped. After three days i called to see what is happening and then after 45min waiting and swtiching extensions some guy told me 'oh, it's backorder item, it takes 1 to 5 weeks for shipement'. Of course, site does not state it is backorder item, so i asked them to change that to to mislead customers. Guy (i do not know name) was polite. I waited a week, and this time without waiting that much i got a guy who told me that it is on backorder. I told him i did not order it as backorder item and that i want to cancel my order becouse i need camera before i go to europe. He was behaving very rude. After he tried to convince me not to do so he said 'ok, your order is canceled you will get a refund'!!! I reacted asking, 'so you have billed me although item is not shiped?', he replied 'no, items are billed after shipping'. So i asked 'how can you refund me then' after witch he said 'your order is canceled' and hang-up! STAY CLEAR OF SHOPDGITALDIRECT!!
106 days ago by James Johnson [send email]
This company cares only about the money and NOTHING about the customer. After ordering online, I received an e-mail that said to contact Ken to confirm my order. The REAL reason is so he could try to UPSALE me. After numerous attempts of pushing a "better quality" lens and telling me that I didn't want to be just another "point and clicker", I finally got fed up and told him to cancel the order. I would purchase with another company. He immediately told me that I had already made the contract with them and that the order was being processed by their warehouse. He also told me that if I cancel the order, I would be responsible for a restocking fee. I informed him that I was calling my credit card company and refusing the charge. And then, he said he would "give" me the presidential package at no additional charge, if I would simply upgrade to the professional lens and get rid of that crappy plasic lens that comes with the camera. I refused the order and the charge. They shipped the order and I refused the shipment. They then contacted me to try to charge me for the return shipping. This place is ridiculous. STAY AWAY from SHOPDIGITALDIRECT !!!
89 days ago by Chona Hess [send email]
Yes, i agree to everyone here that the company called shopdigitaldirect.com is total rip off and a con artist. I just wish i read this review about this company before i purchase from them. I order a HDR-SR12 camcorder for presidential package it was $949.99 wow sounds like a great deal. The next morning i got a call from a guy name Victor that i order a camcorder online. I said yes, he said it doesn't comes with a charger. I said how much is the charger? He said there's two kinds the 24hr one it cost $249.99 or a charger that it only takes an hour to charge to your battery which is $349.99. I said oh gosh that is so much. I said nahhh... just cancel my order. He said it is ready to be ship i laugh because it is Sunday morning which i order my product Saturday afternoon. He said if i cancel it there's a fee i said how much? It's $279.99 i was basically trap. I end getting the product the same company with different person the next day which is HDR-SR10 but still they charge me too high. There website the presidential package they offered is $749.00 and they charge my debit card for $1, 300.00 i am going to call them back as soon i get back from my vacation. I will never ever buy anything with the company anymore they are total rip off and a bunch of scam artist. Oh one thing also, i been sending them emails about my order before but they will not respond.
62 days ago by Robert Deangelo [send email]
I was looking to buy a high end digital camera. The Canon 1DS Mark iII. The street price is about $7000.00. I did a google search for best buy and ShopDigitalDirect.com came up first at a price of $3999.00. I phoned them twice and spoke to someone who Identified himself as Bernard (don't thonk that was his real name) He was ready to sell me the camera but then started a bait and switch. I told him that I would phone back as soon as I fund my account. I then did a who is search to find out that the registrant is private, but I also found out that they go by 5 or more names. The were originally rgistered through godaddy which is a legitimate site. My contact at Godaddy did some research and told me they are hosted through HOST24Web.com. This makes the owners difficult to find. I phoned the BBB, but it seams they are always asleep or out to lunch. I then called the Police precinct in Brooklyn where I believe they are located and filed a report. They are being investigated as I make this posting. I am semi-retired and have a lot of spare time to reseach crime on the internet. It is swarming with criminals. Contacting the FBI does no good because they claim they are too busy. I recently prevented a $250, 000 fraud scam on Ebay. I spend much time there. If anyone wantdss to check out a buyer I will do my best to prived them with as accurate information /I find. Just contact me at bobdean48@gmail.com. Give me all the details, and I will do my bet to get back to you as soon as I can.

STAY AWAY FROM SHOPDIGITALDIRECT.COM
58 days ago by Mbb [send email]
Wow. Thank you so much to everyone posting here. I was just about to purchase a Canon HD camcorder with the "Presidential Package" Im so glad I googled ShopDigitalDirect.com. I read their company policy, and what a nightmare. They only give you 2 days after shipment arrives to return damaged goods and you better not throw any packaging away, plus you have to get the carrier (UPS or FEDEX) to sign something that verifies that the shipment was damaged. If you change your mind or something is up with your item, you have exactly 15 days to return it, you must pay for shipping, insurance and a MINIMUM(?) 15% restocking fee. Seemed kind of draconian for me, but I was still ready to gamble because of the lower price. I was also going to take out the 4 year Repair Tech extended warranty - for $419. I wonder if they have any satisfied customers. What a shame. I know what it feels like to get the customer service runaround. Good work with the post. You all saved me a huge headache and a hell of a lot of money. Shame on the BBB - ShopDigitalDirect.com should be the BBB's reason for being. Thank you again.
46 days ago by Mark [send email]
I found ShopDigitalDirect.com in the usual manner -- price comparisons on shopping sites. One look at their website should pop up big red warning signs. You should always be wary of companies that do not supply a physical address and do not have any specific company information available. A phone number and a website does not constitute enough information to trust them with your hundreds of dollars. This is truly a case of "If it sounds too good to be true it probably is." If I were to attempt doing business with someone with a website like that I would at least try to contact them first by email and/or phone and ask them some specific questions about what comes with the product before making a purchase. Then you have a chance of finding out how slick they think they are. Ask them for their mailing address and see what they say, for example. I would avoid doing online business with a company that hides itself.
45 days ago by Crystal [send email]
Looks like it's always the same with these folks.

I also Googled and found this site with a great deal. This is the first time I've had any problems shopping online.

The next day after ordering a sales person -Ken- called telling me that my order (quoted above what the website stated due to a “3% insurance” cost) was not what I needed and that he would get me a better deal on higher quality products. He was very pushy and I felt like I was being run over by a used car salesman. By the time he was done it was $300 more than what I had purchased originally. He stated that he did not have email, and would not be able to send me an itemized list of the items I was purchasing. I later checked the email address that I had given upon checkout and he had emailed me (Directly from ken@shopdigitaldirect.com) prior to this phone call! On the phone, he also stated that there would be a fee if I cancelled my order.

Feeling odd about this, I checked online…low and behold there were several customer complaints about this company online (here specifically). All of the complaints were about fraudulent practices by this company and the pushy sales tactics.

I called the sales person back and (after waiting on hold for 10 minutes) asked to cancel my order. He stated the fee for cancelling would be higher, and I said, “No it won’t. Please cancel my order.” He became pushy and aggressive and wanted to know what was wrong. I continued to repeat “Please cancel my order” while he said he’d get me better and better deals. After the 5th or 6th repeat of me calmly saying “Please cancel my order” – He hung up!!

Thus far, my credit card has not been charged, and I have contacted my credit card company and asked them to not allow any charges from this company.

I have also tried to find a way to contact Google to let them know, but no luck.
30 days ago by Russell William O'connell [send email]
Ordered a Canon XSi, two days later it was oversold, and would be sent later. A month later, I called, still out of stock and would be 3 to 4 weeks more. Finally after over 2 months I spent an hour on the phone on hold I was able to cancel the order. I'm sure it was just a scheme to get me to purchase batteries, chargers and memory cards that were all overpriced on their site.
29 days ago by Keith Nelson [send email]
Thank you, everyone for your postings. I've been looking to purchase a Nikon D90 body only. Our local retailer has a comparable price to everywhere else I've been looking... $999.00. Searching on the web, shopdigitaldirect came up, and its price was very attracting at $619.00 with "free" shipping. Having been vertical on the planet for over half a century, I've learned that if it doesn't meet the smell test, then don't bite into it! All of your postings and experiences have confirmed my suspicions. THANK YOU!

RitzCamera has the physical locations which work for us, and we've had nothing but favorable experiences dealing with their local dealer (Wolf Camera) so we are staying with our initial decisions. Buy Local!

Reputation matters!
27 days ago by Ron S. [send email]
A sad commentary: If you consider buying from many of the camera dealers in and around NY City, and, If they're open on Sunday and closed on Saturday be very careful !!!

They sell the product at or below their cost and then lie to you about the normally included items. That's how they profit. They will call as a followup to your order and fast talk you into odering items that are stock or added accessories at outrageous prices. If you balk at their methods they just hang up on you. If they get closed down they just change the name of the company. and start over again. There is no such thing as a free lunch!

Ron S.
22 days ago by Aaron [send email]
Just had the same problem as everyone else. Tried buying a Canon HF-100 and called after ordering to confirm. They had three in stock. When they called to confirm my order they tried to add on to the order. I wouldn't buy a battery from them ($130)! They got uptight and told me it would ship in 3-4 weeks. I found the batteries on ebay for $15...

I called them right back and asked if they had any HF-100s that could ship and they said they had some ready to go and wanted me to order. These people belong in jail.
13 days ago by Joseph [send email]
They have order the "presidential packge" with a Camcorder which costs not more than $1100, but the package contained a case a nine hour extra battery, charger etc, etc but what it was delivered half of the item was missing. No hardcase or battery charger or rewinder even the battery the charge me $176 was a cheep battery which anyone buy for $50. I called and they palyed a game on me. Same woman (Customer service) and a man (account manger/president) tried to confuse me on the order, that I picked the wronge package. I told him to look at the advertizement on his own page he pretended not to see it.

It was farce and a day light robbery I have though I would have encountered. The saddest thing is they still keep on scamming. I should have searched about them before parting with more than $2100. I feel violated.
7 days ago by David Parker [send email]
I recently ordered a Nikon D90 with an 18-105 lens from ShopDigitalDirect.com. The advertised price on this "package" was $799.00. I did not receive an email confirmation so I decided to call the company. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally was able to talk to someone. They informed me that this camera was an overseas package, the camera was made in China, and that it would take 4-6 weeks to process, and I would need to upgrade to the American package to receive the battery, charger, cables, software, etc. for an increased price of $1100.00, plus $149.00 for a 5 yr. waranty, no taxes, no shipping charge, then I would receive the package in 3-5 days. Total price $1249.00. Well my debit card was charged $1276.99 the same day that I talked to them. My question to anyone that has delt with this company is, "Did you receive the merchandise that you ordered?"

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