Highly not recommended, especially if you wanna buy something with their co-branded credit card. I wanted to buy an MPB 14 using their card, for which I was pre-approved and subsequently received. My order was placed with the assistance of their support team, but then unusual things began to happen
Two days later, I noticed my order hadn't shipped. Upon contacting support, I was informed that my order had been escalated to the Manual Verification Team (VFR) and that I needed to contact them to proceed. I reached out to VFR, who simply requested email verification (as I had signed up using an Apple ID and the email on my credit profile was different). They assured me that everything would be resolved in 2-3 hours. Spoiler alert: it wasn't.
Next happened complete BS, i never saw that before - Adorama's support don't know anything about VFR team except "you need to contact them", then i received an email from VFR team and they said to me that to be able to verify my identity i need to WIRE TRANSFER money from my debit(just remind that i specifically applied for their co branded CC) and pay 20$ more for WIRE TRANSFER. Of course i'm didn't do that, because i have credit card and for god damn reason why would i ever WIRE TRANSFER money to buy something in store...
Then i tried to place another order(after 4 days of waiting\talking, same item), and what do you think happened? It went to manual verification, adorama support can't do anything about it, then VFR team said to me that YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO BUY ANYTHING FROM US WITH OUR CREDIT CARD LOL.
I tried to do my best to "verify myself", provided all information, proposed to bring ANY possible documents to verify my identity, three way call with that bank with whom they partnered(Synchrony bank) - nope, we need WIRE TRANSFER. By the way i spoke with Synchrony bank support and it's not their problem at all, they don't need to verify my identity or anything else from my side.
In conclusion, I wasted a hard inquiry, impacted my 5/24 score, and spent an entire day trying to prove my identity, all without receiving my order. I feel misled by their credit card terms and conditions, and there seems to be a lack of concern from their end.
Awful service, awful support, i'd recommend Synchrony bank to double check with whom they're partnering. And especially don't recommend to deal with Adorama in general. Such a clown fiesta experience.

Do you want same experience while buying really expensive items? Just think twice and go somewhere else.

About a month ago, I decided that I wanted to trade in my camera equipment to upgrade to a newer camera model. I decided to try my luck with Adorama, which is a very large and popular retailer in the photography business. I have purchased several items in the past from them, both new and pre-owned. I have never had an issue with any previous purchases, but I have never used their trade in department. They were running a special offer allowing an extra $300 trade-in credit for the camera I wanted to purchase.

They recieved my trade-in equipment for evaluation on Monday, Feb 27th. I was told they would contact me within 5-7 business days. After 7 business days I tried to contact them and received an automated response saying the office was closed due to PURIM (A Jewish holiday that I was not familiar with and was not mentioned in any correspondence or on their website that they would be closed for). Ok, I can wait another day since the response said I would hear from them on Wednesday.

On Thursday (what happened to Wednesday?) I finally get a message saying my equipment was evaluated and I need to call Jack Gold at Adorama to discuss trade-in options. I called and instead was sent to talk to another gentleman (I forget his name) in the trade-in department that was in charge of Sony trade-ins. He initially low balled the value of my gear and told me there were no current promotions running for Sony equipment (contrary to the large banner ad on their website). I initially told them I was no longer interested and to return my gear. After a bit of back and forth, I ended up agreeing to a price that I considered fair. That was the "out the door" price, which to most of the world means including tax/shipping/etc.

Later checking my credit card app, I see that I was charged around $200 more than the agreed price. I immediately called and they said, that was the sales tax. I told them that's not what I consider to be "out the door" and asked them again to return my items. They seemed reluctant to return my items and eventually agreed to the original "out the door" price to include shipping and tax.

About an hour later I get a call and they tell me that they have a new price, which was about $100 more than the agreed upon "out the door" price. I asked what happened with our previous deal and was told that the manager wouldn't approve it. (Probably should have asked him before making the offer to a customer). I told him no deal and once again, asked for my gear to be returned. This time he agreed and said they would ship it back immediately.

The very next day, I get a call from Jack Gold himself (the guy I was to originally talk to about the trade in). I asked why he was calling and did they have the tracking number for my equipment. He asked what happened with the previous trade in offers and I explained the entire ordeal. At this point I was done with Adorama and just wanted my equipment returned. He makes an offer for around $100 less than the previously agreed upon "out the door" price. This time I asked if it included tax and he said no, tax would be on top of that. I told him no deal again. Just send my stuff back. He then agreed to go ahead and give me that price, so reluctantly I said yes (it's hard to pass up a good deal).

The next day I get an email with a tracking number saying that my camera was on the way! I was so happy I couldn't wait for it to finally arrive! The email included all of the details and the model number of the camera I ordered.

Friday, March 17th the package arrived. I opened the box and... they had sent a different model than I had ordered. (wah wah) I tried to call but by this time it was too late on a Friday afternoon and it was past business hours. I left scathing messages and emails voicing my extreme displeasure with Adorama. Nobody reponds.

I call again on Monday and they said they have no idea how that could have happened and immediately sent me a return label and PROMISED that they would cross ship the replacement so that I wouldn't have to wait any longer. I dropped it off at the UPS store Monday evening. It was received by them on Wednesday. I have yet to receive any tracking number on the replacement.

I just got off the phone again, and was told it would be overnighted and I should expect to receive a tracking number either later this evening or tomorrow. We will see...

I hope someone from #adorama reads this. I hope everyone else avoids their trade in department like the plague. Their trade in department is a complete joke. Google "Jack Gold Adorama". I wish I had.

The following email correspondence is a summation of my experience with Adorama.

Email subject: Customer Complaint—Legal Action Required?

Attn: Support,

Email correspondence between myself and a Avi Hadef of Adorama began Aug 5,2022, 11:15 AM.

The following low hours equipment was confirmed shipped Fri, August 12th, 2022, and acknowledged by Avi Hadef Aug 12,2022, 12:35 PM.

* Canon EOS R

* Canon 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Macro Lens

* Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM A (Art) Lens

* BM Premium Camera Power and Care Bundle

* JJC Lens Mount Adapter

After 7 days with no correspondence from Adorama, I contacted Avi Hadef on Aug 19,2022 at 11:03 AM stating the aforementioned gear was confirmed delivered two days prior on Wednesday, August 17th and received by a "SLATER''. Avi Hadef responded the same day with: "Hi! - Package is on our loading dock. We will email you once unloaded. Thanks!."

12 days later, I contacted Avi Hadef with: "Hello, I am requesting an update on the status of my gear. Last correspondence was 12 days ago on August 19th."

Avi Hadef responded: "Hi! Please call Jack at x2107 in about an hour for status update. Thanks!" Adorama trains employees' communicative skills to respond with "in about an hour".

As a business professional, I repeatedly stated, "Email correspondence is required due to travel" but was ignored and urged to call. With that said, I made time to call a "Jack" on September 1st as well as today, September 2nd to no avail. After repeated call attempts (x3) a text message was sent to "Jack".

See the attachment below to review Jack's response.

Adorama has been in possession of my gear, valued at $3000, since August 17th, which is 16 days as of today.

The lack of communication, efficiency, and professionalism of Adorama and its staff has cost me valuable options and time.

Circling back to the attached screenshot, we requested all equipment be shipped back today.

Result: If I do not receive a confirmation email by the end of Monday, September 5th stating my gear is being expedited back to me in the exact order and condition it was received, I will consider this nearly month long correspondence as part of a larger fraudulent business practice and move forward accordingly.

Punchline:

Adorama was only prompt to respond to all correspondence when it was to sell me on selling them my gear; purposefully over-quoting my gear initially in an attempt to gain my confidence to lowball me afterwards. Adorama wasted 5 weeks of my time and returned my equipment carelessly and haphazardly with half of the equipment not wrapped properly, much less professionally.

Adorama is incompetent, uncooperative, fraudulent, and should be investigated.

So I was a fan of adorama for years as they had great sales and good shipment times. I've done a few trade ins without any issues, minus the lowballing they do. I didn't mind that part because I get it, that's business, but this last time I've had a HORRIBLE experience.

I sent in 2 cameras for trade in, in May or June and hadn't heard anything from them. I emailed the first guy I talked to and he told me to call "Jack". Well I called Jack and it took forever to get him on the phone as he rarely answers apparently. I ended up emailing him and received an email back stating to call him at my earliest convenience.

I FINALLY got him on the phone and he told me they hadn't received the camera but an empty envelope instead. I asked why and what could be done since i obviously didn't send an envelope. He said it would be investigated and they'd contact me once there was a resolution after the investigation.

I was able to get him on the phone once again about 2 weeks later. At first he said I sent in some beautiful cameras and named 2 models I didn't send in, so I told him I didn't send those and he put me on hold for awhile. He came back on and said oh yea we got empty envelopes instead of your cameras

I said yes and I was wondering if there was an update on them or the investigation? And he says no it's still being investigated and we'll contact you and abruptly got off the phone.

1. that could've been an honest mixup as far as the putting me on hold, but something felt off, especially with how long i was on hold.
2. He said it was empty envelopeS this time instead of a singular envelope, which I thought was weird. (This was said with an S a few times so doubt it was a mistake)
3. Now no one is answering my calls and I STILL haven't been contacted about this investigation or my cameras and I want to know what is going on?

I would NOT recommend anyone deal with their trade in as their customer service is great prior to sending anything in. They're very nice and lie about the amount you'll receive, and apparently lie about getting your items once they get you to send it in.

Again, this wasn't the first time I've sent something to them, as the first two times went well, besides getting Jack on the phone as he takes forever to answer

SCAM ALERT! DO NOT MAKE LARGE PURCHASES WITH THIS COMPANY! FILING A LAWSUIT!

I originally made a purchase of over $2000 on 04/02 and the package was supposed to be delivered on 04/07, but I never received it. I called to notify Adorama that I didn't receive my purchase and I have been sent on a wild goose chase. They originally told me that I needed to wait 48 hours before they could open a claim with UPS, which is false. Then, after waiting 48 hours they still didn't open a claim until I called two more times over a two-day period. Once I finally reached the "claims department" I was told that I would need to wait 10 more business days for UPS to finish their investigation. I waited 12 business days, with no response. Then I decided to call and get in contact with a supervisor, which is nearly impossible. I was told that I would be called back by a supervisor on two different occasions, and I never received a call. At this point it has been 22 days (16 business days), since starting this journey and it has been the worst experience of my life.

Now that the "UPS Claim" is finished, they now say that they need their own security department to complete an investigation. However, they won't provide a time window or specific date that the investigation will be finished.

While some of their customer service representatives are nice and helpful, the majority of them are not. One specific "claim representative" named Red R. Is extremely rude and belligerent. On all three occasions that I attempted to contact a supervisor, I was only ever transferred to Red R, who is definitely not a supervisor. He then proceeded to raise his voice and argue with me because I nicely asked to speak with his supervisor.

Today, 04/29, I successfully waited nearly 1.5 hours on hold to finally speak with a supervisor named Lance. Lance reviewed my case and said that he "doesn't know how long this will take."

Obviously, with no end in sight, I have had to take matters into my own hands. I am lucky enough to have a colleague that practices e-commerce law and he advised me to file a small claims lawsuit for the purchase and lost wages, which has totaled to around $4300 at this point.

If you are unsure about this company, just go check out their BBB reviews, then make a decision about making a purchase with them. WARNING: You do not want to have to deal with their customer service department. They will give you the run-around to save their money.

Dealing with Adorama has been a nightmare. I decided I was going to purchase a brand new camera and lens using the student discount, which in total made the order roughly $2000. Being a college student, this was a very significant amount of money (it is either way) so I was a little hesitant to make the purchase. I had also decided to purchase a warranty that would cover $2000 dollars worth of camera bodies and lenses, which was very convenient as both the body and lens would be covered. I placed the order in mid-December of last year, and with the shipping, it was expect to arrive within 3 business days. The warranty was digital so it arrived immediately and covered both the body and the lens I had just purchased. I checked the tracking number every day, but there was no indication that the package had even been received by the carrier. I contacted Adorama multiple times to ask about this, but their response was to be patient and check the tracking number every day. 5 days passed and there still had not been any new updates to the shipping, so I contacted an Adorama service rep for about the 3rd time. They claimed that the package had most likely been lost in the mail (doubtful as the carrier would have scanned it as soon as it was received) and said that they would send a replacement. I was already very frustrated because I was expecting it to arrive before a trip I was going to take, but that opportunity had passed. After placing the replacement order I was checking the shipping information daily again. This package had been delayed AGAIN as it was not given to the carrier in a timely manner. I was furious, however I was not as mad as my own mother. She knew that I had worked very hard to save up for this and when I was being treated so poorly by Adorama customer service (they were indifferent and daft), so she had gotten on the phone with a representative and demanded that the replacement be shipped overnight and that I receive some kind of compensation for the trouble. They agreed to ship the camera overnight after nearly an hour and a half on the phone, as well as issuing a $50 refund, which I was very surprised by. I do not think that it made up for the inconvenience they caused, but at least it was something. Also, in order for them to send the second replacement, they required me to pay another $2000 and they would just cancel the original order rather than just modify the shipping on the existing order. They didn't issue the refund for the original order until WEEKS after, which had me very very worried. The camera arrived after the THIRD attempt, which was a relief. The lens and camera were under warranty, which also was relieving. But it was too good to be true. About a month after receiving the camera (which is around 1.5 months after placing the original order) the warranty from the original order was canceled and refunded out of the blue. I had NEVER told anyone to cancel or refund the warranty, so I cannot imagine why it was stopped. I had contacted customer service reps many many many times to try to figure this out, and they were absolutely horrible. One of them accused me of sending a return with an empty box, and then just left the chat! She was threatening me and accusing me of fraud. I called one of their reps on the phone named Roxanne. She said that all I had to do was place an order for a new warranty, and everything would be taken care of. I placed the order, and I waited. Nothing happened for a few days, so I called her back. She said that she would take care of it and that she would follow up with me within a day. Another 3 days passed so I called again. She said she would call me back by the end of the day, but never did. This went on about 2 or 3 more times, and then I told her that if she could not figure the issue out by the end of the week, I would want a refund for the warranty. The end of the week came and I had no refund. I had emailed and called her asking to respond or for some kind of update, but she was totally silent. This is the worst customer service I have ever experience in my life from any company. I beg you to use B&H instead for whatever you need and to avoid these people at all costs. Their customer service is utterly incompetent and does not care about you one bit.

Don't buy used online from them.

I will preface this buy saying that I've had good experience from their rental side. Nothing life changing, but fine. But hoo-boy, take a seat by the fire and let me walk you through what it's like buying online from them.

First time purchasing through their website and so I was starting with something small, just a tripod quick release plate. I live in New York, so I was expecting to get pretty fast. But like the miracle of Hannukah, instead of taking 1 day to put the item in a box and ship it, it takes them 8 magical nights to put the thing in the mailbox. 8 days. But fine, maybe they're backlogged. I don't know their warehouse life.

I get the part. It's the wrong part. I use the chat function on their website, they tell me to call customer support, I do. Turns out the SKU# for the part I ordered was mislabeled in the system. Website says one thing, their system says another.
"Okay, so can I get the part I ordered, then?"
"I am going to send you instructions on how to RMA the part."
"What's that involve?" I swivel in my chair, thinking calm soothing thoughts.
"There's a form for you to fill out and a shipping label so you can return the item." The woman says, in a practiced, measured tone.
"And then I get the part I ordered?"
"Well you'll need to decide if you want it replaced or refunded. Once we receive the item it will take 4-6 days to process the request and if we have the item in stock we will send it to you."
I stop swiveling, something sticks about that last bit. "IF you have it in stock? Well... can you check?"
"Not from here. They will check the status of that item when they have processed your RMA request."
"4-6 days from when I send it."
"From when we receive it, yes."

So let's recap:
-I ordered something.
-A week and a half later I get the wrong thing.
-To get the right part, I need to fill out paperwork, repack the thing, drop it off at a UPS store.
-Wait another week and a half. If I win the inventory lottery, they have the part and will pack it.
-Wait another week and a half.

So in only a month and a half I could get something from a store I can get to by bicycle. Or in only a single month, optimistically, just 4 weeks, mind you, I can get a refund and pretend that it was all just a month long dream.

Seriously. What lousy, wet sharts. Don't even bother.

P.S. Packaging was well done.
P. P.S. Buy something through them and die alone and unhappy.

Suitable site if you want to get good services!

Some amazing deals come through from time to time

Buying all sorts of apparel stuff in here.