I unknowingly placed an order for a Pioneer Z2 on their website. Then later that day, I get an email asking me to call them to verify my billing information. When I called at 10am (est) they were still closed. When I finally got through, the guy said that I needed to purchase extended warranty. I told him that I was only interested in the item and not the warranties. He then started to call me "stupid" and a "f*cking idiot" if I did not buy the warranties being offered. He used profanity and was totally rude. The words in the quotation marks are the actual words that he used. When I once again told him that I was only interested in the product and that I was totally appaled by the way that he spoke to his customers, he said again said that I was a "f*cking idiot", he was cancelling the order, and slammed the phone. When I tried to call again to speak to a manager or supervisor, I was transferred to an answering machine. When my wife called again, the guy screamed at my wife saying that the order was cancelled and hung up on her before she could finish talking. When we called again, this guy said that he was a supervisor and that he would try to find out who had taken care of the previous calls and would fire him on the spot. He then said that the product was out of stock. Afterwards I google "the camera professionals" and there were horrible reviews and complaints for this place. Everything that everyone else has posted is true, step-by-step. BBB has more than several complaints on them and has it listed as: "The business has an UNSATISFACTORY record with the BBB." STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE!!! I now hope that they stay away from my Credit Card!

The site looked legit and professional, so we placed the order using my credit card. It stated that before the sale was final I must phone them to authorize the purchase, so I did so right away. After waiting on hold for almost 25 minutes to talk to a person, he came on and asked me to verify my credit card number and give him the 3 digit number on the back of the card as they usually do when you buy something online.

Then he proceeded to tell me the following...

First he told me that the camera did not come with a battery or charger and told me I could add them to my order... $150.00 for the battery and $100.00 for the charger. I told him I had a battery for my other camera and he told me they were not compatible, but I knew I could get them cheaper somewhere else, so told him no thank you.

Then he asked if I would like to buy lenses for this camera that were made of glass, as the ones that came with my "good bargain" were plastic and would distort the picture. I told him I had lenses for my other Nikon camera and again he told me they were not compatible and for another $350.00 I could have the glass lenses. I told him no thank you.

Then the clincher of the story...

He asked me if I would like to purchase the LCD viewer so I could look at my pictures as I took them on the back of my camera. I got upset at that point, and said you mean to tell me that this camera has no back screen that I can view my pics on???!!! He said that it was true and for $275.00 I could add that feature as well. I told him no, I would view my pictures online and then he said I could not buy the "good bargain" camera if I did not buy the viewer as they could not be sold separately. At this point I would not have bought a stick of gum from this jerk, and told him to cancel the order. He said he could not do that, and begged me not to cancel. I handed the phone to my husband and after hearing his garbage, he told him to cancel the order, but to give me a verification number and handed the phone back to me. By that time, the guy hung up.

I immediately called my credit card company and reported the incident and told them not to accept any order from that company. After thinking about it, I feared the salesman would use my card so I called back the credit card company and asked that they cancel that account.

This was by far the worst shopping experience I have ever had. From beginning to end they proved to be dishonest and incompetent; it is amazing they have stayed in business as long as they have! The fiasco started on June 11, when I placed an order for a Canon Xti (for which I specified two day shipping). During that conversation, sales reps were rude and unprofessional but I decided, with great hesitation, to purchase the camera anyway. After reading about other peoples' experiences with "the camera professionals" I became very uneasy about this company and decided to call and cancel the order in the morning.

At 10:00 AM on June 12 (when customer service opens), I called and waited on hold for twenty minutes. When I was finally connected with my sales rep I attempted to cancel the order but was told that it had already been shipped, though strangely, the company was unable to give me a tracking number for that package when I asked. Given what would have been $243 restocking fee for my order, it was certainly in their best interest to say it had already been sent.

The following day when I received the package, I called UPS to track when it had left "the camera professionals" warehouse the day before. As I suspected, "the camera professionals" had in fact lied to me on the phone; the camera was shipped out eight hours after my cancellation phone call.

Without even opening the box, I took the camera to the post office and paid for insurance and delivery confirmation. On June 16th, I had another phone conversation with "the camera professionals" and was promised that my card would be recredited the day the camera arrived. According to USPS the package was received by the camera professionals on June 18th. Despite three conversations with them over the next three weeks, nothing changed. Not surprisingly, during my last conversation with them I was told that my name was no longer in their system. On July 11th, after hours of hassle, the money was recredited.

Ultimately, the company the company did not charge me a restocking fee, but the entire process was frustrating and dishonest. I can imagine that many people just give up... As Brian Regan would say, "Never, ever, ever, ever, ever ever" even think about doing business with this company. Be sure to listen to the sound clip below - pay special attention to how unsure the sales rep sounded when asked for the tracking number. That's my favorite part

http://www.angelfire.com/indie/fleming/thecameraprofessionals.html.

This company totally scams people. I ordered a Canon HDV camera for their price of $60 - about $150 lower than competitors. When my order was processed, I got an email saying I had to confirm by phone. Once on the phone, the salesperson said I'd have to pay $150 extra for the battery and charger (which comes with the camera from Canon). I said I'd pass on the battery and charger because I could get them on the internet for about $40. They never delivered the camera, saying it was backordered, even though their website continued to list them. They never charged my credit card. I believe that because I didn't fall for their scam they just blew off the order. I contacted the NY Better Business Bureau, who seemed not to take any action because I didn't actually lose money. But it was a hassle, and not long after I gave these people my credit card number, the card came up with some bogus charges and I had to cancel the card.

Avoid these people at all costs. BTW, I've dealt with B&H for years and think they're great.

Ordered a camera from The Camera Professionals. Went through all the hoopla of confirming the next day and was told it was in stock and I should receive within 4 days. Hadn't heard from the company for over a week, meanwhile they had my money. They do not respond to e-mails nor are they open per hours posted on their website. Purchased a camera from CC and had to return, got a refund minus restocking fee on account that I finally was able to speak to someone and finding out that my camera had been shipped. Prior to not knowing if the camera was shipped, I went to my bank in an attempt to stop payment after e-mailing The Camera Professionals to cancel my order. Received my camera today and it was not new. Upon opening the outer carton, inside was a white box. For those of you savvy shoppers know, anything in a white box is not new and most likely a refurbish. The camera was taped in a sheet of bubblewrap. The tape is of the cheap variety that you can find for 50 cents a roll. This was inserted into a poly bag with the same tape. The strap was also taped using the same. The battery was used evident by wear contact marks. Tje camera LCD has a blemish on it. Manuals were present however no warranty card. Does this not raise a red flag? I have e-mailed the company, which bythe way is Mega Wholesale and the name of the sender is Simon Silver (probably fictitious). I doubt that they will respond to my e-mail and those of you that have dealt with this company know how difficult it is to speak with anyone. To make a long story short, if you are lucky they will send you a Return Authorization and pay the shipping charges plus a minimum 15% restocking fee on a used camera. On another note I would advise you to close your debit card after the transaction goes through. Read the many complaints online regarding this company which also has 3 other names. If I could, I would post pictures of the box and contents. Companies such as this should be closed and not be able to take advantage of consumers. It is too late for those of us that have already been duped and stuck with shoddy merchandise.