US 1 Photo

[igbe]

Just wanted to start by saying hi to everyone! This will be our first camcorder but have used many digital cameras over the years. My wife and I decided to get the HV30.

I saw the US1Photo post here and placed my order, Monday the 8th. Order # ZRU-. At this point in time I am not real impressed. That could change if the error is really not on there side. I paid $57.00 for overnight S&H. My order went in about 10:30am my time on Monday and the product did not ship on Monday. Not happy, but I can deal with it.

Expecting an up sale, I figure I would get a call on Tuesday. Since I was in a remote office on Tuesday I really did not have the time to follow up with them. No call, figured it did not ship again. When I got home last night I went though the email for the day and to my surprise I had a shipped e-mail with a tracking #. No up sale of any kind. (GOOD) However, all last night the tracking # only list the the package as billed and not picked up.

I call US1PHOTO this am and talk to CS Michelle and she states "it was sent to ups thats why its in the system". Before I called UPS I went to my shipping manager here and asked about this. I was told that just because you print out a label that does not mean it was shipping or picked up. All you did was transmit that there was to be a shipment.

I then call UPS and Dona tells me nope call the vendor the package was never picked up. There is no pick up scan don't expect to get anything today because we don't have it.

I called back US1PHOTO and talked with Michelle again and explained what was going on and to see if they still had it on location, it's possible the package was missed and was told it was not at location and that it had shipped. They were going to look into the matter.

EDIT:
-----
I get a call back, they have solved my problem. UPS guy just happened to show up yesterday scanned my package but did not take it! The funny part of the story is the UPS guy just happened to be there... and took my package with him today.

To be frank I will withhold finial judgment when I get this shipment. With that said if I wanted to get my package on Thur I would of paid for 2-3 day S&H. Maybe I am not as understanding as I should be but I am real unhappy with them at this point in time. In all my years dealing with UPS I have never had them come to location and not pickup/take packages that were in the pick up area.

Igbe

[kafeero]

I think that because of the great price and reasonable seller rating, many orders are being placed and therefore it is taking them some time to ship. I ordered mine on Thursday and it is still has not been shipped yet. I did not do free shipping which supposedly takes longer.

[ihtesham]

I finally got tracking number over the phone. It shipped yesterday. Not happy that it took several calls and 6 business days (after paying with paypal) to get shipped when item is in stock. In general, their customer service is responsive and polite. They do need to work on order fullfillment process however.

Hoping that camcorder is worth the extra wait.

[terahz]

Hello everybody,

I just ordered one from us1photo and will let you know how it goes. I'm not in a hurry ( my graduation is in a little more than a month) so I don't mind the extra waiting time that seems common with US1 Photo. However I decided not to wait until the last moment to order so I can get used to the camera before the nice events come.

Great forum guys.

[TC41]

I also have the HV30 on order from 6ave.com but they say it will not ship for another week so I decided to give us1photo a try. I called them so I could specifically ask if it was in stock and when it would ship. The salesmen that answered said YES IT WAS IN STOCK and when I said I would like to order it he immediately transferred me to someone to take my order information (cool, I thought that was efficient). After being on hold for 21 minutes (yes, my first clue as to not order the camera – if im on hold that long to just order a camera how long will I be on hold to get any issue resolved) the phone system transferred me back to the main menu and I got a second salesmen. After asking the same question “is it in stock” he said he would check and very quickly came back and said NOPE IT WILL BE 2–3 WEEKS. At least 6th Ave was honest from the beginning, but I’m still waiting.

[ayman86]

i am/was considering buying that hv20 (refurb) from ecost. i got good experiences back in 06. never considered them to be bad other than with rebates back then. but now it seems they have gone south. kinda sucks

[kafeero]

The HV30 is out of stock. My order has been on "ready to ship" status for some time so I called them. They first said that it is going to be shipped probably today. So then I asked them could they check if the HV30 is even in stock. They check the website and tell me it is in stock. I ask them could they could check again. I get put on hold (for less than a minute) while they ask someone. They tell me it is not in stock and will not be for some time.
So I canceled my order.
BTW they raised the price to $814.99. This is for an item thats not even in stock.

[Par]

I ordered last friday and got frustrated as well. Today i got a message that it shipped and UPS confirms that they picked up the package for delivery.

its crazy that it takes one week for them to ship something that is supposed to be in stock. I am glad i was not in a hurry -but i think they don't deserve a good rating due to their slow shipping.

[kafeero]

Must have sold out on Friday cause I ordered on Friday also.

[igbe]

Update:

Even though UPS still shows my package in LOUISVILLE, KY, my wife just called to say the package has come. When I get home I will look it over, take pictures, see if this is a bait and switch, etc.

I will then post a finial update with pictures.

Igbe

[suppafreak]

I ordered the camera from US1PHOTO last Sunday. I paid $789. I called today and they told me that it will be shipped tomorrow, because they ran out of the cameras and new shipment arrives tomorrow. I am not in the rush and if I do not get I cancel the order.

[igbe]

Thats very strange because I ordered my HV30 from US1PHOTO Monday of this week. Just got it today but not home so have not had a chance to look at it.

Igbe

[kafeero]

Thats very strange because I ordered my HV30 from US1PHOTO Monday of this week. Just got it today but not home so have not had a chance to look at it.

Igbe

??
Did you order with faster shipping?

[igbe]

??
Did you order with faster shipping?

Paid for overnight and it did not come overnight thats another story. It did come today, no bait and switch. Will have more to say after I have had a chance to use it.

Igbe

[phillychris]

Got my camera yesterday after much fear. Michelle is a good customer service rep. I liked their price, but they are currently very slow to ship. I had to call a few times to have them correct the shipping address. Funny how the bill-to address was always correct.

Now it's time to use this damned thing and have some fun.

[randomhv20]

Purchased a hv30 on Wednesday, still hasn't shipped. Only paid for regular shipping but............ i want it now ;-(
Just hope it doesn't take too long. Anyone notice that they raised the price in the last couple of days? Hope you guys got your orders in before that.

[previdman]

Ref US1Photo...my experience:
Ordered HV30 online 4/4/08, standard free shipping, $799. Got email confirmation. When I placed the order I noted they stated standard shipping entails a processing delay. I felt as long as they were upfront about it, I could deal with it.

On 4/9/08 received another email stating item was shipped. Immediately checked tracking # and found it was labeled at 6:29 PM but not scanned. Later same day, checked again and it was scanned at 9:43 PM. It left the Edison, NJ UPS station at 1:24 AM on 4/10/07 and is enroute with a scheduled del date of 4/14/08.

During the 5 days between order placement and shipment labeled, I noted they did 2 price drops totaling $15 less than what I paid. They did state price was subject to change, so I wasn't too upset but hey, $15 bucks is $15 bucks. So much for FREE shipping.

Checked again yesterday and saw price jumped to $888 and now I'm happy I ordered when I did.

BOTTOM LINE: If you read their site, they tell you what you need to know to make a good buying decision. I feel they lived up to their disclosures based on the choices I made. Maybe not perfect, but IMHO better than most and good as some. I will probably buy from them again.

PS: Somebody said they were collecting orders before ordering stock to fill them. Maybe that's how they keep their inventories low and cost effective or maybe they don't want to spread their capital out too far in advance of a constantly changing marketplace. I don't know but in my case, even though I didn't like waiting, I knew what to expect and most important of all, no surprises... yet. I'll post a follow up on actual receipt of my camera.

[kafeero]

I did not have a good experience with us 1 photo. I detailed my procedure above. Either they were saying that a non existent item was ready to ship or they said an item in stock was out of stock. Either way they were dishonest. Apparently they were in stock. Then I canceled my order for nothing.
I would not deal with this company. If you are willing to pay less and take a risk then just buy an hv20 or used hv30 (if any).
BTW sorry for the venting

[previdman]

I understand your frustration and anger. I was on pins and needles waiting for the bait and switch shoe drop. Guess I was either lucky or you were just unlucky. Sorry for your bad online experience. I can relate, as I've had a few of my own. And since I haven't actually received my HV30 a yet, it remains to be seen whether or not I'm going to have another one. Fingers crossed, I'll post a follow up. Sorry, I hate smilies but they're so tempting. See?

[ihtesham]

I'm also expecting delivery on 4/14. I noticed that some people who placed their order after me received the HV30 already but thats fine. Can't wait till Monday...

[previdman]

I'm also expecting delivery on 4/14. I noticed that some people who placed their order after me received the HV30 already but thats fine. Can't wait till Monday...

Yes, if I have any problem with US1Photo it would be the fact they seem to process orders based on how much extra (for order processing) you're willing to pay. I think they should expedite all orders and let any premiums reflect actual delivery options, not their processing time.

I don't agree with offering a low price and trying to make it up by charging you for faster order processing. It's like putting price levels on customer service.

But if making their extra profit on the customer's desire for faster processing, at least they give you a choice and are upfront about it. For me, I'll take the slower, free processing to get the price I want.

And if you think about it, it's no different when we charge a rush charge to move a client's project ahead of others. If they're willing to pay it, I'm inclined to accommodate them.

[terahz]

I was on the phone with US1photo just now asking about my order and the rep said their last order of hv30s arrived half damaged and instead of them testing which ones were good and which one were bad, they returned the order and have received the new one on Friday, so my order "will be shipping today or tomorrow the latest". I placed my order on Wednesday.

[phillychris]

I will not order from them again. There's something about going to your local video dealer I guess. I was worried sick about the delivery.

Chris

[previdman]

I was on the phone with US1photo just now asking about my order and the rep said their last order of hv30s arrived half damaged and instead of them testing which ones were good and which one were bad, they returned the order and have received the new one on Friday, so my order "will be shipping today or tomorrow the latest". I placed my order on Wednesday.

Mine should be coming today and I'll post a follow up. So far, everything has been as stated, including order and shipping expectations. But please keep us informed as to when you actually get your order.

And to phillychris: I know there's a lot of unreputable dealers out there but you admitted to having a good experience with US1Photo CS rep, Michelle. Not saying I can't get burned 'cause I have in the past but, with all due respect, from your posts, it sounds like your worrying was mostly self-inflicted.

[Edge73]

Mine should be coming today and I'll post a follow up. So far, everything has been as stated, including order and shipping expectations. But please keep us informed as to when you actually get your order.

And to phillychris: I know there's a lot of unreputable dealers out there but you admitted to having a good experience with US1Photo CS rep, Michelle. Not saying I can't get burned 'cause I have in the past but, with all due respect, from your posts, it sounds like your worrying was mostly self-inflicted.

Uh...no, previdman.... chris is the smart one because of realizing that he bought from a bunch of scumball New York street punks. That would worry anyone sick. Maybe you should read the horror stories about these jokers.