DO NOT BUY from PreferredPhoto.com
So I have been wanting a wide-angle lens for years, and after weeks of increasingly-intensive research, I had decided upon a lens. It is a 12-24mm wide-angle lens manufactured by Tokina. It is half the price of Nikon’s own lens, is the only one of it’s competitors to use metal in the zoom aparatus (weighs more, but is sturdier, especially since it is the moving part of the lens), and is actually clearer than Nikon’s at the edges of the image. Typical price: $450-$550.
I found one at one place for $398, “In Stock.” I was thrilled. I could get overnight shipping and have it in time for my fraternity retreat this weekend for cheaper than I could get it with ordinary shipping anywhere else.
I checked to make sure the website URL started with “https” (secure), I entered in my credit card info, clicked overnight shipping, and submitted my purchase. In the coming minutes I received an email confirming my purchase, and telling me that the order takes 2 days for processing. So what the hell did I just pay overnight shipping for?
So I call the company to expedite the ordering delay, as per the email, and am pleased to talk to an American. I tell him my order number and the problem, and he transfers me. The guy I am put on the phone with tells me that the lens is fantastic, and asks if I would like to buy a UV filter for the lens. No big deal, UV filters are commonplace when you buy a camera. I politely tell him I already have one leftover from another lens (a lie, I was going to buy one on eBay for $8).
He then tries to get me to buy a 3-filter set. He says they typically sell for $85 a filter but the 3-pack is $140. This is really quite ridiculous, seeing as you can pay a third of that for a high-quality one on eBay or Amazon. I tell him I’ll pass on that right now.
Then he asks me if I want the US model or the import model. Now, this lens comes in two versions, one for a Nikon camera and one for a Canon camera. Getting suspicious, I inquire as to the nature of the difference. He tells me the import is made of plastic and the US is made of magnesium: far sturdier. Now, in my near-obsessive research I have not encountered anything that would back up this guy’s claim. I tell him to just give me whichever will work with my Nikon D80. He tells me I need the US model. This makes no sense, seeing as the lens is manufactured in Japan by a Japanese company, for use on a Japanese-manufactured camera by a Japanese company. Surprise surprise, the US model costs $100 more. Funny, I didn’t see anything on the website that asked me to choose models. I point this out to him, and he asks me if I want the warranty. The import does not come with a warranty but the US comes with a 1-year warranty. Warranties cost $37 per year. Curious, seeing as Tokina itself guarantees the product for 3 years (I researched, remember?). I tell him I won’t be needing the warranty, and he tells me that the item is not in stock at the moment (contrary to the website, and to everything up to this point). I tell him that I’d like to cancel my order, and in an astonishingly fast manner he says “your order is cancelled have a nice day” and hangs up.
I stare at my email waiting for an email confirming the cancellation, see none, call the company, an demand one. By the time I hang up I have one. So I’m paranoid now that my American Express bill will have a charge from that disgusting company on it.
Due to the value of the item, I am forgoing eBay and went solely with Amazon for this purchase. I will pay no money for shipping, get it in a week or two, and buy through a company I have bought from dozens of times.
The moral: NEVER buy from PreferredPhoto.com. I wish I saw this before I gave these maggots my credit card number:
Have a nice day, and be careful,
Jefferprise
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