Nikon D70-Amazing Price! Look!

Balin64 said:

I was shopping for a D70 Kit; here's the lowest price I found: look at the screenshot. Only 549.00 for the body AND lens! At least 300 less than other prices I found. I thought it was a mistake, but I completed the order, and the same price is listed!

The vendor is A&M photoworld. I have seen their ads before in print mags, so I know they're legit...

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Nice! Let us know how you like it when you get it! Hmmm....D70....Mmmm....

google amphotoworld, and you'll see theres a lot of complaints about that site!

Just what a few people said from price.com vendor review of AM Photoworld:

BEWARE! Bait and switch! I ordered a panasonic minidv camcorder at an unbelievable price. Had to call the following day to verify my address and was put through a high pressure sales pitch to buy accessories at ridiculous prices. I declined to buy anything else and the next day was told the camcorder was on back order. After 3 weeks it is now discontinued but they have a new model for $200 more! Customer service was also VERY RUDE. I will never buy from them.
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If I could give a lower rating I would. Do not use this vendor under any circumstance. They are a complete scam. Bait and switch tactics. DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THEIR LOW PRICE! STAY AWAY!!!
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These guys are a total sham. Order at great price & they force you to call in for bogus verification. Salesman then uses hard sell to tell you camera has 20min battery and 2h will run only $40 more today. I asked about it & the included battery was an oem sony one w/ a rating of about 2.5hrs, not 20min. They then try and sell you memory stick and recharger. I declined all & they got real mad, agree to send it to me & hung up. Then the next day I get an email stating it's on backorder. I call up & they say I bought the import version & it's gonna be 3-4wks, but they have the us version for only $120 more & $40 more than the new current raised web price! Then I send em an email stating that this is a breach of contract. No response yet. Maybe I should call up and ask for an upgrade to the Canadian model? Never buy from these scam artists. They lie and will only ship if you pay xtra for all the stuff in the box! This is the worst online shopping vendor ever. They need to ES&D!
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Beware, this vendor is a scam. They offer digital cameras at very low prices and after receiving the order, somebody would call you to sell accessories. If you do not buy any, they would tell you that the item is back ordered, which would never be received. If you order the accessories, the pricing would be close to retail. The Customer service sucks. They tell lies. They do not reply to your email even after sending them reminders. I would never shop here.

Why in the world would anyone even think that a new product advertised at half the going price is going to be complete, new or real, or otherwise a good value?

Not saying anything about the particular vendor (but see the links for others' opinions), the camera industry is plagued with sharp operators who will:

* Sell you a camera at a low price, but remove the battery, strap, software, instruction manual, and everything else that normally comes with the product, then sell those pieces to you individually at inflated prices.

* Advertise a price as new, but sell used, reconditioned, returned, "B" Stock or damaged product.

* Advertise a low price, then when you buy it, call you back with a hard-sell pitch to sell you all kinds of accessories at inflated prices. If you don't buy the additional junk and double your expenditure, you'll find that your order has suddenly gone missing, or therer is a "problem" with your card, or the camera is out of stock and will be backordered for 6 months or is a foreign version (see below) and you have to pay more to get the North American version.

* Sell gray-market cameras - product that has been brought in from a foreign country and not purchased through the manufacturer's authorized wholesaler. These will often have manuals and labels not in English, and often will not be covered by the manufacturer's warranty. One tipoff is if they say the warranty is covered by themselves or by "the importer" rather than the original manufacturer.

* Selling sub-standard goods with punitive shipping and restocking policies, so that it costs you bigtime to return it and get your money back.

ALWAYS read through the reviews on epinions.com and resellerratings.com

A&M Photoworld rated a six month approval average of 0.61 out of 10 (Yes, no typo, Less than 1 out of 10)
http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1988.html

A&M seemingly are not on epinions.

Some companies remove themselves from the ratings entirely if they are being called on their games, other companies change their name frequently to avoid the taint of their former sins. Any big US mail order dealer should have an epinions rating, if they don't there must be a reason.

You can ignore any glowing reviews of praise. Think about it - are you impressed that the company charged what they said they would charge, and delivered a product in good condition in the amount of time they said they would? No, that's what EVERY seller should do EVERY time.

Some of the shady dealers will bribe buyers to give them a great report, and some reports are outright shills. Read the bad ones and look for a pattern. An occasional screwup happens to every seller, and they should put it right, so the occasional flame isn't indicative. But a consistent pattern even of 10% of the reviews showing the above behaviour should warn you away.

Lastly: Be hesitant to post a "great deal" publicly until you have done the legwork to see if it is true or not. A more appropriate post would be "Has anyone had experience with this seller".

jamdr said:

BEWARE! Bait and switch! ... I would never shop here.

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Just to be clear, is this your personal experience or is it a copy and paste from a website? I'm not disagreeing with your intent, but it would be good if the post was better referenced.

Balin64 said:

I was shopping for a D70 Kit; here's the lowest price I found: look at the screenshot. Only 549.00 for the body AND lens! At least 300 less than other prices I found. I thought it was a mistake, but I completed the order, and the same price is listed!

The vendor is A&M photoworld. I have seen their ads before in print mags, so I know they're legit...

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find the ads for Broadway Photo in the magazines. Same company and their service is terrible. Watch out so you dont get a grey market camera not covered by a US warranty.

If the price is that low, there has got to be a catch. they will try and sell you something more with the camera, and if you dont buy anything, they will hold you hostage and ship your camera a LOOOOOONG time after you order. TRUST ME, I GOT SUCKERED IN BY THIS COMPANY!

Dont buy from them!

google in a storefront search for these companies.. You will see why you wouldnt want to buy from them. The pictures of the storefronts are nothing more than a boarded up delapitated building.

I am glad to hear you're getting a D70, I love mine...not as much as my F4, but that is film vs digital blah.

You should NEVER buy anything from an online retailer unless you first check them out. http://www.resellerratings.com is pretty much my very best friend. Also http://www.bbb.org will give you some great insight into how a company works. While some here may want to say "oh well was this YOUR experience?" NO!!! It doesn't have to be. Facts in this case DO NOT LIE! Yes, you've been taken like thousands (if not more) others. Do you have to cancel your card? Not really, but I think I would do it...it'd be overkill, but I'd do it. These people are not known to steal your credit card number for other purchases. They are known for the good old "hey you should buy this" and then suddenly the camera is backordered.

What happens is they sell you a $1000 body for $700, sell you $300 in **** that they had sitting around and then buy the camera grey market. You will get your lovely digital camera and it'll be a grey market camera. Something will go wrong with it, you'll send it in for something and Nikon will tell you.

You should never buy grey market camera bodies (digital that is). You want that US Warranty if you are in the US.

It sucks, I know. But it's fact. I have been taken by Broadway photo on a 2GIG card when they were the newest cards around. They put $850 on hold (the card was far less) and then told me I needed card holders, bags, lens wipes...all kinds of craps. Nonetheless, I filed a complaint with the state, (their state), opened a case with the FBI, posted on resellerratings.com, filed a complaint with the BBB, and closed my bank account. They ended up sending me 4 512mb cards, not the high-speed cards, the 4x Lexars that are useless to me because they take longer to write. I sent them back (after cooking them) with a note that said "too little too late have fun in jail you fool." They called me, made some threat; I called the cops, end of story.

All in all it took about 3 weeks to get the money off hold, lucky for me it wasn't my primary account so nothing happened to me such as bounced checks and such.

If you are getting something brand new for hundreds less than the real cost then it is a scam. NOTHING in this word will be $300 off new when they are still selling like hotcakes at $1000 a pop.

On a different note..

Congrats on the purchase, i've been after a D70 for about 6 months now, but I cant afford it.

However Nikon UK are going to release the D50 and a slightly upgraded D70 at the end of the month. The D50 is like a cut down/cheaper D70 (to compete with the new canon digi rebel whatever), but we'll have to wait and see how cut down it is

I'm not sure whats going to be included in the improved D70 (rumoured to be the D70S), but it'll be out of my price range anyway.

Well done on choosing Nikon over Canon.. a good choice in my biased opinion (yes i'm biased so dont flame me)

pulsewidth947 said:

However Nikon UK are going to release the D50 and a slightly upgraded D70 at the end of the month. The D50 is like a cut down/cheaper D70 (to compete with the new canon digi rebel whatever), but we'll have to wait and see how cut down it is

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Oooh, anyone know if this camera is coming stateside?

mkrishnan said:

Oooh, anyone know if this camera is coming stateside?

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Should be released around the world at the same time. Working in a camera shop though, we have not heard anything about just when they will ship.

jessica. said:

If you are getting something brand new for hundreds less than the real cost then it is a scam. NOTHING in this word will be $300 off new when they are still selling like hotcakes at $1000 a pop.

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The old adage is, that is something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

Chip NoVaMac said:

The old adage is, that is something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

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It always is.

pulsewidth947 said:

Congrats on the purchase, i've been after a D70 for about 6 months now, but I cant afford it.

However Nikon UK are going to release the D50 and a slightly upgraded D70 at the end of the month. The D50 is like a cut down/cheaper D70 (to compete with the new canon digi rebel whatever), but we'll have to wait and see how cut down it is

I'm not sure whats going to be included in the improved D70 (rumoured to be the D70S), but it'll be out of my price range anyway.

Well done on choosing Nikon over Canon.. a good choice in my biased opinion (yes i'm biased so dont flame me)

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The D70s seems to be mostly software oriented upgrades. I haven't seen anything about mpix, though it is possible they'll upgrade that. I saw a manual, and it still lists it as 6mp, possible that manual wasn't done, as it was placed online in error. The body and such is the same, and it has a 2.0" LCD replacing the 1.8" it had previously.

It adds the new color spaces that the D2x and D2hs have, and it has the same noise reduction features as the D2x. I'm thinking it's possible that the D70s could be around 8mp. Which makes sense to me as the D50 would be 6mp.

The D50 is very interesting to me. It'll be a MUCH smaller D70 lookalike, will still beat the old digital rebel feature-wise, and will be around $599 with an 18-55 3.5-5.6 lens. That's a great deal. It doesn't, curiously, have the front command dial, which would limit it to Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority or Program mode-- no fully automatic, which could be a big deal. Funny that they didn't scrimp on features, but it seems they scrimped with the modes. Then again, it's essentially a P&S with the ability to change lenses so... but at $599, undercutting the rebel by $100, it'll be hard to beat. And i'm sure the cheap kit lens will still outdo the rebel kits, given how much the 18-70 trounced the 18-55 canon kit lens.

Given some things i'm hearing lately about a D200, this kinda of product lineup would make sense:

D50. 6mp. Competes with DRebel MK I. 6mp.
$599 (n) v. $699 (c)

D70s. 8mp hopefully. Competes with DRebel mk II and new DRebel.
$1199 with 18-70 (n) v. $999 with mediocre kit lens (DRebel mk II)

OR

$1199 with 18-70 (n) v. $1599 with better kit lens (20D)

THEN

The D200. This is the product whose brochure didn't make it online. Nikon has said "5 new DSLRs in 2005". So far, we've had the D2x, the D2hs, and we know about the D50 and D70s. Why not make it golden three? They're doing the D200. It'll be out in June.

D200. 10mp d2x styled CMOS. 4.5 fps. F100 style body (think d70 merged with D2 series with slightly less rugged body). ISO 100-1600. HI-1 & 2 (3200 & 6400 equiv) 1/250 flash sync, with a new 18-90mm AF-S VR kit lens for $1799. I'd line up and down to buy one of these.

So basically, following Nikon releasing a superior cam to BOTH the 10d and DRebel (at the time) in the D70, Nikon gives us the D50 to fend off the DRebel mk I. The D70s to fend off the new Drebel and 20D, and the D200 to bridge the gap between the 20D and the 1d mk II.

I think given that most advanced amateurs who AREN'T pros want a fully-featured pro body with a higher-end build, Nikon would be smart to release this. And it seems they are.

Anyway, the moral of the story? There's no nikonrumors.com. So i'd wait a few weeks, until end of April to buy, as things could get VERY interesting in the DSLR world. Hell, if a D70s comes out at 8mp, It'll drop the 6mp D70's price down to around $700 with kit i'd think, which is a KILLER deal, consider I paid $1799 for my D100 2 years ago!

Oh. And DO NOT buy from amphoto.com. As said earlier, it's a brooklyn bait and switch

AM Photo Horror Story

A&M's Storefront



Avoid 'em!

thanks for all that info moxiemike!

i start a new job on monday so *maybe* i will finally be able to afford the D70 after all. just have to factor in the price of the D70 with kit lens 1 (18-70) the cheap zoom (70-300?) and the f1.8 50mm lens .. ends up being quite expensive!

although theres not much point speculating on what might actually be missing from the D50, i cant help it - providing the modes you mention are there, the D50 seems pretty good too me. i just need good manual features a bit further down the line.

then again i can use the darkroom at work so i guess i should move onto film.. meh dilemas!

*incidentaly the shop on the right hand side of the picture - looks like "Adult Mattresses" with the mattress outside. curious - what exactly constitues an adult mattress

pulsewidth947 said:

... curious - what exactly constitues an adult mattress

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It's over 21 years old

Yes, thanks for the great info, Moxiemike... I wonder if there might be a digital camera rumors site? I'm still in the Fuji S3000 (3MP) world, but someday I hope to be able to use a DSLR.

I had a great experience with Broadway Photo 2 years ago when I ordered my Canon s400 digital elph. They called me the next day to sell me extra things, I said no, then a few days later my camera arrived. New and has been a fantastic camera.
THEN:
I though it I would order my Panasonic PVGS 70 camcorder through them and it was a nightmare. I refused any extras on the call back and was told the camera was on backorder. Basically the story from there on was just like the ones that the previous posters experienced. They told me what I ordered was not the US version, etc. They never did ship the camera and I cancelled my order. By the way, they were so rude and mean, I was in tears at the end of the phone call.

Never again will I do business with this scam outfit.

B and H Photo and Video may not always have the cheapest prices (by 10%), but there is no BS and I always get exactly what I ordered.

Usually next day.

I've spent a good $9,000 with them and will continue to give them my business.

Check out this site for storefront of the so called "DEALERS", it will make you think twice...

STORE FRONTS

CanadaRAM said:

Just to be clear, is this your personal experience or is it a copy and paste from a website? I'm not disagreeing with your intent, but it would be good if the post was better referenced.

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Yeah, your right, I was just in a hurry. I wasn't speaking for myself, that's just what I read on a review site. There are many more just like that.

They are releasing two new models next week...

iris_failsafe said:

They are releasing two new models next week...

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Have rumored information that the two cameras will be officially announced this week. All I can say is based on the rumors is that one will ship in May and the other later. Also people will be not disappointed in buying the D70 with the current rebates.

That is all I can say at this point.