Does Adorama suck or did I just draw a bad hand?

I recently sold my Cybersyncs in favor of Skyports. I was having some problems with the Cybersyncs and my Genesis lights so I thought I would give the Skyports a shot.

I bought them from Adorama and decided to save a few bucks by going with open box items. In total I saved around $15. Not a lot but money is money. I assumed that they would inspect the items before sending them to the person that just dropped almost $300 with their company. I was obviously mistaken.

Firstly, a charger was missing. I got a set (transmitter and receiver) which should have had a charger. I got a receiver which should have had a charger. Not the end of the world here, but nothing said that some parts could be missing.

Secondly, the battery in the transmitter was all but dead. Again, not the end of the world, but that knocked my "open box" savings down again.

Thirdly, one of the receivers just shuts off at random. I was testing them out as I haven't used them before and thought they were working beautifully. Then I realized that one of my strobes was set to the optical slave. The receiver had been off the whole time. I turned it on, and switched the OS off. It fired about three times before turning off. I charged both receivers before using them.

This sent me into a level of pissed off that I haven't been in a while. I would think with things the way the are economically companies would be busting a$$ to ensure happy customers.

I have dealt more with B & H and have always been happy. This time around Adorama saved me some money, plus the skyports are on backorder and B & H....is this typical of this "heavyweight in the industry" company??

I emailed them and requested all brand new items for which I would pay the difference but they had to pick up the tab on overnight shipping as I have several jobs coming up. Is that reasonable?

If I bought an open box product, I would not at all be surprised to find some quirks in the product. There is a level of risk involved with open box. I am sure they will accept return or warranty repair, but you should have known that open box does not mean the same as new.

tkbslc wrote in post #9190046
If I bought an open box product, I would not at all be surprised to find some quirks in the product. There is a level of risk involved with open box. I am sure they will accept return or warranty repair, but you should have known that open box does not mean the same as new.

A company like Adorama has a reputation and you place a certain amount of confidence in that reputation. Obviously that was and no longer is my logic.

"

• OB) Open Box Was on display in our retail store, or used once or twice for training our sales associates or returned for any number of reasons."
  

So call Adorama and return it. Problem solved.

Message from Helen, Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador

alabama1980 wrote in post #9190020
......I thought I would give the Skyports a shot........I bought them from Adorama and decided to save a few bucks by going with open box items.
I emailed them and requested all brand new items for which I would pay the difference but they had to pick up the tab on overnight shipping as I have several jobs coming up. Is that reasonable?

I was concerned to read your post; could you email me directly:
elen.oster@adoramacame​ra.com with your order number, and I will sort it out for you.

No, they're great. They will work things out with you...

Almost makes the $15 savings not at all worth it. For that minimal amount, I would have bought new and avoided the aggravation. I've dealt with Adorama on multiple occasions...never had a problem.

Hey I have never bought from Adorama but seeing the post thats three up from here makes think I may need to start doing comparison shopping. Imagine complaining about a product on a message board and someone from the store responds in the thread. And wants to fix it or at the very least investigate the problem for you. Nice Job!

I am a happy Adorama customer....

reason why you see 3+ threads about bad service... because people generally don't make them about how nice of an experience they had... think about it

No problems here.

CW Jones wrote in post #9191947
I am a happy Adorama customer....

reason why you see 3+ threads about bad service... because people generally don't make them about how nice of an experience they had... think about it

And because a lot of people have unrealistic expectations and/or come on here and whine before the company has a chance to resolve it. Sounds like the OP has not even tried to call the company yet.

Dennis_Hammer wrote in post #9191550
Hey I have never bought from Adorama but seeing the post thats three up from here makes think I may need to start doing comparison shopping. Imagine complaining about a product on a message board and someone from the store responds in the thread. And wants to fix it or at the very least investigate the problem for you. Nice Job!

It's not the first time I've seen someone from Adorama respond here to offer to resolve a problem.

I bought my XSi from Adorama, as well as other equipment. I've had good luck and good service from them. (I have no financial interest in them. I'm just a picky consumer.)

I do appreciate Ms. Oster's above and beyond willingness to help. After a few email exchanges I feel confident that the problem will soon be resolved.

I'm sorry that you feel that ordering and receiving a working product from a reputable company is an "unrealistic expectation". In my experience when you order from a reputable company you expect the order to be filled, shipped, and received in a timely manner and in working order. I see nothing unrealistic there if that company is to stay afloat when consumers are being more picky than ever about where to spend their hard earned money.

Customer service isn't about the resolution of a problem. It starts with avoiding it if at all possible. In this case it would have been very possible with a simple test of the unit before it was sent to my door. Resolution is the second chance a company has of keeping a customer, not the first. It's just a result of someone fumbling the first step in the customer service chain.

I do agree with you that perhaps I vented (or "whined" as you put it in your thinly veiled verbal jab...) prematurely. It's been a pissy day and this just added fuel to the fire. I should have waited to get a response tomorrow. I do apologize for coming out with the battle gear on before the trumpet sounded...I haven't done enough business with them to build confidence yet. This thread was a kneejerk response to one of my first few transactions going awry.

As evidenced by responses here, this isn't business as usual for Adorama. I thank those than shared and especially Ms. Oster for responding and offering to help!

I've liked Adorama. I've ordered two bodies from them. I called once for a 40d stock update and got a "Nu Yoaker" salesman attitude but it was resolved and I'm satisfied with them and will order again.

I have bought from Adorama on several occasions with no problems encountered.

"Open Box" items could be risky business. I always shy away from them.
Mike