jgc@panda.UUCP (Joseph G. Chin) (04/14/87)
Has anyone ever dealt with 47th St. Photo in New York? I ordered something from them and have been waiting for the past FOUR weeks! They keep telling me that the item is in and I should receive it in 2 to 3 days. NOTHING! I can't even get thru to them on their phone lines! Has anyone ever had these problems with them? I can't even get thru to cancel the order! Thanks, Joe
dragheb@isis.UUCP (04/15/87)
In article <2700@panda.UUCP> jgc@panda.UUCP writes: > > Has anyone ever dealt with 47th St. Photo in New York? I > ordered something from them and have been waiting for the past > FOUR weeks! They keep telling me that the item is in and I should > receive it in 2 to 3 days. NOTHING! I can't even get thru to them > on their phone lines! Has anyone ever had these problems with them? > I can't even get thru to cancel the order! > I ordered a printer from them and received within a week (this was about 5 years ago). I also have some friends that ordered lots of camera equipment with no problems. The reason their phone lines are so busy is not because they don't answer, but because they are so busy (I went their last time I was in NY and the place was PACKED!). So, I have had pretty good results with those guys in the past... -- Functionality, Efficiency, Luxury. isis!dragheb | dragheb@isis.cs.du.edu
hjg@bunker.UUCP (04/15/87)
In article <2700@panda.UUCP> jgc@panda.UUCP writes: > > Has anyone ever dealt with 47th St. Photo in New York? I > ordered something from them and have been waiting for the past > FOUR weeks! They keep telling me that the item is in and I should > receive it in 2 to 3 days. NOTHING! I can't even get thru to them > on their phone lines! Has anyone ever had these problems with them? > I can't even get thru to cancel the order! > I recently ordered a disk for a PC from them. I pre-paid by credit card, and had the disk within 1 week. I have heard, however, that COD orders take considerably longer. Also, on orders pre-paid by check, I think they wait for the check to clear. On out of town checks, they may wait as long as 1 or 2 statement cycles from _their_ bank, making sure the check wasn't bounced. (No reflection on jgc!). Any one else have any ideas? Harry Gross ..!bunker!hjg
gemini@homxb.UUCP (Rick Richardson) (04/16/87)
In article <1759@isis.UUCP>, dragheb@isis.UUCP (Darius "OPRDRT" Ragheb) writes: > In article <2700@panda.UUCP> jgc@panda.UUCP writes: > > > > Has anyone ever dealt with 47th St. Photo in New York? I > > ordered something from them and have been waiting for the past > > FOUR weeks! > > I ordered a printer from them and received within a week (this > was about 5 years ago). I also have some friends that ordered > lots of camera equipment with no problems. I've had mixed results: an EGA monitor I ordered from them didn't arrive in 5 weeks, even though it was "in stock". I cancelled, but I was glad it didn't come anyway - during the interim the Multisync came out and I wanted one of those instead. A copier I ordered came in 2 weeks, which I found acceptable, especially since I ordered it the week before XMAS. The phone lines are always busy - I think that's cause they are very well known, and have reasonably good prices. Rick Richardson, PC Research, Inc: (201) 922-1134 ..!ihnp4!castor!pcrat!rick when at AT&T-CPL: (201) 834-1378 ..!ihnp4!castor!polux!rer
keast@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP (04/17/87)
In article <1938@bunker.UUCP> hjg@bunker.UUCP (Harry J. Gross) writes: >In article <2700@panda.UUCP> jgc@panda.UUCP writes: >> >> Has anyone ever dealt with 47th St. Photo in New York? I >>[...symptoms of bad service...] > >[...description of decent service...] > Any one else have any ideas? Between myself, the rest of my family, and a previous employer, I've purchased $15,000 of miscellaneous video and computer equipment from 47th St. Photo/Computer. The service is uniformly slow -- about 2 weeks on the average, but very reliable. I trust 47th more than any other mail order firm I've done business with. And, yes, placing an order is excruciatingly painful, but only because it takes about two days (mild exaggeration) to get past the busy signals. As hjg said, this is not because the phones are off the hook, but because of the volume of business they do. (must be nice) If all one needs is a 'good'(not great) price, and two week average delivery, you can't beat 47th St. And you can bank on the fact that they will be in business long enough to deliver you order. (Not an inconsequential concern either. I'm currently an 'unsecured creditor' of another mail order firm who went out of business before my order was shipped.) You can always find lower prices than 47th's, but 47th's are always in the ballpark. If you need fast service try LogicSoft. They'll FedX same day as order. I've had good luck with these guys too. BTW - No relation to 47th, LogicSoft, etc.-- ======================================+================================= UUCP: ..!harvard!bu-cs!bucsf!keast | ARPANET: keast@bucsf.bu.edu CSNET: keast%bucsf@bu-cs | Kenneth East @ Boston University ======================================+=================================
vizard@dartvax.UUCP (04/17/87)
<munch> After all this talk, anyone want to supply a phone number or address? Todd Krein vizard@dartvax
cmaag@csd4.milw.wisc.edu (Christopher N Maag) (04/20/87)
My experience with the company was not a real good one. I placed an order for the place I worked for that was for about $15,000 worth of Apple and IBM computer equipment. I had to use a certified company check for the order, and the order-taker I was working with acted as though he would rather have me cancel the order if I couldn't pay with some other method. It then took them over three weeks to ship the order, in spite of the fact that I had been assured that the order would go out within a week, etc. When I called to check on the status of the order, it was like pulling teeth to get a straight answer. I also seem to remember that the only was I ever could get through to the place was to call the toll number, i.e. not the 800 number. This incident occured about 13 months ago, so maybe they have changed their ways. One good note -- I was able to dicker with them quite a bit on the price of the various equipment. I suspect that their advertised prices are not as firm as they would like you to think.
pxd3563@ritcv.UUCP (Patrick A. Deupree) (04/21/87)
Here is what I have heard about 47th St. Photo. I have heard that, if
you send back something that is defective, they tend to put the defective item
back on the shelf and hope that the next person that gets it does not have a
problem.
This is merely something that I have heard. Here is what I know about
47th St. Photo, and just for the record I used to work for the IBM Product
Centers/NYNEX Business Centers so I know what I am talking about. For one,
you will get a great price, possibly the best, on real IBM PC's. However,
you have to consider a few things. When you get this computer there is NO
warranty on that computer. 47th St. buys computer grey market, which means
that they are sort of second hand. Once that computer leaves the original
Authorized Dealer a clock starts ticking and the warranty eats away. Although
this does not matter because you have to go through an Authorized Dealer to
get your warranty honored, and if you did not buy from an Authorized Dealer
then no other Authorized Dealer has to help you at all. You can not even
go to IBM for help because they will just say, "Sorry, it is out of our hands.".
However, this is not to say you can't get it fixed. It will just be extremely
tough. The other big problem is the non-IBM parts they use. Just because the
computer they sell you is IBM, it does not mean that the interfaces are also.
They have a tendency to use generic parts in there (and I mean really generic).
These cause a problem with servicing also. If you get an authorized dealer to
service the thing and you do (by some miracle) have some way to cash in on
a warranty, that is only for IBM parts. They will see the generic parts and
say "Gee, the computer works fine. It must be these generic parts that we
can't service here.".
So, if you really want the cheap computer I would:
1) make sure you have someone that can fix it
2) buy it bare and get the cards elsewhere
3) look into large order discounts, or special business discounts
But, after working for IBM and having to deal with customers that
bought from 47th St., I would go elsewhere. It is company policy for the
NYNEX Business Centers and the IBM tech support not to deal with
people who purchased from non-authorized dealers. And believe me, there have
been some people who were mighty upset when they found this out.
nclee@sbcs.UUCP (Nai Chi Lee) (04/22/87)
> Here is what I have heard about 47th St. Photo. I have heard that, if >you send back something that is defective, they tend to put the defective item >back on the shelf and hope that the next person that gets it does not have a >problem. I can tell you from experience that this is true. My uncle once bought a Compaq portable from them. He received it from their warehouse in a sealed box, but the machine was DOA and it was clearly a returned unit as some packaging material were missing. Personally, I dislike their salesmen's attitude (but then, those people in Computerland are no better). I can usually get better prices/service from those small PC-clone shops in NYC and Queens. CSNET: nclee@sbcs.csnet ARPA: nclee%suny-sb.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa UUCP: {allegra, hocsd, philabs, ogcvax} !sbcs!nclee "It is difficult to make something foolproof because fools are so ingenious." [Anon]
ben@catnip.UUCP (Bennett Broder) (05/08/87)
In article <289@ritcv.UUCP> pxd3563@ritcv.UUCP (Patrick Deupree) writes: > Here is what I know about >47th St. Photo, and just for the record I used to work for the IBM Product >Centers/NYNEX Business Centers so I know what I am talking about. If you're an IBM product center employee who knows what he/she is talking about, you are certainly the first one I've encountered. The product center charges list price for items they sell under the premise that they provide "technical know-how," but all the personnel I've had the opportunity to speak with don't a darn thing. An example is a salesgirl who thought Xenix was a space-war game. (Which just for your edification, it isn't) >you will get a great price, possibly the best, on real IBM PC's. However, >you have to consider a few things. When you get this computer there is NO >warranty on that computer. Wrong. 47th street photo not only provides a warranty, but provides one that is better than IBM's. It is offered through Xerox, and features on-site repairs for customers in NYC. > 47th St. buys computer grey market, which means >that they are sort of second hand. I have purchased many products from 47th street; none have shown any indication of being used. If you also buy ancillary equipment, they will open the box to install and test it, but will gladly ship the equipment untouched upon your request. (They do open the carton to remove the IBM warranty information and insert their own) I applaud 47th street photo in that they tell you right up front that their machines are grey market, and provide an alternative warranty. > Once that computer leaves the original >Authorized Dealer a clock starts ticking and the warranty eats away. Although >this does not matter because you have to go through an Authorized Dealer to >get your warranty honored, and if you did not buy from an Authorized Dealer >then no other Authorized Dealer has to help you at all. You can not even >go to IBM for help because they will just say, "Sorry, it is out of our hands.". A non-issue, the Xerox service is both better and faster than that provided by the semi-competent techs who work in the back rooms at most authorized dealers. These geniuses think the smallest replacable component in a PC is the motherboard. >However, this is not to say you can't get it fixed. It will just be extremely >tough. The other big problem is the non-IBM parts they use. Just because the >computer they sell you is IBM, it does not mean that the interfaces are also. >They have a tendency to use generic parts in there (and I mean really generic). Do you mean that they substitute non-CMI hard drives that run longer than two months without a headcrash? Ones that are faster, bigger, and more reliable? Are you complaining that they use 256k EGA boards that cost less than the memory expansion piggyback board that IBM requires you buy to bring their already overpriced EGA board up to full funtionality? If you are, be aware that 47th street photo carries and is willing to sell you true blue disk drives and adapters. > But, after working for IBM and having to deal with customers that >bought from 47th St., I would go elsewhere. It is company policy for the >NYNEX Business Centers and the IBM tech support not to deal with >people who purchased from non-authorized dealers. And believe me, there have >been some people who were mighty upset when they found this out. These folks just don't know how lucky they are. IBM built its reputation by providing a very high level of support and service for its mainframe customers. This level of care has been an unfulfilled promise in the PC marketplace, as evidenced by the increasing numbers of Fortune 500 companies that are now looking to other vendors for their PC needs. In the case of customers that have purchased a real IBM from a grey market dealer, there are many alternate repair houses that are willing to properly troubleshoot and repair the equipment; rather than simply replacing complete circuit boards at a high cost to the consumer as most authorized dealers and product centers do. If the IBM dealer network in general (and the IBM product centers/Nynex business centers in particular) provided an excellent level of support, your arguements might hold water. Unfortunately, the ones I've dealt with have provided the same low level of support as 47th street photo, but at an inflated list price. Disclaimers: - I have no connection with 47th street photo, except as a satisfied customer - I have no connection with Nynex business centers, except as a dissatisfied customer -- Ben Broder {ihnp4,decvax} !hjuxa!catnip!ben {houxm,clyde}/