pokokarin Loc: California

Has anyone used 42nd Photo to purchase cameras? Prices seem better than competitive and just wondering about their reputation. Thank you.

alycat Loc: Canton OH

They have been around forever, so they must be doing something right. Modern Photography ren their ads in the '60's. Be you get a USA import warrenty, not a gray market import.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

Search says: http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/search.jsp?q=42nd+Photo&u=&s=0

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

:?: :?: :?: :?: OK, the best way to know if a reseller is good is whether they've been in business a long time? And they paid for magazine advertising 50 years ago. :shock: :roll:

If it's not gray market, what is a "USA import warrenty? :shock: :roll:

Please go to the search link at the top of the page, type in 42nd Street and spend the rest of the night reading about how crappy they are!

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

So has the original sin, so is that also legitimate?

Go take a bite of the Big Apple, but don't complain afterwards....

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

OMG - this topic comes up pretty often -

First of all, 42nd Street Photo has not been around "forever" - I believe you are thinking of 47th Street Photo (a full 5 blocks north and a universe of difference).

42nd Street is a rip-off operation aimed at naive tourists cruising down that major street in Manhattan. The kind of place that marks a $400 item up to $1000 and then has a super duper sale of 50% off - now only $500! Get it? Be warned.

47th Street is gone but in it's day was like B&H (except without the fantastic floor space - 47th St was a marvelously cramped shop on the second floor of the building that did most of its business via mail-order).

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

No! NO! Never! I have had very bad experience with 42nd Photo. Stick with Adorama, B&H, Cameta.

You will be inundated with others confirming this opinion and experience

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

This is wrong information. The old 47th St. Photo was around for quite a while. This new company has nothing to do with the old one. No one should by from it - check out www.resellerratings.com for their story. Only buy there if you enjoy being scammed.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

First of all, 42nd street photo is NOT an authorized Nikon dealer. I don't know about Canon and the other major brands so I won't speak to them BUT I would imagine that the same holds true with them. 42nd street photo makes their living by confusing and missrepresenting would be camera purchasers. Do they have great prices... depends. They sell grey market Nikon which means that it will NOT get Nikon USA Warranty repair. If your grey market Nikon camera ever needs repair, you will have to ship it to the country it was originally inteneded to be sold in for repair. This will most likely NOT be warranty repair in that country and you will have to pay export duties in the US and import duties in the country of repair (in addition to shipping) to get authorized repair. Once the camera is repaired and you have paid for it, the camera will be returned you to AFTER you have paid the export duties from the country of repair and import duties back to the US. In many instances, these duties and paid (out of country) for repair may end up costing you more than a new camera. It is Nikon USA's policy NOT to sell or provide parts for the warranty of any grey market camera. Some US companies (Adorama, B&H and possibly a couple of other mail order houses) will sell grey market or US market at your choice and necessary warranty repairs will be made at their expense in THEIR shops (Not Nikon) because they are also AUTHORIZED Nikon repair centers and claim (justly or not) that since they sell cameras all over the world, they have to be able to send the purchaser the correct camera for repair in the Nikon location of that purchaser's residence for warranty repair. 42nd street does not do this. They claim that any repairs needed will be honored by them but very few customers have been able to get this accomplished. As others have said, search 42nd street and grey market on here and other boards and you will see. Grey market is okay for small purchases, but think of it like buying a used car from in unreputable car dealership. Does the car still have the air bags in it? Has the car been wrecked? Is the Vin number on the car correct? New cameras are not like the old mechanical cameras of the 1960's and before. New cameras have thousands of things that must be in tune for them to function correctly and having a camera that doesn't work can be worse than having no camera at all. So the question to ask yourself is, are you really saving that much money on this grey market camera if you can't send it in for minor tuning and repair. the $100-600 you saved on the initial purchase can easily be swallowed up by real repair costs and or having an under performing camera.
PLEASE NOTE: My comments are mainly made about Nikon cameras because I used to work for Nikon Support. I can NOT make comments about Canon and other camera manufacturer policies because I have no first hand knowledge about them, but I can not imagine that they are hugely different. Nikon is probably the most militaristic about their grey market policies but, they are trying to protect their investement, their dealer's investments and their customers investments. Wouldn't you want most comanies that you do business to do the same? If you purchase gasolene for your car, woldn't you want to make sure that the fuel you purchased would meet all of the specifications that it was supposed to meet? Or would you care that Joe's Fuel Emporium was selling gas a $1 under all the competitors and so what if it was 30% water and had been pumped out of old, out of business gas station tanks and resold to the unsuspecting buyer..after all, you saved $1 a gallon on it.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

+ 1.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I used to depend on resellerratings.com for information like that. Unfortunately, their veracity has been compromised after they were bought out a year or two ago. To get a good rating, you apparently have to pay them.

I no longer use resellerratings.

(This does not mean that you should now buy from 42nd St Photo)

pokokarin Loc: California

Wow! Thanks so much...will look elsewhere.

warrior Loc: Paso Robles CA

Stir clear!!!

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

Use the "Search" feature at the top of the page, type in 42nd Street photo. They are a major scam outfit.

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

Got an ear full yet? :XD:

I don't think you mentioned what brand you're looking at but the same comments apply to Canon, Sony and others.

Major brands use MAP pricing (minimum advertised price) set by the authorized distributor. No authorized dealer is allowed to advertise or sell for less and they risk losing their "authorized" status. It levels the playing field so whether you go to WalMart or Costco or Adorama you're going to get the same price.

Retailers are allowed to bundle cameras/lenses with free accessories, memory cards, spare batteries, bags, etc., so you can sometimes get $50-$200 in freebies, but the price will still be the same.

It comes down to other things that are as important as price: customer service, shipping costs, return policy, etc. Good luck and happy hunting! :-D