I'm just going to add my unhelpful $.02. I've only been a UHH member for a little over a year, but when I joined, Helen welcomed me and presented me with a gift VIP account with Adorama.

I have since bought a number of items (bags, lighting, lenses, filters, etc.) and have always been 100% pleased with the service, quality and performance. Having Helen monitor this forum is a big plus, as I'm sure everyone can agree.

In my part time, I work in a local, family-owned retail business. I've noticed that customers generally fall into several categories.

There is the "bargain hunter." They will generally buy cheaper products, and some will even attempt to haggle the price. At the opposite end, there are the "quality" shoppers, who carefully research their product purchases, and expect to "get what they pay for" (this is a pretty good rule of thumb in any case!). Then, a large majority are shoppers who want the right product for their needs and welcome honest information and advice, and ultimately go from "curious consumer" to the "loyal, informed customer."

Since small businesses rely heavily on their reputation to stay in business, Adorama, through their reputation, past performance, and Helen's presence on this board, have earned my trust. I do not find their practices deceptive, and I am confident that any transaction I conduct with them will be fairly and competently managed.

Bargain hunters don't care. To them, it's all about the cost (to them). Unless one is in a business that caters to bargain hunters (I am not), I do not need their waste of my time and resources.

I purchased a Sunpak Quanaray tripod from Adorama. It was on sale for $40 from $100, with free shipping. Upon receiving it, I determined that it wasn't suitable for my purposes -- it weighed over 6 pounds. Adorama's return policy, which they tout to be the best in the business, calls for their normal shipping charge to be deducted from the refund on items that were sold with free shipping. In my case that meant that I paid $18 for return shipping and they deducted another $17 for their normal shipping charge. Net, net, I got $5 of my $40 returned to me. I don't think that qualifies as the best return policy in the business. In fact, I think it STINKS!
Has any one else had this experience?

Trust me when I tell you I stand by the consumer at every "right" turn. Let me explain why YOU are WRONG, repeat, WRONG. Do you know of ANY postal service that ships for free? No, there isn't. Did Adorama deliver the item, intact, at the price listed with shipping included? YES. The REASON for your return was solely and entirely your own personal choice and not because of material defect. If there were something wrong with the item, Adorama would pay shipping both ways on the return, I know that as fact from first hand experience. If it's on YOU, what do you expect? Somebody to pay for YOUR mistake? Seriously? On the rare occasion I make a mistake I state upfront the mistake was mine and go from there. The return policy is both FAIR and pretty much standard with top sellers including Amazon. There is NO restocking fee, just the actual cost. Sellers that offer "free returns", which is common with some shoe sellers, build in the price of returns into the price, meaning your paying for returns whether you return or not. Would you prefer to PAY MORE UPFRONT?

I'm truly sorry you feel this way, however our return policy is clearly posted on our website. I believe you will find that we are not the only big camera store in NYC with this policy!

If I can explain; 'free' outbound shipping isn't actually 'free'; it is paid for by Adorama - it is our gift to you. However, we do believe that if an item is returned that the 'gift' also needs to be returned!
If an item is returned because it is faulty, or if a customer requests an exchange for a different model, there would be no deduction of the charge.

I hope this clarifies the situation; if not - or if you have any additional questions or concerns, you are most welcome to email me directly: Helen@adorama.com. I'm here to make sure that all your experiences with Adorama are fantastic:)