WTF Zooom and Canon? You ripped me off.
Why? They sold me a camera housing that leaked the first time out. Now, they’re refusing to take it back and refund me.
Why? Because they say they don’t do returns on housings after one month post-sale. They said “it’s not defective ma’am” and that I should have “tested it in the bathtub as soon as I got it in September.” What nerve.
Here’s the thing. I don’t scuba dive in my bathtub. And, it needed to be tested at depth. That means in more than 5 inches of water. I tested the housing twice, without the camera in it, as soon as I arrived on my dive trip to Mexico in mid-December. It leaked both times.
Here’s the timeline.
- I bought the housing in September from Zooom directly (gave CC over the phone) because they’d also sold me the Canon camera for which the housing was built via Amazon.ca. This was the easiest solution to their first misdeed, which was advertising a camera they didn’t have in stock. The original one I bought via Amazon.ca before I received a panicked phone call from their rep in New York telling me they didn’t actually have the camera I bought.
- I didn’t scuba dive until December. Which means by the time I discovered the housing leaked, I was not longer able to access their arbitrary ‘one month’ return policy.
- Last week, I sent Zooom an email outlining the problem, for which I received this response:
-
Karen,
contact me on monday and I will rectify this for you
This email and the information it contains are confidential and may be privileged. If you have received this email in error please notify me immediately. You should not copy it for any purpose, or disclose its contents to any other person. Internet communications are not secure and, therefore, Zooom Electronics does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this message as it has been transmitted over a public network. If you suspect the message may have been intercepted or amended please contact us.
-
When I called, the way Zooom ‘rectified’ this was to tell me they wouldn’t do a thing for me. That I should call Canon USA (which I did. They told me to call Canon Canada, which told me there is no warranty on ‘merchandise’ and to call Canon USA since I bought the housing from a US retailer).
- So, the moral of this story is:
- Zooom has abysmal customer relations. They advertise products they don’t have in stock. They won’t stand by the things they sell. Do not buy from Zooom on Amazon.
(UPDATE January 20, 2015: Canon Canada has offered me a replacement housing for my camera. My warning about doing business with ZOOOM still stands remains.
UPDATE: May 15, 2015: Canon Canada did come through for me with a new housing. It doesn’t leak. You can read more here…)
tankstravels.com 
Hi Karen…Thank you for your warning about Zooom Electronics. They do seem a bit untrustworthy, and I’m sorry to hear about your frustration with their ‘service’. I know how it feels to place our trust (and money) in someone only to be cheated by them in the end … I was recently shopping for a Nikon D750 camera body and found Zoom Electronics on Amazon.ca. They were offering an unusually low price for it, several hundred dollars less than everybody else, which in and of itself raised a red flag for me. I had never heard of Zooom before, and nowhere on the Amazon product sales page was there a link to any information about Zooom Electronics or it’s location, nothing! There was no information regarding Zoom’s country of origin or whether this camera body would come with a Canadian warranty or if it was just a gray market product… I did find a place on the page where I could ask questions to the vendor…So I did…Twice!… With no response…Real nice, red flag number two…
So my solution?? … To head over to the local Best Buy and to use Zooom Electronic’s sales page to get a “Price Beat” Which I did, and I was able to purchase the camera for far less money than Best Buy’s regular price … Normally $2,450, reduced to $2049! … $400 dollars off! … So in a way I guess in a round about way Zooom Electronics managed to come through for me!! Lol.
I’ll never order directly from Zoom Electronics…But I may use them as a bargaining chip again. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your story. So glad you came out on top.
This comment is a life saver! Also, thank you for the article OP. I’ve been deciding on purchasing a canon 70D for a few weeks now. They’re all extremely expensive except Zooom Electronics seems to be selling it waaaay cheaper than everyone else which raised a red flag to me. However, price matching it at my nearby Best Buy sounds like an awesome idea which I will do! Thanks guys 🙂
thanks Kyle for taking the time to write.
Best buy won’t price match from Amazon.ca unless it was shipped and sold by Amazon. These third parties retailers that they don’t know are from Canada, they said they can’t do. Which Best Buy location was able to price match for you? Was it Canadian? Here are their policies they are referring back to: http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/help/online-policies/hc8136.aspx#lowest
You are technically correct, however, Best Buy’s managers have the ability to override this policy. I did it at a Best Buy in Toronto…. My earlier post here explains how I did it.
That blows. I’m not surprised though, I tried buying a camera but had to cancel it because I found out that they had a mandatory restocking fee of 25% for opened items and 15% for non-open. when you’re paying a 1000 dollars for a product those fees are ridiculous
Extremely bad customer service. Item received without one lens and no warranty paperwork at all. Not even have the information on how to return the product. Item look refurbished and I called the customer service and they said they don’t care do what ever you can do and hang up on me. Never buy from this seller. And If I have hard time returning this product then I will never buy any expensive items from amazon ever.
Glad to here the above bad comment on zoom electronics they just stopped me from buying a camera on amazon and using them to ship
Randy Levine: Thanks a lot for the tip man! Was about to buy a camera body from ZooomElectronics, and while hesitating for the 10th time and reading reviews, stumbled on this article. Bottom line price-matched the item in Bestbuy and made 230$ gain on it. Many thanks to Karen as well for this review.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. So glad you avoided a horrible experience.
Yaseen… You’re welcome!… It gave me goosebumps knowing that my comment resulted in sticking it to the man! (Best Buy gets away with ridiculously high prices and needs to be brought down by educated consumers once in a while…Enjoy your camera…And remember that Best Buy will continue to ‘Price Beat’ your purchase for 30 more days!…So keep looking for better deals and if you find one just go back to the store with your receipt for a refund plus 10% of the difference! … You can also return it for 14 days no questions asked if you change your mind or if you want to trade up or down… That’s the best part about Best Buy.
Peace.
Thanks for the WARNING! I was going to buy a lens from them, bought it from someone else!! Truly… they are A HOLES! ZOOMELECTRONICS… you are true internet retail morons! Nice to see Canon stepped up to the plate for you.
I wish I had read this before I ordered my camera and new lens. The advert, details and photo in amazon.ca showed a camera with a certain lens, originating from Zoom Electronics. I bought it, but when it arrived the lens was a cheaper model $120 cheaper than the one they said I was buying.
Hi! So, please tell me: is ZOOM Electronics selling legitimate CANON products or are they knock-offs? The equivalent to fake Chinese-made Sports Jerseys?! I was looking at buying the Canon 6D from them. They are about $600 cheaper than Best Buy Canada or Henrys/Vistek. I took the Amazon.ca price into a Henry’s store and they said they would NOT match anything from “Zoom Electronics”. LOL
never buy from zoom. I am cheated same way as Karen. Zooom is not authorised seller of Nikon products
So will Best Buy Canada match the price from Zoom Electronics? Can anyone confirm this?
Hi Robert.
I did get Best Buy (Bay and Dundas, Toronto) to price match Zoom Electronics on a Nikon D750, however, it took a lot of convincing! Originally they wouldn’t agree to it so I had to break out the hard sell. When I entered the store I looked at the name tags of the costumer service representatives and memorized one of them, waited for her day off then went back to the store when she was not there…I told the manager that that girl said on the phone that I could price match zoom and that I drove a long way to get to their store to purchase… They agreed that it was their mistake and became willing to go through with it. (They were willing to price match but not give the extra 10% of the difference, no biggie.) … Still saved over $300!
Hi Karen,
I read your post, and I’m struggling to see what Zooom Electronics did that was so bad, where it should result in the onslaught of negative publicity that your post has given them here in Canada.
To me, it looks like when you first contacted customer service you got a rep that was a bit over zealous and really wanted to help. After the reply, he/she was probably told that it is against their policy to do returns/exchanges 3+ months after purchase. That’s what they had to tell you when you called which blindsided and pissed you off. I get that.
But then, when Cannon Canada gives you what you want, you put a quick update at the end of your blog with a “not so sorry” apology to Zooom, but refuse to lift your “warning” to all your faithful followers…I’m reading all the comments above of people thanking you for your warning and saying that it helped them to “not” choose to do business with Zooom. To think that anyone would go to Best Buy or Henry’s in Canada because your post has made them afraid to do business with companies like Zooom is ridiculous. Canadian retailers are ripping us off on equipment!!
I recently had a really good customer service experience with Zooom Electronics which I documented in the youtube video below. I would like to share it with you and your readers so you can see that not everyone has had a bad experience with this company:
Cheers,
Jack
Jack, I guess you were one of the lucky ones. I was tempted by Zoom’s prices as well. I guess it’s all a matter of probability. The probability that your order will be fulfilled to your satisfaction. It’s sad to say but some countries business ethics are not up to Western standards. After reading these horror stories about Zoom Electronics not being an authorized Nikon dealer, and sending packages back and forth in order to ‘eat up’ Amazon’s 30-day return window time-frame, I have to say, I am finding it hard to trust a company that does business like this… At least Canadian retailers play by the rules and are generally dependable in this regard… And as I mentioned, we can sometimes use these lower prices to bargain with Best Buy, etc.
peace. 🙂
I have also have been burned by zooom electronics with a Nikon camera and accessories(sent wrong accessories and their resolve was not my resolve). I bought based on your great review (no lie, it was a great review).
Thanks to all of you guys that have commented before me, you may have saved me some frustration!. I was ready to order a $2000. drone from Zoom based on their cheap price and accessory package they were including with it. I will now follow your lead and use their price to get a drop in price from Best Buy. The other thing that bothers me is how Google can turn a blind eye to a potentially problematic vendor. I know they have no connection with Zoom but the mere fact that so many of their audience place faith in vendors advertising on their media, you would think they would monitor them for their honesty.
You would think… But my recent dealings with Amazon.ca have proved otherwise… I get the impression that Amazon lets a lot slide in terms of questionable vendor practices… It seems like they are slow to move until there is enough negative feedback. After all, there are profits to be made.
You are right. I am struggling with Amazon and ZOOOM for my Nikon Camera.My incident has shown that Amazon does not have control on these kind of vendor.
Never but from ZOOOM. They cheated me on Nikon camera
I bouth from them a camera Fujifilm X T10 and accessoiries, from amazon.ca. I am living in Montreal. But once the product was delivered to the customers in Montreal aeroport they ask me to me to pay that. I said no of course and then they returned the product. I wrote about them and then they call me. They sware they will deliver if I supress my very bad comment abut them. I suppressed my bad review. But they never deliver and I couldnt make any other review about them. They are Indians (from India) and so beliqous when they speak. I really avoid doind business with amazon after that. Because I wrote many emails to amazon.ca to tell them the story but they choice to ignore me.
Now I advise you, please never do any business with zoomelectronics and with amazon.ca too.
I recently ordered a Canon G7X from Zooom and it arrived with the UK charger even though it was sold on Canadian amazon. I shipped it back immediately but now I’m really worried about getting my refund and possibly getting charged this restocking fee :S
I also noticed when I bought it, it said “Only 1 left in stock, buy soon!” and the next day, it said ‘Only 2 left in stock, buy soon!” so that’s obviously just a stupid tactic.
This is good! ^
Karen is absolutely right. Zooom electronic cheated me same way as they did with you. I bought a Nikon camera in Aug-2015.Camera got some focus related issues in March-2016.I contacted Amazon and Zooom but did not get satisfactory response from anyone. I went to Nikon Canada and showed them the Camera, though camera was under 1 year manufacturing warranty but they refuse to look into it citing the reason that ZOOOM electronic is not authorised dealer of NIKON products. ON Amazon’s request I sent camera to ZOOOM twice in last 3 months but they are sending back the camera without even looking into it. Now Amazon has raised their hands saying they can not ask ZOOOM to refund as it is out of that 30 days window. I am struggling for last 4 months to get my camera repaired but no body has any answer. This issue has shattered my faith in online shopping especially for big price items. ZOOOM IS NOT AUTHORISED DEALER OF NIKON PRODUCTS.NIKON CANADA TOLD ME THAT THEY DO NOT EVEN RECOGNISE THE SERIAL# ON THE CAMERA,IT IS DIFFERENT THAN THE SERIES THEY HAVE.i HAD SPEND $1200 ON THIS PURCHAGE
I Just got burned by Zooom Electronics on a Tamron 16-300mm lens. New to Photograph I had no idea there was such thing as grey market lenses. I only figured it out after I called Tamron Canada on the lens freezing up my camera. I actually have to take the battery out to reset everything. Anyway that’s when Tamron Canada told me I have nowarranty thought them. Tamron Canada also told me that Zooom Electronics also can’t fix my lens because they don’t sell/give there parts to anyone. It has to go to Tamron Canada/USA….Which brings me to my next question for Zooom how and with what are you going to fix my lens. Reply…no answer!
So Zooom won’t give a me a refund for misleading me in my purchase(nowhere in the add does it say international/grey market lens) and Amazon did nothing! !!
Thanks for sharing. So sorry this happened to you. My experience with Zooom was truly awful. Amazon should sever ties, but makes a lot of money off Zooom.
They just changed their name from ZooomElectronics to “Centre Drone”.
Thanks. I’ll adjust my text. Appreciate the info.
Thanks for the update, but I done with Amazon! They are the worst ever when it comes to there members and protecting them from companies like Zooom. They wouldn’t do anything for me even with all the info I had from Tamron Canada saying that Zooom couldn’t repairs or update my lens because they do not have the proper Tamron parts or software.
Seems to me like Amazon are only out to protect the companies! I am done with Amazon!!
I bought a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 V Digital Camera from Zoom through Amazon.ca which came in an unsealed box, already had the date / time entered (UK time zone) and had a cord in the box that didn’t belong to the camera at all. Then the lens wouldn’t open completely (I had to manually flick it to open) I should have returned it, but was anxious to use it on vacation so I emailed them, told them about it and they said they would take care of it if it persisted. Well, the 30 days passed as I was on vacation, life happened and my time horizon had passed, so $1500 down the drain. PT Barnum said “there’s one born every minute” (sucker) and I am he. Caveat Emptor on Zoom or Center Drone or whatever they may call themselves… (Buyer Beware). Avoid the cavernous pit of this shady marketer. Learn from my costly stupidity.
Thanks for sharing. But, ouch!
An update on this. At least it looks like Sony is going to stand by it’s product and repair it. I have sent it off and am crossing my fingers that it comes back working. I will not deal with Zoom or Center Drone and am going to be reluctant to buy anything of a larger ticket item over Amazon. Live and learn.
I am in a state with Center Drone at the moment, over Panasonic Lumix that i purchased online through Amazon.ca in August. The camera has problems but none of the parties will take any responsibility – Panasonic since CD is not an authorized seller, Center Drone because they are not in any way service oriented nor Amazon since they apparently don’t warrant the companies that sell through them and will not support their customer. Frankly Amazon.ca should realize that the seller in this case is not authorized by the manufacturer (apparently the same holds for other camera companies) and should refuse to allow them in their site. Where does the responsibility lie in this case???
David. what a horrible situation you find yourself in. Business has become so sneaky and underhanded these days. Everybody finding a way to wash their hands of responsibility like you say. I feel for you bud.
Unfortunately, it seems that it is we, the consumer, who are left with the responsibility to verify honorable sellers in the market today. No longer can it be assumed that everyone will conduct business in a fair way. I guess we need to watch for red flags when we consider purchasing from an unknown seller. Things like low prices which are too good to be true, or unacceptable policies which are found in the small print. Also, ordering from far off places with cultures who do business very differently than us can be risky… We mistakenly assume that everyone will act like us, but they simply don’t.
Anyway, I hope you get lucky and resolve your issue fairly. But if you don’t, I guess just chalk it up to a painful learning experience and move on with your life… What else can you do, right?
peace,
Randy.