I am in need of a new camera at work. I really like the old one, but it has a red pixel in the final products and it is getting annoying. So, I googled and found a couple outfits that sell the new (and improved) one online at good prices.

I started with 86th Street Photo in NYC. Cheapest place, camera in stock according to the website. Had the lady with the purchasing card place the order, waited. No camera. So I had her call back and check. Backordered 5 weeks. And then they hung up on her. Since I don't want to wait 5 weeks and they lied about it being in stock, I had her cancel the order. While attempting to do so, they kept hanging up on her. She finally got it cancelled.

So, second choice, Broadway Photo and Video, again in NYC. Now, I have purchased things there before, including the camera I am currently using, with no problems. In stock, reasonable price, according to the website. So I wrote up the order and gave it to the lady with the card.

So sorry, not in stock, have to backorder. But...they have the US-made version of the same camera IN stock, and only $100 more!! Now, she knows I don't want to wait, so she went ahead and ordered it, since I was in the field.

So, I get back, she tells me what happened, and I get ticked. I have never seen a more classic case of bait-and-switch. So, she tries to call them back, 4 pm eastern (customer service closes at 5, supposedly). No answer, and you cannot leave a message. So I try. No answer. I try to get through to ANY person. No answer.

So, based on the last couple days, I would recommend to all of you that, past performance aside, you NOT purchase from either of these outfits. As soon as I get a real person tomorrow, I cancel the second order, and spend your tax dollars on a camera at some more expensive outlet. Nearest camera shop is 60 miles away.

Also, the FTC is going to get a complaint about the bait and switch fraud. Probably nothing illegal about the first place, they didn't sell us anything else instead. But the second...

Argh.