Lianhua.nu

Electronics Buyers Beware!

So, as promised, the camera ordeal…
Last Wednesday, I decided I was going to try to find a deal on the digital camera I’ve been dying to have — the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT/350D — and I seemed to find it right away through a site called ShopCartUSA.com which linked me to Century21Electronics.com. (Note: There’s a reason I’m not linking to them, please read the rest!) The deal said that I could get my Digital Rebel with a lens for $399.99 (normally the camera itself is more than that, and with a lens pushes $650, as you can see on B&H’s website, which is linked above). It seemed too good to be true!
And it was.
The day after Thanksgiving (Friday), they called me up to confirm my shipping address. I confirmed the address, and then the guy asked if I wanted a battery with the camera. Stupefied, I asked if it shouldn’t come with a battery, and he said no, it didn’t, that the camera only came with the body and the lens — no battery or any other accessories. I thought this was a little weird, but I asked him how much it was. He said it’d be $199.99 for a 2-hour battery and something like $400 for a 4-hour battery. This is when I started to get a little weirded out… The Digital Rebel is a normal digital camera, not a camcorder… why would its battery life be measured in hours? I told the guy no thanks, I’d rather get it at a local store. He pressed, saying that if the camera was such a great buy, the battery would be a lot better buy too. I told him NO, I didn’t want it, I’d figure it out later. Finally (YES, he pressed MORE) he said okay, it’ll be 4-6 weeks until your camera gets there. My reaction: UH… what now? I’d requested 3-day shipping because I wanted the camera, why was it going to take 4-6 weeks. His reply? “It’s on backorder, it’ll be 4-6 weeks.” What now? It was in stock when I ordered it two days before, how could it be on backorder now?
Kind of angry, I told him fine and hung up, then asked Sean to call and see if it was really on backorder. Another guy told him it was indeed on backorder… and I decided it wasn’t worth it, so I started looking for another fairly good deal. I mentioned what had happened to my Sarah and she asked the company name, then proceeded to give me the following link: http://www.bbbnewyork.org/reports/businessreports.aspx?id=12668.
I was shocked and horrified. I told Sean to call and cancel my order with them, and he did.
After a little investigating, I found a LOT more info on this company. Apparently, they’ve scammed a LOT of people. A lot of people who have been in the same situation as me, with practically identical phone calls, emails and even actions — refusing the overpriced accessories (B&H offers a battery for my camera for $40, and B&H is by no means the cheapest reseller out there!), canceling the order — have even been victims of credit card fraud. Two weeks after canceling their orders, they’ve found random strange charges on their credit cards, such as trips to the Bahamas and multiple iPods.
Proof is on ResellerRatings.com: Read the reviews for yourself!
BEWARE OF ANY COMPANY BEARING ANY OF THESE NAMES:

• Best Stop Camera
• Century 21 Electronics
• Hello Camera
• Infiniti Cameras
• Infiniti Photo
• Infinity Cameras
• J&K Cameras, Inc.
• Mr. Accessory
• Regency Camera
• Regency Photo & Video, Inc.
• Best Price Camera

These are names known by the Better Business Bureau to be used by this company. This is probably not a complete list, by any means. When in doubt, do a Google search for the company name and the word ’scam.’ And don’t believe prices that are too good to be true; chances are that they probably ARE!
I’ve put a hold on the account I used for the purchase, and completely unlinked the card in question from the account. Citibank has been informed not to allow any transactions until I receive a new card. (Citibank has been perfect throughout the whole thing.)
I’ve also taken my business elsewhere, of course. I ordered my beloved camera through my beloved Amazon.com, and it’ll be arriving tomorrow, according to UPS! (And even better — it comes with a lens, a battery, and *GASP!* a battery charger, god forbid!!)

CENTURY21ELECTRONICS IS A SCAM!!

Shaking like a stone.

What is wrong with me?
We just had a fabulous day — Emily, Warlock, Jane, Daniel, Mike and Nehemiah came over for our belated Thanksgiving dinner, and we all absolutely gorged. It was wonderful. We played Pop 5 for a while and just hung out and had a good day.
Daniel, Mike and Nehemiah left early, as they had places they needed to be going to; then Emily and Warlock left about half an hour ago, and Sean left about 10 minutes ago to take Jane home. He’ll be back in a bit.

So… sitting here, just alone… all the sudden I’m overwhelmed by this aching feeling. Not physical aching… just… mental and emotional numbness and aching…
We had a wonderful day… so why do I feel so horrible right now? I just… hurt. And I don’t know why, I don’t know what’s wrong.
I hate this feeling. I just… I don’t know.
Maybe I just can get my mind off of it and feel better…

So… We had a huge dinner… Turkey, two kinds of gravy (one Kosher for Nehemiah and Mike), cranberry relish (grandma’s recipe), cranberry sauce (from the can), mashed potatoes, yams (grandma’s recipe), stuffing, macaroni and cheese (grandma’s recipe), risotto, croissants, challah bread (for the Shabbat portion of the dinner), two kinds of wine, pumpkin pie…
It was all really delicious. Everyone had a good meal, and everyone was completely and utterly stuffed — even Warlock, who is known to be very picky about food.
All in all, it was a definite success… Everyone left kind of early, but… they all got here around 2 or 2:30p, so they were all here for like five hours, which is definitely a good amount of time.

Sean’s home now… He’s going to help me feel better, he says.

I had a huge ordeal involving ordering a digital camera… I don’t really feel like writing about it right now, but I will definitely make sure to write about it soon. I have lots of reasons I need to write about it. I just… don’t want to right now.

She’s Leaving Home…

Well, we’ve bought our tickets to Indiana and LA for Winter Break.
Here’s what it looks like for me:

• 12/21/06 – 7:30p EST – Leave NY for IN
• 12/21/06 – 10:00p EST – Arrive in Indianapolis
• 12/22/06 to 12/27/06 – Holidays in Indiana
• 12/28/06 – 7:30a EST – Leave IN for LA
• 12/28/06 – 9:00a PST – Arrive in Los Angeles
• 12/28/06 to 01/09/07 – New Years/Vacation in LA
• 01/10/07 – 10:00a PST – Leave LA for IN
• 01/10/07 – 5:00p EST – Arrive in IN
• 01/10/07 – 6:00p EST – Leave IN for NY
• 01/10/07 – 8:00p EST – Arrive in NY and promptly die of exhaustion.

For Sean, on the other hand:

• 12/25/06 – 8:45a EST – Leave NY for LA
• 12/25/06 – 12:00n PST – Arrive in LA
• 12/25/06 to 01/01/07 – Holidays/Vacation in LA
• 01/01/07 – 9:45p PST – Leave LA for NY
• 01/02/07 – 5:45a EST – Arrive in NY
• 01/02/07 – 9:00a EST – GO TO WORK

Basically… It’s going to be hell for both of us getting to those various places and back. Rawr. I’m kind of nervous about making my connecting in Indianapolis on the way back, but… I know the Indy terminal fairly well, so it hopefully won’t be a problem.

In other news…
I called about my replacement LCD screen for my camera, which I thought was supposed to be here a week or so ago — I’d paid for it on the 2nd — and it ended up that it’s on backorder, rawr. The company should be getting it in during the next week or so… which is a good thing, but I’m so impatient!
It sucks because I’ve missed fall already for the most part, and I wanted to get so many photos taken. I registered for a Flickr account back at the beginning of the month, after I ordered the LCD screen, and I haven’t been able to put any photos up except for one that I took back in China in May 2005. I really want to get it started before I go to China…
And I’ve been dying to get some mini-cards from Moo as well. Sarah’s turned out really, really great… and I want some! :P It’d be so nice to throw one in with things I sell on eBay or hand them out at places where I meet people who need a web designer or something, just to get myself out there.
I also want to join the 365 Days group on Flickr, too. Everyone else has been a part of it for like two weeks now, and I’m behiiiiiind. It sounds like so much fun… because we all know how narcissistic I am, right? :P

Sean’s mom sent him some seriously high quality steaks from Lobel’s for his birthday, and we’ve had them the past two days, in the evenings. They are amazing. We had two filets the first night and then we split a filet and a strip last night… and they basically just melt in your mouth. Last night we made some seasoned rice with it too, with some spices and vegetable broth, which was incredible, too, especially considering the fact that we completely did it on the fly without a recipe or anything. We’ve got a filet and a strip left still… which we’ll probably have tonight or tomorrow. :P They’re so great. They taste even better than steaks you can get at a restaurant… even Ruth’s Chris steakhouses! O_O
Too bad we can’t afford them on our own — at ALL. :P

Last night we fell asleep at like 6p and slept until 10a this morning. It felt so good to just sleep; we never get to do that anymore. Sean’s been gone all day for rehearsal, a voice lesson and a concert today though… He left at like 12:30p and won’t be back until probably 10p or later.

Rawr… I’m bored. :P