Olympus C8080

[Taucher]

Hey Taucher
where did you order your c8080 from. Im very interested in this camera too but im a little nervous with all the HORROR stories I have been reading about.Seems to be alot of dishonest Camera stores out there.(and Im sure there are plenty of honest ones too )Please let us know if your purchase is a pleasant one.
Thank You Ripnrob

Yea, turns out I ordered from one of the horror story camera shops. It was from radioactivedeals.com, who had the camera for only $620.00. A great price, but it turns out they won't actually sell it. Here is the full story:
On Tuesday night I ordered a new digital camera (Olympus C8080 wide zoom) from an online store. The price was $175 less than I found it at any other outlet. I check the status of my order online on Wednesday morning and it says that the order is being processed will ship UPS ground 7-12 business days. Last night I come home from work and my wife tells me there is an e-mail message to call them, so I do. This guy gets on the phone and tells me they need the security number on the back of my credit card to process the order (there was no place to enter this # on their web form). Then he starts asking me about the camera and how much research I did. He starts talking about the "special promotions available since I am a new customer" and offers me some special pricing on a high capacity battery and additional memory. I agree that these are things I want anyway, so I order the battery and a 512 Mb memerory card. Then he starts to tell me about these filters that attach to the lens. Three of them for a special price of only $199. Now I want to try the camera out first so I tell him, no don't want the filters. He start going on about how if I get the filters, I will have purchased three accessories and I 'll be get a free upgrade in shipping. (original order is free shipping in 7-12 business days) this will give me 5-7 day ground shipping. (at this point, no indication from him that the camera is not in stock, as he is offering me even faster delivery time if I order 3 accessories) I refuse the filters once again. he pushes the issue, explaining how many customers don't realize how benificial they are and end up ordering them a week later. So I say, " I appreciate the offer and understand your point, I do not want the filters at this time. Let's drop the subject". He pushes the issue yet again and I yell into the phone "DROP IT" yet he continues. I tell him if he doesn't stop I will cancel the order. He relents and says he will process it now. A few seconds later he informs me the order will ship in 14-21 business days. WTF I ask him "is this what happens when you don't order the filters?"

So he says sorry, that's what I'm showing for shipping. (remember, a few minutes ago he was going to ship it in 5-7 days) So I ask to speak with a supervisor................... supervisor gets on the phone, I tell him the story. His response: " well, their trained that way, to help customers make informed decision about their purchases and then goes on to explain how 8 megapixel cameras will really benifit from these filters! ! I can't believe this sh!t. then he says he doesn't want to sell it to me if I will be unhappy. I tell him, "no, it's a great price, I just want the camera, memory card, and battery. Conversation over, I hang up. Half an hour later, still fuming from this fiasco, I check the status of my order online.
Your order status: BACKORDERED ! !

regret to inform you your item was oversold and will not be available for 4-6 weeks.

I'm starting to regret dealing with this company and think that before the day is over I will be cancelling this order. I think it will be better to pay more and get it from a respectable company. I checked their ratings on resellerrating.com and it turns out that this is the companies MO. If you don't buy enough extras, they simply don't ship to you! they figure eventually you will get frustrated and cancell your order. Lesson learned, order cancelled, I try again somewhere else. I have seen it at a reputable online retailer for $820.00, but I'm not going to reorder until I find out a little more about the housings and compatible strobes. My wife and I will use our old Sea & Sea MX-5 II for our june dive trip, which will buy us some time before our next trip.

 

[justleesa]

OH NO! Did you want or can you cancel the order?

 

[Ripnrob]

Taucher
Sorry to here about your HORRIBLE experience. I was hoping it would turn out well for you nothing worst than getting geared up about a new purchase and having your hopes dashed by some dishonest SOB.
I will keep searching for the best deal and let you know if i have any luck.

Good Luck Ripnrob

 

[Scubaroo]

Hmm, they're now advertising the camera for $710.00. It's no surprise that they're New York based - it seems all the shonky camera shops are in NY. I read an expose on them about 12 months back - a camera magazine reporter did some research, and they keep closing down and reopening in the same premises as a "new" business unrelated to the old one, yet all the same staff work there, half a dozen different websites from supposedly different stores all share the same fax number, phone orders always ran into the same upselling tactics, "we don't actually have the cameras, they get drop-shipped" type BS, credit cards charged and the business goes bust - and a new shop opens the following week, low capacity cards substituted for the ones you're supposed to get in the box, missing accessories, etc etc.

 

[jcclink]

When it sounds too good to be true it usually is. Its really sad when shops think they have to do business this way. I rarely buy from the lowest bidder. Find a store I like & stick with em. Hope it all works out on the 8080.

 

[Taucher]

At this point it's for the best. I really didn't want to "rush" a new setup for our mid-june trip. This way I can take my time and do some more research. The only reason we rushed into it was because of the price. No harm done, they don't have any money from me and the order was easily cancelled. The price will come down in a few months anyway, and I will be more informed.

 

[billseamon]

I usually use PRICESCAN.COM to get a comparison on the prices. They provide a star rating on the shops and only by from places that are 4 or 5 (top rating). The 1 and 2 star rated shops seem to always have the better price, but if you want it, you need to order the package deal. I did athis once, ordered a expensive charger and ended up getting a cheep charger for the price of a smart charger. I never order extras, just the item, if they won't ship it in a reasonable time, I cancle the order right away.

 

[Cort]

Hi, I'm new to the board but wanted to add my two cents on the 8080. Got mine the middle of March and am very happy with it on land. Won't be diving with it for some time so can't add anything there. I bought on line from bestpriceaudiovideo.com for $890 including shipping. This was when the 8080 was first coming out and hard to get but best price was one of the first to get it and shipped the same day I ordered. I previously had a 4040 with PT-010 and liked the underwater results until I flooded it at Bonaire in January. It was the fifth dive of the trip and thought I was taking all the precautions but it flooded in about 40 feet. I've learned from this experience that for $15/year I can get a rider on my home owner policy that will cover the 8080 for any loss with no deductible. That will be a given next trip. Hope this helps.

 

[MildlyDamp]

I just read something disturbing about the 8080 in John Dvorak's column in PC Magazine. He claims that there are problems manufacturing the chip, and that units are frequently shipped with less than ideal sensors. Typical problems are large numbers of dead pixels. I don't know what he's basing this on, but for anyone buying over the net, it may give you pause. I think it would be nice to see the unit first hand before a purchase.

 

[Waterbase]

dpreview has -finally!- finalised their full review of the C-8080, and they award it a "highly recommended"!
So the camera is ok, now I need to find out if the housing is too....
Review at: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0404/04042004olyc8080wzrev.asp


Waterbase