Beware of Stop and Shop Digital aka Stop & Shop Digital, stopandshopdigital

Never buy anything from Stop & Shop Digital.  No matter what you do, under any circumstances, DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY:

Stop and Shop Digital

6605 20th Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11204

http://www.stopandshopdigital.com

They actively participate in false advertising, false delivery time quotes and poor selling practices in general.

False Advertising: Stop & Shop Digital is a bait and switch operation.  You will not, in any event, ever be able to purchase an item, for the advertised price, unless you agree to purchase over-priced accessories that negate any “deal” you may have thought you were getting.

In my personal experience, I purchased a digital camera from their website, which you can see advertised here.  After the purchase, the phone salesman informed me that the camera did not come with a battery or battery charger and said “you will not be able to use your camera without it.  You can buy the charger package now for $79 plus shipping.” As you can see under the tab "Included Features", the first item listed is a BATTERY.

False Delivery Time: They advertise 2-3 business day delivery times, but it could be 4-6 weeks or even a few years before you get you item.

Personal Example: When the camera I purchased did not arrive on the 3^rd business day after my transaction, I called and asked if they could track the item for me and let me know the arrival time.  The salesman said “Your item is on backorder, it will be 4-6 weeks before it is shipped”, when pressed further to guarantee that my order would be shipped within 6 weeks, he said “Mam, I cannot guarantee that.  It may be an additional 4-6 weeks after that”.  I responded “so it could be 4-6 months?” and he said “yes”.  So I said “You’re saying it could even be a few years before I receive my order” and he said “it may be”.

Poor Selling Practices:  Aside from false advertising and misrepresentation of delivery, the company also has an answering service that gives the illusion there is a call center consisting of a whole sales team if you press 1 or a customer service team if you press two, etc.  Really there is only 1 person who answers all lines no matter what you press and he is the “manager” of the sales team (or the manager of himself).

They have had 22 complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau in the past 12 months (as of 6/15/09).  You can check out these complaints here: http://www.bbb.org/new-york-city/business-reviews/photographic-equipment-and-supplies-retail/stop-and-shop-digital-in-brooklyn-ny-106392/