Review a scam from Joy’s ElectroMart

Published on February 21, 2011

This is how the story goes.. My colleague’s girlfriend wanted to buy a Nikon 35mm f/1.8 len for my colleague for Valentine’s day. So 3 days before Valentine’s, she went to Funan.

She asked me about the price of the len beforehand, and I told her it is **$330 **cheapest, according the most reliable source on the Internet.

She went to a few shops, and finally stumbled upon Joy’s ElectroMart. They quoted her $300, 10% cheaper than the cheapest! (reminder to self: when something is cheaper than the cheapest, it is a scam)

But, they have no stock now and she has to wait until 1 week later.
One week later, she called the shop to confirm. Jack Ng, a sales person, told her he will reserve for her. The next day, she and me went to Funan. I recorded the conversation just in case it gets exciting..

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  • Obviously he is lying that he heard the girlfriend asking for Nikon 50mm f/1.8D, instead of 35mm.
  • But let’s assume the girlfriend made a mistake. The 50mm len cost only $180 (see price guide), yet he dares to quote $300! That is overcharging by 70%!
  • Eating his own words, he then ‘admits’ there is a 35mm that he can sell at $300, last week, when he has ‘stock’.
  • And he said he wants to see the ‘crazy customer’. Is that how Joy’s treat their customer?
  • It is not true that all shops are out of stock for the len. Alan Photo carries the len, and sell at $330 (eventually the girlfriend bought from there).
  • Alan Photo told us that Joy’s are not authorized dealer, so Joy’s has to get from them the stock when they need.