Abe's of Maine

Twice now Abe's of Maine has "sold" me a camera at a very good price. The first time they called me and wanted me to pay for "extras". I declined, and the next thing I knew my order was canceled. This time they placed my order in "back ordered" for nearly three month. When I looked on line today at the status is was "cancelled", though I didn't cancel it. I emailed them and got a call back saying I can order an "American" model for $110 more. I declined and they wanted to cancel the order rather than maintain the charade of "back ordered". I will never use them again and don't see why anyone else would either.

Hi

This has to be the worst company in the world! I placed an order with them. I never got my order. And now it looks like they filed to bankruptcy and reopened show in a different state to avoid there responsibility to there customer of delivering the products they got paid on. I have tried to call them and email them and all I ever get back it a default email saying.

Thank you very much for shopping with Abes Of Maine
Please contact our customer service department at *******237 and one of our representatives will gladly assist you.
Your business is greatly appreciated and we look forward to hearing from you soon and resolving the issue!
Sincerely,
Abes Of Maine

They never care to forward my email to the correct person.

If it's true they filed for bankruptcy how is it that they are still using the same domain name and adverting? This is very misleading to customers.

Negative five stars

First time doing this but I really feel like more people should know about this site. I recently ordered a new lens that I have been wanting for a while. I got it for a pretty good discounted price but that wasn't what made me write this review. You can order things for cheap anywhere, but this site actually called me to make sure that I wasn't spending all that money in vain. The representative made sure my camera was compatible and even offered ways to ensure that the new lens I bought would be kept safe from the elements and normal wear and tear. I highly recommend this site, these people are extremely professional and care a lot about their customers.

Ordered some photography equipment (lens) online. I was immediately called to "verify" the purchase, and sent to a "sales person". That person informed me that the lens (which supposedly is factory new) did not come with a hood, case, or other accessories shown in the ad. Those were additional charges. I asked him to cancel my order, and got the hard sell. Again, I asked to cancel the order - nope. Finally, I asked 'Ted' if he could understand English enough to cancel my order! He transferred me to 'customer service' (now there's a joke) where I got a recording of hours of operation - they should have been open - followed by a "goodbye" and a disconnect. Tried calling the customer service number, got a line busy signal and disconnect. I finally contacted my credit card company and told them to deny the charge if they tried to put it through.
DO NOT DEAL WITH THESE CROOKS!

After being requested to call to verify order, salesman tries to sell me a "better" deal for more money, which I refused. But when I asked it the camera lenses were American, he told me no, they were European model, which have no warranty in the U.S. He said if they were American models, it would say so. So why doesn't it say in the description that they are European models. He did not volunteer the information. Cancelled order.

OK. So this is an updated review for a very bad experience I initially had. The bottom line was that after I made an order I received a call to try and get some more money for a product I purchased. I went back and forth with them for a week and ended up writing a really bad review. I then got a call, they apologized and promised to improve my customer experience. They shipped the product same day and honored their web price as ordered. So although my experience was painful, at least I can now say I got compensated for the bad customer service. I'm writing this but still have not received my TV but I believe they have learned their lesson, hopefully future customers will be treated better.

Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. I called them on a Sunday to ask a technical question about a product and they called me back with an answer - what a service! Very friendly and nice agents to talk too. I have bought from Abes before and will do again in the future

Absolute scam bait and switch company. Be aware. This is not an original Abes of Maine. They use intimidation tactics paired with bait and switch model.

They will call you after the order and try to either switch the item you bought or sell you something else.

I bought a lens and they called me trying to sell me a lens that was $200 more expensive compared to what I paid originally. The lens they were trying to sell me wasn't even on their website. And apparently the lens they sold me was an "international" model - with no description anywhere online of what that means. Turns out international model is a lens with nothing included - not even caps - which is unheard of.

The representative was using intimidation tactics and was rude and pushy all along. When I asked for the manager a lady Christina picked up the phone and yelled at me. This isn't a one off situation - read more reviews.

They were bought by scammers who are milking the customers for all they got. Be aware!

I wish I had spent the time to look at the hundreds of terrible experiences that people have had over the years for Abe's of Maine and the parent company Westpark Electronics. I ordered a new Sony lens for my camera in June and they charged a premium due to it being in short supply. I was told and have it writing that they would ship insured and Adult Signature Required. Instead it was shipped with Signature Release On File and Fed Ex left a $3300 lens on a step outside. Nobody ever saw it and I called to complain. They said they would open an investigation. They jerked me around for weeks before telling me I need to file a police report so they could file a claim. I did that and then nothing from them. I filed a dispute with the bank that does the financing and they said I have to sort it out with Abes. I have filed a complaint with the State Attorney and will not give up on being refunded. Stay far away from Abe's, there are some great dealers like B&H and Adorama that take great care of their customers!

Everything about my shopping experience with Abe's of Maine has been nothing but outstanding.
I purchase my Digital SLR camera and the sales staff was extremely helpful and patient in answering all my questions. I opted for the free shipping and got my camera in 4 days and to top it off they were able to beat all the competitors prices!
Thanks Abe's, I love my camera, and I can't wait to purchase some lenses!
Thanks Abe's Of Maine,

Great customer service. Called to explain the difference between import and US order. Also checked to see which camera I own to ensure I was purchasing correct lens. Great on offering me the import price. I would have more than likely cancelled the order otherwise.

Terrible service, rude, deceptive. I ordered a Nikon DSLR from the website. No email confirmation. Day later a guy calls and says I should expect all these problems because I ordered an import. Aren't all Nikon's imports? He gives me the hard sale saying what I ordered won't have a battery, software, manuals, warranty, etc. For another $300 my new Nikon will come with all the normal accessories. Guy gets rude and pushy when I refuse to engage in his bait & switch. He suggests my order will take two to three weeks to arrive. Someone ought to sue Abe's of Maine for false advertising! They're liars, operating from New Jersey, not Maine. Don't waste your time.

I called on Monday morning and ordered the lens. I talked to Adam who really knew his cameras and gave me some great advice in making my purchase. He said he would try to get this order out ASAP but would make no guarantees on how fast it would be delivered. Yes... I am in PA but I was very amazed when the UPS deliveryman came by midafternoon the next day with my lens and accessories. Wow... I had free shipping and it only took one day. Thumbs up for Abes... I had one of the best buying experiences ever with them.

I placed an order for a Canon 70-200 USM iii lens and received a phone call the following day stating that the lens is on "back order" and that price they had was for the international version but if I paid extra they will send me the US version covered by the warranty. They refused to send me the advertised lens so I filed a compliant with the Better Business Bureau which they have an F rating on. I received an emailing stating that my lens was already shipped and it was a mistake by a new employee. I said that's fine as the lens was $300 below retail and I received the lens with US warranty. Fast forward to a few months later, found a good deal on their site and they pull the same exact BS. Obviously not a new employee mistake but their standard business practice. The positive reviews are most likely fake. Yelp flagged a user that gave them 40 positive reviews. If they spent their time being a legit business instead of scamming people, they could be up there with Adorama or B&H.

Here is what the Better Business Bureau says about this company

On May 22,2007, this company's membership in the Metropolitan New York BBB was revoked by our BBB's Board of Directors due to the company's repeated and unauthorized use of the BBB logo and failure to eliminate the underlying cause of complaints on file concerning: non-delivery of products, misrepresentation of availability of merchandise, refusal to honor cancellations or provide timely refunds, unprofessional conduct, failure to resolve customer complaints, overcharging, undisclosed cancellation of orders, improper upselling tactics, and bait & switch selling

First hand experience, ordered a sony A7, good price, few days later got a call about the order, supposedly it was a cheap import, he said he felt bad and would like to upgrade me, etc, etc, listened to the speal he gave me, cancelled the order. I did get my money back by credit card but was prepared for the worst. I purchased my camera a different company for the same original price, free shipping and no bait and switch. The original order gave me the creeps.

Two years ago, I wrote about the bait-and-switch practice of Abes of Maine. Unfortunately, my own experience did not deter me from swallowing a bait again. I wanted to buy LG OLED65C7P TV. Abes of Maine offered an excellent price of $1,996 with free shipping. Everything looked very transparent on the site, therefore I completed the purchase. I receive an email stating that Your order has been placed and will be processed as soon as possible. Next day, a company representative called me and said that to proceed with the order, I must buy shipping insurance for about $300. She added that without this insurance the company would lose money on the sale. Thus, she admitted that the price on the site was fake. Since I refused to pay for the insurance, she canceled the order.
I looked up complaints about Abes of Maine online. There are hundreds. Do not get into the trap!

Checkout was fast and simple, everything worked smoothly. Afterwards, I got a call verifying my order, and they notified me of an additional promotion that I was unaware of and applied it to my order. Fantastic service! Thanks!