Woodland Hills Camera & Telescopes — Attraction in Los Angeles

First and LAST time i ever use this shop/website!

I ordered a telescope over a week ago. (sunday) It is the very first time I buy something from this shop/website and considering the amount of the item (~2500$ with shipping), I contacted the seller on Tuesday to ask if they were still shipping because of the corona mess and if yes, if they could give me a rough estimate as to when. They wanted to get back to me in the morning because Orion shop had already closed. They never did.

So 2 days later (Thursday) I contacted them again this time via email. They didn’t reply.

The next day (Friday) I contacted them again! This time they did reply in the late afternoon, apologizing and saying they would let me know if / when my order will be shipped. But of course they never did. So with this great first impression I was already thinking about cancelling the order and buying it somewhere else…

Which brings us to today (Monday)! At 3:23 I received an email from Curt, saying the shipping would be 75$ more expensive than what I paid. (that’s 75$ on top of the 225.50$ I paid) Seeing this as a very strange thing, because I order online A LOT and this is the first time in over 20 years that I have to pay more than originally asked, I decided enough is enough and I asked them to cancel my order! I did this within 15 minutes or receiving the email. At this point there was no word about the order being already shipped or picked up by UPS.

Then they send me an email reply that they would absorb the 75$ and that the order would be shipped today... “Shipped today”, not: "has already been shipped/picked up", but "IS GOING TO BE" shipped today! (important later)

At this point I was already on the live chat, talking to Maxwell to whom I also told twice already to CANCEL my order. And he told me at 3:59pm, so over 20 minutes after I asked Curt to cancel my order, that my order had been shipped! I asked him again to cancel/recall my order, but just closed the live chat on me!

I opened a new live chat and was greeted by Farah. I asked her to confirm that my order would be cancelled… this turned into a +30 minutes discussion…

Bottom line: I do not trust this shop/website! In over a week they were to not able to tell me IF they would ship my order and if so, give me a rough estimate as to WHEN.

When they finally were able to ship my order, they miscalculated the shipping fees and just assumed that I would agree to pay more, without asking me first! When I refused and asked for a cancellation, they did not care and STILL handed it over to UPS, 20 minutes after I asked multiple times for them to cancel the order! And now of course, they want me to pay the delivery fees (225,50$) because they failed to do what I asked? No!

I just opened a Paypal case and if they do not refund me the shipping costs, i will have no choice but to take them to court. I have no problem paying thousands of dollars, but i will not be scammed!

This is absolutely unprofessional and unacceptable!!

My tip: Avoid these people! There are other, way better...

Update: Immediately after posting this review Curt called me to discuss the situation and offered his sincerest apologies. I do respect a business that will admit fault and maintain a relationship with its customers

Thank you

Disappointed with customer service. Better communication needed.

I attended NEAF on 4/8/17 of this year and bought a Celestron CGX from WH and was told it would have to be shipped because they had none at the show. I had absolutely no problems with that.

1 1/2 weeks after show no tracking #, no email, no phone call. I decided a call was in order to check on the status. I was told orders where still being processed and that it should go out in the next day or two and was asked to hold on while they looked for my order. Phone was set down and I could here people talking and after 10 minutes I was hung up on.

I called back three days later because I still had not received any tracking info and no email. This time around I was told that they had a run on them at the store and more than likely it would ship from the manufacture. So here we are at week 2 and no mount and more BS.

Week 3....I called back because I still had not received anything from them. Imagine my surprise. I spoke to Mounsey this time around who promptly sent out an email asking that someone get back to me with status. No response from anyone. Called back yet a 4th time and was assured it was shipping that night and I would receive tracking info.

11:30 pm 4/24/17 I received tracking info from Curt. So next day I checked UPS to see where it was and when I could expect delivery to NJ. No departure scan from UPS. I email Curt "Great, I see shipping label was generated but why has it not shipped." His response "I am quite sure that this was picked up by UPS. I do not know why it is not tracking. I will check in the morning and update you. I am very sorry about the delays." No update.

So... I check again today, 4/28/17, and UPS shows a departure scan. TODAY. 3 days later after UPS shipping label was generated.

Mount due to arrive 5/3/17 3 1/2 weeks later...

I’ve been a customer of Woodland Hills Camera for the past two and a half years. When I first started, I didn’t even know which part of the telescope to look into—let alone how to navigate the complex world of astrophotography. But thanks to the guidance and ongoing support of their incredible team, I gradually became educated and confident in this field.

From day one, the support I received—especially from Farah, the owner—was extraordinary. The staff is not only deeply knowledgeable but also consistently kind, patient, and genuinely supportive.

About a year and a half ago, I encountered a serious issue with a high-end astrophotography camera I had purchased from them. At first, I didn’t recognize the artifact that appeared in my images, and a lot of time passed before I realized something was wrong. By then, I was worried it was too late to do anything about it.

Had it not been for Farah’s unwavering support—her numerous emails, her advocacy, and her determination to stand by me—I’m certain the manufacturer would have let the issue go unresolved. But thanks to her, the camera was ultimately fixed.

Now, unbelievably, the same issue has occurred again with another camera. And once again, Farah is there—fighting for me, supporting me, and making sure I’m not left behind. The level of support she provides feels personal, as if I were family or part of the store itself. I genuinely believe no one else would go this far to help a customer.

As of now, I’m waiting on another response from the manufacturer, but I’m confident that with Farah’s support, we’ll reach a resolution.

People often ask me why I don’t just buy my gear online or go elsewhere. The answer is simple: no one—and I truly mean no one—offers this kind of care, expertise, and commitment. I trust Woodland Hills Camera completely, and I’m endlessly grateful to them. They’ve earned not just my loyalty, but my heartfelt...