PROCAM Photo & Video Gear | Chicago - Aurora — Local services in Aurora

This store is consistently disappointing. Every time I try to be a customer, it seems that they push me away.

I was interested in buying a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. I thought it was cool to have a local store that stocked them. Come to find out, they don't accept any returns whatsoever on Blackmagic products. In fact, they don't accept returns on all kinds of different merchandise, including any cinema cameras or lenses (???), memory cards, gimbals, drones, anything from DJI, etc. When I asked an employee about this, he actually tried to explain to me that it was somehow a good thing. What an absurd justification.

Even on the things that they do accept returns for, their return policy is so bad that you'd be better off going anywhere else. If you so much as open the box at all, you have to pay them a 15% restocking fee. So, if you buy a $2000 camera, take it out of the box, decide it doesn't work for you, and take it back the next day, you have to pay them $300 for the privilege. Isn't having a good return policy one of the biggest selling points of having a brick-and-mortar store in this day and age? Why would anyone buy something expensive here when any of the other major retailers have a much better return policy?

On top of that, I was interested in renting some camera gear. Not only do you need to put down a deposit for the full value of the gear you're renting (which is very unusual for a consumer-level rental house, and makes renting quality gear impossible for many people due to needing thousands of dollars on hand), but they twist basic logic to trick you into paying more than you thought for a rental.

I called and spoke to an employee about renting, and he told me that if I rented a camera for three days, I would have to bring it back on the second day, because the day you pick up the camera counts as a day (apparently they start counting the days from 1 instead of 0? I've never heard of that in my life). So, if you rented a camera and brought it back 48 hours later, they view that as a three-day rental. I needed to rent a camera for 72 hours, and they consider that a four-day rental, which is more expensive.

I was confused by this strange, false logic and asked him to clarify several times, and he quickly took a condescending tone with me as though I was the idiot for not immediately understanding.

There is nothing I hate more than a business trying to play me for a fool in an attempt to make a few extra dollars, rather than just having a simple, intuitive policy. It feels incredibly condescending. I was planning to spend a lot of money on camera gear in the near future, but this interaction has ensured that I will always take my business elsewhere.

Edit: They have not responded to this review even though they read it (as evidenced by their responses to reviews that came after mine), which means that they know they have no good justification for these practices, and are not interested in their customers. This really shows their true character. Stay away...

I am beyond surprised that they are so firm about their open box return policy, yet, I have had several instances where I bought new items only to get them home to find they have been opened. One item was broken already but because I needed it right away, I found out the hard way. None of the flashes or triggers and some other accessories have tamper proof seals on them. So how does anyone know, including the purchaser know an item hasn’t been opened and then returned? It is too risky to buy what should be brand new untouched items there. I have to order all of my expensive equipment elsewhere or via their website. But even coming home with a $100 trigger that has marks and without a screen protector is very disappointing. If you’re charging customers a 15% restocking fee and then boxing it up like it’s new is a very deceptive practice. It would be nice to be able to trust the local camera shop.

Every time I’ve discovered an item was defective it’s at the most in opportune times. And the response when I explain what happened is never empathetic. Almost as if they are use to it. Well, I am not used to dropping thousands on what is supposed to be “new” items to find they are poorly made and/or defective or used at the time of purchase.

Also, when I first started out, I was encouraged to buy a brand of flashes and strobes that are expensive but have proven to be cheaply made. Over a 2 month period, I have had 2 broken/defective flashes at $280 each . After research, I found they carry a much more reliable brand for the same or slightly higher price. Now because of their difficult policy and no protection plan offered, I am having to invest another $1000+ on a new lighting system. This time I will be smart and go with a company that offers protection on their lighting and a better return policy. I wish they would have steered me to the more reliable brand that I am switching to now because I certainly had no preferences. I was so depending on a knowledgeable and ethical rep to help me in choosing .

I truly had high hopes and wanted to support a local company for my photography business. The two stars is for the 2 knowledgeable reps that I have encountered that have never tried to sell me anything that I don’t need. Anything I have purchased on the Procam website comes new and pristinely packaged, sealed...

i’m feeling bad that there is no way to give negative ratings for this company. i’m a Canadian resident and i placed an order ( s5iix) in the month of june this year over online. I believe the order was placed on the livonia store. i received the package through fedex and did pay the custom duties to get the package. upon opening, i was shocked to see a different camera than the one i ordered. i immediately informed the team and sent them the pics of the items i received to them on email.

After sending the email, i was trying to reach them on email and calls, but no response. my calls were disconnected and no response on my emails till date. i’m disgusted on myself to trust these people and paying for the item. I happen to talk to the manager Mr. Frank, but the person was very rude and even disrespectful. I was given an invoice which don't show the serial number. i’m trying to get the money i paid ( 2970 cad ) and i’m still trying to get my money. Until now zero information is given on my enquiry and the store and trying to deny my request with no proper reason.

I’m now seeking the law to intervene and get this issue solved. These guys are so lethargic on call and are showing sheer resistance to accept the mistake and provide the refund for their mistake. Its been over 100 days and still they are keeping silent. I did call them again earlier this week, the manager was rude stating they are not going to talk about it. This store is a scam and please be careful before ordering.

I‘m aware of the process to get the refund by taking legal measures, but this review is to educate the customers about the scam these people doing on their customers.

Guys please i request everyone to be careful and cautious doing business with these people. They dont care about customers and also never respond to any questions incase of any problem.

Save yourself from these bogus stores. They will definitely pay for everything they caused and i hope they stop doing this to the...