Axer "composition" lens....Yeah Right

sonicbuffalo · Nov 20, 2013

I was a sucker I guess....went on a trip, walked into a electronics store and was trying to find a lens that would allow me to take closeups. The salesman asked me what camera I had and then screwed this new 'miracle' lens onto the existing OEM kit lens.

He said this lens would give me a wider field of view along with a seperate macro lens. What he said was this was a composition lens. He showed me that it did have a wider angle of view, and unscrewed the macro portion of the lens too. The price he showed my on his phone on the net was $999.99. He said he could drop it to $750, and finallly he told me $500.00 with a no return policy. You could only exchange it for up to 7 days. Well, I screwed myself again because our cruise was an 11 day cruise. I liked what I saw in the store and through my viewfinder so I bought it.

It wasn't until I got home and downloaded the pictures that I realized everytime I used this 'miracle' lens, it left a tunnel shadow like you would see on TV as if you were looking out of a telescope. Well, I tried to look up this lens in the store on amazon, and it didn't show up at all. I should have taken that as my first clue. This electronics store is located in the Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise, FL. Do NOT do business with them, as they are scam artists.:thumbdown:

o hey tyler · Nov 20, 2013

sonicbuffalo said:
I was a sucker I guess....went on a trip, walked into a electronics store and was trying to find a lens that would allow me to take closeups. The salesman asked me what camera I had and then screwed this new 'miracle' lens onto the existing OEM kit lens. He said this lens would give me a wider field of view along with a seperate macro lens. What he said was this was a composition lens. He showed me that it did have a wider angle of view, and unscrewed the macro portion of the lens too. The price he showed my on his phone on the net was $999.99. He said he could drop it to $750, and finallly he told me $500.00 with a no return policy. You could only exchange it for up to 7 days. Well, I screwed myself again because our cruise was an 11 day cruise. I liked what I saw in the store and through my viewfinder so I bought it. It wasn't until I got home and downloaded the pictures that I realized everytime I used this 'miracle' lens, it left a tunnel shadow like you would see on TV as if you were looking out of a telescope. Well, I tried to look up this lens in the store on amazon, and it didn't show up at all. I should have taken that as my first clue. This electronics store is located in the Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise, FL. Do NOT do business with them, as they are scam artists.:thumbdown:

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/off-topic-chat/307362-friend-ripped-off-what-do-axer-lens.html

Guess you learned a tough lesson.

Braineack · Nov 20, 2013

pixmedic · Nov 20, 2013

The recurring theme for places selling Axer lenses seems to be "no returns".
Anytime a store tells me no returns on a new item, especially hardware, it raises huge red flags.

I would assume that most other lens manufacturers have a return policy, as do most retail stores selling photography equipment. Some even have return policies on used gear.

Robin_Usagani · Nov 20, 2013

Why was that a scam? He was just a good salesman.

ImSoQuazy · Nov 20, 2013

Been there and done that!
But wait, there's more...
Don't go researching the hardware you purchased, like me, and learn that this piece of hardware could be purchased (why?) anywhere for about $20 (a very personal anecdote, please do not share my embarrassment).
But like most events in life... live & learn.

tirediron · Nov 20, 2013

Robin_Usagani said:
Why was that a scam? He was just a good salesman.

I would submit that your definition of 'good' and mine are vastly different Robin!

Robin_Usagani · Nov 20, 2013

If someone can sell a piece of **** for $$.. the guy is talented.

amolitor · Nov 20, 2013

Ever gone into a successful piano store? Those guys are awesome.

Overread · Nov 20, 2013

Not really they are just selling them for a higher price than they should be because the Axer website lists them as such and is shown in store. Chances are in a year or so Axer will change to another name so that they can start all over again. These retailers though are risking it a bit - they only target tourists in general because they know they can sell something to a tourist and they are unlikely to come back and query it once they leave the country and most are unlikely to do lots of research whilst on holiday.

The risk for the retailer is that they will slowly gather up more and more bad reviews that might suddenly hit their current average sales as news spreads over the net and and starts to seep into their local community.

tirediron · Nov 20, 2013

Those prices are beyond crazy!!!

Derrel · Nov 20, 2013

Axer brand lenses are an internet scam! The on-line model and price page is there as a rip-off tool. http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/off-topic-chat/307362-friend-ripped-off-what-do-axer-lens.html

I feel bad that they sold you basically, a $24 thread-on conversion lens for $500. OUCH!!!!

Overread · Nov 20, 2013

What's more worrying is that the scam appears to be working out of more brick and mortar stores instead of just off online retailers. One would think a legitimate highstreet store wouldn't want to risk such trade - sure its a VERY nice profit margin but word must get around and they might find they get a short term boost for a long term loss.

amolitor · Nov 20, 2013

Most of these stores have no reputation to protect. They're no-name storefronts in a tourist area.

tirediron · Nov 20, 2013

Overread said:
What's more worrying is that the scam appears to be working out of more brick and mortar stores instead of just off online retailers. One would think a legitimate highstreet store wouldn't want to risk such trade - sure its a VERY nice profit margin but word must get around and they might find they get a short term boost for a long term loss.

I'm guessing you've never been to the 'tourist shopping area' of a large US city? These are NOT your typical respectable high-street store, rather they're the sort of place where, if the salesman shakes your hand, you'd best count your fingers after! San Francisco is the stand-out in this area; the area between Fisherman's Wharf and the Maritime Musuem is a solid mass of these stores which all sell essentially the same selection of cameras, radios, binoculars, etc, at crazily marked up prices...