Don't buy Bower camera and video lenses in New York City!
I had a one day layover at Newark airport so I went into New York City. I really wanted to take pictures of midtown Manhatten but I needed a battery for my camera. I went into a small store and I picked up a charger and battery. It was overpriced at $200 but I really wanted to shoot pictures so I got them.
There is a very clever shell game that is going on in the retail stores around the Broadway district. I had previously been looking for wide angle lens so when the salesman said that he had a wide angle lens for my Kodak EasyShare camera I got interested. He said it retailed for $645 and would give me a "deal" for $400. I tried it, in the dark because it was night time. I bought the lens.
Bower Macro Crystal series 0.5x high resolution pro digital lens
When I got the photos on my laptop I realized that they were pretty grainy and that the lens was not an expensive lens. I did some internet research and found the same lens retailing for $69 from a bunch of reputable venders.
I called up Bower USA, (46-24 28th St. Long Island City, New York 11101, USA 1-800-446-7244 sales@bowerusa.com )the distributer for the product and asked them the MSRP. They said they had no Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP). Within a few minutes I realized that they knew this racket was going on in New York, Paris and other high density tourist areas, and that many other people had called them from around the world with similar complaints. Then he said something very profound. He said to me:
Buyer beware!!!
That was his response. I said that reputable manufacturer's provide a MSRP to prevent this very problem from happening, and Bower's refusal to have a MSRP indicates they support this practise of 400% inflated prices. After a couple of minutes of that he hung up on me.
So there you have it. I bought a $70 lens for $400. Net loss $330. It would be the same if I had been mugged in Times Square or if I had been taken in a "shell game". And Bower is fully aware of it and supports it.
For sure, I should have done my research beforehand, which was a big mistake. I'm used to retail stores that have some ethics. But what my research found (albeit too late) is that Bower Photo lenses are not worth a lot of money. So don't make the mistake I did and pay big bucks for them. Retailers in and around Time Square are less than ethical. I should know that since I lived in NYC for 5 years. But that was 20 years ago, and I guess I forgot.
