Cameta Camera Amazon Store Review

Last Updated on March 19, 2019 by cameraconsumer

In terms of sheer sales volume, Cameta Camera is the largest camera store on Amazon, trailing only Adorama Camera. 

Cameta Camera has been in business since 1983 – founded in Amityville, New York, by Bill Cameta.

They started off with a retail location – which was soon expanded to a larger storefront – and eventually, like every other successful business in the modern era, they transitioned to online platforms. Cameta Camera has had a significant, and popular presence on Amazon since 2006.

That storied history is great and all, but does it mean that you should purchase from them? Often times yes, but sometimes no. 

If you’re buying something inexpensive, like a generic camera strap, then it doesn’t really matter. On the other hand, if you’re purchasing something expensive like maybe a new Canon EOS R Mirrorless digital camera, you’d probably like to know that you can trust Cameta Camera. You want to know that you’re receiving not just an authentic Canon product, but also one that is not grey market, or an import version.

But how do you know? How do you know if you can trust a given online seller?

If those thoughts have crossed your mind, you’re not alone. Most people think the same way when they see a price tag in the $ thousands.

Let’s take a look at Cameta Camera, from top to bottom, and figure out if they’re a trustworthy seller.

General Feedback Overview

Cameta Camera has earned about 240,000 positive feedback ratings, with a 97% overall positive transaction rate (96% over the past 12 months). 

As a general rule of thumb, you should stay away from sellers with less than a 95% positive rate. Less than 95% doesn’t necessarily indicate a dishonest seller; but it does increase the possibility of issues coming up, like late shipping, incorrect or incomplete orders, etc.

Cameta Camera meets the 95% threshold.

 

Post edit: This post was written in February of 2019, and the figures above might not be current when you read this. This is their feedback page with current stats.

On the surface, everything looks good. Let’s keep digging…

Products in their store

Cameta Camera sells cameras and photography equipment like lenses, tripods, flashes, cases, etc.

Items like a Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G Lens, Joby GripTight Smartphone/Action Camera Flexible Tripod Stand Kit, or a Canon EOS Rebel SL2 DSLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm STM Lens.

 

With over 6,000 items in stock, you’ll see the usual camera brands like Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, etc.

Cameta Camera sells new, refurbished, and used products. You’ll have to make sure to read the description to know what you’re getting.

Returns and Warranty Information

Cameta Camera offers the standard 30-day return policy. You get 30 days from the time you receive your purchase. Their re-stocking fee is 15%.

Shipping is free for most items within the 48 contiguous states.

All new products come with the original manufacturer’s warranty. Refurbished products come with a 1-year Cameta warranty. Used items get a six-month warranty.

Company Profile

Cameta Camera is located in Amityville, NY.

Their retail location not only sells cameras and accessories, but they also offer full-service photo lab as well.

Cameta Camera has been accredited with the Better Business Bureau since 3/22/2001. Currently, they have an “A+” rating.

 

If you need to contact them, their phone number is (800) 991-3350.

Feedback in Detail

We covered the details of their business, now let’s figure out if Cameta Camera is worthy of your business, or if you’re better off making your purchase from another store.

They’ve been in business for 36 years, so we should be able to find a decent amount of information about them.

 

Let’s start with their Google customer reviews. These ratings are independent of Amazon and are usually fairly credible.

Looks good so far: 95% positive, with a 4.8 overall score. The graph above shows that the majority of their ratings have been a 5-star review.

Since we’re reviewing them as an Amazon seller, let’s take a detailed look at their Amazon feedback, and see if we can dig up some dirt.

Over the past year, Cameta Camera has earned 5,509 positive feedback ratings, with only a 3% negative rate. 

Here is a snapshot of their entire feedback history as of February 28th, 2019. You can also read their current feedback stats here.

 

 

The raw numbers look good. We’re halfway towards confirming that Cameta Camera is an honest seller. Now let’s hear from their actual customers. The people that have actually shopped from Cameta in the past. What their actual comments say is much more important than some plain numbers.

In order to do accurately analyze a seller’s feedback, you have to be able to separate the harmless feedback and the ones that actually indicate red flags.

For the most part, you can generally ignore negative comments that mention:

• The seller being out of stock
• Wasn’t satisfied with the item
• Incorrect or partial order shipped
• A product being received after the promised delivery date

Everyone and every seller makes mistakes. No matter how hard you try, errors just happen. The comments above are the result of mistakes – not dishonesty.

 

So you can ignore comments that mention mistakes. But…

 

What should you pay attention to?

Comments that mention:

• Item not received
• Counterfeit 
• (For camera stores) Import version represented as region specific
• Seller not issuing refunds

A handful of the comments above are usually not a big deal and often are just the result of a transaction gone horribly wrong – I.e. a buyer looking for retribution.

But a repeated pattern of the comments above definitely shines the light on a dishonest seller – one that should be avoided!

So what does Cameta Camera’s feedback say?

Looking through their feedback, you will commonly see 5-star positive feedback. Comments that mention things like… “Arrived on time” or “as described”, “very happy with purchase”, etc. Like these:

Which is up to par, given the raw feedback numbers we’ve been looking at so far. Now let’s read some of their negative feedback comments. Let’s figure out if Cameta Camera makes honest mistakes, or if they’re a shady seller, with dishonest business practices.

 

 

The 5 examples above are just a sample, but if you look through the rest of their feedback, you’ll notice the same trend. They just indicate customers being unhappy about benign issues, like slow shipping, etc.

In the examples above, 3 of the comments mentioned shipping time. One of the comments spoke about packaging, and the last one was a customer complaining about pricing.

With that, we can definitely say that Cameta Camera passes the feedback test. There’s just one more test to analyze before we can justify Cameta as being a trustworthy seller…

An authorized Dealer (or not)

As always, buying from an authorized dealer is the best way to avoid hassles when shopping online. Doing so assures that you receive an authentic (and region-specific) camera or accessory. The full manufacturer’s warranty will only be honored if you purchase from an authorized dealer.

 

 

You might be wondering what exactly an authorized dealer is. To sum it up, an authorized dealer is a seller who purchases its inventory directly from the manufacturer. Authorized dealers are also given training on how to handle, and repair the merchandise.

 

So is Cameta Camera an authorized dealer?

Cameta Camera does in fact claim that they are authorized dealers for all of the brands that they sell. Which is great! But what if they’re lying?

Is there a way to confirm if they’re telling the truth? Yes, there actually is. If you go to most manufacturer’s websites, there should be a section that mentions “authorized dealers”. From there, you can usually locate sellers based off of location.

Let’s visit a few camera (and accessory) manufacturers, and confirm if Cameta’s claims are true.

Olympus 

Let’s start with Olympus. They are one of the “big four” when it comes to camera brands. 

Is Cameta Camera authorized to sell Olympus cameras?

Yes, they are an Olympus authorized dealer.

 

Panasonic

How about Panasonic? Their Lumix line of cameras has been gaining a lot of popularity with the arrival of the L-Mount Alliance. 

Is Cameta Camera an authorized Panasonic dealer?

 

Yup, they are authorized with Panasonic as well.

Hoya

Let’s look at some accessory brands. How about Hoya filters?

 

Yes, we can confirm with Hoya as well.

Rokinon

Just to be safe, let’s check one more. How about Rokinon?

 

Check! They are also authorized to sell Rokinon camera lenses. 

Conclusion

Given their great feedback, and the fact that we were able to confirm that Cameta is an authorized seller, we can conclude that they are an honest seller, worthy of your business.

Cameta Camera is legit. You can definitely feel safe and confident purchasing from Cameta Camera.