I thought I had found a megadeal when I ordered my Canon 350D from Pixmania, for £556. They still haven’t shipped it (over a fortnight later) so today I cancelled my order. Turns out now I can buy it from Jessops down the road for just £20 more (after taking shipping charges into account) and actually have it in my hands the same day. I think this is the first negative online buying experience I have had, but I suppose I have been lucky before now (and my experience pales in comparison with the abusive tactics employed by one NY camera retailer).

If you were thinking of using Pixmania, be warned that they don’t always honour their “ship within 24hrs” claim.

[edit] Well, I tried to cancel the order, but would you believe they had just shipped it before they processed my cancellation request, so I ended up receiving the package yesterday. When I opened it up there were three problems; 1. No CompactFlash card (I guess they shipped it separately, but it still hasn’t arrived) 2. European mains plug (not a huge problem since they gave me an adapter, but it looks rubbish) 3. NO ENGLISH MANUAL!

Aside from the fact that it took them two weeks to deliver a stock item (despite their 24hr delivery claim… hahaha) I am pretty unhappy with the service I received.

I’ve done a bit of digging on their site and if you read the small print, they do say the manual is provided in French, German & Italian and they give a link to a Canon site where you can download an English version…. but I still think it’s poor show on their part and personally I’d rather have a properly-produced paper book than a stapled-together A4 version.

How I wish I had read some customer reviews first! Have a look at the Pricerunner users’ experiences with Pixmania. It seems I am not the only one who has experienced a long delay and poor customer service.

I really wish I had just bought it from Jessops in the local high street, since the price difference is negligable but I’ll chalk it down to experience. All I can do is pass on my negative experience and hope that if you were thinking of buying from Pixmania you will do a bit of research on them first. Try giving their customer service line a ring on 0870 118 117 and see how long it takes them to answer your call (I gave up after 25 minutes). If you manage to speak to someone, ask them how long delivery will be before ordering and ensure you get an English manual - I had to pay £13 from Canon for mine, making the total saving £7 vs Jessops and I still don’t have my memory card!