The Camera Exchange
💻 Tech Services · San Antonio
total experiences
replied on google
Most reported issues
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Experiences
unexpected deposit requirement and refusal of debit card payment
Staff provided incompatible equipment and refused to process a cash refund.
Lens condition was misrepresented and included an incorrect lens cap.
unhelpful staff, long wait times, and unfavorable return policy fees
staff refused to assist with camera evaluation or battery charging
Business reply on Google
Hi Krash, thanks for leaving this review. We’re really sorry that this was your experience. That’s not how we want anyone to feel when they walk into our shop, and it’s definitely not the service we strive for. You should’ve been helped in a timely manner - we would like the chance to make this right and take another look at your Canon T6i and your other camera properly. If you’re open to it, please stop back in or reach out and ask for Chris, our store manager. We’d be happy to help and make sure you get the experience you should’ve had.
Customer experienced a long wait time at the service counter.
Rental deposit requirements were communicated on the day of the event.
store attempted to charge an unfair restocking fee for a return
The business delayed the return process for a defective flash unit.
Item listed as in stock was sold to another customer
The store sold a reserved camera to another customer online.
Staff provided low offer and exhibited unprofessional, aggressive behavior.
inaccurate website inventory and confusing account setup process
Business reply on Google
Hi Caleb, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. We're truly sorry to hear that your visit didn’t meet your expectations and that you faced frustrations with the availability of the rental package and the online account setup process. The package listed as “coming soon” should not have caused confusion, and we’ll address this with our team to ensure better accuracy on our rental website. Additionally, we understand how frustrating it must have been to navigate between the two websites, and we’ll review our communication to make it clearer for future customers. While we’ve received positive feedback on our site’s UI, we appreciate your input and will take this into consideration as we strive to improve. We never want our customers to feel like their time was wasted, and we’re disappointed that this was your experience. Your feedback helps us identify areas we can work on to create a more seamless and efficient process. If you’re willing, we’d love the opportunity to make this right. Feel free to reach out to us directly so we can help resolve this for you and ensure your next visit is much smoother. Thank you again for your honesty, and we hope to have the c
The store failed to transport the purchased lens by the deadline.
Business reply on Google
Hello Martin. Thank you for sharing your feedback. I want to apologize for the experience you had—it does not meet the standards we hold ourselves to. At The Camera Exchange, we always strive to treat our customers like family, and it’s clear we fell short this time. We’d love the chance to make things right and show you the care you deserve. Please feel free to reach out to us directly at [email protected] if there’s anything more we can do to help. We truly appreciate your feedback and are using it to improve. We hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back and provide a better experience in the future. - Rene E.
The business charges excessive prices for individual rolls of film.
Business reply on Google
Hi Joshua, We're sorry to hear you were unhappy with your experience buying film from us, as well as you not getting all of the information regarding the reason "that's just how it is". To provide you with a little more information, when retailers purchase items from manufacturers/distributors to sell in our stores, we do not all receive the same pricing. A large retailer who sells a ton of film is going to receive a deeply discounted rate at which they buy that film to sell, so they are naturally going to be able to pass that lower rate on to their customers. The majority of our business these days is in digital photography, so unfortunately we are not able to compete with larger retailers when it comes to film. To offer some perspective, if we were to sell film at the price point offered by the largest online camera supply retailer, we would lose money, as their customer price is lower than what we currently pay for it from the distributor. We wish the game worked differently, but as a mom and pop shop, we always do our best to offer the most competitive prices we are able to without losing money. We would never intend to "take advantage of artists", as we are artists ourselves.
Staff accessed personal photos on a customer's SD card without permission.
Business reply on Google
Hi Victoria, First of all, I would like to sincerely apologize how it must have felt to have had someone else look at the photos on the card - even if it was just to confirm whether or not it was blank. I can assure you that the only reason we would ever do that is to quickly see if the card was empty as that would tell us we need to put it aside should the customer call to arrange picking it up at some point. When we buy a used camera, it immediately goes through the process of cleaning and setting it up to be re-sold. If a card has been left behind, we would see it then if we hadn't already. We would never just go through someone's card out of curiosity. It would simply be to make sure we keep it set aside in a secure place for a customer, because while you sold your camera to us, we would want you to be able to have that card and those photos back, of course! I do not say any of this to discount how it made you feel, as I completely understand, and I want to thank you for bringing this to my attention. We will be addressing this issue with the member of our sales staff who you spoke with, as well as our entire staff at our next meeting this weekend. We have been a family owned b
The store charges a restocking fee for returned camera equipment.
Business reply on Google
Hi Ryan, Thank you for taking the time to leave this feedback for us. I realize that the extent of certain store policies is not always clear from a customer's perspective. Customer service is something that is very important to us, and our policy is to charge re-stocking fees in instances when one or more of several factors are present. With only your first name and no details about your order/return, I am unable to explain why our staff felt a re-stocking fee was warranted in this case. I would love the opportunity to learn more, as we are always looking to improve our customer service and would never want someone to feel they are being treated unfairly. If we were in the business of being unfair, we would not still be in business after 50 years. :) Would you be willing to email me at [email protected] so I can get more details from you to see if this return was handled in a way that meets our standards, and if we can make this right. Thank you again for bringing this to our attention!
Staff provided poor service and demonstrated unprofessional behavior during equipment…
Business reply on Google
Hello, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We are sorry to hear you were unhappy with the service you received. We like to help each of our customers thoroughly - answering any questions they may have about their purchase, making recommendations, or assessing trade-in value. Because of this, once in a while it may take a few minutes before a sales staff member is able to assist a new customer if they are currently in the middle of consulting with another customer. We know it can be frustrating to have to wait, but once in a while this can be the trade-off for receiving such thorough, personalized service in our store. We understand it probably didn't feel good to not be acknowledged, and for that we apologize. I can assure you, our sales staff consists of some of the kindest people you'll ever meet, so if you weren't noticed because they were in the middle of assisting someone else, it certainly was not personal or on purpose. We never want to be pushy or "salesy", so we often wait for customers to approach the counter for service. If you were not doing that, the third employee who came out may have thought you were waiting with another customer who was being helped. I
unhelpful staff and poor condition of rental equipment
Business reply on Google
Hi Melanie, sorry your experiences with us has not been the best! The way we do our rentals is all of our customers need to place their order online prior to pick up. There’s just no way for our sales associates to place an order for you. Our system simply don’t allow that. It is nothing again you or against the fact that you’re woman. If you can send me an email to let me know which item you rented was not in a condition to your liking I can see if it’s in our budget to have the item replace. You can email me at [email protected]. Thank you Melanie!
The store offers low buyback prices for used camera equipment.
Business reply on Google
Hi Tyler. This is Paulette, the Store Manager. I'm going to follow up on this transaction. Could you send me an email, so that I can have your contact information. ([email protected]) Also, do you know the date that you came in? And can you tell me the models of the cameras that you brought in? This information will help me figure out the details of what happened. I do apologize. Our store policy is that we use several different resources to price our used equipment. We do not rely on Ebay alone. We use several online resources and our own buying data. I've been able to find some information on the models that you wanted to sell. I reviewed the numbers and our buyer based the decision on the age of the cameras. The Sony a5000 is four generations old and the Canon t5i is two generations old. We pay up to 70% of retail value ONLY on current models.