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My parents were given a gift certificate for this studio worth $800.00 after buying a car. When they decided to use it, the studio operators, instead of telling them that the gift certificate only included a crappy portrait sitting and an 11x14" wall portrait that's not framed (which in my opinion is extremely overpriced especially considering that this is apparently worth $800), went ahead and coax them into taking multiple photos and having them choose between those photos which one they would like to bring home. When my mother asked if it was possible to only take two photos home in an attempt to keep the price as low as possible, my parents were denied and were told that they had to choose a minimum of at least five photos. Once they've chosen their photos, they were met with an absurd receipt saying the whole thing was worth more than $2000 which makes the $800 gift certificate completely negligible. This was a scam, they lure you in with a gift certificate but then they make you take another deal once you're actually in there only to tell you the price AFTER you've done it. I really have to recommend against supporting this photo studio because of their extremely misleading way of communication and intentionally cryptic nature of showing their prices.
My parents got a gift certificate worth $800 from this photo studio after buying a car. When they went to the studio to claim it, they were basically coaxed into taking photos and the studio operators failed to mention that the gift certificate only included a portrait sitting and an 11x14" wall portrait. They still went and kept taking photos and made my parents choose the photos they wanted to take after the session. My mother asked if it was possible to only take a few photos to keep the cost as low as possible, they denied the request and said that the minimum number of photos they could take home from that session was five. When it came to the time to actually pay for the service, my parents were shocked when they found out that the photos were worth more than $2000 even though they went to the studio showing that they only wanted to claim what the certificate was worth. However, instead of sticking to what the certificate said, the studio operators went ahead and lead them to take more photos than they would have wanted and coaxed them into taking a deal they never would have taken if they just mentioned what the price tag was going to be in the first place. The studio failed to say what the price was going to be until the very last minute and so it was very apparent to me that my parents were scammed. They did not intend to pay this much money just for a few photos, they only wanted to claim the gift certificate, thinking they'd get just a few things (mind you, this crappy certificate is priced at an absurdly high $800) but were instead smooth sales talked into taking more than they could even afford. Now buried in debt thanks to this transparent-as-mud company, I really advice people AGAINST supporting this sad excuse for a company.
Had the exact same experience except our minimum package deal we were coerced into was $3000.00.
The whole thing is an overpriced scam, don't be taken in, they rely on people making emotional decisions once they have you trapped in their little studio room with very push and rude sales people. Horrible experience, throw away your gift voucher it's not worth the paper it's written on.
Had the exact same experience. Got coaxed into paying an additional $2000+ over and above the $800 gift certificate.
When we replied to the quotation email saying that we had changed our mind (within the 24 hour cooling off period - which they don't even tell you about), we were horrified to discover that it was a no-reply email address and it wasn't read. After a couple of days of follow-up phone calls, we finally got hold of them and they said that we had to stick to the original order as we missed the cooling off period. After escalating, they finally agreed to scale back the order to the $1, 565 package (still over and above the gift voucher). After the 6 month payment plan, we received the wrong USB stick in the mail - someone else's photos! Nightmare experience from start to finish. STAY AWAY!
This pretty much sums up our experience too. How are these people allowed to get away with this? We received an $800 voucher as well. I have since written to the company who gave us the voucher. We have a large family, had fun with the photos - then at the end (after all the sales schmooze) they told us the price - $5, 000. Unbelievable! My husband and I looked at each other and almost laughed, if we weren’t in a state of shock I think we would have. We said absolutely not, no thank you. Then he kept pushing, oh but you can have the one photo for $1, 500, and pay it off. We looked at him in disbelief. Considering we get more enjoyment and fulfilment out of the photos we take by ourselves, and the fact they’re instantaneous, leaves me wondering how this company manages to survive. By the way, the one little photo (which came with the voucher) will take several weeks to be ready. It would have cost us $25 to get it delivered, but we will be picking it up - whenever it is ready. What an absolute waste of time!
I too received the $800 voucher from a very reputable car company and made it clear when I called to book in the shoot that I only wanted digital images as I had more than enough prints. They agreed that would be possible but they still tried to force me into outrageously priced prints and digital only was still in the vicinity of $3000 (including the voucher! - so suffice to say, I left with ordering my 11x14 print that was included in the voucher . I have worked with a lot of photography companies and this has been an extremely disappointing experience. They clearly run off commissions and the sales pitch is scripted and perfected. I certainly didn’t fall for it. Our photographer was lovely and did a great job but the end results weren’t worth that amount of money. If they changed their approach and pricing, they would more than likely triple their business. I wouldn’t recommend this company to anyone. I will also let the car dealership know what an unpleasant experience it was and their gift has left a very bad taste!