I've bought and sold numerous items on amazon for almost 2 years now. However I've never bought a big ticket item like a camera and they are currently the only on line retailer with the D300s and D7000 in stock. I'm fairly loyal and comfortable buying from B&H but they and adorama are both out of stock.
Is buying a DSLR from amazon as safe and secure as buying from b&h, etc?
I've purchased several items from Amazon, and they are very reliable, safe, and secure. Be sure though that it is actually through Amazon. Third party resellers that sell through Amazon may not be as safe and secure, though some can be very good as well.
Like Dave I have purchased numerous high dollar cameras and lenses...I have not had a problem with Amazon. In fact, I prefer to buy my stuff from Amazon.
Also, if you need to return something you don't have to contact the retailer to obtain a RMA number. You can simply go online, process your return, obtain your RMA number, and print out your shipping label. Heck, there has been a few times Amazon has arranged for UPS to come pick up the package I needed returned.
Below the price (usually) it will say something like this if it's sold by a third party:
"Ships from and sold by PORTABLE GUY."
Below the price (usually) it will say something like this if it's sold directly by Amazon:
"Ships from and sold by Amazon.com."
This is on a pc. I don't know what it might say if your using an app. You could just call them. They have a good system (again, on pc) where you leave your number and they call you back so you're not on hold.
For me Amazon has been the most hassle free store to deal with when doing returns or exchanges for a range of items including camera stuff and more.
And by the way even if something is sold by a third-party, Amazon still has very strong guarantees and do make sure that the seller gives you a refund if the product is defective or anything like that. The only difference is that with a third party seller Amazon asks you to first talk directly to the seller and resolve it. If the seller doesn't resolve it then Amazon steps in and makes sure that they do resolve it. Once a third party seller wanted to charge me return shipping cost for a defective item that I was returning. I called Amazon and they said that we will make sure they don't charge you anything and that was the end of it, no trouble after that.
There's also "Ships from and sold by SOMEONE ELSE and Fulfilled by Amazon."
That means that SOMEONE ELSE is using Amazon to manage their inventory, so the item is actually already in an Amazon warehouse, and Amazon will ship it from there. I take that to be as good as sold by Amazon themselves.
if its a big ticket item like a camera they wont just leave it at your porch or front door.they will make sure that somebody signs for it,if nobody does they will leave a notice for you to pick it up or have it redelivered.i bought my d7000 from them
Amazon's pretty secure and I usually use the method explained at http://www.squidoo.com/watchmyitems to check that it's from Amazon and not a 3rd party seller and that there is a comfortable amount of stock at Amazon to avoid disappointment.
I have never had any problems with purchases through Amazon no matter what dealer or where the item is shipped from. I buy a lot through Amazon. I don’t think you can go wrong with them.
ps enjoy your new bodies.
Dennis
