As of 7:02 EST, I see that BH has the 5D2 body only in stock. Just thought i'd let everyone know. If this is in the wrong post, let me know.

David

Hi David,

Thanks for the heads up. But, the batteries are still out of stock...great. When they finally have it all in stock down at the store, that's when I'll take a ride down to check it out.

FWIW, I called B&H last week about this particular item showing up in stock on their web page but no emails we're going out to those on their wait-list. I was informed by the salesman (he was a man) that for "this particular item" the wait-list was not being used because of high demand and that I would be better off calling in or checking the website on a regular basis for actual availability. I then asked the salesman what was the point of having the wait-list function for that camera, when it would be more honest to just say that there was no wait list? He did, in fact, agree with me and I suggested that he kindly bring it up with the powers-that-be and, at the very least, bring it up at their next sales meeting. He said he would.

I also told him that I had wait-listed a previous item with them (the 5d Mark II w/ 24-105mm kit on Inauguration Day) and had received an email from them a week later that it was in stock. (So then, he was confused that the wait list was actually being used!) But, I told him, the problem with that was that their email went out in the morning around 9 a.m. when I am at work and I did not get to check my mail until I got home around 5 that evening. Of course, the item was sold-out again. So I suggested, that for the wait-list to truly function as it should, for those patiently waiting their turn for availability, there should be a 24-hour time frame courtesy to those on the list to have the opportunity to actually receive their notification and then be able to decide on the purchase. I said, "It's not like you're going to be stuck with these cameras (5D Mark II's) if someone passes on it!" He, again, thought that was reasonable, and said he'd pass that suggestion along.

Now, since I'm once again seeing this item for sale on their web site, and I haven't received an email from them, I'll have to assume that the salesman's initial information about not using the wait-list was correct, and that nothing came of my suggestions.

Now, I bring this all up not as a bash or rant against B&H. Quite the contrary. Me thinks that potential wait-lister's should be aware of the inconsistencies of their system, at least as relayed to me, and that they might want to inquire further with B&H what is the status of their wait-list position. As a matter of disclosure, both my girlfriend, Jennifer, and I are big fans of B&H (just check my posts here and at DPR) and have spent a fair amount of our mad-money at their store! I'm just presenting an FYI of my personal experiences with trying to purchase this particular camera for my fellow FMer's. Also, I have emailed henryp from B&H about this issue.

In the meantime, I've been thinking that a 50D might satisfy my new-camera itch for the time-being!

Peace, all,
Jimmy G

They are now closed. Oh boy, is this going to create a jam when they start taking internet orders tonight at 7:00 pm.

or you could just order one from Norman Camera
http://www.normancamera.com/product-exec/product_id/18667/nm/Canon_EOS_5D_Mark_II_Camera_Body

bobsofpa wrote:
They are now closed. Oh boy, is this going to create a jam when they start taking internet orders tonight at 7:00 pm.

I would add it to your shopping cart, and at 7:00 PM, check out. They had the batteries in Wednesday night. Someone posted a heads-up about them "In stock". I was check-in and out in about 1 minute with PayPal. I got it yesterday.

Aravind posted this here before: http://www.nowinstock.net/digitalcameras/canon5dmarkii/. Just FYI, you can even take advantage of live.com cashback from some stores that have this camera in stock. Not a whole lot but more than enough to buy a spare battery.

Aravind posted this here before: http://www.nowinstock.net/digitalcameras/canon5dmarkii/

As others (RDKirk and Monito) have pointed out, this tracking service totally fails when newly arrived stock goes straight the waiting list, and never get listed as in stock.

This tracking service starts to have value for the first time, when supply finally catches up and exceeds demand (in the U.S.) as it is finally beginning to do right now. I predicted that the turn around would be quite sharp when it happens. If you check this service in say, 3 weeks, ALL major retailers will have supply, and minor discounting will begin.

This just shows that Canon doesn't actually walk 6" above the water, and as the Great Depression II continues to roll on, worldwide, that camera availability will not be a problem in the near future.

...

This just shows that Canon doesn't actually walk 6" above the water, and as the Great Depression II continues to roll on, worldwide, that camera availability will not be a problem in the near future.

While I agree with you about the GD II, I'm not so sure that your assessment about camera availability is necessarily correct. It's quite possible that camera manufacturers will be less willing to "front" inventory for dealers as they have in the past, while dealers may find it increasing hard to obtain a line-of-credit from commercial lenders to keep a large inventory on hand. This might mean placing more special orders to obtain the item of your dreams.

AGeoJO wrote:
Aravind posted this here before: http://www.nowinstock.net/digitalcameras/canon5dmarkii/. Just FYI, you can even take advantage of live.com cashback from some stores that have this camera in stock. Not a whole lot but more than enough to buy a spare battery.


Found out about nowinstock from Aravind's original post as well. I ordered mine from Calumet this afternoon with 4% live.com cashback. Looks like a shipment came in this week as it's beginning to pop up at a few places (Adorama was taking pre-orders first, then it popped up at B&H and Calumet).

I, for one, am hoping the price doesn't come down all too soon though. I've waited a while to order it and I'll regret not waiting another couple weeks!

jimmy462 wrote:
Now, I bring this all up not as a bash or rant against B&H. Quite the contrary. Me thinks that potential wait-lister's should be aware of the inconsistencies of their system, at least as relayed to me, and that they might want to inquire further with B&H what is the status of their wait-list position. As a matter of disclosure, both my girlfriend, Jennifer, and I are big fans of B&H (just check my posts here and at DPR) and have spent a fair amount of our mad-money at their store! I'm just presenting an FYI of my personal experiences with trying to purchase this particular camera for my fellow FMer's. Also, I have emailed henryp from B&H about this issue.

Thanks for your note. I agree that while our online "Notify me" option works 95+% of the time, it's imperfect. The imperfections are particularly noticable when the item in question is a high-demand low-availability item like the new Canon dslr. For most items we anticipate will be high-demand low-availability, we disable the "notify me" option on our site until the situation becomes more manageable. Manageable means, among other things, having some reliable idea of when we're getting the product, how many we're getting, and what will follow the next impending shipment,

Making the "notify me" option more useful is a priority and we have a group of web design people working on options. Nothing will change in the next day or week, or possibly month, and no amount of chatter in a sales meeting will change that. We don't want to put a band-aid on what we have now; we want to replace what we have now with something better, and that may mean a more serious overhaul, and not stopgap half measures.

BTW, it's worth reminding people that our "notify me" option is not a wait-list, at least not in the traditional sense.

Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video

Hi Henry,

Thanks so much for your time in getting back on this, I appreciate it!

My error for assuming that the "Notify Me" function was akin to a wait-list. It was clearly a poor assumption on my part.

I appreciate your clearing that up for me...now I can stop fretting!

Hopefully, the supply side for this camera and its batteries will more evenly match demand sometime soon so we can all go out shooting!

Thanks again!

Peace,
Jimmy G