See below

UPS just delivered a 5D Mark II body from B & H. I'm not happy because I consider the camera to have been carelessly packed. No matter that the Canon box is itself is fairly sturdy, there was plenty of room for the camera box and the camera with its delicate innards to be jolted around inside the shipping carton because the cushioning wrap was inserted on one side only. I think that a customer's purchase, and this one represents a considerable outlay, merits some care and respectful treatment.

As it happens, this camera is a replacement for a body shipped earlier in the month which had problems and was returned. Inside the shipping carton, the Canon box for that first camera was plainly bashed in on one corner, evidence perhaps of earlier mishandling that could have bolloxed it up.

When you send a camera to Canon for servicing, you're given careful instructions about adequate packing.

My experience over several years (except for one unfortunate episode with a Gitzo) is that B & H is usually reliable and efficient. I'm disappointed about this transaction, which has eaten up most of the month in shipping and required bothersome phone calls. I'm sure that servicing my order has been a nuisance for B & H, just as it's been for me.

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Addition Saturday morning:

I'd like to clarify a point about the thread I started after receiving the Canon 5D II ordered from B & H. I was upset with B & H because I thought that the packing had plainly been careless and was pitifully poor in cushioning to expose to the rigors of transport by UPS (or FEDEX, for that matter).

The primary malefactors, of course, are the shipping companies. Who doesn't have a story about some outrage UPS or FEDEX has perpetrated on their package. I was at a friend's house when the FEDEX guy marched into her foyer with her new printer and let it drop from waist height to the tile floor. It was broken.

I really do think, along with many other people, that B & H is a fine company. I order from them pretty frequently. My point is that, having taken the customer's money, the vendor owes some care in handling, in order to the minimize the risk of damage to the customer's investment, especially in the matter of delicate (and expensive) electronics.

I plan to order an external hard drive from B & H soon and hope that they will have returned to their previously satisfactory shipping standards.

I've altered the caption of the thread.
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I believe I've had the same inadequate level of cushioning inside the outer box from them, too. It must be their standard procedure.

Unfortunately, this is all too common across ALL types of businesses & shipping. I have seen a plastic washer packed in bubble wrap/air cells in a 12 inch square box and (from the same shipper) I have recieved heavy electric motors shipped loose in plain cardboard. There are great descrepencies in all shipping departments...some are just a little better than others.

Omar

Allen's Camera in Levittiown, PA

Seems as though the handling is worse lately. I wouldn't have posted about it had it happened just once.

was the camera damaged? if it was just the box i wouldnt sweat it.

rprouty - I take it you're indicating that Allen's is good, not bad, in the matter of shipping.

B&H has been a cut above other on line retailers in my experience (in terms of how they pack and ship). Amazon, in my experience, has been the worst. I have had the same experiences that Omar mentioned, simple non fragile items packed as though they were precious delicate micro chips or something, while expensive fragile items like camera lenses or bodies get packed into cartons with barely any protection at all. It just doesn't make sense.

Mark

I've done business with Allens for the last 3or 4 years and couldn't be happier. Allens usually beats B&H prices too.

Rod

My 5dmkII box had a bashed in corner as well. Hmmmm.

+1 on Allen's Camera for both great price and excellent packing

I just received a 100-400L from B&H yesterday. There was just one of those bubble bags protecting 1 side of the interior box. The other 5 sides of the box were totally unprotected.I was a little surprised at that. Luckily Canon packages the lens very well.

I received a usb extension cable from Newegg last week that was packaged in a larger box that the lens was. I had to dig through about a million foam peanuts to find the thing!

ward1066 wrote:
was the camera damaged? if it was just the box i wouldnt sweat it.

that's the question i was hoping to see answered here too.

fortunately for me my local camera shop (Boot's of Fresno,CA) sells for the same prices as listed at B&H so i don't have to have a delicate item like the lens or bodies shipped................
my recent CF tripod was bought from B&H and was inserted in a square box, but had wrapping to protect.
i've never had any of my other purchases hurt by way of B&H's packing either.
it's just a gamble with UPS...................ever seen some of the videos of the UPS Gorillas handling packages?
like this one,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcIOy6XcM3s

Agree with you, Mark.

Just received my EF 24-70 F/2.8L last night. I have to totally agree with the suckiness of he packaging. Bubble pack was used around the sides of the Canon box but not top and bottom. The corner of the Canon box was pushed it. Arrrrggggghhh!!!! That's not the worst part...... Unpacking the lens and removing the lens cap, I found a big a## finger/thumb print inside of the lens cap. Bigger arrrrhghhhh!!! Here's the worst of it..... The lens had a small scratch on the glass that couldn't be wiped off.

I've heard great things about B&H. With that, I made the lens purchase with confidence. But B&H agreed to second-day air the replacement lens. Let's keep or fingers crossed.

hate to say it, but it's what you get for not buying gear like lens/bodies from your local dealer.

Was the camera damaged? Don't know - it just got here. It may be perfectly all right, but I reserve the right to be steamed because the carelessness in packing causes me unease about its condition. I don't remember any problems with the shipping of lenses I've bought from B & H - they've been pretty well cushioned.

yeah i meant to come across different than i did..............boy talk about poor choice of words.
not everyone has a good camera shop in their area.
i meant it more towards the way that UPS handles packages regardless of how they are packed.
sorry for the harsh reply earlier

Ernie Aubert wrote:
I believe I've had the same inadequate level of cushioning inside the outer box from them, too. It must be their standard procedure.

+=1 for lens

Just bought a bunch of networking gear from B&H and it was packed OK with adequate padding. Shipping was a bit strange -- they split the order into two packages for shipping purposes. Sent same day from same place but arrived on different days. Go figure

Maybe they're cutting costs by cutting down on the amount of air cushioning they use. At least they don't use peanuts... hate those things.

pipspeak wrote:

Maybe they're cutting costs by cutting down on the amount of air cushioning they use. At least they don't use peanuts... hate those things.

I cannot decide what I am going to do to those peanuts when i receive them. Most of the time i just use them again for packaging internet sales. But let me tell you, peanuts works a lot better than air cushions. Air cushions are really a joke.

That's OK, Nieuport, I really didn't think you meant anything harshly, and you do have a point. However, B & H has had an excellent reputation for good reason, and of course they provide convenient access to all kinds and choices of equipment you wouldn't be able to find locally.

Different boxes may mean different warehouses or points of origin. And occasionally stuff may be sent directly from the manufacturer.

I just received my kata bag and CPL from adorama, it's cushioned on all side but at the bottom all the air cushions had already popped. They're not those small air bubbles, more like a plastic bag that has been partitioned with a bit of air in them.

For what I ordered, that might not have been a problem but if the content was an expensive lens, I don't think I'd be happy about that. I ordered a lens from ebay Digitalrev seller and even with bubble wraps all around it in 2/3 layers, the corner of the box still managed to get slightly squashed.

Couriers do what couriers do best, packaging is the responsibility of the sender. Seems like stores are trying to cut cost with the bubble wrap.

I`m still dealing with crushed corners on very expensive Epson paper that was very poorly packed by B+H. Never will buy paper from them again. Every time I try to smooth a corner before printing I curse B+H. Do they realize what the crackheads in shipping are doing to their rep