If price is the same and shipping is free I would pick BH over Amazon since faster shipping and better packaging even I have Prime on Amazon. Also I could drive and return/replace anything in BH store if I need. I don't use Adorama since taxing in NJ and also they are using this over USPS delivery methods which I hate.
I wish to say to Henry, who contacted me offline, thanks for adjusting your pricing. I forgot that you would price match if asked. And to Helen thanks for pointing it out that Adarama would also.
The point of the op was to see if others found prices cheaper at one or the other or did you have to check all three and go from there.
thedruid wrote:
Amazon shipping dept need to take a day trip to a real shipping department and see how to pack items because they suck period!
Wow, you've seen evidence that they actually pack?
Last time Amazon sent me an order of delicate fine glassware, they decided to toss the bare thin cardboard product carton, with no packing whatsoever, to UPS ground shipping. Fortunately, they do have a very easy system for returning the crumpled cardboard shell full of glass shards.
Savas it's people like you that make the prices go higher. Manufactures have to make up for jerks like you who think you are entitled to be dishonest and feel the right to have the best of the best. And just to let you know, all that time you spend wasting trying to get your very best lens, results in honestly, miniscule, un noticable results. Perhaps if youre Ansel Adams, then you can make a difference with a slightly better lens.....wait even then it would be unnoticeable in real world results. You gearheads think a lens with a little better corner sharpness under a microscope is going to make you a better photographer? Really. What a load of BS. The argument for getting your moneys worth is silly. DO you go to a fancy restaurant and send a steak back because it doesn't have the perfect marbling? Do you go to the shoe store and buy 5 pairs of the same shoe, so you can have the absolute perfect pair? No, they wouldn't allow that.
I'd love to see examples of your work that you deem so incredible that you feel the right to manipulate the system and screw the rest of the honest working people of America for.
If you are familiar with the manufacturing process you would understand there is no perfect process. There are variations in batches and copies, which should be understood when you purchase ANY product, of ANY kind. There are tolerances, and luckily for lens manufacturers those tolerances are extremely tight and controlled. If your lens falls within those tolerances, well then it is operating as it should be. If it doesn't, then and only then do you have the right to exchange your copy for a better one. Otherwise, it's cheating the system and being a low life. If you feel like you have a right to the best possible lens, go make it yourself and then perhaps, you will understand more how manufacturing goes and business operates.
What it comes down to is pure dishonesty. I would be shocked if any store allowed you to return 2 or more lenses if you said it functioned perfectly, has no physical damage, mechanically operates flawlessly, operates within the manufacturer's tolerances, but you found it to have slightly less corner sharpness with a 150 percent crop than the 2nd or 3rd copy you bought of the same lens. What a jerk.
Savas K wrote:
Nothing to do with getting money's worth? Blow me. You keep poor copies or take the loss in selling the lens you just bought.
I always check prices at all three, but I'm frustrated with B&H right now, so I'll be buying from Amazon for a while. I spent $7k at B&H and thought I got it in time to avoid the holiday delay, but I guess I didn't and now I'm waiting two weeks for my gear. Meanwhile they have $7k of my money tied up and I can't change or cancel my order until next week..very frustrating!
diverhank wrote:
Lately, Amazon prices on camera & related equipment seem to be about the same as B&H . It's better imho to buy from B&H as one gets 2% back & they will refund you easily if price is reduced, even months after you bought from them. I recently bought a 24-70 II from B&H - price was same from B&H and Amazon @ $2100. Shortly after, B&H reduced the price to $2000 and after a quick phone call from me, I got a $100 refund...Another FM member got $200 back as he bought same a couple of months before me @ $2200. Not sure if Amazon would do the same.
If Amazon price is cheaper I wouldn't hesitate to buy from Amazon, however....Show more →
I will never spend another penny at B & H. I have spent thousands of $ there in the past few months and was denied a pretty reasonable price match request. The Nikkor 24-70 I bought for $1886 dropped $200 in price 39 days later and they flat out refused to credit me $200. I even said I would be ok with store credit. B & H also starts counting days towards the 30 days from the ORDER DATE not the date you physically receive the item. So if you chose free ground shipping, that is more like 20 days to see if you want to keep the item or not. Sorry B & H, you just lost a valuable customer and I will share my crappy experience with everyone I know. Never had any such issues with Amazon or Adorama.
Joenmina1 wrote:
I will never spend another penny at B & H. I have spent thousands of $ there in the past few months and was denied a pretty reasonable price match request. The Nikkor 24-70 I bought for $1886 dropped $200 in price 39 days later and they flat out refused to credit me $200. I even said I would be ok with store credit. B & H also starts counting days towards the 30 days from the ORDER DATE not the date you physically receive the item. So if you chose free ground shipping, that is more like 20 days to see if you want to keep the item or not. Sorry B & H, you just lost a valuable customer and I will share my crappy experience with everyone I know. Never had any such issues with Amazon or Adorama....Show more →
This is why I'm trying to cancel my orders...I placed my order on the 24th and B&H knew they weren't going to ship it until 4/03 but they still took my money on the day the order was placed. After shipping I will have about a week to evaluate everything. I'll be cancelling both of my orders at 9am on the 3rd and ordering from Amazon.
Joenmina1 wrote:
I will never spend another penny at B & H. I have spent thousands of $ there in the past few months and was denied a pretty reasonable price match request. The Nikkor 24-70 I bought for $1886 dropped $200 in price 39 days later and they flat out refused to credit me $200. I even said I would be ok with store credit. B & H also starts counting days towards the 30 days from the ORDER DATE not the date you physically receive the item. So if you chose free ground shipping, that is more like 20 days to see if you want to keep the item or not. Sorry B & H, you just lost a valuable customer and I will share my crappy experience with everyone I know. Never had any such issues with Amazon or Adorama....Show more →
Well you're new here, but have you contacted Henry from B&H? Both B&H and Adorama have representatives on here and have helped numerous members.
Hello Edward: yes, I just joined the FM forum and didn't know that there was a BH rep on here. Either way, I am not impressed by the brush-off I received from the online BH rep who really couldn't care less! Lots of places to buy camera gear at around the same prices so customer service and after sales service are critical to my buying decisions. Hence, I will be patronizing other merchants going forward.
I had a problem with a rep not doing their job several years ago and iirc Henry got involved and straighten it all out for me. So give him a chance I bet if you give them a chance he will make it right for you also.
Michael White wrote:
I wish to say to Henry, who contacted me offline, thanks for adjusting your pricing. I forgot that you would price match if asked.
Glad I could help.We will match a price whenever we can and we're always sorry when circumstances prevent us from doing so. It NEVER hurts to ask.
Joenmina1 wrote:
I will never spend another penny at B & H. I have spent thousands of $ there in the past few months and was denied a pretty reasonable price match request. The Nikkor 24-70 I bought for $1886 dropped $200 in price 39 days later and they flat out refused to credit me $200.
I am very sorry we disappointed you. Unfortunately what might seem a pretty reasonable price match request to you could be the difference between a small profit and a substantial loss for us.
a123 wrote:
I always check prices at all three, but I'm frustrated with B&H right now, so I'll be buying from Amazon for a while. I spent $7k at B&H and thought I got it in time to avoid the holiday delay, but I guess I didn't and now I'm waiting two weeks for my gear. Meanwhile they have $7k of my money tied up and I can't change or cancel my order until next week..very frustrating!
I'm very sorry for your frustration and dissatisfaction. If we're talking about the same transactions we received one Sunday 3/24 after 3:00pm EDT and the other 3/24 after 10:00pm EDT.
At the time those orders were placed our website said (on almost every page) (emphasis added): Passover Closing
From Monday, March 25th. Orders placed today will ship when we reopen Wednesday, April 3rd at 9:00AM EDT Our offices will close today 5:00PM EDT & our NYC SuperStore at 6:00PM EDT in observance of Passover.
We will reopen on Wednesday, April 3rd at 9:00AM EDT. Orders placed today (after 12:00PM Noon EDT) will be shipped after we reopen.
We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patronage.
Then, before submitting your order, you had to acknowledge our statement, "I understand that my order will ship after B&H reopens on Wednesday, April 3rd" by placing a checkmark in a box. You could not have proceeded without this acknowledgement.
For future reference, if you pay with a US credit card we don't charge the card until we actually ship.
The order you placed around Noon today has already been packaged and you should have received our email with your UPS package track info by now.
And, we know when we're closed and adjust our return policy time period to take that hiatus into account.
There are some pretty unreasonable people on here I'm learning. Expecting to get a perfect copy and when they get a very good copy withing standards they cry about it, people who can't read about Passover observance and blame it on the company for their own mistake, and now someone who asked for a price match, when more than 30 days after purchasing and using a lens the price dropped online. Sorry people, the world does not revolve around you.
In fairness to B&H, and as Henry stated, B&H plastered the information regarding their Passover Closing all over their website. It's a religious holiday for which this business chose to close, and they displayed prominent, precise, and early warning of this fact. How the heck that constitutes grounds to complain is beyond me.
The problem I had was that they are COMPLETELY closed...that means I couldn't change or cancel any of the orders for almost two weeks. I didn't realize that if I canceled an order the money would still be held until the store re-opened 12 days later, on the 3rd. I still ordered the 6D's from B&H, but I ordered the back up camera and 4 lenses from Adorama. I have no problem with them closing for the holiday, I think that's great for the employees. In this case it was just easier for me to deal with Adorama.
I just ordered from BH actually it was yesterday after they reopened a new laptop just over 1k with d&s warranty since I'm rough on them as they almost are always on. They last longer in the long run because cut down on the cycles of expansion and retraction which is the real killer to pc boards if they are made well and solder correctly. The HD or screen gives out in the case of my last one that died about the time B&H went on holiday. They had the price lower than the two lowest buy it now ebay sellers, Adarama and amazon were also high by a bit. Enough that I waited three to four days before ordering a new one.
They have treated me like a valued customer for years and besides a incident here and there with reps I've always been treated with respect and in this day when the customer is never right from so many industries that is pleasant change.
