Bruce and I swapped lenses based upon my ad in B&S about three weeks ago. This is gonna be a bit long......I had a 100-400 L IS and Bruce had a 400 5.6L. We agreed on a swap with Bruce kicking in some $$$$. I was going to St. Louis on a business trip so Bruce and I could meet in person for the swap. When I checked the lens serial number against the warranty card and B&H invoice..to my utter dismay it was one digit off, one of the middle digits in the series. I couldn't believe it! To make a long story short, I immediately notified Bruce of the problem then called B&H. I bought the lens new from them late January '05 but they didn't quibble; they gave me an RMA number and emailed me a UPS shipping label. It took about 12 days to send the lens and get a replacement but all the while Bruce hung in there with me. I even postponed my trip to St. Louis for a week to give me time to receive the new lens so I could take it along to do the trade.
Anyway, Bruce is a great guy and he drove to my hotel and we made the inspection and swap in the lobby. Bruce got a brand new lens with a whole year warranty and I got his excellent copy of a 400 and some $$$. I've tested the lens and it's perfect.
i bought a canon 85/1.8 and i couldnt have asked for a better transaction. incredibly fast shipping, the lens is in flawless condition...i cannot say enough great things.
) but communication was grade A and I am sure that I will be happy with this purchase!