B&H Photo-Video Store--A Great Mail-Order Store
Written: Nov 07 '02 (Updated Nov 08 '02)
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I always buy my photographic equipment through mail-order via internet. B&H Photo & Video is among my favorite mail-order stores. In fact, I only order from either B&H Photo or Adorama. There are a number of important reasons why B&H Photo is the best:
1. They have virtually everything you look for.
2. They have very competitive prices.
3. They indicate exactly which product is import and which is USA with warranty.
4. Their shipping & handling fee is competitive and extremely low.
5. I place my order on their web site, and they will ship my order within 24 hrs (depending on the time the order is placed). I always receive two emails: 1) confirm order (immediately after I placed my order) with reference # in case I need to cancel it or make correction before order is shipped. 2) order ship. I receive an email with tracking number and an estimated arrival time immediately after they ship the package.
6. Their online catalogue is very easy to follow and easy to find your way around.
7. No hassle, no hidden charge or outrageous shipping fees, no trick to getting you to buy something else or pay more.
Some stores like Hotbuyselectronics.com, The Camerazone (may be out of business now) or Photokena they play trick on you. Recently, I placed my order online to buy a Nikon Coolscan IV ED from Hotbuyselectronics. Then they sent an email asking me to call them to confirm shipping address before order is complete. On the phone, after confirming address (which is nonsense since my credit card confirms everything because shipping and billing address is one and the same) they said if I want a Japanese made, I had to pay $30 more (and they said I can pay just $25). The one I ordered is made in Thailand. I am not sure if this is true, in terms of Japanese made and Thai made, so I declined the whole deal. The same thing happened to me a couple of years ago at The Camerazone. They did the same thing by emailing me to call them to confirm shipping address, then with the same trick on the Nikon SB-28 I ordered from them. The point is why would I want to talk to them in the first place? The reason I place my order online is to avoid that kind of hassle.
I have been ordering my equipment from B&H more than 10 times now, and I have never talked to a salesperson on the phone. I am very satisfied with their online service and product I receive.
Adorama is the same. I often order online. I have called and talked to them once because I could not find the item online, but saw it in their catalogue. The salesperson was very friendly and helpful...no trick to get you to buy something that you don't want.
B&H Photo and Adorama have very competitive prices and shipping charges. If the items are out of stock at B&H Photo, I can get them at Adorama. It's true that prices at other stores appear to be much lower than at B&H Photo or at Adorama, but there are other hidden charges that can add up to the same as or more than B&H Photo. Some stores have restocking fees and percentage shipping fees on dollar amount of order. Back in 2000, I ordered my Nikon F100 from Broadway Photo, because it was THE cheapest compared to all other stores. Based on their 5% shipping/handling charges on merchandise over $1100 I did not save at all. In fact, I requested for a second-day air delivery and they charged me $39.77 on top of their regular $29.99 S/H fee, a total of $70 for shipping for a two-pound package that took three days to reach me because they messed up with the shipping label (wrong city!)! I still keep this receipt with me as a good reminder. Their minimum restocking fee is 5% up to 15%, also in most stores. So if you return the merchandise, they still make a lot of money off of you.
I have never had to return items I ordered from B&H photo (or Adorama), either due to wrong shipment or damaged by a carrier. But in the event you have to return for a refund or exchange, B&H Photo offers 14 days no restocking fee, provided you follow their guidelines (you can read them in their Customer Service in normal prints--not hard-to-read fine prints).
Believe me I have ordered my stuff from different places before, and these two stores are the best. I have ordered from the following places with OK to worse experience:
* Smile Photo--price is OK, but shipping is a little high (I made phone order a number of times).
* FocusCamera--price is also OK, shipping is OK (online service is not up to B&H Photo, no corresponding emails, but that was during 1999 &2000).
* AAA Camera--bad experience from this place; they charged my credit card the first day I placed my order, and I never received my merchandise for over a month. Their phone customer service was not helpful. I had to file a complaint with my credit card to get my money back.
* Marine Park--a salesperson tried to rip me off with Nikon N90s for getting an extended Mack warranty; he tried to get $200 for it, then offered for $100). These people are very bad; they are good at trying to rip you off, if you are new to the photo-ordering business.
At B&H Photo or at Adorama, you won't get into that kind of risky deal. B&H is a great mail-order store. You should try it.
Recommended:
Yes
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B&H Photo-Video-Pro Audio
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