PTravel

I'm glad you've had good experiences with them, but according to resellerratings.com, most people don't. Digital Rev has a dismal 2.17 / 10 representing 1,655 reviews. http://www.resellerratings.com/store/DigitalRev_Limited

B&H, on the other hand, the platinum standard for both mail order and brick-and-mortar camera sales, has an 8.80 / 10 rating, representing 74,580 reviews.

http://www.resellerratings.com/store...ideo_Pro_Audio

Disclaimer: I have absolutely no connection with B&H, other than I have been a very, very satisfied customer for years and years.

GadgetFreak

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 7_0_4 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/537.51.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.0 Mobile/11B554a Safari/9537.53)

Interesting site. If I'm reading it right Adorama has a 9.62 out of 10, with over 10,000 reviews. I'm have been very happy with both B&H and Adorama over the years.

henryp

FWIW B&H no longer participates in that site's merchant member program. See http://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.bhphotovideo.com for more recent customer feedback.

Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video

satman40

B&H and Adorama,

Best in the business,

You do pay a little more to your local store, but hey they are there for you.

Roberts in my town, is great, and they do sell online.

Who knows they may also match prices,

Flyertall

"getitdigital" on eBay has the lowest prices I've found worldwide on the more expensive cameras, in part due to the fact that they are not authorized dealers. They are upfront about that fact, and the protections of eBay and PayPal still apply. They offer their own warranty to USA buyers. I don't know what they offer to buyers from other countries.

Out of about 55,000 feedbacks, their score is 99.3%. I read the negative and neutral reviews, and in most cases, the fault was the customer's misunderstanding what they were buying, and in all cases, they had already received their money back anyway.

The US distributing arms of the big camera manufacturers have imposed minimum price restrictions on US authorized dealers, so the two largest (and most trusted) camera stores like B&H and Adorama are no longer competitive on price compared to the world marketplace, because they are hampered by the US distributing arm of the manufacturer... which is the more important relationship for them to maintain, rather than individual consumers.

The non authorized dealer is free to import cameras from other distributors around the world, including directly from Asia, where all the cameras are manufactured anyway.

Despite the cameras being manufactured on the same production line, the servicing arm of Nikon USA might refuse to work on a camera not sold through a US authorized dealer. So even if the camera was sold by an authorized dealer in another country (for those who travel internationally, have dual citizenship, etc) there may be difficulties getting warranty service. These difficulties are set up as artificial roadblocks to scare US consumers into only buying US distributed products. And the roadblocks work, effectively scaring people (like me, for example) into paying 20% more for the exact same product.

I have no affiliation with getitdigital, and I've never personally bought from getitdigital, but after looking into them for a while, I would have no reservation trying them out to obtain an international product for the lowest price.

In the past I've preferred the professional customer service, comprehensive product offerings, high fulfillment rate of in stock items, detailed descriptions and specifications of products, relational database of companion items, sophisticated transaction logistics, automated confirmation correspondence, and the confidence inspiring history of B&H over that of any other camera store, including the similar but not quite as advanced yet Adorama.

At the same time, the internet obviously empowers consumers to connect with a more competitive marketplace by exploring alternatives to open up supplier monopolies and keep inflation in check.

jpauls123

Agree with 99% of previous post and just bought a(nother) camera from B+H a couple days ago. I personally prefer them over Adorama as a result of a tricky little stunt Adorama tried to pull with me on some used gear. But the big point here is that Nikon (and many other mfg) use universal pricing in the US so store "A" cannot offer a better price on most new items than store "B". They can add a few goodies like an extra battery, a chip and bag but if you price something on Amazon and compare it to B+H, Adorama, Best Buy etc. the price is going to be almost identical. I'm loathe to pay state sales tax so for me, living out of state, buying from a NY online retailer saves me $ over buying in state. Amazon adds sales tax in many states -- so it is a good idea to pay attention to that too. Right now, B+H is offering an extended return policy so if you buy today you have until after the holidays to return. I'm guessing this is also being offered by B+H and the other "big guys". Finally, it is always worth checking Nikon's site for refurbs/reconditioned gear.

henryp

Nothing is more important to us than our relationship with our customers. But if we violate a US distributor's MAP or unilateral price policy we risk draconian penalties which would include not being able to get products our customers wish to purchase. We maintain cordial relationships with our suppliers so we can maintain cordial relationships with our customers.
Thank you. We are grateful.

Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video

allset2travel

I am with you re paying state sales tax. BTW, does this apply to all non-NY state residence? Proof residency with driver license or passport?

What if I buy equipment in the store?

Flyertall

If you walk in and buy equipment inside the B&H store, you will definitely be charged NY sales tax, regardless of what state you are from, and regardless of the number of government issued ID's that indicate you are not a NY resident. The only way to not pay sales tax is to order online or by phone and have the items shipped outside of the State of NY.

But a vist to the B&H store is WORTH paying the sales tax. At least once. You've got to see the glass encased conveyer belts that snake their way throughout the store, ferrying customer's orders from stockroom directly to the labyrinth of cashiers, in real time. It is amazing to see shoppers from all over the world wandering delightfully about, as if in a toy store. An expensive toy store. It is stupefying to stumble across new items designed to create audio or visual imagery, that you didn't even know were invented. And it is exciting to see the technology that you knew existed, but can now see for the first time in real life, because B&H carries it. And that is one area where B&H undeniably shines. They actually have it. In stock. Available for you to see. And it is delivered to you and your salesman on that conveyer belt. Worth a visit at least once.

allset2travel

Thanks for the heads up.

B&H is on my visit list, next time in the Big Apple. I was there several years ago.

henryp

Thank you. Your description of the store is lovely. FWIW a customer can place an order in our store and request the ordered items be shipped to an address outside NY state. If so, no NY sales tax will be added to the transaction.

Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video

tentseller

I have been doing exactly that for over 30 yrs with B&H. When your equipment purchase is well into 4 figures the difference is not coffee money ($5000 @ 8.25% = $412.50)

allset2travel

My bold.
Thanks Henry.

jacknyoc

Question, please. I'm considering a Canon G7X being sold by an acquaintance. It's new with all the accessories and English user guide. It has a Canon EOS Limited Warranty for USA and Canada card. He bought it from 42nd St Photo. I'm feeling a bit uneasy. Presuming it's Grey Market item. The warranty (EOS) card seems odd. I wonder if Canon would even honor it. Reactions? Thank you.

tentseller

Send Canon USA the serial numbers for warranty coverage verification.