Hi everyone,
I would like to order an item from this company. As you know, the Euro/Dollar-ratio is in much favour for us Europeans, so ordering a pricey item in the US including the shipping costs is still significantly cheaper than buying it here in Europe.
I want to finally buy the Canon 45mm T/S-lens.
It is 1150$ in the US, but has the same price here in Europe (in Euro) and since 1000§ is ~640Euro...
What I would like to hear are some opinions. I once bought something at B&HPhotoVideo in their store in NY City and my impression is that this is a very professional and relyable company.
Any other shops in the states where I can order?
Very professional organization. Too many orders to even mention through B&H over the years for me, without one issue. Received an order two days ago, and have another one coming later this week.
Dietrich, I would recommend you stay with B&H. You might find it cheaper but have the potential of running into problems. I would stay away from Broadway Photo for sure!
Hi Dietrich - I bought a hard to get hold of Nikon large format lens from them last year and it arrived here in the UK faster than most items purchased in the UK. And that was just with the cheapest delivery option. Highly recommended. I seem to remember having to email them a photograph of my credit card before you can place your first order. Would love to hear your thoughts on the 45 TSE once you've been using it for a while also. I'm getting quite interested in the 24 TSE.
Make sure you take import taxes and VAT etc into consideration.
Hi again and thanks for the support and opinions. As mentioned above, I already ordered the lens now. Can't wait to get it and start playing!
Don, never heard of Broadway Photo - maybe better that way...wink:
Tristan, I will send you a mail when I have it and let you know my first impressions. Might take a while. First I have to receive it, then I have to find the time to use it...
The only rude awaking can happen about these import-taxes - no clue about that but I am confident that the total sum will still be lower than purchasing that thingy here in europe - and that's the only goal.
B&H is great, as long as you don't value friendly, warm salespeople. They can be abrupt, but the store is reliable and a good place to buy gear.
Posted by Dan Borzynski on June 24, 2008 at 10:11 PM
The *only* reason I don't buy from B&H regularly is that I have Midwest Photo here in Columbus, Ohio and they, along with Badger Graphics, are the premier large format companies in the US.
The numerous orders I have place through B&H have always been excellent.
I've dealt exclusively with Canoga Camera for the last five years since converting to digital. Perfect in all regards, including price, fast service and warm human contact. http://www.canogacamera.com.
You'll get tons of plaudits from folks ordering in US for delivery in US...but international is another ball-game...
If you've already ordered then you've managed better than I did a year or two back - I wanted to buy a 500/4 from them and they would only take direct Bank Tranfer, or Amex from Europe, wouldn't take Mastercard or Visa... so told them to stuff the order and went elsewhere with a friendlier place in DC that I sometimes used to use when I visited the States. So sorry - won't touch nor recommend B&H now.
You can't get any better than B&H. They give great service.
Posted by Ken Atkinson on June 25, 2008 at 11:28 AM
I get all my toys from B&H. I don't even look anywhere else.
Ken
Posted by Larry Puckett on June 25, 2008 at 12:09 PM
I have been dealing with them for 20 years without a single complaint. However I bought my last digital camera from Beach and have gotten other stuff from Adorama. A couple weeks ago I bought a Canon 24-105 from Amazon.com and if I can save enough pennies before the rebates expire I plan to order the 100-400 there as well; good prices, good service, fast shipping--Larry
Hi everyone, thanks again for the opinions and the encouragement! I am now confident that it will work out fine.
Nick, thanks for your experience as well. That was actually something which was important - convenient payment methods. They now offer to pay by Mastercard.
I just received a confirmation-mail fom BH that the lens has been shipped and is on its way into my eager little hands
-Dietrich
Dietrich,
I usually count about 30% of the total cost for import taxes and VAT, most of the time this was about right.
Wim.
Posted by David Bostedo on June 26, 2008 at 10:44 AM
Dietrich - Just for future reference, a good way to find out if a website is reputable is by looking at Reseller Ratings. You can put any site name in the box halfway down and see it's rating. You can also read lots of comments.
For example B&H gets well over a 9 out of 10. Adorama in the 8's. And Amazon is in the 7's (probably due to volume, which tends to lead to complaints). Really bad sites will be below 4 generally, with lots of horror stories in the comments. And almost all of them are computer or camera sites.
David--another factor in Amazon's rating is that a lot of their sales are through second party stores. I just bought a filter there and it actually came from Adorama. I've also gotten books that came from dealers and in one case had to actually file a complaint with Amazon to get the purchase price refunded and those kind of transactions count against Amazon's rating. Things I've bought expressly from Amazon have never been any problem--Larry
David and Larry, thanks for your info! Very interesting! Amazon always worked for me as well, but I also can share the second party-store experience. Quite surprising where stuff comes from sometimes...
Posted by Paul DeCesare on June 28, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Me also, B&H and Amazon. In the US you get free shipping from Amazon so they usually win. Since we're all now buying computers with a lens attached and we have the Net for research, it all comes down to best price anymore. Boy, remember the days of combing through Modern Photography to read lens reviews, or taking the advice of the camera store owner? Times sure are a-changin'... and it seems to be the best its ever been.
Discussion
20 repliesI would like to order an item from this company. As you know, the Euro/Dollar-ratio is in much favour for us Europeans, so ordering a pricey item in the US including the shipping costs is still significantly cheaper than buying it here in Europe.
I want to finally buy the Canon 45mm T/S-lens.
It is 1150$ in the US, but has the same price here in Europe (in Euro) and since 1000§ is ~640Euro...
What I would like to hear are some opinions. I once bought something at B&HPhotoVideo in their store in NY City and my impression is that this is a very professional and relyable company.
Any other shops in the states where I can order?
Thanks for any tips and advices,
Regards
Dietrich
Over the years, I've spent so much money at B&H that I should be a part owner. I've never had a bad experience either.
Cheers,
I already placed my order...
Make sure you take import taxes and VAT etc into consideration.
Tristan
Don, never heard of Broadway Photo - maybe better that way...wink:
Tristan, I will send you a mail when I have it and let you know my first impressions. Might take a while. First I have to receive it, then I have to find the time to use it...
The only rude awaking can happen about these import-taxes - no clue about that but I am confident that the total sum will still be lower than purchasing that thingy here in europe - and that's the only goal.
The numerous orders I have place through B&H have always been excellent.
If you've already ordered then you've managed better than I did a year or two back - I wanted to buy a 500/4 from them and they would only take direct Bank Tranfer, or Amex from Europe, wouldn't take Mastercard or Visa... so told them to stuff the order and went elsewhere with a friendlier place in DC that I sometimes used to use when I visited the States. So sorry - won't touch nor recommend B&H now.
Maybe they've ammended their ways since.
Ken
Nick, thanks for your experience as well. That was actually something which was important - convenient payment methods. They now offer to pay by Mastercard.
I just received a confirmation-mail fom BH that the lens has been shipped and is on its way into my eager little hands
-Dietrich
I usually count about 30% of the total cost for import taxes and VAT, most of the time this was about right.
Wim.
For example B&H gets well over a 9 out of 10. Adorama in the 8's. And Amazon is in the 7's (probably due to volume, which tends to lead to complaints). Really bad sites will be below 4 generally, with lots of horror stories in the comments. And almost all of them are computer or camera sites.
Larry Puckett
Manassas, VA