B&H Shipping Issues

NorBro said:
I am not stating whether it is or isn't.

I am saying that if anyone is going to call it one or the other, it would be LIBEL (a written statement). Not SLANDER, which is spoken.

On the internet, it would be libel.
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Luckily here in the USA we do not have those extreme libel laws as in the UK and thankfully we have Rachel's Law which prevents U.S. courts from enforcing British libel rulings!
 
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i am a fan of b&h.

they are local to me.

but sometimes i do buy gear from others, abel cine/nyc being an example.

for me, sometimes buying on price alone is not the value it may seem like.

i'm sorry the original poster had shipping issues.

i thought alex's response was thoughtful and probably a good way to move forward.

be well.

rob
smalltalk.productions
 
Alex H. said:
Three things occur to me here.

First, I have a long history with B&H. And with other companies like Sweetwater, Full Compass, Adorama... nobody's perfect. Period. I've experienced the same issue with B&H before, but only twice in many years and across many orders. I've had shipping errors and defective items from other merchants as well, but I still go back to them. A large company that handles shipping on that scale every day is bound to hit an unintentional delay once in a while. A box gets left in a corner, or packed on the wrong pallet. Or it's possible that the UPS truck accidentally left it behind.

Second, it sucks when it happens, especially when a production deadline is involved, but when it happens it's worth a conversation (or three... moving up the chain as far as you need to) with customer service before slandering them on an Internet forum. If they are having issues with shipping and those issues haven't pinged on their radar, they need to know. And they need an opportunity to make it right.

Last, regarding the increasing number of items that are special order, it's getting harder and harder to survive as a retailer on any scale at all. A very good friend of mine owns a music (instrument and sound gear) store, and it's getting hard because the manufacturers have minimized the profit margin for retailers. Buy-ins are higher, and MAPS are lower. A powered speaker, wholesale for the retailer, may cost $249. MAP is $299, and the retailer is also going to pay $25 freight. $24 for a $299 item? There's no profit, and no room for the retailer to work with a customer. The manufacturers are selling directly online now, so why would they need the retailers?

Large-scale operations like B&H have it easier, but they still are not immune. There are minimum order lines, above which the manufacturer will not charge freight, and it's much easier to hit those when you're a high-volume dealer than a local mom-and-pop. And the more you buy per order, the less you pay per unit. But the slim markups can still be prohibitive. As a retailer, you're only going to stock what you know you can sell, especially when the profit margin makes idle inventory such a massive liability. I doubt B&H is going to carry things that they cannot move faster. Other retailers who do keep them in stock know that they can move them relatively quickly.

I don't think B&H is going to fault you for buying something from another merchant when it's in stock there but not at B&H. There's no rule that says you have to buy from one shop only, and I certainly know what I can get and from where across different stores.
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I'm going to presume that was just a general statement and not directed at me. I did not "slander" or commit libel against B&H on this forum and my intention was never to sling mud. Like others, I have been shopping with B&H for years, probably at least a decade and a half and have spent many tens-of-thousands of dollars with them over that time span. My experience with them has always been very good and I thought that was clear as I tried to temper my my initial post stating my positive history with them. I was just reaching out to the group to see if anyone else had experienced these anomalies recently, as they have not been the norm over the years, in my experience.

I'm not naive and I understand how shipping and retail works and all of the things that can happen and go wrong(my family owns a retail store and we've all been bitten by shipping snafus before). And even with the best run machines, sometimes $*&% happens. But when you go 10+ years without problems and then all of a sudden, you have the same type of problem two times in a row, it draws your attention.

So, just to be clear, I'm not trying to bash B&H and they did rectify the first problem. They refunded the purchase price and shipping costs(I did have to ask for that seperately, because they only refunded the purchase price originally). I have not contacted them about the second shipping delay, yet, because they have been closed. I'm not really looking for any type of compensation, because this time was more or less a "no harm, no foul" situation since I didn't need the item immediately and the shipping was free. I will just be looking for an explanation and hopefully reassurances that it was just an anomaly.

Regarding the equipment manufacturers and retailers, I have a very good friend at one of the large dealers here in the US and we have had many conversations about certain manufacturers trying to cut the retailers out and selling directly to the customers. They told me they have lost sales because of certain manufacturers undercutting their own dealers. It's kind of the wild west, right now. It may seem like a golden time to be a consumer, but when all of the brick and mortar stores and dealers close-up, do you really think that the manufacturers are going to support us like the specialty dealers do?
 
Run&Gun said:
Regarding the equipment manufacturers and retailers, I have a very good friend at one of the large dealers here in the US and we have had many conversations about certain manufacturers trying to cut the retailers out and selling directly to the customers.......It may seem like a golden time to be a consumer, but when all of the brick and mortar stores and dealers close-up, do you really think that the manufacturers are going to support us like the specialty dealers do?
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+1
 
^Why +1? Why is it manufacturers can't support who they sell to? Instead of buying from B&H, my last several orders of high-dollar gear has been directly from makers here in the USA. Same price as B&H and yes, they will stand by any defects or shipping screw-ups. As some have stated here, B&H has not resolved some complaints. How many of you are concerned that about potentially receiving returned goods that fall on the ends of curve in quality? Your odds may be greater at an online emporium. With that said, I do shop B&Ms for gear such as lenses and heads and do support my local outlets. Do they give me a warm feeling when the business card comes out? No, it's just another sale. Will they compare my lens with another or two from the backroom, yes. If they compare then what? I ask for a refund and hope they don't pull a "Soup Nazi" on me? It's all a struggle sometimes...
 
Of course there is nothing wrong with buying directly from manufacturers but I personally also see value in the channel. B&H is one of many places that I shop and I have always had a great experience there. While I keep the vast majority of the gear I buy returns have never been an issue for me at their store. I bought a lens there earlier this year that ended up being too slow for my needs. They accepted the return two weeks later without hesitation. A lady who was in front of me in the return line had trouble returning her camera. She didn't have all of the original part so I don't think B&H was at fault.

One thing I love about stores like B&H, Ablecine, and Samy's is the ability try before you buy. B&H's camera setups and their new studio in particular are a great way to get some hands on with many different cameras models. I've also made the decision about which lighting kit to purchase based on comparisons in the store. Ablecine's publicly available gear tests have helped me make purchase decisions so I was happy to buy one of my cameras there.

I think even those who don't live near one of the big stores in LA or NYC may benefit from the observations of their peers who do. Lots of the initial reports on new gear here at DVXuser come from events held at a camera store.
 
I have far more problems with UPS delivery than with B&H. Like others I have purchased $$$ worth of gear from B&H over the years with no problems.
 
FWIW, a huge percentage of the mid/high end audio business has moved to direct sale from the manufacturer. On the one hand, it really benefits the consumer due to the elimination of a middleman with a heavy (50%-70%) markup; on the other, it's impossible to know what a particular speaker sounds like without knowing what that speaker sounds like.

And, naturally, a lot of retailers have closed their doors for good.

PS. Audio equipment is far more modular and capable of being modded than the photo/video gear, a process which lends itself to the garage size operations anyway.
 
The orginal situation that started this thread is unfortunate and I am sorry about that. Can be very frustrating and also costly when things do not arrive when they should and you are counting on them. Chasing down lost packages is also not fun. In such cases the company should try to make it right as best they can. I hope this isn't a problem that is growing in occurrences.
I've seen both sides, being a consumer, business owner and having worked in retail.

Buying directly from manufacturers has it's plusses as does buying from resellers.
What I meant in an earlier post is that if it gets to a point where the brick and mortar stores and dealers go away, something will be lost. Some of these stores add some value to the end consumer experience by being able to talk with someone and maybe even see products. And some of them add extra items or incentives beyond the manufacturer. This customer - store experience may be of significant value to some and of absolute zero value to others. Some people know exactly what they want and just want to order it and get it there pronto. Others need advice and to see it. There are other plusses as well but having another link in the chain also means another chance for something to go wrong.

In my case, it'd be great to be close enough to one of these stores to be able to go in and look at products. But I cannot. So I have to base purchases on my own knowledge and often on wonderful sites like DVXuser and product reviews.

I've bought a lot of gear from B&H starting in the early 2000s. Never had a problem until this year and I've had two. One item was missing a part that fell out of a poorly packaged box during shipping. The other was a tripod that arrived actually as the upgraded model I didn't order, and also defective. On both counts they promptly took care of the situation.
With the volume they do I'm surprised more things don't go wrong.
 
Ordered something today at 3:58pm EST (2 minutes before the window closes) and it didn't ship, lol.

It's okay though...reasonable.
 
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