Has anyone bought a DVX100B from Beach Camera.com??

Yeah I know about the ratings and they are pretty good. but in panasonic's website they are not listed as an authorized dealer and I want to get the rebate for $400, I have not purchased anything yet but this is the only store that has the dvx100b in stock.
 
After some hand wringing and calling and talking to them I bit the bullet and gave them my money. Their price was within the realm of the possible. Their reseller rating was good enough for me. And I did searches through google for them and thought it was worth the gamble. Fed Ex was delivering the camera the next day even with the free shipping option! Fed Ex had trouble getting it to me but that was unrelated. I got the camera in the factory packaging. Everything that I have used has worked perfectly. I called up the Panasonic rebate center and was able to submit it. It will obvioulsy be a while before I know whether or not I will get the rebate. Panasonic said as long as it was a us made product with a valid serial # I would get the rebate. But a rebate is a rebate and we all know how reliable information is in relation to rebates.

So in conclusion (feel like this was a dissertation) beachcamera was good for me in this instance. I would give them more business if their price (including tax and shipping) is best.
 
If the rebate is important to you then why take chances by going with someone who is not an authorized dealer? Actually, screw the rebate, its in general the question of if the warranty is important for you...

Call EVS, it might cost you more but in the end it's worth while. I would buy a used DVX w/ 100 hours or less on the heads before I would buy from an unauthorized dealer.
 
TheYankee said:
Call EVS, it might cost you more but in the end it's worth while. I would buy a used DVX w/ 100 hours or less on the heads before I would buy from an unauthorized dealer.
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I agree wholeheartedly.
 
I just bought a 100B from a non-authorized dealer and got ALL of what Panasonic packaged AND the full rebate. I also bought a 4 year extended warranty from a different dealer and once I send that in, it's all up to Panasonic and/ or Mack Camera and Video. The dealer plays no part in the longevity or well being of my camera, ever.

I paid a full thousand less for the same package than I would have from an "authorized dealer" in my state.
 
Chris Santucci said:
I just bought a 100B from a non-authorized dealer and got ALL of what Panasonic packaged AND the full rebate. I also bought a 4 year extended warranty from a different dealer and once I send that in, it's all up to Panasonic and/ or Mack Camera and Video. The dealer plays no part in the longevity or well being of my camera, ever.

I paid a full thousand less for the same package than I would have from an "authorized dealer" in my state.
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Wow you were very lucky and I'm glad you recieved everything ,but to the original poster of the question. You already know what the consensus on the board is. Don't buy from unauthorized resellers. It's a huge gamble and even though Chris Santucci braved the fire and lived to tell about it you might not and instead of an excited Dvxuser you will be back here telling us how much it burns and it's difficult to sit. I guess what i'm saying by all this is when I was thinking about buying my camera I did a lot reasearch amd went with the tried and true
 
I got my DVX 100B through Beach camera and am pretty satisfied with what I got: The same factory sealed Panasonic package that everyone else gets, except at $200 less than the B&H price. I also found their customer service to be very helpful overall.

As for the rebate I too noticed that the Panasonic website doesn't list them as an "authorized dealer", so I'm unsure of how to go about getting my rebate and time is running out.

adepew07, can you PM me the number at Panasonic where I can submit my rebate request? All I can find on their website is the online form.
 
One more thing: Don't buy a DVX 100B from dealers offering it at ridiculously discounted prices (usually around the $2000 to $2500 range).

Why you ask? Well after questioning a rather testy customer service rep in New York, I found out the difference between what you would get from say B&H or Beach versus dealers offering the camera at the aformentioned prices is that 1) They obtain the cameras from overseas (meaning it may or may not be PAL, he didn't elaborate on that) and 2) You only get the camera. No manual, no software, no tape, no extremely helpful book by Barry Green, and probably no other goodies either.

So remember, if its too good to be true, grill the customer service rep to find out if it is.
 
I just recieved my dvx100b today from buydig.com which I'm told is the same as beach camera. I could not be happier with their service. At $250 less than b&h or evs list price, not to mention I didn't have to pay tax or shipping. If I had gone into B&H to get it, it would have cost me about $541 dollars more. I bought a nikon d70 with buydig about 2 years ago and had great results so I was pretty confident. Well, free shipping normally takes like a week, but I got my package the next day. I placed my order yesterday at 2 pm and it arrived today at 10:45 am. Granted they are in jersey and i'm in new york, but it was still impressive. I'm really happy with them and the camera.
 
I just bought mine this week at EVS and I'm not real happy at all with Panasonic.

EVS is selling cameras that do not come with the Barry book/DVD in the box. After talking with the panny rebate center yesterday, I was told that some retailers are given cameras with the extras included in the box but EVS is not one of them. Since it is a two month wait for the book (which I really was relying on) I can't use the camera to its full benefit.

Tried to register on the Panasonic rebate website since the panny rep told me that it was faster than mailing but would still take two to three months to get book.

The website form now refuses to accept my zipcode as valid for the state of California. Tried calling Panny rep again and just got voice mail with a promise to return call. It's been two days and have not heard back.

So, the moral of the story is, find out if the dealer is one of the dealers that panisonic is giving cameras too with the Barry green book and DVD if this is important to you.

So instead of sitting here really happy with my camera I'm waisting time dealing with this and really have bad feelings about Panasonic customer service.
 
mstudios78,
I got the book and dvd, warranty, and magic bullet all in the box. Exactly how it should be.
 
worked for me

worked for me

i bought a DVX-100A from Beach camera and it came bundled with the book and magic bullet. The rebate went through just fine as well. Beach was good for me.
 
SilverWolf said:
Yeah tried and true like B & H and Evs just to name the most common on this site.
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Yeah, I'm sure B&H will take pains to somehow satisfy a customer who's prosumer camera doesn't work out of the box. When you're planning on purchasing by mail order, it makes more sense to find a reputable non-authorized dealer with a low price.

Just because a dealer is "authorized" doesn't guarantee you'll get anything even close to "better service" than a non-authorized dealer. An authorized dealer might be meeting the sales volume requirements and whatever else to be "authorized" but that does not mean there is ANY value worth the extra bucks you pay by ordering from them.

The ONLY time I could see patronizing an authorized dealer making sense is when you can walk into the local store and talk to humans and/or get "service."

If you're doing mail order, all you have to do is find a reputable dealer and save hundreds of dollars.

It's not brain surgery.
 
Ordering from an authorized dealer does pose it's benefits. For instance if you ordered an ipod or any apple product from an unauthorized dealer you may not be getting your whole warranty even though the product had one because apple starts the warranty from the Original date of purchase. So if you didn't purchase one from an authorized dealer they don't have to honor the warranty from when you purchased it but only from when the very first person purchased it.
 
Chris Santucci said:
Just because a dealer is "authorized" doesn't guarantee you'll get anything even close to "better service" than a non-authorized dealer. An authorized dealer might be meeting the sales volume requirements and whatever else to be "authorized" but that does not mean there is ANY value worth the extra bucks you pay by ordering from them.
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That's not how it works. An authorized dealership has signed a contract between themselves and the manufacturer. They agree to abide by certain codes of conduct, and the manufacturer agrees to sell the product to them.

Unauthorized dealers cannot (I repeat, CANNOT) buy product direct from the manufacturer.

So where do they get their product? Who knows? Overseas? Imported? Buying it under-the-table from an authorized dealer? You don't know, and I don't know, and wherever they're getting it from the one thing we can be sure of is that they're not getting it from the manufacturer.

So will you get a warranty? Maybe, maybe not. You don't know. Will you get all the accessories that come in the box? Maybe, maybe not. You don't know. An unauthorized dealer is under no obligation to follow any code of conduct; that's why the "scam shops" say that they'll sell the camera alone for a certain price -- because they open up the box and take out the manual, the battery, the lens cap, the charger, everything, and just sell the bare-bones unit (oh, and if you want all that other stuff, that's another $1,000). Because when it comes right down to it, there's nothing stopping them from doing that. They are *not* a manufacturer's authorized representative, and there isn't necessarily all that much separating them from some guy selling product out of the back of a van in the middle of a parking lot. Where did that guy get his product? Who knows? Where does the gray-market non-authorized dealer get his product? Who knows?

And in that vein, there are some unauthorized dealers who seem pretty legit; profeel and buydig don't seem to play any games. And they seem to be selling authorized units, for now. But what if their source dries up? What if they can't buy authorized units anymore? Well then they'll have to import them from overseas, and whoops -- now you just lost your warranty, your rebate, your DVX Book/DVD, and your Magic Bullet software.

That'll never happen with an authorized dealer.
 
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