What factors influence your decision on where to buy?

Jan_Crittenden

Jan_Crittenden

Veteran
Hi everyone,

I was having a discussion with a colleague the other day about why people buy from one place over another place. Is it a decision that is always determined by price or are there other mitigating circumstances? Care to share your thoughts on the matter?

Thanks for participating,

Jan
 
For me, it's price and reputation of the seller. That includes reliability, to some extend, customer service and shipping costs.
 
For me it goes in this order:

1) are they an authorized re-seller
2) of those authorized sellers who has the best out the door price
3) of those authorized sellers who have the lowest price- who has the best reliability
 
Interesting and complex question. My straight-forward answer is, "It depends." It is definitely not as straight-forward as, whoever sells it at the lowest price wins my business.

Price is certainly one of the main factors. As an example, I'd love to buy locally but if I can get the same thing online for 30% less money, I'll do it. However, I won't buy from buycheapcameragearhere.com (fictional, I think) just because their prices are lower.

Performance history (earned trust) is critical. I tend to stick with what has worked for me in the past.

Feedback from others is also important. Admittedly, my personal experience usually trumps feedback from others but their feedback definitely weighs in when I don't have the experience with a seller.

Availability is obvious. The seller actually has to have the product.

Convenience also plays a role. I find it to be more convenient to order something and have it shipped to my doorstep than to drive across town to the nearest local store.

All that being said, here is my current order of preference in the film/video space:
1. B&H
2. Amazon
3. DVXUser
4. Other

Great question. I can't wait to read through others' perspectives.
 
Convenience and competitive pricing have always been the killer combination for me. Which is why, up until recently, I always bought pretty much everything from B&H. Their website is unparalleled, you could shop pretty much 24 hours, they always have everything and at reasonable prices, and it's delivered within just a few days.

However, recently Texas Media Systems has made an incredible push to earn my business. First, they're local, and all other things being equal, local is always better. Second, they're a fervent supporter of DVXUser, they're a sponsor (B&H isn't a sponsor) and besides helping support the site with sponsorship, they also have been introducing some killer "group buy" deals. And third, my state allows a sales tax exemption for professional production equipment, so that even eliminates any supposed sales tax savings from buying out of state.

I think B&H is a great dealer, but I also think that we need local dealers and alternatives -- there must be competition, competition is healthy and it benefits us as end consumers. There are a lot of great dealers around the country, and several of them are DVXUser site sponsors. If folks can find a local dealer who will compete as effectively for their business as TMS is competing for mine, I highly recommend buying from that local dealer.
 
Excellent responses guys, keep it up. But let me throw in another question. Do you rely on your local reseller for demonstraions and or technical answers?
 
That works in major markets, but is non existent in smaller ones.

Technical answers seems to originate more here at dvxuser.com thanks to all the contributors.

It would be great if Panasonic could provide targeted demonstration videos on line that are truly tutorial, and not marketing for those who cannot get local demos.
 
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Whenever practical I buy locally from dealers I have relationships with. The added support derived is well worth it, & I'm usually offered the products at prices equal to, or less than, B&H's.
 
+1 to all of David's comments. He lives in a smaller market like myself where there are few or no pro-equipment dealers.

Recently, a Panasonic rep called me and was wondering if I would like to set up a demo with a local dealer. Uh? I live in rural Washington State. The closest dealer is over a hundred miles away in Seattle, which for real dealer support, might as well be a thousand. I have used a few different camera dealers and my preference would be for the dealer to also be an authorized service center, so that is a strong consideration for a camera purchase even if it is across the country. Despite this preference, I have ended up using BH mostly since they are just so good at the web store process. BH pretty much sucks for handholding and product advice, and I never expect that from them. I do my research elsewhere. The things I like about the BH webstore include: selection and inventory, excellent website interface, competitive pricing, EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION on my order for shipping and tracking, and especially shipping choices and shipping prices. When I have had issues, their "problem solver" people have always come through quickly with no hassle. For example, I purchased a 5d a few years ago which was DOA. No problem, as fast as could be done, I had a new camera. They even paid for accelerated shipping. They helped me with one of the glacial Panasonic rebate programs. If I have a gripe, I have Henry Posner's email, and he responds whenever I contact him with a suggestion.

As much as I would prefer to buy local, I refuse to punish myself, waste time or incur higher costs to go out of my way to buy local when that local service might not be as good as what I receive from an internet retailer. I must mention here the dreadful experiences I have had using Amazon. If you purchase directly from Amazon, that works OK, but if you purchase from one of Amazons authorized resellers, beware that Amazon has very poor support for such transactions. Recently, I purchased a case from a Amazon reseller and they shipped me the wrong product. It took well over a month to get a resolution and refund, and Amazon was ZERO help, and I do mean ZERO. Remember when you click on a Amazon reseller, you are not dealing with Amazon in any way, and they want nothing to do with the purchase except to skim a commission off the top.

Grant

edit: Intersting the Bern comments about local dealers, but note that he lives in LA where much of the industry is located.
 
Barry_Green said:
However, recently Texas Media Systems has made an incredible push to earn my business. First, they're local, and all other things being equal, local is always better. Second, they're a fervent supporter of DVXUser, they're a sponsor (B&H isn't a sponsor) and besides helping support the site with sponsorship, they also have been introducing some killer "group buy" deals. And third, my state allows a sales tax exemption for professional production equipment, so that even eliminates any supposed sales tax savings from buying out of state.
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I bought my HPX-170 from them and have pretty much been a loyal customer since September of 2009. If I didn't purchase from TMS, it was because they simply didn't carry it. They've started carrying Redrock Micro gear recently and I finally got my Follow Focus Blue from them as well.
 
I purchased my AF-100 from Cine Able. Since it was a new camera, hands on demo in Chicago was important in making my final decision.
 
Texas media is pretty good, and although they wouldn't come down $20 and price match a Summilux 25mm from another authorized dealer- they were still helpful and courteous. Somehow I always find myself ending up at B&H though :)
 
I usually buy from B&H and Amazon. However in the last year I have made purchases from Texas Media and my AF-100 from Texas Tape Works. No connection to Texas it's just they both earned my business with great sales staff. In San Diego you can't buy the gear I use so I have to order it or go to LA and I don't want to drive to LA.
 
I got my AF-100 from Texas Media because they had one when we were all waiting for them. They're pretty good. I live right outside NYC so usually I go to B&H or buy from them online. They are great about returns and I get stuff delivered from them, literally, the next day! For some things Adorama or Able Cine.

So for me it's selection, price, customer service. I rely on manufacturers for warranty work and for repairs, not retailers.
 
Jan_Crittenden said:
Excellent responses guys, keep it up. But let me throw in another question. Do you rely on your local reseller for demonstraions and or technical answers?
Click to expand...

Im in a slightly different market Jan. But that point is very important to me - to an extent. Insofar as the local dealer who does the demo, lets you get the hands on, are good guys with good service. However on a recent purchase, they were $2k higher on a quote. I ended up going with an out of state company who also offer great service, are authorised for this particular gear, charged me 0 shipping and as I said didnt immediately go the eye gouge on price.

In Aus its most likely a little bit different from the US. Smaller market. Less resellers. In the past the delivered product has been a bit higher here from the manufacturer - however just as an example with the AF100, people like Rob Myers did a lot to ensure we are on par pricing - so when I know someone like Rob is doing that, and then one reseller charges you a huge mark up for unknown reasons (common here) you avoid them. This is the factor thats a little different from the US.
 
Jan,

Sorry I missed meeting you at NAB and I hope all is well with you! At Barbizon, we constantly hear that our customers appreciate having a brick-and-mortar option within their market. We often have the best prices (below MAP on a quote-by-quote basis, of course) on the best lines that they're looking for. That said, we treat our margins as if we want to remain in the brick-and-mortar business.

In many markets, regional distributors represent the only chance for customers to put their hands on real, production models before they make their purchase decision. With electronics, unless you've already seen it in-person at a trade show or in another store, I don't know how people could function other than to put a given device through its paces.

I know how I feel about WH Platts and SpecComm. They get it. They understand users at the entry-level side of the market as well as the enterprise-level. Barbizon functions in the same way. Free demos of the latest equipment - often in a customer's own space or on a paying job - is one thing that sets vendors like them apart.

We do get customers who make their purchase decisions based solely on price - and sometimes we cannot compete with a web box store who purchases umpteen units on pre-order or on blind speculation. That's tough, but it is a continuing issue. Also, for Panasonic, I would just say, "Please continue to enforce your aggressive MAP!" Camera manufacturers seem better at this than other market segments, but I think they put more value on keeping some value attached to their products than many others. And that's unfortunate, because that end of the market can drag everything down with it and then we're all buying crappy hardware at places like Lowes and Home Depot.
 
It depends upon what type of equipment. I don't buy locally, I buy from the most knowledgeable reseller, which I believe to be Abel Cinetech in the digital cine arena. But, they might not be as strong in the live switched, multi-cam area of production.

If it's an accessory I need fast, and want to order after hours, the online stores are good(B&H, Adorama, Full Compass) and they can certainly provide some phone support during business hours, but their depth of knowledge is unlikely to be that of a high end reseller and rental house like Abel Cinetech or Band Pro Digital(the latter is not a Panasonic reseller or a rental house).

There are some resellers that seem to have a lot of in-stock inventory and B-stock gear, such as Omega Broadcast in Austin, so they are a good resource for me.

When a reseller asks for a large deposit on gear that isn't going to deliver for months, I go elsewhere. Since so much of this gear has a minimum selling price, sales consulting and service support are the differentiators at this point. I also find the video blogs, training seminars to be useful, although it's hard for me to attend the latter too often, being in SF and those happening in Burbank. I did go to Varicamp in '09 and found it to be worthwhile.

As for sales tax, we file an annual use tax return for all gear bought out of state, so no advantage there over California resellers.
 
I live on a BC island where trotting off to the nearest reseller means two ferries and a half day each way. So like other ruralites I undertake my product research and purchase online. Rigorous research is an imperative when replacement turnaround can easily take a couple of weeks. Prices from Canadian suppliers are more often than not considerably higher than from US sites so I mostly use Adorama or B and H. I've also bought from Shoot 35, Jag35, China and Westside AV. Westside were stellar, as was Shoot. Jag are good but delivery was slow (11 days). Adorama are fast at processing and shipping and have great prices. China had my order to me in two days for a price that wouldn't have covered the cost of postage here. I use Amazon for small purchases but previous experience has caused me to distrust them for anything remotely expensive. Their service sucks big time if there are problems.
 
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I also have had excellent service from Texas Media Systems. Just bought an AF100 from them, and Terry really helped with a great price and fast, free shipping.
 
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