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Adorama / B&H

Drew888

Drew888

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 14, 2013
910
34
Los Angeles, CA
I am thinking of buying an 11" MBA from Adorama or B&H (most likely Adorama) Since I am in LA, I won't need to pay the sales tax and ends up being cheaper than my educator discount.

Anyone have any buying experience from them? I have only purchased from Apple or Best Buy and need advice. Thanks!
 
I've purchased various items from both and both are fine. Both have good customer service and decent deals.
 
I've always gotten great service from B&H.

I recently purchased a monitor from them and it came double boxed. Not even UPS (I pronounce OOPS) was able to damage it.
 
Thanks for the responses. I guess the only thing that I worry about is their return policies. Both do not offer any returns or exchanges once opened.
 
Both those companies like to cater to professional outfits. They offer discounts based on their volume sales and also because of stricter return policies. They'll help you out if you have a problem, of course, but they don't have a lot of patience for the "I changed my mind" crowd. Not having to pass on those costs is one way they can offer you the lower price to begin with.
 
I've purchased from B&H and Adorama, mainly camera gear and related electronics. I've always had a good buying experience, and as others have said, they both have excellent customer service. I've never bought a laptop, but I would assume you would have similar experiences. With free shipping and no tax, it makes sense for large-ticket items.
 
Bought my Macbook Air from B&H, they have always had great customer service whenever I had any questions. I'd recommend them for sure
 
We bought the 46" Samsung UN46F6800 from B&H at the beginning of the year. Packaging was as they received it from Samsung plus additional edge and corner reinforcement. Sadly the TV had a 3 pixel wide line right down the middle. Except for the latter we were happy with its features and picture quality, so we phoned B&H first and got an RMA but tried to get it repaired by Samsung hoping that would save us having to repackage it and send it back.

Unfortunately Samsung really messed us around because they didn't have the parts in stock. FWIW, they don't repair anything, they just replace all the necessary electronics. Because our 30 day return option was running out, we opted to return it and got the 47" Sony KDL-W802A for a few dollars more.

We had the new TV up and running less than a week after we dropped off the Samsung at UPS. No hassles plus prompt and excellent customer service. No wonder they have such an outstanding reputation and are the primary source for most professional photographers.

As for the new TV, less elegant and useful remote compared to the Samsung, but comparable picture quality with a noticeably wider viewing angle.

Highly recommended for those who want a retailer to stand behind the products they sell, but as mentioned above, neither of these places are geared for looky-loos or those who don't know what they want.
 
Another thumb's up for B&H here. Got my late 2013 15" rMBP for $100 below Apple store price + no sales tax = almost $300 savings. Ordered with free shipping, had it in my hands four days later.
 
As others have said, both are well established retailers with excellent ratings. I've used both numerous times with absolutely no issues.
 
Drew888 said:
I am thinking of buying an 11" MBA from Adorama or B&H (most likely Adorama) Since I am in LA, I won't need to pay the sales tax and ends up being cheaper than my educator discount.

Anyone have any buying experience from them? I have only purchased from Apple or Best Buy and need advice. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I can only speak for Adorama, since I have purchased from them. IMHO, Adorama is reliable, and they send what they advertise. I believe they are also an Authorized Apple Reseller, so adds some bit of confidence as well.

Adorama is in the East Coast, I think NY or NJ if I recall. Adorama, like B&H, started out as specialty shops that cater to the VERY demanding professional photography crowd. So naturally, if they had been sucky failures at appeasing that demanding technical crowd, they would have closed shop years ago.

Apparently they have succeeded (over the years) to retain the loyalty of the pro photography crowd, so they were doing things right. Naturally, they expanded to gadgets beyond cameras.... they expanded into mobile devices, iPhones, iPads, iMacs, etc.
 
Thank you everyone for the advise. I think I am going to go with Adorama since they have a lot more BTO 11' MBAs to choose from.

I guess my concern about not being able to return it is because I am debating between the i5 and the i7 and have no way to try them out myself before buying. I guess I should go with the i7 then since I cannot return the system.

Thanks again!
 
Assuming equivalent core numbers (4 vs 4), i7 is mostly about core management. If your software isn't core aware, ghz is more useful for you.

Btw, BH ipad app is worth downloading just to see how shopping apps should be done.
 
I have much more experience with Adorama than I do with B&H but I have always had good experiences with both of them. These are to go-to places for serious photographers and their huge volumes mean good prices. What you will not get is a lot of hand holding and there are many stories of their in-store staff being rather abrupt with those who do not already know what they want. The times I have dealt with people on the phone they have been polite and professional but they certainly were not chatty. That's fine by me. I just needed questions answered, I did not need a new BFF.
 
B&H and Adorama are my favorite places to shop.

Sadly I'm from NY, so I have to pay taxes.

And B&H's physical store is a lot bigger and better than Adorama's.
 
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