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Digital Camera online retailer suggestion?
- Thread starter slipper
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Just purchased the G6 in February. B&H photo is always my first choice and has the cheapest price. However due to one of those insane multiple coupon deals from Dell, I bought it from Dell for $60 less than B&H. Thats comparing the delivered price and I even had to pay tax on the purchase.
Buy.com is the only other retailer that I would consider. Thier price was much more than B&H.
Buy.com is the only other retailer that I would consider. Thier price was much more than B&H.
I gotta suggest newegg.com here. I've ordered countless items from them, for many years, and never had a problem. I did recieve something DOA once, but I sent it back, and they sent the new one, no questions. The only problem is they wont cross ship, but no big deal for piece of mind. Good luck!
B&H is good sometimes...but they don't always have the best price. And you always have to look at shipping and handling.
I just bought a new Canon 20D from 42nd Street Photo and it was great and a good price. Got here a couple days sooner than expected.
I got some accessories from Adorama (good price and decent review) and I'm still waiting for them to arrive - delayed the ordering/shipping because of stupidity and laziness as far as I can tell. Don't use them.
D
I just bought a new Canon 20D from 42nd Street Photo and it was great and a good price. Got here a couple days sooner than expected.
I got some accessories from Adorama (good price and decent review) and I'm still waiting for them to arrive - delayed the ordering/shipping because of stupidity and laziness as far as I can tell. Don't use them.
D
Mr. Anderson said:
That's amazing. I tried 42nd st. once and their service was horrible. Here's some other customer feedback:
Reseller Ratings - 42nd st. Photo
From my past experience, the two best photo places are B&H and Adorama. Both of them have huge inventories, prompt and reasonable shipping charges and neither will lie and say that the product is in stock when it isn't. And last but not least, exchanges aren't a problem with either.
Sure, neither of the above two may be the cheapest on every single product all the time, but most of the time I don't mind paying a little bit more for peace of mind, brand new products, USA warranty etc. I'm too old to have to deal with lies, unnecessary aggravation etc from trying to save a few pennies.
Having said that though, there are also quite a few computer sites that also sell some camera gear. These usually restrict themselves to the most popular items and don't have 1% of the camera related gear that B&H and Adorama stock. I usually use www.pricegrabber.com and go with the store ratings. Personally, even although I had never heard of some of these stores before Pricegrabber pulled them up, I have never had a problem with anything that I have ordered from store rated 4 stars or higher.
http://www.adorama.com/
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
Sure, neither of the above two may be the cheapest on every single product all the time, but most of the time I don't mind paying a little bit more for peace of mind, brand new products, USA warranty etc. I'm too old to have to deal with lies, unnecessary aggravation etc from trying to save a few pennies.
Having said that though, there are also quite a few computer sites that also sell some camera gear. These usually restrict themselves to the most popular items and don't have 1% of the camera related gear that B&H and Adorama stock. I usually use www.pricegrabber.com and go with the store ratings. Personally, even although I had never heard of some of these stores before Pricegrabber pulled them up, I have never had a problem with anything that I have ordered from store rated 4 stars or higher.
http://www.adorama.com/
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
Mr. Anderson said:
I'm sorry that you had a problem with Adorama. I have been using them for decades and haven't had any problems with them at all.
Remember though, no matter how good and honest the store and it's employees are, these places are huge and incredibly busy, so mistakes do happen as the employees are only human. I'm sure that they will make every effort to rectify their mistake.
On a side note, I was in New York city in December 2000 and dragged my friend down to B&H as I have also used them for decades but had never actually visited the store. This is a huge store, almost an entire city block and incredibly busy. I was very impressed with how efficiently their store is run. My friend, who lives in NY, had never seen such a busy retail store ever. Almost like a Saturday morning flea market dumping hot inventory at bargain basement prices.
B&H is always high on the list, but I wouldn't overlook www.ritzcamera.com
No sales tax, free shipping, and most of all, the damage protection plan. With the G6 it would cost you an extra $93 to put an ESP on it for a year, and you can literally crush the camera into a million pieces and be able to get a brand new one. Or maybe just a little scratch on the lens or LCD? They'll take care of that too.
No sales tax, free shipping, and most of all, the damage protection plan. With the G6 it would cost you an extra $93 to put an ESP on it for a year, and you can literally crush the camera into a million pieces and be able to get a brand new one. Or maybe just a little scratch on the lens or LCD? They'll take care of that too.
I don't know about the online stores, but 42nd street photo in NYC is seen as a cheap ripoff of the "original" discount camera shop, 47th street photo. I bought my first camcorder there, and it was quite an experience. But as I said, I don't know about the online stores.
slipper said:
Be very careful - there are numerous fly-by-night camera retailers on the web. I don't know about these two in particular.
- Make sure they accept payments in a form that protects you. When I was shopping for my D70, there was an online store that underbid everyone by $200. BUT they only accepted wire transfers for payment. I read several horror stories from people who'd ordered from them - no one ever got a camera, and basically the customers were likely out $1200 each.
- Make sure you understand how the camera got into the country, and the warranty situation. You should read B&H's page about "grey market" imports to learn why this is important. Low-ball prices may be grey market cameras; as long as you know that and make the decision willingly, it's okay.
- Check out the retailer review sites that have already been linked to in this thread.
I've purchased film and digital SLR cameras and accessories from B&H, and have nothing but good things to say about them.
The low price of infinitiphoto.com is soo enticing! their website states that they are paypal verified but nowhere can i make a paypal payment so i contacted paypal just to make sure. also, they accept credit card payments. i will let you guys know what paypal says.slipper said:
Always double check
Before you buy, always check one of these sites to compare prices:
www.pricegrabber.com
www.shopping.com
Settle for the second lowest price because if one is significantly lower in price it could be a scam or it could be refurbished....Look for stores that put their phone number up so it is easy to contact them if they have a problem. ALSO MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE RETURN POLICY...I ONCE MADE THE MISTAKE OF BUYING SOMETHING FROM BESTBUY!
Before you buy, always check one of these sites to compare prices:
www.pricegrabber.com
www.shopping.com
Settle for the second lowest price because if one is significantly lower in price it could be a scam or it could be refurbished....Look for stores that put their phone number up so it is easy to contact them if they have a problem. ALSO MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE RETURN POLICY...I ONCE MADE THE MISTAKE OF BUYING SOMETHING FROM BESTBUY!
I can vouch for One Call (onecall.com) - bought a mini DV and a point & shoot digital cam - excellent service and good prices.
Ask if they have any specials...I ended-up getting my mini DV at a very good price.
Have also heard good things about B&H and Adorama, as mentioned by others here.
I have no affiliation with any of these stores (shoot, I'm only a hobbyist - no affiliation at all...).
I would offer one bit of caution - as the saying goes, "If it's too good to be true, then..." With regards to camera equipment, you'll find several possibilities if the prices are too low:
1. You're buying grey market goods...won't be warrantable in the US.
2. Lots of bait & switch/up-sell tactics (they sell you a stripped-down package and make one pay significantly more for "standard" accessories)
Good luck,
Frank
Ask if they have any specials...I ended-up getting my mini DV at a very good price.
Have also heard good things about B&H and Adorama, as mentioned by others here.
I have no affiliation with any of these stores (shoot, I'm only a hobbyist - no affiliation at all...).
I would offer one bit of caution - as the saying goes, "If it's too good to be true, then..." With regards to camera equipment, you'll find several possibilities if the prices are too low:
1. You're buying grey market goods...won't be warrantable in the US.
2. Lots of bait & switch/up-sell tactics (they sell you a stripped-down package and make one pay significantly more for "standard" accessories)
Good luck,
Frank
has anyone ever heard of or dealt with butterfly photo? I was thinking about ordering from them.
hehehehehehehehe
I have a link for all of you...
This has been passed around photography forums for a year or two.
Some guys in NYC drove around to all the "Discount Sellers" and took pictures of their storefronts corresponding to their advertised addresses and website domain registration info. Some are very suspicious.
http://www.donwiss.com/pictures/BrooklynStores/#6
enjoy, i did
Added:
I have bought from bh twice and never had problems.
I have a link for all of you...
This has been passed around photography forums for a year or two.
Some guys in NYC drove around to all the "Discount Sellers" and took pictures of their storefronts corresponding to their advertised addresses and website domain registration info. Some are very suspicious.
http://www.donwiss.com/pictures/BrooklynStores/#6
enjoy, i did
Added:
I have bought from bh twice and never had problems.
spacepower7 said:I have a link for all of you...
This has been passed around photography forums for a year or two.
Some guys in NYC drove around to all the "Discount Sellers" and took pictures of their storefronts corresponding to their advertised addresses and website domain registration info. Some are very suspicious.
http://www.donwiss.com/pictures/BrooklynStores/#6
enjoy, i did
Added:
I have bought from bh twice and never had problems.
Thanks a lot for the link.
After looking through the pics of all of those *stores*, I think that I will stick with B&H and Adorama.
Although to be fair, there are a few, unfortunately not many, legitimate camera stores in that lot.
Ill echo B&H, i've gotten a few things from them
J&R $540 is also a good place, i picked up my Quicksilver from them.
If you are not in a hurry to get it, Fotoconnection.com $479 has the best price i could find. I got my Nikon 4300 from them. They do sell grey market, so you NEED to call and verify. They WILL pressure you into getting accessories, it was worth the $170 off retail ($499 at the time), and the 3 week wait.
Hope that helps.
J&R $540 is also a good place, i picked up my Quicksilver from them.
If you are not in a hurry to get it, Fotoconnection.com $479 has the best price i could find. I got my Nikon 4300 from them. They do sell grey market, so you NEED to call and verify. They WILL pressure you into getting accessories, it was worth the $170 off retail ($499 at the time), and the 3 week wait.
Hope that helps.
Well I went with butterflyphoto and the Canon Digital Rebel. We'll see how it goes... they already made me call to confirm my order and then tried to sell me more stuff when I called them.
thanks spacepower7 for the link but the pictures of butterflyphoto weren't very reassuring
thanks spacepower7 for the link but the pictures of butterflyphoto weren't very reassuring
absolut_mac said:
I was there last summer, it's disney land for the photographer... this place is far more dangerous to my budget than a casino. And, of all things, didn't visit the apple store.
Here is the list of stores I check out:
B&H
Adorama
canogacamera
J&R
My only issue with B&H and Adorama are the shipping charges, esp. if you have to get the items quick. J&R is fantastic, and will usually pricematch the others (and sometimes provide an even better price). Canogacamera is good, and has good shipping rates.
Kimo
B&H
Adorama
canogacamera
J&R
My only issue with B&H and Adorama are the shipping charges, esp. if you have to get the items quick. J&R is fantastic, and will usually pricematch the others (and sometimes provide an even better price). Canogacamera is good, and has good shipping rates.
Kimo