burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

:thumbup:

Throw KEH on the heap of great dealers. They sell used gear that is nearly always better than described in their ads.

I've ordered from Adorama, B&H, Cameta, and KEH, and found them all to be fair, prompt, and easy to do business with. Sometimes my local Best Buy will price match against Amazon and the first three in that list on new items they carry. The item has to be clearly marked as, "sold by and ships from..." the dealer they're matching.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

They will price match and might even reduce the matched one. It must be an authorized dealer. Give it a try. You can Chat or call.
I once asked them to match Amazon because they were significantly higher. They relisted the new price online and it was $50 cheaper then Amazon.
Mark

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Prices are controlled by the camera makers, so there isn't much room to negotiate. They might throw in an accessory, but they're not going to be going back and forth matching someone else's price. Sometimes, lots of negotiating to save just a few dollars isn't worth the trouble.

digit-up Loc: Flushing, Michigan

I noticed in your thread, a posting by HENRY of B&H. Did you NOT get back with him?? we deserve to know what became of that finally. Since you publicly brought B&H to task, please let us know the resolution of your request. RJM

henryp Loc: New York, NY

You're referring to 'unilateral price' policies. These are policies imposed on authorized retailers by US distributors which set the lowest permitted selling (not advertised) price. The policies are strictly enforced and penalties for violations can be severe.


I have not yet received an email from the OP.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

True. I know that Nikon USA (know for a fact because I retired from there) and possibly Canon and others do control pricing on their merchandise. The way many (Adorama does this often and I used to manage an all Apple computer store and Apple does the same price control) is that the store will offer a bundle with the Name brand primary product (Nikon camera body or lens) and then add in secondary products to sweeten the deal (Non-Nikon filters, extra 3rd party battery, camera bag etc. We used to buy Apple packages and break them down and put our own package with an Apple computer and a non-Apple monitor, software, an O'Sullivan desk etc. for a similar price) which gives the appearance of a great deal when in fact the deal might be better or not but there was a better advantage over competing stores that offered the body, lens or whatever only for the same price. Note: I'm not saying it isn't a better package if you actually want or need the stuff they are including but some of it is pure junk. My D7100 came with a nice backpack compartmented carrying bag, a cheesy 3rd party Watson battery that only lasts 1/3 the number of shots of the Nikon battery, 2 16gb Sandisc memory cards (I replaced them with 32 gb cards but I use the 16gb for backup spares) and lens cleaning cloth and liquid for about $50 more than the list of the body alone. Note: No lens in the package. The backpack was worth the difference so it was an okay deal but your mileage may vary. Look at the package and see what it really contains. At the time, I was working for Nikon, which offers employees a 10% discount on products but the employees have to pay local tax, and shipping from Cameta Camera. I got mine from Adorama, paid no shipping and no tax so it came out cheaper than the same body by it's self from Nikon with shipping and tax. I guess the point is that sometimes you need to really look at the deal you are getting.

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

How much of a dollar difference are we discussing? I've always found B&H to be competitive for cameras and camera stuff, but not quite so much for the other thousands of things in their catalogs, but their reputation never seems to be questioned!

Is the time, gas, tolls(?), mileage for a 100 mile round trip that much less, not to mention the Sales tax you won't pay at B&H that from PA starts at the first $0.25.

chapjohn Loc: Tigard, Oregon

I am usually asking my local camera store to match the B&H price. Which they do after looking at the B&H website to verify the price.

It is important to be comparing the same thing when doing this. Places that offer lower prices than B&H at the beginning might be offering something less (i.e. gray market).

jimmya Loc: Phoenix

Have you called them? That may be the best way to actually get an answer before winter. This is an excellent company but they are so very, very busy all the time I'm not surprised getting an answer is like pulling hen's teeth.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Throughout many many years of dealing with B&H, and a small select list of others, I've never found a significant price savings on the same item anywhere else, unless it went on sale at B&H. I have never had a problem in any of my dealings with B&H. Not one! Just my $ .02.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Yes, you do.

I bought a LUMIX GH4 and 12-35mm pro zoom package through Amazon. It came from Cameta Camera. I got a bunch of add-ons with the camera and lens. I suspected in advance that I would receive a bunch of cheap plastic junk:

The table-top tripod is plasti-crap, but my kids will use it with an iPhone bracket.

The shoulder-sling style case is too small, and not padded very well, so I put some of my old film gear in it for closet storage, and use my old but well-built film gear case for the new stuff.

The cheap, non-TTL auto flash with LED video light works well, but so does my 35-year old Vivitar 285 (with 6V trigger voltage — I got one of the good ones!), so I'll use both. The Vivitar works perfectly with the GH4, as it has with every other camera I've ever used it with.

The 64GB Transcend SDXC C10 U3 card is great. And the spare battery is more powerful (lasts longer) than the Panasonic battery that came with the camera.

The Vivitar 8X ND, CPL, and UV filters are fine. They're not B+W, but I'm not making huge prints, either. I had a whole bag full of Vivitar filters, back in my slide production days, and they were fine, too. The ND and CPL will get some use; the UV will be slapped on when there are environmental hazards.

The shoe mount mic is surprisingly good, behaves well in wind, and is well shock-mounted. It's not a Røde, but it's so small and light, I'll carry it when I need a uni-directional mic on camera. I have a Sennheiser wireless for serious interviews and on-camera talent.

I also got a useful HDMI cable and a decent wide camera strap that I'll probably give to my wife. There was a come-on for file recovery software, but I already had some.

So all in all, it was a fair deal. I figure the extras amounted to a 10% discount, and I have some items that will work until I can get something better.

I bought a bundle from Wolf Camera about 12 years ago. The camera was the only thing in it worth paying for. I tossed all the cheap plastic "come ons", shortly after going through them.

I think the Internet and its ever-present review features have encouraged dealers to at least provide useful items in their bundles. You don't get as much filler product as you once did.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

B&H is one of the largest, highest volume REPUTABLE photo retailers in N. America.... I dunno, maybe even THE largest.

As such, they have some of the best honest prices of any dealer out there. If you see significantly lower prices somewhere else, I'd suggest you be be very, VERY careful. Read the details of the offer with great care and investigate the seller thoroughly. With few exceptions, you won't find a better price than B&H.

There are dozens of rip-offs online... so beware and be safe.

Me.... I'll stick with tried, true, reputable and reliable dealers.

dickwilber Loc: Indiana (currently)

I buy from my local shop, Gary Photo, here in NW Indiana when convenient and they have EXACTLY what I want at a competitive price; my favorite store in the whole world, Unique Photo in Fairfield, NJ when I'm in town; B&H when neither of those work out; and KEH for used gear. And I only consider a difference in price when it is pretty substantial!

What I would never consider doing is ask anyone of the them to match the price of another. I find this practice very unethical, both for the purchaser and the price matching seller! If a company has determined the price they feel comfortable selling that item, and you are uncomfortable paying that amount and find it at a price you are willing to pay elsewhere, then, unless you have reservations about purchasing from that seller, buy it there.

If you have reason to not trust a particular source enough to purchase from them when they have the low price, you probably have a very good idea why their price is so low. High end camera gear is a very competitive market, you don't need to squeeze the last penny out of every seller. (I spent enough time in the business world to develop a very large dislike for customers who would shop my price to my competitors.)

dickwilber Loc: Indiana (currently)

OOPS!

SENSORLOUPE

:thumbup: