Mail Order Stores: Lots of chatter about pricing at B&H, Adorama etc... stores. I buy local for the same price as the big New York mail order guys and have for years. One of the locals...

billb800si

Lots of chatter about pricing at B&H, Adorama etc... stores. I buy local for the same price as the big New York mail order guys and have for years. One of the locals is Procam (stores in Livonia,Mich- Chicago and Cincinnati). I've found the larger stores sell for the same price as B & H etc....
Just take a price in and they match it, no problem.
For those remote folks then I understand mail order.

nervous2 Loc: Provo, Utah

One of the benefits offered by B&H is that they pay my state sales tax if I use their PayBoo credit card. I need another credit card like I need another hole in my head, but when I bought my D850 and a couple of lenses, I fell prey to their lure. So far, I've saved nearly $500 in sales tax they've paid--so there's that. Additionally, they're pretty good to work with and the time I wanted to return a refurbished D7200 because it had a shutter count of nearly 30k, there was no problem.

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

Unfortunately no local stores remain in my area.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

billb800si wrote:

Lots of chatter about pricing at B&H, Adorama etc... stores. I buy local for the same price as the big New York mail order guys and have for years. One of the locals is Procam (stores in Livonia,Mich- Chicago and Cincinnati). I've found the larger stores sell for the same price as B & H etc....
Just take a price in and they match it, no problem.
For those remote folks then I understand mail order.

There are no photo stores in my current area. Detroit had some fabulous camera stores back in the 60s. Like everything good it is now gone.

An advantage of B&H and Adorama is that they have everything and they have excellent service too.

stevefrankel

I've been using them for more than 40 years. I've never had a problem. In addition to low prices and new items that have never been used as demos or returns, they also have much better return policies.

luvmypets Loc: Born & raised Texan living in Fayetteville NC

Like Curmudgeon, there are no local camera stores. If there were, I would shop there. The closest one to me is 1 3/4 hours away. That is a lot of travel time and a chunk out of your day.

I do shop with B&H and Adorama and have never had any issues. A few times when I needed advice Herschel, from B&H, put me in contact with the best person to answer my questions. I will continue to shop with them because of the great service.

Dodie

PhotogHobbyist Loc: Bradford, PA

No local stores in my neighborhood either. Look up McKean County in northern Pennsylvania and you'll see it is rather desolate for any camera stores.

henryp Loc: New York, NY

nervous2 wrote:

One of the benefits offered by B&H is that they pay my state sales tax if I use their PayBoo credit card. I need another credit card like I need another hole in my head, but when I bought my D850 and a couple of lenses, I fell prey to their lure. So far, I've saved nearly $500 in sales tax they've paid--so there's that. Additionally, they're pretty good to work with and the time I wanted to return a refurbished D7200 because it had a shutter count of nearly 30k, there was no problem.

Thank you. Very gratifying.

sheldon minsky Loc: iron mountain michigan

Closest shop is a 200 mile round trip to Green Bay Wi.. If Camera Corner does not have the item you want, Ric will get it for you and ship it.

JimmyTB

I'm fortunate enough to have a camera store about 1/2 hour drive away. The two brothers that own the store are very generous with helping their customers learn, I'm sure their main source of income comes from photography rather than retail sales and they know their stuff. As long as they're still there I will continue to support them.

Soul Dr. Loc: Beautiful Shenandoah Valley

Curmudgeon wrote:

Unfortunately no local stores remain in my area.

Same here! Closest one to me is about 90 miles away.

Will

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

nervous2 wrote:

One of the benefits offered by B&H is that they pay my state sales tax if I use their PayBoo credit card. I need another credit card like I need another hole in my head, but when I bought my D850 and a couple of lenses, I fell prey to their lure. So far, I've saved nearly $500 in sales tax they've paid--so there's that. Additionally, they're pretty good to work with and the time I wanted to return a refurbished D7200 because it had a shutter count of nearly 30k, there was no problem.

The above plus endorsements such as: "I do shop with B&H and Adorama and have never had any issues. A few times when I needed advice Herschel, from B&H, put me in contact with the best person to answer my questions. I will continue to shop with them because of the great service."

These are the reasons why I recently obtained my "PayBoo" credit card.
"Pay Boo" and the B&H Staff makes me . . .
Smile,
JimmyT Sends
Bravo Zulu

Robertl594 Loc: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Nantucket

We still have Woodward Camera. I like the store and the folks in it. Worth checking out. They always take great care of me.

I’m not an accountant, but be aware of the sales tax avoidance issues. You are potentially liable for the sales tax in your state. Whether out of state company ships tax free. I once received a bill from Michigan on stuff I bought overseas, declared and paid federal duties at the border when I returned back to the USA. Not a nice surprise. Never knew. I had to pay.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Of course, having a camera store within driving distance is necessary. We have one in town, but they charge well above list price for cameras, at least they used to. Small selection, too.

rdemarco52 Loc: Wantagh, NY

I was a B&H fan, as I am a short train ride into NYC. I also bought from them on line. Last month I wanted to order anew camera but neither B&H nor Adorama had it in stock. Some online searching brought me to Berger Brothers, a local store about twenty minutes away. I purchased my camera and a lens, and signed up for a Fall foliage shoot in a local state park. If needed they also provide classes on how to use the camera. My new go to store.