bnsf wrote:
My son called me today told me he is going to be purchasing new camera equipment and is planning on spending $9,000.00 for camera, lenses, filters, case, Mic and other misc items.
He asked me where l got my camera equipment from and told him B&H, but he was quoted to much money. Is there any other good internet stores to purchase camera equipment from at a good price? Has anyone used 42nd St. Photo, is there still a photo company on the west coast that does sales? I thought it was Seattle Photo l think?
I would like to hear from you on different places to purchase equipment from across the country with free shipping!
My son called me today told me he is going to be p... (
show quote)
Anyplace with prices lower than B&H or Adorama, I'd be a bit concerned. Those are the best big, reputable dealers in the U.S. They also have very knowledgeable staff who can be VERY helpful answering questions. Both of them also offer free shipping much of the time. I've purchased stuff from Beach Camera, Norman, Midwest, Roberts (used), Pacific Rim (vintage stuff only), KEH (mostly used gear), too.
Amazon, Costco, Walmart, etc. might have SLIGHTLY lower prices in some cases.... but little or no helpful staff... and there may be sales tax, too, that offsets any savings. Costco and Walmart also have fairly narrow selection... usually just basic stuff. Amazon has a very good exchange policies, free shipping with Prime membership.
42nd Street used to be okay... but I've heard a lot of horror stories in recent years. Abe's of Maine is another dealer that seems to have gone off the rails.
There are TONS of fly-by-night, bait-n-switch outfits online. If you see prices lower than Adorama/B&H/Amazon.... BEWARE and do very thorough due diligence before giving them your credit card!
Search for online reviews of stores, to avoid problems. resllerratings.com used to be a good source of info about online seller, tho I don't know if it still is.
There used to be some good shops in Seattle, but I haven't been there in years and don't know what there are now. It's probably changed a lot. Many of the best stores here in the San Francisco Bay Area have closed (and their prices were always higher than B&H, Adorama, Amazon and a few others). Adolph Gasser... CLOSED. Keeble & Schuchat....CLOSED. Calumet... CLOSED. Los Gatos Camera Center... CLOSED. Kamera Korner (San Jose)... CLOSED. We still have some shops in the area (Samy's in S.F. for example), but nowhere near what we did in the past.
Canon USA and, just recently, Nikon USA are selling refurbished gear directly via their websites... sometimes can be good deals, free shipping there, too.
I've heard of Greentoe a number of times, but haven't used them yet.