A matter of trust? (Advice on B&H)

(Ghastly) Krueger

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Hi

I'm looking to buy a new camera, but photo gear costs double in Mexico as in the US. My brother, who lives in the US is coming in about a month, so it's a nice opportunity to get it from there.

I've looked around and B&H has the gear I want in a reasonable price and has very good references.

I have one concern, though. The most convinient way to make the purchase would be to use my credit card but ship to my brother's house.

The deal is, they asked me for a fax or scan of both sides of my credit card and it seems rather strange. I mean, they could just go online and buy whatever they want with that info.

Why would they need that? Are they really so trustworthy?

Thanks
 
I have rarely, if ever...heard anything bad about B&H.

This may be an extra precaution because you are asking them to send the gear to an address that is different from the credit card. There are many places that won't even take your order if the shipping and credit card address are different.
 
It is my guess, and only a guess, that B&H has been 'stung' in the past by purchases which, in one respect or another, include a country other than the US. If you consider their position, they have no real recourse to a situation in which something has gone wrong with the payment and the purchaser, and eventually the merchandise, ends up outside the US.
 
I understand, but on line stores normally check though the bank if the CC is OK. No one had asked this before.

But you are right, many stores don't accept orders like that.
Heck, many stores don't accept orders from Mexico at all. :roll:
Sometimes I hate the 3rd world.

Thanks for your advice.
 
I recently made an order to an address different than my cc billing address but I had it sent to my place of business. They called me at work to confirm I had placed a legitimate order.

I've also dealt with B&H in the past for Home Theater gear and found them to be an outstanding online dealer.
 
I placed an order with B&H yesterday using the "Verified by Visa" setup, with delivery scheduled to my wife's office. They called her (I gave them her number) to confirm. They're clearly being thorough, which I respect. I know it's as much to protect themselves as it is to protect the customer (Credit Card companies tend to take the customer's side in a major way... your interest, fees, etc. are much more profitable than the merchants' fees.) but wes still benefit. (The stuff I ordered yesterday shipped today!)
 

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