Adorama Vs. B&H

[Patrice]

I also have used both in the past and have nothing bad to say about either one. My only concern is their use of UPS and FedEx, both of which simply hose us Canadians with broker fees. I now search out sellers willing to ship USPS whenever I purchase from our southern neighbours or else source a seller in Canada.

 

[dsiglin]

If you are looking for legacy lens you can check out KEH.com as they have a very conservative rating system (BGN would be considered EXC by most) and good prices. Shipping is a bit expensive though so helps to order more than one item.

 

[HBBstudios]

Adorama is the best. They don't make me pay additional taxes.

Also, they recently sent me a rewards coupon of $120.00. How nice of them!

 

[Derrel]

Adorama set me up with FREE, year-long magazine subscriptions, just for filling out a questionnaire. Totally FREE, AS-promised. Pretty nice deal. I now receive a BUNCH of magazines in my mailbox. All for free.

 

[henryp]

Really? If you check... half of the listings on Amazon go back to Adorama and B&H as the actual suppliers! And you will also get a lot more customer service out of Adorama and B&H than you will Amazon. The most Amazon will do for you is let you return an item, Adorama and B&H will answer questions and assist if possible.

For the record, B&H does no business through or via Amazon. Any Amazon link which redirects to a B&H page is suspect.

I also have used both in the past and have nothing bad to say about either one. My only concern is their use of UPS and FedEx, both of which simply hose us Canadians with broker fees. I now search out sellers willing to ship USPS whenever I purchase from our southern neighbours or else source a seller in Canada.

I understand some Canadian customers don't like UPS. Personally IMO USPS is the worst of the bunch. The online package tacking they offer is entirely unreliable and they're very slow to respond to a damaged product or a lost or misplaced package. For shipping to Canada B&H prefers Purolator. If you order from us and select this shipping option you can also ask us to calculate and include cross-border fees such as duty, etc. That means you pay us once for everything and your order is shipped to your door via a shpper we have found to be very reliable.

 

[henryp]

I've never been to the Adorama store, although I've ordered from them a bit, but I go into the B&H store whenever I can as it is right near Penn Station, NYC.
It is difficult to estimate the size of the sales floor but the lighting department on the first floor seems about the size of a 7/11.
The actual camera department is on the second floor and is breath-taking.

Thanks for your kind words and for posting these images. Our sales area is approx 70,000 sq ft.

 

[henryp]

I didn't even know there was a 6-month no interest program... I have never needed it. Good to know, though.

You might find Bill Me Later interesting.

 

[cgipson1]

I didn't even know there was a 6-month no interest program... I have never needed it. Good to know, though.

You might find Bill Me Later interesting.

I have never had a need for it, I usually just pay up front for what I need... but I am familiar with the concept. Thanks!

 

[PicFlic]

I have been a customer of B&H for quite some time now and I have spent quite a bit of dosh with them. I am now looking to buy the Canon 70-200 L II and both sites have exactly the same price...
However...
I noticed that Adorama makes much more effort to sweeten the deal with extras and bundles. After being disappointed with the so called 'super duper' customer support from B&H ( Have an item that is not working properly and all I got from B&H was 'contact the manufacturer' ????? they didn't even give me the number ), I have decided that I will most likely give Adorama a try for my next purchases.
I will see how it pans out... like others have said they are both pretty similar so for me it will come down to the details and good business practice. B&H has disappointed me so its their loss...
( And to think that my wishlist is still $15000 long

 

[Rob5589]

I have been a customer of B&H for quite some time now and I have spent quite a bit of dosh with them. I am now looking to buy the Canon 70-200 L II and both sites have exactly the same price...
However...
I noticed that Adorama makes much more effort to sweeten the deal with extras and bundles. After being disappointed with the so called 'super duper' customer support from B&H ( Have an item that is not working properly and all I got from B&H was 'contact the manufacturer' ????? they didn't even give me the number ), I have decided that I will most likely give Adorama a try for my next purchases.
I will see how it pans out... like others have said they are both pretty similar so for me it will come down to the details and good business practice. B&H has disappointed me so its their loss...
( And to think that my wishlist is still $15000 long

Interesting first post, on a thread 2 years old. Welcome to TPF.

 

[HelenOster]

....
I noticed that Adorama makes much more effort to sweeten the deal with extras and bundles. ......I have decided that I will most likely give Adorama a try for my next purchases.

If you need any additional help, please feel free to contact me: Helen@adorama.com at any time if you have any questions or needs. I am here to help and to make sure that all your experiences with Adorama Camera are fantastic!

Thank you and take care.
Helen Oster
Adorama Camera

 

[floatingby]

I also have used both in the past and have nothing bad to say about either one. My only concern is their use of UPS and FedEx, both of which simply hose us Canadians with broker fees. I now search out sellers willing to ship USPS whenever I purchase from our southern neighbours or else source a seller in Canada.

When shipping from B&H to Canada you have to choose pre-paid duty and Purolator. Cheap, reliable, no provincial sales tax, no brokerage fees, no bullsh** and incredibly fast; my last order took 3 days to get to my door in Montreal.

UPS and Fedex are pure, unadulterated crap, bordering on fraud. Fedex once charged me 350 buck in brokerage fee on an 800 buck port lens; no, not tax, not duty, brokerage fee on top of tax and levy. If either of those two are the only shipping option, then I don't order, period.

To the op question, I don't order from Adorama because they aren't Canadian friendly like B&H are.

 

[HelenOster]

.......I don't order from Adorama because they aren't Canadian friendly.......

I was sorry to note that this has been your impression.

We believe we use a very efficient, cost-effective service which enables Canadian customers to pay all relevant taxes, duties and brokerage fees up front rather than at the door, and which is less expensive for customers than the previous UPS Expedited option – shipping costs are, on average, 50% less.

Pallets are loaded onto a trailer, scanned at a hub in the US then driven to the border and taken through Canadian customs - then handed over to Fed Ex for delivery directly to the customer.

The estimated arrival time for this is overnight to Toronto then add one day to most of Ontario and Quebec, two days for the Maritimes and Manitoba three days for Saskatchewan and Alberta and four days to BC.


I hope this helps, but please don't hesitate to contact me directly: Helen@adorama.com if I can assist with anything else, now or in the future.

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera
Helen@adorama.com

 

[otherprof]

I'm Playing on buying a few used or refurbished lens, But both sites have about the same prices. Does anyone have any experiences, good or bad about them.

P.S: Don't know if this is the right place for this question just needed a fast answer.

Seriously, both are great. But one short Adorama story: I was buying a camera for my wife - a Canon G12 - and asking questions over the phone to an Adorama salesman. He answered a lot of questions, and then said, "Trust me, you'll love it." I replied that I didn't have to love it, as it was for my wife. Without missing a beat he said, "I'm a marriage counselor. Trust me; she'll love it!"
You don't get that on Amazon.

 

[Romphotog]

I find B&H more on the way as when I am on 34st, I go to the movies, go eat, go into B&H to get some candy, use the boys room, hang out at the cameras section to listen to tourists' questions and amazement at the boxes flying by above their heads. Anyway, just because Adorama is way out no where I rarely go in there. When I did go into Adorama I found it has mostly used stuff, but B&H has all new gear.