B&H Photo makes no sense!

malic · Jan 3, 2006

Okay, so I am going to by the D50 as stated in another thread, and I want this forum to get commission for the help... but honestly, B&H has me a bit worried. Everyone says to use them... but it seems that they can't even add...

I was going to get the D50, 6.1 Megapixel, SLR, Digital Camera with Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6 ... this kit along with sandisk 512MB card... all of this was going to be shipped overnight for a total of:
$762.15

However, just out of curiousity I decided to pick the same exact items without the "kit" name.... everything was the same. The body, the lense, and the 512MB card... but when put into the shopping cart seperately the cost for THE SAME ITEMS, comes to:
$743.35

That's a difference of $18.80. So in essence they are ripping off every customer that buys the kit. Why on earth would I want to buy from them again? Please fill me in, because either one of those prices are better than Circuit City... but seriously, that is a straight rip off for the kit.

Help me out here.

'Daniel' · Jan 3, 2006

You may get extra stuff with the kit.

It could be a mistake. I think they are trust worthy so contact them and they'll probably fix it.

malic · Jan 3, 2006

As far as I can tell, there is nothing extra in the kit.

Dave_D · Jan 3, 2006

They may have an across the board mark up for specific items such as the "kit" that may not neccessarily coincide with the mark up of the items indivdually. They probably don't even realize it.

hobbes28 · Jan 3, 2006

Like Daniel said, you can send them an email asking about it and they'll let you know what the difference is. It could also be a misprint on their prices. Of all the sites out there, B&H is one of the ones that I trust the most. I've been ordering from them for years. For that matter, we wouldn't have them as an affiliate if they weren't trustworthy.

danalec99 · Jan 3, 2006

hobbes28 said:
Of all the sites out there, B&H is one of the ones that I trust the most.

I second that! :thumbup:

Rob · Jan 3, 2006

It's also possible that they have a different channel level for individual items. A shop like B&H will probably shift more bodies than say a normal high-street electrical retailer, therefore it's possible they are working on a fixed markup on everything and they get the bits cheaper. It's unlikely though. In my opinion there will either be something in the kit which isn't listed on the site, or it's just a simple price mistake. A difference of $18 isn't really ripping anyone now is it?

digital flower · Jan 3, 2006

Having gone to the B&H store in Manhattan a couple of times it is kind of a madhouse. They have everything. All the big pro stuff and the little point and shoots. The technical advice I got there was great. I doesn't surprise me that there is a small difference in prices. CF is a volatile priced commodity. It is less than 2.5%. Just buy the items separately or shoot them an email asking for the same deal on the kit.

Iron Flatline · Jan 3, 2006

I doubt there's any neferious intent - just consider yourself smart: your effort at poking around has freed up another discount for you, something most shoppers don't get.

uberben · Jan 3, 2006

like the others have said, shoot them an email. If I dont buy from a local shop, BH is the only online place I buy from. Never once have I been let down by them.

malic · Jan 3, 2006

I called them and this is what they told me...

When I add the additional memory card to the kit it adds more for shipping, because that card is in a different warehouse, in a different state.

However, when I pick everything separate they are able to ship all of the items from the same warehouse, which saves $18 on overnight shipping.

I'm not sure why they can't just match the price for me...

Dave_D · Jan 3, 2006

Kudos for you for catching that and saving yourself some bones:thumbup:. Some people can't think past what they only see in black and white.:er:

digital flower · Jan 3, 2006

malic said:
adds more for shipping, because that card is in a different warehouse, in a different state.

However, when I pick everything separate they are able to ship all of the items from the same warehouse, which saves $18 on overnight shipping.

I'm not sure why they can't just match the price for me...

Remember this is New York. It could cost $18 even if the other warehouse is next door

It makes sense in a certain way. As the cards are not part of the Nikon kit but something they are putting together themselves.

malic · Jan 4, 2006

Well I went through B&H... I hope you got your commission TPF. I wish everything was as great as you guys said... this is what happened to me.

I wanted to split my order up on 2 credit cards. $400 on one and $400 on the other. I was trying to take advantage of a 0% APR on a credit card, so I put half on that and the other half on my debit card.

Lucky me, the idiot on the other line ran my debit card twice, "This is taking a while to come back with some information, let me just try it again real quick"... before I say anything it's too late, "...there we go, went through fine."

So I check my bank account later in the day and see TWO charges from B&H to the debit card and a charge to the credit card... for a total of $1200 (and my email said I was charged $800). This put my account into the negative and I quickly call my bank... they tell me to call B&H.

So I call B&H and they tell me, "There is nothing we can do until tomorrow when the customer service dept. opens..." I ask to talk to a manager and he tells me the same thing.

So here I am, waiting for tomorrow, paying NSF fees.... all because of the B&H purchase. I should have just went to Circuit City... *sigh*.

Here is proof (marked out the account info):

hobbes28 · Jan 4, 2006

malic said:
Well I went through B&H... I hope you got your commission TPF. I wish everything was as great as you guys said... this is what happened to me.

I wanted to split my order up on 2 credit cards. $400 on one and $400 on the other. I was trying to take advantage of a 0% APR on a credit card, so I put half on that and the other half on my debit card.

Lucky me, the idiot on the other line ran my debit card twice, "This is taking a while to come back with some information, let me just try it again real quick"... before I say anything it's too late, "...there we go, went through fine."

So I check my bank account later in the day and see TWO charges from B&H to the debit card and a charge to the credit card... for a total of $1200 (and my email said I was charged $800). This put my account into the negative and I quickly call my bank... they tell me to call B&H.

So I call B&H and they tell me, "There is nothing we can do until tomorrow when the customer service dept. opens..." I ask to talk to a manager and he tells me the same thing.

So here I am, waiting for tomorrow, paying NSF fees.... all because of the B&H purchase. I should have just went to Circuit City... *sigh*.

Here is proof (marked out the account info):

It sounds like you're just having an unlucky experience with them to me. Sorry to hear that. I'm sure that when you talk to their customer service, you can tell them how much of a NSF fee you've incurred and they should take care of that as well, IMO. The same thing has happened to me with other companies and I've never had a problem with getting it straightened out.

If you talk to them and things don't get worked out, just shoot me a PM and I can get in touch with them to see what can be resolved. As I've mentioned before, I've dealt with them for a long time personally, professionally, and through the forum, and wouldn't recommend them if I didn't believe in them.