B&H Rocks all the way to Wisconsin
 

I doubt I'll have a chance to check out their retail store anytime soon but I have to say that buying from B&H over the web is almost as quick as doing so anywhere else in person.

They have better hours than any of our local shops as well :)

I could probably drive down to Chicago and find some nice shops but I'd pay as much in gas and tolls as I do for shipping from B&H. You guys are awesome!

I only have three shortcut links showing on my browser bar: Google, my bank, and B&H. I find something with Google, figure out if I have money to buy it at the bank, and then order it from B&H.

(DV Info is the home page, so don't fret)

Hey Jason are there video shops in downtown ChiTown?

I've been in Chitown a few times and needed some extra video gear and everyone was steering me out of town towards the large malls and the Fryes stores.

If ever they should say, "Mike, you just won the lottery, what are you going to do now?" The hell with Disneyworld, I'm going to B&H.

Mike

I haven't been to any per se but I see lots of ads for them on the regional film-related sites (film offices, etc.). Here's an example:

http://www.zacuto.com/

We have a place called Full Compass (http://www.fullcompass.com/) here in Madison which is excellent but I've never been able to visit their retail store because of the hours...

Justice!
 

Is there an appropriate way or place to openly comment on the poor customer service and overall shadiness that specific online "merchants" selling items pertinent to videographers demonstrate? I'm not one to blast someone or an organization openly and publicly, but I would like to at least have confirmation from others that certain online "merchants" have a reputation and a proven track record for being downright rude. I feel this could also prevent a lot of people from having a negative experience when looking for equipment. It's so tempting to go for the lowest price because a lof of us are on such limited budgets, however if you're new and or a risk taker then these "Rude Dog" companies are likely to get your money. This obviously leads to A) The company feeling like it's ok to be rude, they will still make money, B) The company makes money, the customer loses money, or C) All of the above.
Poor customer service is a huge pet peave(sp?) of mine, and I like to make it known to others about those individuals/organizations who demonstrate poor customer service.
I've been to resellerratings.com but in order to post a review it seems you had to have made a purchase from the merchant. I'd like to be more preventative. I almost bought from several companies that were rude to me over the phone, but since I'm not a risk taker I didn't. That was before finding out about resellerratings.com, and maybe a lot of other people aren't aware of that site, but rely on this site for most of their knowledge/information. In short, I'd like to openly blast a few online "merchants" for their poor customer service.
NOTE: None of the online "merchants" I would like to warn about are Sponsors of this site.

I've bought merchandise on an almost weekly basis from B&H for more than three years and can definitely attest to the integrity and efficiency of that store. Having said that, yeah, I've gotten more than a few bad Tota lamps from them as well. You have to remember that this is a very delicate product. They could easily have been damaged before they even arrived at the B&H warehouse, or used by UPS workers to play badminton or something. Still, you can be assured that if there is a problem with anything B&H ships they will make it right. Henry, you might want to look into how exactly that product is being processed. It is a bit odd.