Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

I wasn't referring to the religious influence. That I respect and have no problem with.

I frequently have seen banners saying 'our store is closed for X hours and we will resume business at a specified time. I'm assuming this is due to some other aspect of their business management.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

No its owned by orthodox Jewish and hire mostly ppl of that sect. They are not open for business on Saturday and any orthodox holiday, which is completely in their right just inconvenient for the rest of us. I don't mind the Saturdays, its when they shut down for 3 weeks and I really need something. I believe Adorama is also the same.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

At Adorama we do appreciate that our closing times can be inconvenient to some of our potential customers.
Adorama's owner is an observant orthodox Jewish gentleman, whose beliefs prohibit him - his family and his business - from operating on the Sabbath and on many of the religious holidays (which all begin an hour prior to sunset the evening before the day of the holiday, which is why we close early on Fridays).

We can't employ non-Jews here during those days, (although we employ many non-Jewish people during the year), because to do so would involve the company conducting business - which is forbidden in Jewish Law.

Most holidays are actually only one or two days; two are week-long holidays (not 3 weeks). We do try to minimize inconvenience to our customers, by publicizing our closing dates well in advance.
After the holiday(s) end(s), we do reopen our sales and shipping departments as soon as possible in order to deal with the inevitable backlog of orders.
We also take on additional staff in the customer service, sales and shipping departments if necessary to help reduce backlogs and speed up the service to our customers.

In this era of 24-hour commerce which seems to take for granted that we all sleep with our i-phones under our pillows and work a relentless 60 or 70 hours a week, this is a special time for us to be with family and friends.
I guess it's unusual to find that there really are still people who consider their spiritual duty to be more important than making an honest buck out of our customers at every opportunity. I receive frequent emails from customers who state that in this day and age it is comforting to know there are people around who do not place money before all else.

Many businesses in the US and elsewhere in the world force employees to work on holidays when the time is better spent with their friends and families - or just relaxing by themselves

We are grateful for the understanding of our customers that this is an important element of our owner's value system. Perhaps the following links to articles in the Washington Post & the New York Times will help to make some sense of our closure policies:

Ruling Guides Orthodox Sites' Sabbath Sales - WSJ.com


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/09/te...=1&oref=slogin


Now would be a good time to remind you that next week is Passover. Our Store and offices will be closed from Monday, April 18th at 1pm thru Tuesday, April 26th. There will be website order availability April 21st from 10-5, April 22nd and April 24th from 10-3pm; all other departments will be closed.

All order placed by 4/18 12:00 PM will ship before the holiday (subject to verification delays); orders placed after 12:00 on the April 18th thru April 24th at 11.00 will be guaranteed to be delivered by Friday April 29th. *Please note, this guarantee does not apply for orders with the free shipping option selected and it excludes PayPal, BML & Google orders. Amazon order won't get this offer either. Customers will be notified of this during checkout and will be advised to use different payments method to qualify.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

Thanks for a thorough explanation. The only time its an issue is if a piece of equipment breaks without warning and I need a quick replacement.

Btw, I have had many positive shopping experiences with Adorama in the past. And I feel Adorama has tried its best to match B&H service.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

Good to hear!

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

I'm a big fan of these business precisely because they put faith and family first. Some things after all are more important than making money. I'm sure that they're as grateful as I am to live in a country that allows them to run their business as they see fit, and to observe their faith in whatever way they choose.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

Well call me informed. I had no idea this was the reason for the stores being closed during what I would consider normal business hours. Thanks for enlightening me.

And you're right Chris, we do live in a country that allows us rights we some times take for granted. Just take a look at all the conflict in the world right now and be thankful.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

Helen Oster's post was right on the button. Thank you Helen.

More precisely, B&H is owned by an orthodox (Hasidic) Jewish gentleman. We hire Hasidic and non-Hasidic, orthodox and non-orthodox, Jewish and non-Jewish alike.

The Sabbath rule, basically says no commerce by our owner's company; the whole company. You can read more about that at Shabbat and about activities prohibited on Shabbat at Activities prohibited on Shabbat

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

I respect the religious views and practices of B&H and Adorama. Everyone is free to practice their own religion at least in a few countries where we live.

I am happy that there are messages on the website which helps us in planning our purchases. Though I am based in India, I have been purchasing a lot of my equipment from B&H. I have heard great things about Adorama, but never purchased from it. Just now I ordered the Oconnor 1030 HD fluid head and it was not available in Adorama. I ordered from B&H. I am very happy that the representatives of these two businesses are active in this forum.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

I go to these stores in the city all the time, and I like them both for their strengths. B&H has everything, Adorama has a lot. B&H is more likely to have any particular item, but sometimes Adorama has special items I wouldnt even expect to be able to buy besides on ebay. Also I've found occasionally Adorama just has a great deal on a particular item, sometimes memory cards or something and I also generally find their location more convenient. On the other hand, B&H more generally has equal or lower prices, and their store is like another world. You can go to B&H and try any lens or camera you want sometimes on the floor and otherwise from one of like 60 sales stations. You can try lenses at Adorama, but they have to get them sent up from the warehouse rather than just pull it off the wall near them.

I bought some Diva-light knockoffs that somehow Adorama carried that were a steal for the price and no one else had. But B&H is definitely my choice for trying out cameras, lights, lenses since their showroom is huge.

I used to live 2 blocks from Adorama so I grew somewhat comfortable with them, and I've been using their ridiculously cheap rental department a lot lately. What do you guys recommend as a backup on friday/saturday when neither is open? Are there any stores that compare?

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

Adorama is certainly open on Fridays!
The rental department:
Friday 8:00 am to 2:30 pm (Weekend Rentals are due back by Monday 9:30 am)

The store:
Friday 9:00 am to 3:00pm

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

Good thread.

I had an issue with Adorama quite a few years back when I was still lusting for the best consumer camera I could afford. -- I've been using B&H ever since for most everything (We don't have any local shops worth a darn here)

I had my first blood pressure minute with B&H last week. I needed another Schoeps CMC641 mic and figured I should go ahead and buy a matched set. B&H didn't have any matched sets listed so I made contact to see if they might be willing to sell them, and maybe quote me price. After not being able to get an answer after a few days, my wife encouraged me to go ahead and just buy the single unit figuring it would be matched close enough for our current project. -- I'm glad I took her advice, later that day the unit price jumped up by $200. I couldn't help but feel like I asked a question that maybe I shouldn't have. I know business is business but Oh-Boy would I have been mad if I got price bumped while waiting for an answer.

I don't begrudge B&H and I'm very happy with their products and service. I suppose it's time I get over my incident with Adorama oh so long ago as well.

We're just a small shop and we're still building our resources. I've been up tonight trying to figure out more lighting for our chroma key set up. I'll head over and have look at Adorama.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

In truth, your loss of faith in us was probably with just cause.
As recently as 2005 our feedback at resellerratings.com was a miserable 3.75/10....now we're up to 9.55/10!

Still a little way to go to that perfect 10, but headed in the right direction.....

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

I can't even remember what is was anymore, I think this was around 2000-02. I'm sure I had my part in it, I used to get upset a lot easier than do these days.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

I ordered an item today on line from Adorama, which showed in stock, and went out for a while fat, dumb and happy. When I got back I had an email informing me that it was on backorder. Why isn’t the web site real time like B&H? Needless to say I ordered from B&H but I lost a day in shipping because now I could not get my order in early enough to ship the same day.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

My apologies for your disappointment, and I can explain:

One reason is that we don't only sell goods via our own website, but through a number pf partners such as Amazon and buy.com. Another is because we don't charge until an order actually ships. These two issues give rise to complexities which up 'til now we haven't been able to fix.

However, this is set to change once the new website is up and running:

http://theframptonfiles.blogspot.com...ail-order.html

Alexander Interactive Building One of the Largest Magento Platform Websites for Leading Online Photo Supply Retailer, Adorama

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

If I call my order in will the sales person be able to tell me if it is in stock?

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

Certainly he will; just make certain you request confirmation that the item is in stock and ready to ship.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

Perhaps a little off-topic, but since Helen from Adorama is so helpful with responses...
I posted a review of a product I bought online from Adorama, and I got the verification email from powerreview.com, but my review is not posted. Is this because it was a negative review or does it take more than a day to see the post? The review was on the Bescor LED-150. Thanks.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

We DO post the negative reviews - I know that for sure because they end up on my desk!! However, I'm not actually sure how long they take to appear.

If you'd like to drop me an email detailing the problems you found with the light, then I can look at right away, rather than waiting 'til it comes up: Helen@adorama.com

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

I had my second short break in NYC last week. I had been to B & H on a previous visit, so knew what to expect, - but had to visit again! I also looked at Adorama but they seemed to be more stills focussed (apology for pun) with less video coverage. Same style of (knowledgeable) help although the queue system (calling numbers) seemed to have quite a backlog even though it was before 10:00 and not on a Friday.
B & H were helpful in the areas I wanted, and also had an interesting conversation with a salesman on the Canon stand re aliasing issues with SLRs when used for filmmaking vs broadcast. The only downside was the time it took to get served at the closeout sales area. One person part-time took over 20 minutes to get to me even though I was only replacing an old basic monopod that broke whilst in NYC.
Overall, the experience of both stores was good, and I live in hope that such an enterprise could be set up in Europe, (preferably) London. A vain hope as it's the duplication of stock that would be prohibitive unless the product range was developed slowly. The nearest we get to it is the annual shows, 'Focus On Imaging' that mainly concentrates on stills and BVE which is moving more and more towards high-end pro and broadcast video. International mail-order is not much of an option as shipping costs wipe out any cost savings on low-cost items, more expensive kit attracts import charges and there are often warranty issues.
These NYC outlets will always appear on my list of tourist attractions.

Steve

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

I can confirm that your review is now up on the website.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

Another great example of Adorama customer service. I was looking at used lens on website potentially for my Sony F3 but didn't want to order until I actually saw lens. Went into store but lens was sold between the time I checked on the site early AM and I reached store. Sales rep gave me his card and told me that any time I wanted to check out a used item, simply call, text or email him and he would put it aside until I could get into the store. But no loss for Adorama-- my friend who schlepping along with me dropped a few hundred on impulse!

Ned Soltz

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

I am a highly satisfied customer of B&H. I have been buying a lot of expensive stuff from them since the last five years. In a recent incident, how ever small it might be, I was pretty satisfied. I have described the situation here: Reliable Equipment Purchasing | Diary - Tales from India's Wilds
They have shown a nice gesture and I am sure I will always be buying from them.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

Thank you. This is very gratifying.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

I'm ordering from Helen because she's cuter than Henry...
...Just kidding of course. I've had experience with both. Not a $1,000,000 customer but a lot of indy items. They are both extremely reliable, both are sponsors, both have excellent customer service, so it's whoever has the best deal and whoever has what I need in stock.
And I must say that I am not an Orthodox Jew, but have much respect for both companies for staying true to thier beliefs. I hope one day that I could have the strength to do that with my company.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

Thanks!

BTW PLEASE note Adorama upcoming Holiday schedule http://cot.ag/nfsgly; please plan accordingly. We appreciate your understanding & business

Props to B&H
 

Hi all. Just wanted to post a Thank You to the staff at B&H. I ordered the Azden WMS-Pro system from B&H on Tuesday. It got here today (Thursday)! Even when I factored in the exchange rate, shipping and taxes/duties, buying the system from B&H saved me about $200 vs buying locally! Thank you, B&H!

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

Question for the B&H and Adorama Reps:
Why for the life of me can't I find a Canon XF100, but there is an abundance of XA10's? The XA10's are out of stock and then stock is replenished, But not the XF100's. Explain please.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

We last had a delivery on 19th September, but they all went straight out to customers with them on back-order.
As we don't charge your cc until your order actually ships, with hard-to-get items, many customers find that this is usually the best solution.

If you find one elsewhere before we've got yours out to you, you only need drop an email directly to me: Helen@adorama.com, or to our CS team, and your back-order can be cancelled right away.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

In a nutshell -- Canon USA simply cannot get enough to meet demand. I'm sure they'd like to and I know we would too. Offhand I don't know what's happening elsewhere in the world. but in the USA this is a very popular item. I don't know if demand exceeded expectations but considering the press release is dated Aug 31, 2010 <http://bhpho.to/qkcn3C> it'd be nice to think supply and demand will stabilize soon.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

To reactivate this thread....

Adorama offers a considerable inventory of both new and used products on eBay. I just was able to purchase via buy-it-now both a Kessler 3" Cineslider kit as well as a KPod+Hercules head. Both were used and prices were considerably below that of new equipment. I was very satisfied with my "metziah" (Yiddish slang for a good deal) until I noted that both of the items were priced less on the Adorama web site. I've written to customer service about it, but just thought it worth posting. Be sure to check both the eBay as well as store prices prior to pushing the buy button.

I've not yet received the gear but I have no doubt that it will be in excellent condition as represented by Adorama.

Ned Soltz

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

Correct, items are indeed less expensive when purchased from the Adorama website; we have to cover a number of additional costs for items sold via Ebay, which is why the items will cost fractionally more.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

Good to know. So buyers should make certain to check Adorama's site before bidding on eBay items.

Differential on the Cineslider was a little over 5%. K-pod may or may not have been the same item since it was 20% less than what I paid. Most likely it was the item without the Hercules head. in which case, the differential between eBay and store price of that item would have been 10%.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

I have been a loyal B and H customer from Canada. But with the new fees that B&H is charging it seems like they are gouging their Canadian customers. I will be looking for alternatives like Adorama in the future.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

@Greg... take a look at all the DVinfo sponsors for outfits that have been vetted.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

I am sorry you have developed this misapprehension. In fact since we began using Purolator shipping and calculating cross-border fees for you, the cost to ship most goods from us to Canada has fallen. I'd be happy to explore this further. Use henryp[at]bhphoto.com. Thank you.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

I am a huge fan of both B&H and Adorama. Most differences between them are minor - so I end up shopping on price and availability.

There are a couple of minor differences, though. In the past couple of years, B&H has stopped offering discounts through Ebates, Mr Rebates or Big Crumbs, while Adorama continues to do so (up to 2.8% at BigCrumbs). This has made a price difference for me in several cases where B&H had the lower listed price, but the discount gave Adorama the edge.

And for the small minority of us who are bloggers, there is another difference - Adorama will partner with you if you have a free blog on Wordpress, Google Blogger, etc. Sadly, B&H will not (they require partners to have their own domain names). Asking their partners to have some 'skin in the game' does make business sense, and almost certainly reduces the risk to B&H's reputation, but for those of us who are reputable, and whose revenue models don't support paying for a domain name, it's a little frustrating.

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

@ Greg

Which new fees are you talking about? I placed an order a few days and didn't see anything different. The option to pay customs at the time of purchase is great and the Purolator delivery seemed good the one time I've used it so far. In the past, the only inexpensive delivery option was the post office and that always took longer than the indicated time.

Re: BH vs. Adorama
 

Thanks Henry for using Purolator. Not only is the delivery much faster & less, but none of the price gouging brokerage fees of UPS & Fedex. When purchasing from the U.S. I only consider B&H due to this very considerate policy. I can't thank B&H enough for taking the pain out of buying from a U.S. company.

Absolutely wonderful. Thank you B&H.

Dave Hardy
Vancouver B.C.