Interesting Article About B&H Photo
 

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05340/616255.stm

More of a human interest story than a business analysis or anything.

thanks.
nice article.

would like to visit them some day, but without cash, scheck, or cc.......

when do they have their first store at the west coast?

greetings

I should make the trip some time soon. Just to wander around and gape at everything.:)

I had to laugh---People don't push each other to get to a cash register---Everything is orderly and well structured. The guy makes B&H sound like some kind of flea market.

Double its retail store? I wanna see that.

Hmm, no mention made of the overhead conveyor belt system which delivers customer selections to the checkout counter. Overall it's a pretty good article, but I must agree with Rextilleon. I've never seen any "pushing and elbowing" there. It's always orderly. Crowded, yes, but orderly. The staff goes out of their way to help you. As far as brick & mortar retail is concerned, B&H is a class act all the way.

If their prices were about 5% lower overall, I would only shop at B&H. Love 'em, never had a problem.

Last week I walked through the doors of B& H for the first time, expecting to be overwhelmed. I wasn’t, simply because the layout is so well-planned that you feel like you know exactly where you’re going at all times. (It helps that I went there with a B&H junkie, I suppose, plus the bright arrows near the checkout make it pretty much idiot proof.)

But as Chris said, the people who work there make it such a cool place! We asked a guy if he had a tiny screwdriver handy because a lens had fallen out of my glasses. He didn’t, so we just thanked him and moved on. Nearly a half hour later, here came that same wonderful guy with a screwdriver he’d borrowed from one of the techs there!

At NAB last spring there were so many people around and I felt so overwhelmed by all the stuff that I didn’t get an opportunity to really play with the cameras. At B&H, they’re just tucked in that little section where folks politely take turns working with them. So easy. (How does one decide between the way the JVC GY-HD100 feels and the beautiful images that show up on the monitor of the XL H1???) :)

I also found my next tripod head, with all of them placed near the cameras for easy access. I’ll order it from B&H when I can afford it.

No wonder everyone brags about B&H. What a great store!!!

Did you make it upstairs to the used gear counter? Lots of buried treasure up there.

awright, lorinda, so what is the next tripod head?...details, details! (i'm in the market for another one myself and am having almost as much trouble as i am with the xl h1/hd100/z1/hvx200 complex....)

Heh heh…buried treasure is right. I have to admit I didn’t spend much time upstairs because it somehow took me back to the days I spent in cluttered tractor parts stores with my dad when I was a kid (hated that). But I’d have felt differently at B&H if I was looking for a specific item. I can see how it would be lots of fun for treasure hunters!

Meryem, the question I asked earlier about the cameras was tongue-in-cheek; there’s no way I’ll be buying either of them. Therefore, my next tripod head choice may not interest you. The Bogen 526 just felt so smooth—especially compared with my crummy 516. I tried out one Sachtler (no idea which) and it felt okay, but then when I went back to the 526 I knew I wanted it. No hitches, no creaking—just smooth as silk. (No load, either. Wish I’d asked to put a camera on it.)

Meryem:

Forget the HVX 200. Someone in the "biz" offhandedly commented to a group of us during a NYC lighting seminar that the HVX is already on it's way out since the P2 system just ain't doing it and it isn't catching on. I can offer no more than that because he was nebulous following that comment.

interesting tidbit, hugh. but oo la la, the hvx undercrank feature, so fabooolous.

i keep telling myself that now is not the time to buy a new camera or a new mac, wait six months for either the next-gen of both or else for lightly-used inventory to hit the market at more reasonable prices, but you never know when i might sleepwalk my way over to the computer and, zombie-like, push "add to cart" and "buy now"--it happens!

then again, one of the great teachings from the "the zen of poker" is:

"money flows from the impatient to the patient."

chant that mantra, grasshopper!

The Zen master who coined that saying must know me well. Speaking of Zen...

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

Panny cant even keep up with demand... on the way out? Sounds like a very uninformed opinion, not a fact...



ash =o)

Um, I think that was Hugh just being Hugh. In other words, never take him too seriously...

B&H means business, so they have my business. I tried others, but I was not happy.

Actually, the guy who gave the lighting seminar seemed pretty serious. But then again, he also said the HVX was such a hearty camera that he dropped his on the ground from five feet up several times and the camera works like a charm. Uhhh... yeah.

When I ordered a monitor from B&H recently they called back and asked me for all sorts of references to make sure my order was legitimate.

So during the phone conversation I told the salesperson that I'd ordered from them before and gave them a couple of invoice numbers. Then up popped a fairly long list of stuff I'd purchased over the past couple of years and he quickly said, "Oh. Never mind..." :-)

Other than that one rather comical incident, I've had nothing but quick results from B&H. Most of what I buy comes from there.

Had the chance to tour the store back in 2002, on the anniversary of 9/11 (I was there with a contingent of people from Hawaii bringing thousands of orchid lei for relatives of victims and for the firefighters).

I even bought a Kata bag for my camera.

Next time I'm hoping to visit as a regular tourist -- and spend a little more time at B&H as well.

Lorinda -- my dad was a heavy machinery mechanic. He would have loved to check out those tractor parts stores! And I had the chance to visit the Boeing scrapyard once. Couldn't find any titanium tubing, unfortunately. But was amazed at what was there for sale to the public.

Thanks for your kind words.

Just bought a used 9” SONY monitor from B&H. Good price and good service. Check used gear department next time you guys there.

Frustration
 

About a week ago, I made my first ever order from B&H. Ordering went smoothly, but then I recieved the wrong item in the mail. Calling customer service just had me spending 10 minutes being transfered from one person to another. Because it was over the holiday weekend, I'm quickly running out of time for a return according thier sales policy.

Is there a better number to call other then the one on my shipping invoice? So far I've gotten nowhere by talking to them.

Lisa, I got e-mail from you and sent it to the person who can assist you. I am sorry for any inconvenience.

A little while back I ordered my Canon XL2 from B&H Photo. They were easy to deal with on the phone, and things went really smoothly. Because of a credit card limit they had to process the payment over two days, and did so without complaint or issue. When i got the camera, I was really impressed with how well it was packed. The entire Canon box packed with foam and air bags in ANOTHER box. Now that, I really appreciated. They also kept me informed of my order/shipping status the whole way. In my opinion, these guys are the prime example of what internet shopping should be.
I've since ordered a Miller Arrow 30 which is on back-order (I'd already spoken to a Miller rep before placing the order, but had to get it in before carbon-fiber runs out). I was also ordering a 4x4 matte box, so this was a big order, at least for me. The guy at the order varification desk had to do a lot of checking with my bank, and kept me on hold (though he asked) for a long time and I WAS GRATEFUL FOR IT. Hey, its ME, they're trying to protect, so yeah buddy, take all the time you need to varify that the order is for real. It's like when people ask you for photo ID when you give them a credit card... it only sucks if you're not really who you say you are.
Now, if the guys at B&H could just speed things up by helicoptering out to sea and meeting the ship with my tripod, then Harrier to my house (land/melt in my neighbors driveway pls) I'd be eternally grateful.

I could do that, but then you'd have to mow my lawn every weekend. :-)

Resolution
 

Seems it was a data entry error with my order. The situation has been resolved to satisfaction. B&H definately cares about customer service, which is the most important factor these days.