Vortex Sony EX3 DVDs
 

I was keen to purchase the Vortex Sony EX3 twin DVD set which has been advertised on this site. Clicking on the link revealed that the DVD price is $125 (£86), which is a bit pricey in my opinion, but I can make an allowance for a specialist item once in a while. But the real downer came through the postage pricing, Vortex want $22 (£15) for international shipping, this makes a grand total of $147 (£101) for two DVDs.

The quality of the sample clips look impressive, but at $147 I think Vortex are ripping their customers off. I ship my own DVD productions from the UK and postage (recorded delivery) to the USA costs me no more than $3 (£2.10).

I did a google search and found that B&H will sell the same DVDs for $99.95 but shipping will add a minimum of $46.25 to the bill. To be fair to B&H they do offer alternative shipping costs, these start at $50.60 and rise to $90. B&H will not get my custom either.

Sorry Vortex, your DVDs look great but your pricing is totally over the top.

i agree.
The Vortex media is a must have video set. I have the EX1 and use as a reference.
However shipping is crazy.
I have bought little items such as 3 filter adapter rings from B & H and have paid $20 USD shipping to Canada. $2-3 might have been reasonable.
The DVD set maybe $10 USD.

The Votex DVD set has been the best purchase I've made. I've been a videographer for 20 years now and I still learned A LOT. Doug answered all the questions I had about using the EX1/EX3 for shooting, editing (Mac or PC) and archiving.

(that sounds like an ad....sorry...but that's the way I feel)

The only thing left unanswered is the HD to SD conversion process for the Mac platform. (see other thread on this).

From what I have seen, there is no question as to the quality of content on the DVD. My issue is with the pricing, especially postage, there is no justification for this excess amount.

Most goods from the States have high delivery costs. The Vortex DVDs are first class and when put against the billable cost of a day's shoot are not that expensive. I bought an EX1 in a hurry and the Vortex DVD. I was up and running on a very important 3 day shoot within 24 hours of viewing the training material. Doug's settings got me through what could have been a very traumatic time.

Vincent, I agree that the postage from US can sometimes be a bit too much, but the discs you´re about to receive will save you ALOT of time (in my world time is money). I came from the Panasonic P2 world and needed a quick overview to master the XDCAM workflow in the quickest possible time. (I even got another company´s DVDs to be sure). The Vortex DVDs will provide an excellent overview of the EX-3.

To buy small or just a few items from B&H isn´t the way to go. Save up and buy more, you actually get your DVDs shipped for free. I plan my purchases and do this all the time.

The different shipping prices possibly reflects the time it will take and whether the shipment has some sort of registration or not. I´ve lost quite a few shipments through the years due to choosing the lower cost shipping price. By paying a bit more you´re safe when it comes to actually receiving the products. I find it strange if Vortex has a "cut" from the shipping price.

Small companies can´t compete with the larger one´s that ships thousands of products through UPS or Fedex. I´m a registrated UPS customer. Once I received a shipment from B&H, but I had to retur one item. When I compared I ended up realizing that UPS charged me 500% more going from Norway to US than the other way around. This is the way the world works, isn´t it? If I like it? Guess!

Best,
-terje

Having spent the best part of £6000 on the camera I guess the $22 postage isn't such a big deal, I just don't like being ripped off.

Normally I would agree that they are expensive. However I know the amount of effort Doug puts into these DVD's. He makes them off his own bat and funds them himself, and uses his own cameras (ie Sony doesn't give him cameras to use). So he needs to recuperate that cost somehow. Given the length and content of them I think his prices are probably quite reasonable. I haven't seen the EX DVD's, but I have seen his PDW-350 DVD and it is top notch.

Simon, I don't buy that line of thinking at all. I also fund my own DVDs and use all my own gear, pay for the production run, designer, etc. I charge £15 for my two hour production.

There is no excuse for overpricing a product, even if it is a limited run item. I would pay $125 for the DVD but object to the excessive postage.

Experience has proven that one gets what one pays for.

You've made your point. If you "think" you're getting ripped off, move on and buy something else.

Fair point - have now moved on :-)

Vortex shipping charges are outrageous. Leaves a bad taste.

No one likes being ripped off. By the same token, no one like being referred to as one who would perpetrate a ripoff either. B&H charges the lowest prices we can for the products we sell and charges the lowest s&h rates we can for the services we provide. I agree -- sometimes for small, light-weight, low-priced items it does not make sense to order internationally from B&H. The suggestion that this item be bundled with other products you need is worth considering.

Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video

Yes Henry
you must admit that 3 -52 to 55mm stepup rings and $20 USD shipping is a bit much for something that could be put in an envelope. I do understand that it it does cost some to ship international to Canada.

Henry,

I would have made a purchase through B&H but your postage prices are outragous. $46 to $90 for a DVD, come on this is a real kick in the head for any potential customer. I send DVDs all over the world and they cost me $3.00 maximum. Perhaps you should take a look at your postage policy.

I do not want to buy any other goods at this moment, so this is not a consideration.

Thanks for having the courage to respond to this thread, I respect that. When I am in the market for a bigger item, I will certainly consider B&H