[Ratmagiclady]

The trouble with going to BH in person is that you will find it hard to leave with just the camera. BH is the DisneyLand of camera stores and Adorama the Universal Studios.

Heheh. If we find ourselves in NYC, I will have to save money for bags and camera support and other things you just want to check out in person.

(PITA, by the way, stands for 'pain in the... Arches? )

[Gooshin]

I've just been looking at the Sto-fen Omni-bounce.

At the Sto-fen web site the cost to ship to New Zealand is $7 by air mail.

At B&H the shipping is $46.25 to $90.60!

Crikey!

Oh - just checked Adorama: $55 - $85, bargain!

I'm not really complaining as obviously I wouldn't get one there, it's quite amusing though.

the company that i work for sends out documents through express couriers (FedEx and DHL)

typical cost to send a 0.1lb document from Canada to the UK or Russia is 35 dollars.

it arrives there usually within 2 days, sometimes it gets there the next day...

a 4 pound package of documents to Russia is 50 dollars.


These big chain stores can also charge a premium because its not always easy to know ahead of time just how much exactly shipping will cost, so you tack on 20% or something to cover your ass.



i can also send a package from Canada to Europe for 8 bucks... except that it will arrive there in 2 weeks...

it will have no tracking number, and it will be insured for 100 dollars max, i would also have to do the manual leg work to walk my ass to a post office and fill out the form.

when you have a contract with with a major shipper they come to your office, once or twice a day for pickup, all paperwork is done at your computer, and everything is tracked and you have someone to bitch to if something gets lost because you are a valued customer of theirs.

all this costs extra money, which they put on to you, the customer.

"premium"

maybe

"rip off"

hardly

[cupic]

The trouble with going to BH in person is that you will find it hard to leave with just the camera. BH is the DisneyLand of camera stores and Adorama the Universal Studios.

Yes sir thats right because I too would drool over there and postage saves me the embarrassment


cheers

[k100d]

the sad thing is that even with B&H and Adorama's extortionary shipping costs, it is still much cheaper than buying gear local unfortunately

[mba1971]

+1 I agree!

[SteveM]

I'd like to buy something from either company......but unless you find some sort of bargain, the shipping charge simply makes both of these companies uncompetitive. I have bought from them when living in the States...but would never think of buying from them now...too expensive. Their shipping is at least 3X more than any other US retailor I have dealt with.

[jerrymouse]

the company that i work for sends out documents through express couriers (FedEx and DHL)
i can also send a package from Canada to Europe for 8 bucks... except that it will arrive there in 2 weeks...

Except they charge 55 usd for a service that has 2-3 weeks delivery times (USPS prio costed me 35 USD max and was delivered in 5 days).

[Helen Oster]

I'd like to buy something from either company......but unless you find some sort of bargain, the shipping charge simply makes both of these companies uncompetitive. I have bought from them when living in the States...but would never think of buying from them now...too expensive. Their shipping is at least 3X more than any other US retailor I have dealt with.

If you are outside the US it is always worth dropping me an email with details of the item you are interested in ............

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador

helen.oster@adoramacamera.com
Digital cameras, all other cameras and everything photographic from Adorama Camera

[SteveM]

If you are outside the US it is always worth dropping me an email with details of the item you are interested in ............

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador

helen.oster@adoramacamera.com
Digital cameras, all other cameras and everything photographic from Adorama Camera

Appreciate it Helen. If anything, hopefully it has brought the issue up for review. Large shipping charges like these can turn away customers and leave a negative view of the company.

[Wheatfield]

If you are outside the US it is always worth dropping me an email with details of the item you are interested in ............

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador

So if you can arrange favoured pricing on shipping, why the hell don't you people just drop your shipping prices to something reasonable rather than make people jump hoops?
A two tiered pricing system based on who you know is a bad way to do business Helen.

[Helen Oster]

So if you can arrange favoured pricing on shipping, why the hell don't you people just drop your shipping prices to something reasonable rather than make people jump hoops?
A two tiered pricing system based on who you know is a bad way to do business Helen.

Nothing at all to do with jumping hoops or a two-tiered pricing system.

A carrier may base the shipping costs charged to a retailer on weight and / or volume plus distance to ship. However, we recognize that some items that are very heavy but with small dimensions, or very light with proportionally larger dimensions, don't correspond to the one-size-fits-all formula set by the carriers.

When we set our charges we try to err on the side of generosity towards the customer; nevertheless there are, of course, an almost infinite number of shopping basket combinations and there is a greater possibility of this happening with overseas orders due to the charging structures we have to work within.

If a customer contacts me saying that the shipping seems way off for the size and weight of the package, we will look at it. Sometimes a customer will save $2 or $3, sometimes more, sometimes nothing at all.

Many retailers set their shipping charges in stone, and that is it. We prefer to offer some flexibility if and when it is possible.


Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador

helen.oster@adoramacamera.com
Digital cameras, all other cameras and everything photographic from Adorama Camera

[Arpe]

I've heard that some people are still ahead paying those high shipping costs

I have been.

Isn't shipping inside US free?


Would you like to buy me something from that store?

Thanks, but not necessary.

...maybe it'd be better if you could design your own somehow.

I have been playing with making bounce cards, but can't even find any black or white foam rubbery stuff to use. Can find other colours though

Is it cheaper to fly over and pick it up? BH has reasonable price often there a minimum so once over it postage is reasonable


cheers

I wish!

I'd like to buy something from either company......but unless you find some sort of bargain, the shipping charge simply makes both of these companies uncompetitive. I have bought from them when living in the States...but would never think of buying from them now...too expensive. Their shipping is at least 3X more than any other US retailor I have dealt with.

Well that's not always the case here. I just bought a Metz 48 flash, and have bought lenses from NY. Have saved myself hundreds of dollars, not to mention those I have purchased are just downright impossible to find here.

If you are outside the US it is always worth dropping me an email with details of the item you are interested in ............

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador

helen.oster@adoramacamera.com
Digital cameras, all other cameras and everything photographic from Adorama Camera

Does that include us on t'other side of globe Helen? (Though don't worry about the Sto-fen thing)

[Helen Oster]

Does that include us on t'other side of globe Helen? (Though don't worry about the Sto-fen thing)

If you mean Oz, then certainly. I can't promise we can always do anything - but as I explained above, the shipping matrix used by the carriers for overseas orders doesn't always seem to deal effectively with, for example, a CCD camera priced at $9,495.00, as against a dot matrix printer at $315.99. Or a Gitzo tripod for $800 against a JR Flex Tripod for $5.95!

[Alfisti]

The thing with B+H is they charge a flate rate based on the box they use, so anything from a flash diffuser weighing 100 grams and a 1.5kg lens is the same price for shipping!!

I get around this by adding things to my basket, for e.g. a Delkjin class 6 4GB SD card is under $20! in Canada the cheapest reputable card that fast is $80!! The shipping does not chaneg at all witht he cards thrown in, that's the beauty of it.

[Helen Oster]

The thing with B+H is they charge a flate rate based on the box they use, so anything from a flash diffuser weighing 100 grams and a 1.5kg lens is the same price for shipping!!

I get around this by adding things to my basket, for e.g. a Delkjin class 6 4GB SD card is under $20! in Canada the cheapest reputable card that fast is $80!! The shipping does not chaneg at all witht he cards thrown in, that's the beauty of it.

So maybe the title of this thread should be changed to "B&H shipping cost an extraordinary bargain"!