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03-14-2017, 06:36 PM   #16
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QuoteOriginally posted by mee Quote
Twice B&H have shipped me a D-FA 28-105mm and twice they have shipped it in a large box with a single piece of bubblewrap inside the box. Meaning the lens has rattled around inside the larger shipping box.

I'd go with Adorama if price is the same as a result.
...and B&H has always shipped things to me that arrived in impeccable condition, whereas Adorama sent me a star tracker with missing pieces, then continued passing me back and forth between the Adorama staff and the manufacturer. What's the point? None of it is useful data for the OP, just anecdotes.

03-14-2017, 06:46 PM   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by lithedreamer Quote
...and B&H has always shipped things to me that arrived in impeccable condition, whereas Adorama sent me a star tracker with missing pieces, then continued passing me back and forth between the Adorama staff and the manufacturer. What's the point? None of it is useful data for the OP, just anecdotes.
So are all the 'they're wonderful' comments so why do you target mine, specifically?

The OP asked for info, and we each provided be it Up or Down.
03-14-2017, 08:35 PM - 1 Like   #18
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QuoteOriginally posted by amp Quote
If price is the same at both retailers, is there anything that sets one apart from the other? Any thoughts?
Let me give you one more data point (or "anecdote", as some will have it):

The last lens I ordered from Adorama came in its Ricoh box,
protected only by a thin bubble-lined envelope.
Needless to say, the brand-new box was pretty beat up when it arrived.
Fortunately, since the lens inside was a light one,
it doesn't seem to have suffered.

Bottom line: When choosing retailers in the future,
I will skip the first letter of the alphabet.
03-14-2017, 09:09 PM   #19
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QuoteOriginally posted by lytrytyr Quote
Let me give you one more data point (or "anecdote", as some will have it):

The last lens I ordered from Adorama came in its Ricoh box,
protected only by a thin bubble-lined envelope.
Needless to say, the brand-new box was pretty beat up when it arrived.
Fortunately, since the lens inside was a light one,
it doesn't seem to have suffered.

Bottom line: When choosing retailers in the future,
I will skip the first letter of the alphabet.
That's wild. It means they both do the same poor packaging these days.

I will say B&H did send a shipping label without hassle.. but I was hoping not to need one. And, further, that Adorama would be better in regards to packaging shipments.

03-14-2017, 11:20 PM - 1 Like   #20
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Looking into B&H discriminatory business practices alone made me boycott them. Adorama has been an absolutely flawless alternative.
03-15-2017, 01:42 AM - 2 Likes   #21
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Adorama has Helen Oster who is unfailingly conscientious, courteous and helpful when responding to queries and complaints. She appears to never sleep. This one person would make me favour Adorama if there was nothing else to choose between them.
03-15-2017, 02:02 AM - 1 Like   #22
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QuoteOriginally posted by officiousbystander Quote
Adorama has Helen Oster who is unfailingly conscientious, courteous and helpful when responding to queries and complaints. She appears to never sleep. This one person would make me favour Adorama if there was nothing else to choose between them.
Thank you so much!!!

<3

---------- Post added 03-15-17 at 04:22 AM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by lytrytyr Quote
Let me give you one more data point (or "anecdote", as some will have it):

The last lens I ordered from Adorama came in its Ricoh box,
protected only by a thin bubble-lined envelope.
Needless to say, the brand-new box was pretty beat up when it arrived.
Fortunately, since the lens inside was a light one,
it doesn't seem to have suffered.

Bottom line: When choosing retailers in the future,
I will skip the first letter of the alphabet.
I'm so, so very sorry to read that this was your experience, particularly as this was caused by recent major changes in our distribution center, intended to improve the customer experience.....

We are BIG believers in doing everything we can to reduce our carbon footprint, but absolutely did not want to compromise on service to our customers. So we invested heavily into researching into more environmentally-friendly packaging, that is less costly to transport. This is the solution we went for:

As you can see, after the picker has placed the items into the carton, the machine reduces the size of the box to fit snuggly around the contents. However, it IS also supposed to add dunnage. (Again, with an eye on the environment - particularly the hazard that plastics are showing themselves to be to the future of our oceans and therefore our planet - we wanted to move away from plastic packaging eg bubble wrap, peanuts, inflatable pillows etc). So our dunnage of choice is a recycled paper product, which has been fully tested to provide the protection required.

The machines are great......provided those responsible for programming them don't mess up.....

We've spent the past couple of weeks reviewing the process carefully and are confident that we now have a fast, economical and environmentally-friendly packaging process, that should enable us to get your gear to you SAFELY, within the shortest possible time.

03-15-2017, 02:39 AM   #23
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That seems like a clever system Helen. So, with your packaging, there will be recycled paper dunnage added? That looks like a good solution.

For the others here - I can confirm that Adorama has shipped all the way to me here in New Zealand and I've not experienced any problems. One item could have been packed better, but still arrived OK. Others have been packed very well.
03-15-2017, 03:46 AM - 1 Like   #24
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QuoteOriginally posted by MarkJerling Quote
That seems like a clever system Helen. So, with your packaging, there will be recycled paper dunnage added? That looks like a good solution.
Yes, that's what SHOULD happen...

QuoteOriginally posted by MarkJerling Quote
For the others here - I can confirm that Adorama has shipped all the way to me here in New Zealand and I've not experienced any problems. One item could have been packed better, but still arrived OK. Others have been packed very well.
Thanks!
03-15-2017, 10:12 AM   #25
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QuoteOriginally posted by lithedreamer Quote
None of it is useful data for the OP, just anecdotes.
Lacking a statistically valid study, I would suggest that first-person accounts might have some value.

My experience has been that packaging from the major vendors usually involves a degree of overkill. Despite that, over the years, there have been several rants on this site from people who were unhappy with how an item from a major vendor was packed. To the best of my knowledge none has ever provide a photo showing the shoddy packing nor evidence of damage to the item. The only lapse I have encountered from a reputable vendor was my DA 50/1.8 shipped from B&H in the Pentax box without additional bubble wrap in a padded courier envelope . Neither box nor lens was damaged in any way, so I figured no harm, no foul.

The absolute worst was a Jupiter-9 purchased new from Rugift-dot-com (not a reputable vendor). The outer packing was quaint (twine and butcher paper around a corrugated cardboard box). Inside the box the lens was found packed loose with no bubble wrap, inner box, or caps laying in a bed of crumpled newsprint. Aside from being filthy (courtesy of the high-rub ink), all was OK, though I did send a note to Rugift suggesting the packing was unacceptable. Their response was an offer of 30% off on my next purchase which explains how I got my Zenitar fisheye.


Steve
03-16-2017, 01:36 PM   #26
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QuoteOriginally posted by Helen Oster Quote
I'm so, so very sorry to read that this was your experience, particularly as this was caused by recent major changes in our distribution center, intended to improve the customer experience.
Thank you for the response.
QuoteOriginally posted by Helen Oster Quote
So we invested heavily into researching into more environmentally-friendly packaging, that is less costly to transport. This is the solution we went for. As you can see, after the picker has placed the items into the carton, the machine reduces the size of the box to fit snuggly around the contents. However, it IS also supposed to add dunnage. (Again, with an eye on the environment - particularly the hazard that plastics are showing themselves to be to the future of our oceans and therefore our planet - we wanted to move away from plastic packaging eg bubble wrap, peanuts, inflatable pillows etc). So our dunnage of choice is a recycled paper product, which has been fully tested to provide the protection required. The machines are great......provided those responsible for programming them don't mess up.
We've spent the past couple of weeks reviewing the process carefully and are confident that we now have a fast, economical and environmentally-friendly packaging process, that should enable us to get your gear to you SAFELY, within the shortest possible time.
I suspect that my order would have survived the journey better
surrounded by paper dunnage in one of these boxes,
rather than in its plastic-padded envelope.

---------- Post added 03-16-17 at 03:43 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by stevebrot Quote
The outer packing was quaint (twine and butcher paper around a corrugated cardboard box). Inside the box the lens was found packed loose with no bubble wrap, inner box, or caps laying in a bed of crumpled newsprint. Aside from being filthy (courtesy of the high-rub ink), all was OK,
Now if they'd have used soy ink for the newsprint,
that would have been about as environmental as it gets!
QuoteOriginally posted by stevebrot Quote
though I did send a note to Rugift suggesting the packing was unacceptable. Their response was an offer of 30% off on my next purchase which explains how I got my Zenitar fisheye.
Sounds like everybody was happy in the end.
03-16-2017, 03:02 PM - 1 Like   #27
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QuoteOriginally posted by officiousbystander Quote
Adorama has Helen Oster who is unfailingly conscientious, courteous and helpful when responding to queries and complaints. She appears to never sleep. This one person would make me favour Adorama if there was nothing else to choose between them.
Helen is such a help for us, when we have a problem. She handled a stolen package for me quickly and with absolutely no hassle! This could have taken a long time to settle, with me doing all the paperwork; instead Helen had a replacement lens on the way to me immediately, and they handled whatever had to be done with the shipper's carelessness.

Last edited by csa; 03-16-2017 at 03:09 PM.
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