Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/10/29

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Subject: [Leica] Re: Off Topic B & H photo
From: Jeff Moore <jbm@jbm.org>
Date: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 03:08:20 -0500

At 28 Oct 1998 22:34:39 -0500, Marc James Small <msmall@roanoke.infi.net> 
wrote: 

> I quit doing business with B&H about three years ago when they simply
> failed to ship three separate orders. [...]

I've used B&H extensively for about ten years.  I only had trouble two times:  
once, the wrong filter was in a B+W box (immediately exchanged);  once, there 
was an interminable delay and much confusion when I special-ordered something. 
I took this as a lesson:  only buy things which are in stock and can be 
carried away from the store that day.

They do huge volume;  apparently, some things fall through the cracks.  But 
I've never once seen them do anything dishonest or dishonorable.  The secret 
may be to deal with them only on a walk-in basis;  then, there's very little 
which can go wrong.  This is by dramatic contrast with dealing with several 
other NYC discounters, where a naive customer without a printed ad in hand is 
looked on as an opportunity for price-maximization.  B&H, on the other hand,
has stacks of printed price lists available at the door.

The only real reason not to shop at B&H is if you're buying some sort of 
carriage-trade merchandise which is not traditionally discounted (cough, 
"Leica"), and wish to chat for a half-hour about the state of the marque with 
ye olde shopkeeper.  I tend to do my Leica shopping in lower-volume stores.  
The folk at B&H are too busy to welcome a lack of shopping focus...

 -Jeff Moore <jbm@jbm.org>