I ordered a Pentax k-x camera from B&H in March 2010. I'd found a lower price at another vendor, but splurged on the B&H kit because the "DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II Lens" listed on the product page as "What's In The Box" was a significant upgrade to the much cheaper DAL/AL version of the lens that other website was selling.  
 
When the camera and lens arrived, it was the cheaper version of the 18-55mm lens. I think it was an honest mistake in the page copy on B&H's part, so I wrote and asked them if I could swap the lens they shipped me with what they said I would recieve, or at least price match their competitor that was selling the camera for less, but correctly listed the lens included.  
 
The response:  
 
"Thank you for contacting the B&H E-Mail Sales Department.  
 
The 18-55 that comes with the Kx has the AL 2 coatings and is optically identical to the latest version, the WR... it just has a plastic lens mount and it does not have a weather resistant coating.  
 
B&H did not put the lens in the box, Pentax did. All Kx kits come with the same lens. No one offers it with any better or worse lens.  
 
Please let us know if there is anything else we can assist you with.  
 
Thank you, we appreciate your business."  
 
It's worth noting that the AL-II vs DAL differences go beyond the plastic mount or weather resistance. The AL-II also has a lens hood, distance meter, and quick shift mechanism to allow for manual focusing while AF is engaged. I paid more to get the better lens.  
 
In my mind, the only correct response to this should have been "Sorry, that was a mistake on our part. We will correct the misprint immediately, thanks for pointing that out. We'd be glad to match the other vendor's price, or refund your purchase if you'd prefer."  
 
If they'd swapped the lens I recieved with the one I actually purchased I would have been a fan for life. Instead they did nothing. I've seen Kx kits with 55-300mm lenses bundled in, and Kx kits with cheaper third party lenses bundled in. It's not my job to psychically predict what does or does not come in a box. It's their job to not list one product for sale, and ship out a cheaper one.  
 
It's also worth pointing out that they have corrected the webpage, implicitly acknowledging their error, but the above response was all I recieved.  
 
I've been a happy customer of B&H for many years, and this is the first time I've needed to interact with customer service. To not be disappointed would be difficult.  
 
EDIT: Edited just to say, thanks for quoting your sites fine print about specifications subject to change without notice, not responsible for for typographical errors, etc. It says a lot about how you treat your customers. Consider yourself one customer lighter.  
 
PS. "Both lenses are shipped with lens hoods". This is a lie. The lens hood is an additional $19.95 at B&H. Thanks for more condescension though. I consider distance meters, convenient manual focusing, lens hoods, and metal mounts "significant upgrades", and am surprised a camera store employee is pretending differently.

This review was modified by its author, doobedy, on 3/10/10 2:31 PM.

I wouldn't recommend anyone.  
 
My order was delayed, they failed to notify me about the delay. The day prior to estimated delivery date, I called the customer service to find out if i will receive it on time, i was told order is ready to ship, will get it on time.  
 
I called the next day to get the tracking number (because I had not received it), and it turns out that they hadn't even shipped it out yet.  
 
When i called them again their response was - "I am sorry that this system error uncured. Your package was scheduled and should have shipped yesterday, however there seems to have been an error in our system and it did not ship. We did not know that it had failed, that is all part of the failure."  
 
I needed the item for a photo shoot over the weekend. It was so annoying that they didn't ship it on time, if i was notified, i would have changed the shipping method to make it fast.  
 
I ordered about 8 items for $1,227.62, Would have been great if they would shipped at least some of the items.  
 
Another point to be noted is, I was offered refund for about $5.95 for a total order of $1,227.62. This shows they are not ready to please the customer.  
 
Very poor customer satisfaction.

This review was modified by its author, Nach, on 3/5/10 10:34 AM.

If your item works fine then your feeling with shopping at BH is OK but if you gets a defective item, your nightmare starts.  
BHPhoto does not allow you to retrun anything open boxed though their pollicy says you can.  
They create procedures that make it is impossible for you to return defective items. It is lucky for me to buy this inexpensive product and learned the painful experience.

They have absolutely horrendous customer service!  
 
I am based in Hong Kong and my wife was expecting our first baby boy. I ordered a HD video camera from B&H and paid express service to have it delivered in advance of the baby’s due date. However, B&H inputted the wrong code into the airway bill and the order ended up in Beijing instead of Hong Kong. What was supposed to be 5 days transit ended up being 15 days – three times the number of days originally promised! Needless to say, the video camera did not arrive in time.  
 
B&H originally tried to convince me that all China shipments need to clear customs in Beijing – what planet are these people on! This is obviously false as Hong Kong is one of the largest ports in the world. Then, they said it was UPS’ fault and denied responsibility for inputting the wrong code – not sure who else could have completed the airway bill but them. Then I asked them to take return of the original shipment and send me a new one. They basically stalled and said they were checking with UPS but essentially made me wait for the original shipment. So much for great customer service!  
 
Anyway, I asked for a full refund of all shipping costs since it was not delivered in time and missed a very important moment in my life. They 1) continued to argue that it was UPS fault and then 2) said they were making a claim with UPS essentially stalling in order to avoid giving any refund. Eventually, after many “reminder” emails, they only refunded $15!  
 
Long story short – buyer beware! They are cheaper on some items but honestly if you run into a customer service problem, especially after you made the purchase, its game over!  

Horrible experience. If you are going to buy from B&H, do NOT use PayPal or you have to personally receive the product at your PayPal billing address. I have a package in limbo with UPS because they can only deliver it to my home if I sign for it. $1K up in smoke if the package does not make it back to B&H. UPS did everything they could to help, and B&H just told me tough luck.  
 
My father (A long-time B&H customer) advised me to bite-the-bullet and pick it up. It was NOT delievered. I had to drive over an hour round-trip to get the package. It was just too risky to let it be returned and possibly get "lost". The equipment is nice and a a good price.

This review was modified by its author, jnarowe, on 3/5/10 12:42 PM.

I ordered a camera, and paid $18 for it to be delivered in time for Valentines for my wife. It showed up 2 days later than it should have because of "bad weather". When i called to asked for a refund of my 2 day air charge, they told me they could not refund it. Then I called UPS and they said they have a contract only with B&H and cannot help, but if they refunded B&H, then it would be up to B&H whether or not they wanted to refund me. Thanks for nothing.  
Oh, and they were very rude about the whole thing too. Dont recommend!!

I would not recommend this company. A couple of points, the only shipping method was via a ground service and they require a 8Am – 7 PM time frame. This cost me one days labor. Very unacceptable. They should have the option to send it USPS. Then I could have not lost a days labor and picked it up at a convenient time. Second, afterward I looked around on the web and while this site indicated they had steep reductions, which made me feel good, I later found it about $75 cheaper at another site. I looked around to see if I could have cancelled my order before it shipped and did not find a place to stop the buy. While this is a shame on me for not looking first their advertising had the intended effect. Lure the customer into thinking they had a good deal and they do not.  
I know in the future resellers like this and this one unparticular will not get my business. Since my son is just getting started in the photography, a lot of revenue will not come in their doors. I have a personal policy of voting with my money. Think about the invoice, the 4mg disk has a shipping cost of $10.95! The item cost of $16.95 and it does not weigh much. Heck, it could have been put in an envelope and sent for less than $1.00. The camera itself was free shipping per the invoice. I believe the $10.905 should be returned. And then the disk card being sold separately – for an expensive camera, this should have been included instead of niggling the customer. Looking forward to hearing your resonse.  

I received a shipment with a missing item. I called and they told me that it was sent and that the weight of the box was consistent with the shipment. They told me that they would have to "investigate". After some more going back and forth, I was put on hold and told that they would send it out via 2nd day air. I called them on Thursday, 9 AM in the morning as soon as they opened.  
 
I got an order confirmation saying that it would be sent UPS 3 day. I decided to overlook it. I called the next day to get the tracking number (because I had not received it), and it turns out that they hadn't even shipped it out yet. I talked to the representative and he said that that it would ship out via UPS 3 day instead of 2 day air. I reminded him that they specifically told me that it would be via 2 day air and that it was their fault in the first place.  
 
I needed the item for a photo shoot over the weekend. It was annoying enough that they didn't correctly ship all my items. But what was more annoying was the fact that they do not honor their word. It was possible that I could have had the item in time had they shipped it via 2 day air on Thursday when I called them. Yet they delayed the shipment and will be sending it via 3 day. I feel it is only right that they do everything in their power to make sure that I get the missing item as soon as possible as it is not the customer's fault.  
 
I have dealt with this kind of behavior often (in general, not B&H specifically), so I took some measures and recorded the conversation I had with the customer service representative. I would have used this as leverage but I didn't want to deal with it anymore. I was first disappointed, then when I called it felt like I was being treated as a criminal, and then at the end I felt lied to. It was not a pleasant experience.  
 
B&H will be my last resort after exhausting all other options. It's hard to place trust in this company. It's way too much hassle.

This review was modified by its author, adamk77, on 2/5/10 11:05 AM.

I was very disappointed with my order this time. Usually I have been happy with B & H in the past , but not this time. First after I ordered a Canon 70-300mm IS USM lens, hood and lens pouch and pay for them. The next day or so they write to tell me there was a mistake and the pouch was not in stock and backordered. When I wrote to get some information on this they never wrote back to answer me, but many days later I got a notice that the pouch would be sent. I needed this to use since I needed it to protect and carry my lens and hood. Today when it finally arrived I was very disappointed with it. First of all the qality was sub par and the lens and hood barely fit and I do mean barely. before ordering I asked about it and they told me it was a better quality than one I had purchased in the past from them and everything would fit fine. Well it was no place near as good as I had bought for my Tamron lens and hood in the past. Plus my older one had a lot more room.

This review was modified by its author, Nomistakes2, on 2/7/10 8:27 AM.

I placed this order 30 days ago, and have not received it yet (quoted delivery time was 7-10 days). I contacted the seller, but they would not take any action and could not provide me with a valid tracking number for the shipment, so I am now trying to get a refund through PayPal.

This review was modified by its author, webhound, on 2/18/10 7:44 AM.

TERRIBLE!! The item in question (Manfrotto Monopod) was in terrible conditions. Not as described on their e-mail. According to them the item was never used, and was only on their show room for display purposes. When I called, WE AGREED on a $15 dollars refund to my credit card. Three weeks later I called, and they tell me that they made a mistake and they don't give discount on used items. I, of course, have to pay the shipping now. Thanks for nothing B&H! BAD customer service!

I ordered a Boss SD-1 Super OverDrive Stompbox Pedal from B&H on 11/2/09 and according to their website it was in stock and would be shipped immediately. After about two weeks I decided to call them and they told me it had already arrived at my house according to their tracking info, I explained it had not and was showing as still not shipped on their site and asked to speak to a supervisor who told me the employee was mixed up and my pedal had not shipped because it was out of stock but that they would get more in in a few days. A few days came and went then a few more, followed my a few email complaints where I explained that the pedal was a gift which I needed by a certain date and if they couldn't get it to me I needed to cancel my order and then FINALLY on 12/11/09, Six weeks after I placed my order, they sent me a shipping notification and I received the pedal on 12/15/09. I am satisfied with the pedal itself but will never shop with this store again.

I received the advc-110 quickly from B&H. I purchased the device because it was used and $70 less expensive than new converters and expected B&H would carry equipment that it had verified were in working order.  
 
I am experienced with fire wire connections but was not able to get my pc to recognize the device. I did research on the internet and looked at the manufacturer forums, switched cables, looked at my hardware and drivers, etc but my pc still could not see the device.  
 
I contacted the manufacturer (canopus) via email a week ago and still have not received a reply.  
 
I contacted B&H 3 days ago regarding help or a return number and have not received a reply from them either. I do not expect to purchase anything further from this company and would not recommend B&H to any online purchasers at this time.

On Jan 2nd I placed an order for a used shotgun microphone. On Jan 4th I was notified of item being shipped and that it would arrive on the 6th. On the 7th after no arrival I contacted UPS and they stated they had not received the item for shipping. I contacted B&H on the 7th by email about the situation and it took them 3 days to respond stating that the item had NOT been shipped due to an error on their part, but they would ship the item overnight and I would receive it on the 12th.  
The 12th came and went and still no item. I called B&H on the 13th about the problem and they stated they could not find the item and to give them a few hours to look for it. On the 14th I called them again and they stated they could not find the microphone I had ordered and had no idea what happened to it. They said they would refund my money and it would take 3-5days for it to process.

I just came to know that they dont take return on computers. So bad!! I WILL NEVER BUY FROM THIS STORE EVEN they are giving 25% off then other sellers.