This experience is for purchasing Used equipment from B&H.
Most used equipment sold by B&H seems to be direct from their buying used department. So do NOT expect it to be Canon refurbished in white box. Item ordered will arrive usually in the condition which they bought directly from individual users.
Rating of their used department is Not on the conservative side. One lens I received (listed in 9 out 10 condition) has significant amount of internal dusts and also smudges on the glass coating of the front and rear element.
And, they sent me the Wrong model. I ordered a Silent Wave motor version but they sent me a regular version (which is much cheaper) without the Silent wave motor.
I called and they accept return, However they Never apologized for the trouble caused by their mistake.
During return, I also had the chance to check another lens they listed at 8+, dings and bruises all around and is missing a $100 accessory which is included in retail package if you buy new. Again the point is that from my limited experience with them, the rating of their used department is Not on the conservative side.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
5/7/07 9:29 AM
We appreciate your order and regret your dissatisfaction. Customers should not expect any item from our used dept to be manufacturer-refurb unless the product description specifies it is. We take pains to ensure the accuracy of each product's description.
While I am unable to identify you or the transaction in question I am confident that our customer service staff will work diligently to make sure that you are satisfied.
I was referred to this store by a friend from work who spoke highly of this store. I ordered the Canon 30D on the April 24 2007 from B & H and a Sigma Lens from Dell.
I received my Sigma lens from Dell on the April 25th although I selected UPS Ground (Very Happy) I used the same credit card and shipping address for both orders. With B & H I get a request for verification of my order because they could not find a phone number associated with the shipping address listed. I emailed B&H the number. I get another email on 4/26/2007 stating they tried to contact me but could not reach me and ask me to contact customer service. (We use vonage for a home line and the home number is simply for DSL service it is not plugged in) I email back with my mobile number to call me because I always get home late and the verification department is closed. Get a call from verification on 4/27/2007. They need to call me on my home line so they ask if I will be home on Sunday 4/29/2007. I am out of town at a convention and make it known to the agent that I cannot be home to take the call. He mutters something about company policy and credit card verification. By this time I am completely frustrated and request the order be cancelled. My credit card has already been charged so I have to wait for the refund before I can order from another store. Also at no time during the purchase is the buyer made aware of this draconian policy. If B&H did I simply would not have wasted my time. I will certainly not order from this store nor refer any of my friends.
Verification Process Broken:
B&H simply does not get it. The fact is the verification process is broken and must be fixed. Simply telling the customer you are doing this for their protection does not cut it. You must find alternate means to minimize fraud like all serious online stores do. You have the CVV from the credit card, plus the billing address, etc.
Notification:
You must notify the buyer of the verification process so they can anticipate what to expect after the order has been placed.
Replies to customer feedback:
Stop replying to customer feedback on this and other sites it actually does you more harm than good. The responses chronicle the poor customer service and verification process you currently have in place. Your customers simply want the issues they have presented fixed. Enough with the excuses. The 9.x rating on this site means nothing, this is the internet age and news gets around very fast. Don't think for one second that you are now to big to disregard the customer. You may be in for a rude awakening if these negative customer experiences continue.
B & H Communications
First Verification Email:
" Please be advised that your order cannot be processed due to
the following reason(s):
Unverifiable Address:
As our research indicates that your order is to be shipped to
an address with a NON LISTED/UN-PUBLISHED phone number,
we kindly request that you Fax or E-mail a scanned image of a
Phone Bill, Utility Bill or Drivers License showing the Shipping Address.
If the Shipping Address DOES have a LISTED/PUBLISHED phone number,
please provide us with that information.
Please follow the above procedures so that we can complete this transaction.
Please write your REFERENCE NUMBER on ALL correspondence.
Thank you for your patronage.
max
B&H Verification Department Representative"
2nd Verification Email:
"Please be advised that due to the recent increase in credit card fraudulent orders our insurance company has implemented certain security procedures.
One of these security procedures are that we need to speak to the shipping address to confirm the order.
Our verification department Is trying to call you at and there is no answer ,please contact our verification department at the phone number listed below,and refer to your order number.
Thank you
Sincerely,
Joe Wein
B&H Photo Video Pro-Audio"
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
4/29/07 12:31 PM
We regret your dissatisfaction, but when the bank which issued your credit card alerted us to serious discrepancies between the bill-to information you gave us and the information they have on file, we're obliged to respond accordingly. We're obliged ethically, because customers trust us with valuable credit data and we're obliged legally, because of the agreements we've entered into with the merchant banks which enable us to accept credit card payments.
We'd be happy to reconstitute your recent order and I'd be willing to waive your s&h fee in compensation for your dissatisfaction, but the verification process would still be part of the transaction and we'd still need to exercise the same prudence.
Our web site advises, "Your card will be charged & the merchandise committed upon submission of your order," and, "All orders are subject to verification before shipment is made." We make EVERY effort to ensure that customers know what is what when ordering here.
We live in an era of rampant credit card fraud and identity theft and responsible retailers are bound both ethically and by agreements signed with our merchant banks to do what's possible to deter this type of piracy. This is particularly true for so-called card-absent transactions like phone/mail orders and web orders.
This verification process protects you from the pirate who thinks he can shop with us freely at your unsuspecting expense. It also helps ensure that merchandise you ordered and paid for ends up in your hands and not in those of some clever opportunist.
As banks make more and more outlandish promises of security to current and prospective card holders they make more and more demands on retailers to ensure this security. Until some clever person figures out a way to abolish card fraud and identity theft, you'll see more and more of this. Stores which don't exercise safe, prudent, & effective security measures are simply gambling they won't become the unwitting vehicle by which some clever pirate abuses YOUR accounts.
While I understand that it's our job to make your shopping experience as painless and efficient as possible, part of that process is ensuring we don't unwittingly allow you to become victimized through our carelessness or nonfeasance.
Buyers beware! This company may ships you opened box or used merchandises as brand new products.
This first transaction was a training DVD. DVD shield was broken. DVD case cracked.. Because it was less than $100 and DVD works fine, I just sent them an email to let them know. They replied with a standard message blah blah blah.
This is the second transaction I made with this BHPhotoVideo. I purchased what supposedly 3 brand new Pocket Wizards for $700. What I received were 1 brand new shielded box and 2 used/opened boxes. Batteries were installed. Packages inside the two opened boxes were all torn apart. I sent an email two weeks ago and gave them 3 options to resolve this issue. As of today, I have not received any reply. I have heard this is a reputable company. The rating on this site was the reason I decided to purchase. I truly disappointed at this company.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
4/22/07 12:48 PM
I am sorry for your dissatisfaction. I have issued a return authorization for two of the Pocket-Wizard Transceivers you received. We will be happy to exchange them as soon as the units you have are received here. If you prefer to receive a refund, please indicate this in your return parcel.
Unfortunately we have no record of any email from you to us after the merchandise was shipped. Had we received any, we'd have responded as quickly as possible.
Sad sad sad. I remember the old days when B & H Photo was a small outfit and the same friendly guy would answer the phone and deal with his customers. I made my first purchase many years ago with a Sony VX-2000 video camera and was very pleased. Wow well have things changed. This company has become too popular for it's own good. While the prices and shipping and product are still very good, customer service is a joke. Everytime I called whether is about order status or an RMA I inquired about, the man on the phone was always very short to say the least. No pleasantries, no nothing. He acts like you are bothering him. Just don't expect friendly customer service. You will deal with unfriendly, short, rushed reps who could care less about making your buying/returning process pleasurable. Plus you will be put on hold a lot if you call. Im sure there will be the standard reply rebuttal from one of their reps (sorry youre not happy etc) but nothing can excuse their truncated service, I've been writing reviews here since 2002 and am not easily persuaded to waste my time writing a negative review, but it should be known their CS is lacking, sorry.
*********
In reply to their anticipated response, I went to NYU and still live in New York City six months out of the year, your employees petulant behavior has nothing to do with my lack of east coast social graces. Yes, I did spend $6000 with your company, and after opening an HDMI switcher worth $100 and finding out it was incompatible with my remote, I did request a return just past the 30 day period. I more or less had to beg on my hands and knees to return this, and I got docked a 15% fee. Your company has grown too much and your reps need to treat their customers with a little more respect. I know the difference between New York pleasantries and outright distant and unfriendly customer service reps, anytime I called they acted like I was bothering them. As a matter I called today to give you the benefit of the doubt. I asked for sales and was put on hold for 2 minutes and 45 seconds, and the man on the phone was very short and hurried. I can even call corporate monsters like Dell and get better treatment. Cheers.
This review was modified by its author, Zane, on
4/11/07 6:45 PM.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
4/11/07 2:30 PM
Thanks for your orders and this feedback. I am sorry if our employee's "Nu Yawk" demeanor was misconstrued as hurried. I note you're from the western part of the country and I know that a "Nu Yawk" demeanor may seem rushed to folks from the west.
I noticed too that your post was in reply to an order you placed during January but for which we agreed to accept a return during March, well beyond our normal return policy time period. I'd like to think that this kind of customer-first elasticity coupled with our generally excellent reviews here would have earned us more than your tepid comments. Nevertheless, we're sorry to have dissatisfied you.
This business only gives you a 7-14 day window to return an item. However, if a product is defective they instruct you to contact the manufacturer for repair. We shipped the item to the manufacturer for repair but it was returned still not working. Obviously over 14 days had elapsed by this time and B&H Photo will not refund us for the item and this $500 item is not working. We are stuck with a lemon.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
3/29/07 2:14 PM
We appreciate your order and regret your current dissatisfaction. We received your order Dec 6, 2006. It was delivered to you Dec 14, 2006. The first after-sale contact we have on record from you is dated Mar 29, 2007, which is far past the expiration of our return policy. Once our return policy has expired, if your merchandise is still under warranty (as yours is) directing you to the manufacturer for warranty service is entirely appropriate.
I went to B&H after reading all the good reviews. And it's very appearant to me that B&H must be excellent in small orders which don't require any human contact. Because if you have a problem, it's not going to get solved. I placed a $3000 order on 3/07/07 (in seperate orders, camera only, tripod with lens and tapes under different account sent to work for any b&h employee) and that was a mistake. They called my house phone on 3-07-07 to "verify" the order, which I never even gave them. They must have reversed phoned the address. I don't give ANYONE my home phone. I had it shipped to my BILLING address, what more do you need? That's besides the fact my billing phone number is my cell phone. When I called on 3-09-07 when I got back on business I got this message letting me know my shipment I paid a premium on for UPS 2 day was sitting in there warehouse. I asked that they overnight the shipment considering I paid a premium and they called the wrong number, they were more concerned about their 2:00 closing time (who closes at 2 on a friday?). So I left a message after hours like I was instructed to, and now I just noticed its STILL processing on 3-13-07. So basically, if you have a large order save it. The only way I would ever consider buying anything on BH again would be a substancial gift card for future purchase, waive the shipping and overnight the thing. It was a time sensitive order, and I chose B&H because of their repution. It's appearant to me that B&H has good reviews for those who have not had to deal directly with them. I only wish everyone operated with the efficiancy and good service of newegg =(
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
3/14/07 9:53 AM
We appreciate your orders and regret your dissatisfaction. I found two orders from your IP address. The first is billed to "customer 1" but shipped to a different location This order was for a relatively modest amount and did not go through our Verification process.
The second was billed and shipped to the address used as the ship-to address for the first order and was for a more substantial amount. It did go through our Verification process the purpose of which is to deter credit card fraud and identity theft. The bill-to phone number for this order was not affiliated with the bill-to address. This was also the only order we had from you, (the other order arrived several hours later) and the bill-to data discrepancy necessitated additional prudence on our part to ensure you were not about to become the unwitting victim of piracy through our nonfeasance.
Cell phones can never be used for verification in these circumstances for obvious reasons so our staff did consult a crisscross directory which is how we obtained the land line number we called.
When your second order arrived it raised additional red flags since it's a common practice for pirates to use the same IP address and shipping address but different billing info as they test series of stolen credit accounts.
While we were NOT "more concerned about their 2:00 closing time" we were mindful of it and of the fact that it would have an effect on our ability to ship your order and so took the time to alert you to this fact. As far as "who closes at 2 on a friday?" the answer is that any business owned by an observant Jewish person closes early on Fridays and remains closed all day Saturdays in observance of the Sabbath. Nationwide there are hundreds if not thousands of businesses which do so.
At this time the smaller has been shipped and delivered. The other order was placed on hold per your specific instruction. Do you want to have the hold released and the merchandise shipped or do you wish to cancel the order? If so a refund will be issued. Please advise.
In closing, we regret your dissatisfaction and await your preference regarding order #2.
My experience with B&H Photo was not that pleasant. I order a Canon lens from them on Feb 19th to receive the package on March 1st, with ground shipping.(I dont understand why processing + ground shipping will take so long, but lets say this was my choice.) Unfortunately the lens I got had some specs of dust inside it, so I have to return it. I promptly called them in the same day for the RMA# and I sent the lens out. I contact them again to ask to accelerate the processing/shipping of the replacement lens. On March 6th I called again to check the status, and their CC rep which didnt strike me as knowledgeable or willing to help, said that will take between 2 to 4 days for processing only. In these conditions I would have received the lens approximately 1 month after the order so I canceled it. Bottom line: wasted time (15 min+ waiting time when you call their cc) + $12 (shipping fees) = frustration (I cant say nothing because I got something out of it).
____________________
1. reply to a week later we received the returned.. : That its really strange. I have an e-mail from B&H stating that A Package/Item(s) has been returned by you to B&H which I received on March 5th the same day when USPS confirms the delivery. Its improbable that less than 5 days (with a weekend in the middle) makes a week.
2. The order was canceled on March 6th and I still didnt received any refund (March 10th)
This review was modified by its author, cleardusk, on
3/10/07 6:27 PM.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
3/11/07 10:05 AM
We appreciate your order and regret your dissatisfaction. We received your order Feb 20th and shipped it Feb 22nd. Since you selected UPS ground shipping when you placed the order, this is consistent with our promised shipping schedule. For an additional $4.25 you could have opted for UPS's 3-day 'select' shipping which would have been somewhat speedier.
On 3/1 at your request we issued a return authorization and instructed UPS to email a pre-paid return label so you could return the lens at our expense. A week later we received the returned package and per your instruction, issued a full refund. Had you asked, we'd have exchanged the lens for another.
Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video, Inc.
UPDATE:
Confirmation that the refund was issued as described has been emailed to you.
I have placed a few orders from B&H before and have generally been pleased. However, I placed an order on Sunday night, and I paid extra for quicker delivery. I received a call Monday from their verification department saying my order will be shipped out that day. It didn't happen. On Tuesday I emailed their customer service and received a reply saying my orde would be shipped out that day. Again that didn't happen. My order did not get shipped out until Wednesday. Paying for extra shipping was a waste of money.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
2/19/07 3:57 PM
Thanks for your orders and this feedback. We're sorry that despite having "generally been pleased" there's any dissatisfaction with your current order. You paid an additional fee to bump your shipping from UPS ground to UPS "select" 3-5 Business Days Delivery. The additional amount paid covers UPS' additional fee for their quicker handling but does not suggest or imply faster out-the-door time. In fact our web site specifies, "All rush orders (1-day and 2-day shipping) are normally shipped on the same day..." You can see therefor that UPS' 3-day select is not considered rush.
The same page on our site advised you, "All orders are subject to approval by our verification dept." Verification's purpose is to deter credit card fraud and identity theft.
We received your order 2/12, completed verification 2/13 and shipped 2/14. UPS reports they made a delivery attempt today at 11:09am (your time).
We will refund the difference between the amount you paid for s&h and the amount you would have paid had you selected UPS ground as a gesture of goodwill. Thank you again for your orders.
Very poor performance. Unfortunately this is my second consecutive order that has been problematic because of delays. I ordered items for a shoot and paid for expedited shipping only to have half the items leave B & H 2 days late and be scheduled to arrive too late for the shoot. B & H is an honest company, but their order fulfillment is patchy and can't be relied upon. Dropping the ball in a professional film/video environment has consequences. I will have to find a more reliable vendor.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
2/15/07 11:56 AM
Thank you for your order and this feedback. We are refunding the s&h fee original applied to this order in compensation for your inconvenience.
I think it's worth noting however that your previous order was shipped complete the day after we received it with the single exception of an item which our website specifically noted as, "Important Notice! This is a special order item and is non-cancelable or returnable. Est. arrival at B&H 7-14 business days (subject to availability)."
My exprience with the store and its customer service was horrendous.
I found what I wanted on the site very easily. But could not seemed to place the order for some reason. I then called and was treated like a moron (I don't know very much about videos but I had the spec sheet right on screen in front of me). I had the maker, style, and mfr. number but the man on the phone was so impatient and rude that I said I would try via web again. His retort: "Yeah, you go ahead and do that!" I was appalled. I was ordering a $2,800 lens.
I then called back and asked to speak with a manager--got transferred to a customer service hold pattern for 18 minutes. Called back and got someone who tried to be helpful--but I waited on hold for 3-4 more minutes while he tried to find the video manager. Was then told he was out and to call back. But when I asked what his name was, he said he didn't know but could give me an extension number.
I went into the NY store two months ago and couldn't get someone to help me though there was definitely an impressive ratio of staff personnel to customers. I was trying to buy $15,000 worth of video camera and sound equipment at the time and approached 3 sales people who were not waiting on any other customers....However, at that same moment, the SONY sales rep walked in and suddenly they all turned asking..'have you got it? is that it?'
He had some new camera to show them and they just went to the corner to all look at it and left me standing there. I went up and asked them a question directly and one answered my question with a 'no' and then just turned away.
My company has ordered from B&H in the past. And their shipping is fast. I will give them that.
But I don't think I've ever been so appalled at the level of customer service. I have a business partner who is very knowledgable about equipment and generally does the ordering and I will say that he finds B&H extremely helpful.
I draw the conclusion that there are sales people there who just don't have the time for those of us who are 'professionals.'
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
2/11/07 12:31 PM
B&H appreciates your constructive criticism and regrets your dissatisfaction. I have asked our computer department to locate the log and quality control recordings of your calls and will review each carefully. If they bear out your report, we will certainly apologize and I will direct our sales manager to take corrective measures.
It does seem unusual that you'd have an unsatisfactory store experience and an unsatisfactory phone experience when we strive so diligently to retain customer satisfaction and take justifiable pride in our consistent 9.5+/10 rating here.
Nevertheless we appreciate your comments and will investigate each thoroughly.
Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video, Inc.
UPDATE:
Our computer department cannot find any evidence of any call which included 18 minutes on hold. In fact we cannot identify any call from this customer which lasted 18 minutes from inception to disconnection. Our system is programmed specifically to prevent just such an incident.
B&H charge my card, then refused to ship the products (a tripod and camera bag) until I FAXED them a utility bill showing I resided at the shipping address. A shipping address that was on file and confirmed with the credit card company. This kind of treatment is unreasonable and I cancelled my order. They then sent me an email saying it may take 7-10 days for the credit to appear in my account. This is after they charged me for an item they refused to ship! If the credit is not in my account in 3 days per VISA rules I will be initiating a charge back.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
2/7/07 10:19 AM
We regret terryfrisch's dissatisfaction. When he submitted his order our site informed him that "All orders are subject to verification before shipment is made." Verification's purpose is to deter credit card fraud and identity theft.
Unfortunately the bank which issued his credit card advised there was a discrepancy between the address he provided to us and the one the bank had. Under those circumstances we were obliged to interrupt the order and ask for additional data. Had he provided this, the merchandise would now be en route.
He also seems to misunderstand Visa's regs. He instructed us to cancel the order. We did, immediately, and generated a refund to his account. Federal UCC banking regulations permit each bank in the chain from ours to his more than a day before that bank has to transmit the refund to the next. We have no control over this. He was advised it may take several days before the refund appears in his account because of these UCC regs and to ensure he does not have unreasonable expectations.
While we regret his dissatisfaction, we certainly do not believe his unsatisfactory review was deserved. We'd have liked nothing better than to have completed this order amicably and shipped his merchandise.
One of the worst and most complicated websites to order from. I'm a US customer with a 3 digit code on the back of the credit card and they STILL required me to fax a copy of my credit card. PLEASE. So I used Paypal, I hope the item comes quickly since I only have 7 days to return it. Will NEVER EVER EVER use them again.
UPDATE I got an email on 2/7 asking please update your comment because you should have received your merchandise now. YOu are right I SHOULD have the product now, but I don't. And the tracking number I got has "No Data" for it which means it probably hasn't even left yet now over 2 weeks later. On top of that they didn't respond to my email inquiry yet either. So far I'm afraid I've now lost my money. They get good reviews so I'm surprised that all of this bad is happening to me. I will try their 800 tomorrow...
This review was modified by its author, stuscott, on
2/7/07 7:20 PM.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
2/8/07 8:41 AM
Thank you for your order. We regret your dissatisfaction. While your address may be considered inside the USA from a legal point, for banking purposes you're an international customer and as such, your order (with credit card payment) was subject to the same unintrusive and prudent verification procedure as any other non-US customer. This procedure deters credit card fraud and identity theft and hundreds of customers comply with it every month with little or no inconvenience whatsoever.
By the way -- the return policy time period begins when you receive your merchandise so your concern about having "only have 7 days to return it," is unnecessary.
Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video, Inc.
UPDATE:
We received this order Jan 27th and shipped it Jan 29th. Unfortunately the usps.gov package tracking web site is notoriously inaccurate and their "No Data" info is simply wrong. We reply to every email we receive and _have_ replied to those received from stuscott. If the package is mislaid in transit we'll be happy to assist with the necessary affidavits.
This was my second time B&H photo, and I had a terrible exprience this time. Initial error could happen, but following customer support was not acceptable.
I ordered a headphone as it was advertised that it was in stock. However, I received an email saying that the merchandise is not in stock due to a system error, and it said I should contact them by phone or a email to cancel it. I followed the instruction and requested a cancellation, but B&H didn't respond for a day, and it came back saying the item was shipped. However, based on USPS's derlivery tracking, the shipment was received after the customer support email. I told the customer support that it was wrong, and this should be resolved, but it came back with a response saying "You should always CALL" and didn't try to resolve the issue. Actually, the first email I received said call or email them...
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
1/23/07 9:16 AM
Thanks for your order. We regret your dissatisfaction. We received your order Jan 15th and shipped it Jan 18th. We are sorry a miscount caused this slight delay. Your request to cancel was received here several hours after your order had been shipped and too late to recall it. Our initial e-mail to you specified clearly that you must call to cancel an order. I am sorry you overlooked this.
I note you selected USPS shipping. Unfortunately their web site is notoriously inaccurate about shipping and package tracking. UPS is both faster and more reliable and in this case, exactly the same price.
Have not received my order yet, has not shipped, ordered on 12/3/06, it's 01/19/07 today and still have no idea when will ship. Everytime I request status am told they will recontact buyer to see what is taking so long. Will not give me any idea when they plan on shipping. They charged my card on 12/3/06!!
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
1/21/07 10:19 AM
B&H regrets this delay as much as you do. Before you placed your order we showed you this notice:
"Important Notice! This is a special order item and is non-cancelable or returnable. Est. arrival at B&H 7-14 business days(subject to availability). You will be charged upon placing your order." We are sorry that the manufacturer has been unable to fulfill the delivery promise they made to us. You're welcome to cancel and will receive a full refund if you elect to do so.
We regret that the manufacturer's delay has caused this inconvenience.
I placed an order on January first on thier web site. The item was in stock. The credit card was charged immediately. The item was never sent. I did not receive any information from them about what happened. They still did not return money. I had to call them today (a week after the order was placed) to beg them to return the money. The customer servise personel was very rude.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
1/7/07 2:36 PM
We regret this customer's dissatisfaction. The order was routed through our Verification Dept whose purpose is to deter credit card fraud and identity theft. For reasons we cannot determine the customer declined all our entreaties to cooperate with this regrettably necessary process. The order has been cancelled and a full refund issued.
