On Tue, 30 Mar 1999 11:10:09 EST, ClassicVW@xxxxxxx jammed all night, and by
sunrise was overheard remarking:
> In a message dated 3/30/99 10:59:51 AM EST, dhaynie@xxxxxxxxxx writes:
> << I think CWO (they may be called Camerworld.com
> now, officially) is a medium-sized camera store using the net to leverage
> themselves into being one of the gigantic stores, and to get there, they
> have great prices.
> From personal experience, and reading the various newsgroups, it seems
> many
> people are attracted to several stores that advertise in Pop Photo, et al, by
> the low prices quoted in the ads,
Maybe. I don't read these, I have an ever-growing list of on-line camera
vendors, a few local stores, and of course, the various used channels. I
probably spend way too much time researching it -- again, one of the
points I made in the e-bay thread, your times is worth something.
> only to wait four months and not receiving
> the promised item, then having to get a refund, or cancel the order and then
> order it from B & H who has the item in stock, but for a few dollars more.
You never know. It's hard to say if I was taken in by CWO or whether they
simply screwed up, or are not large enough to get new stock as fast as a
place like B&H. It really doesn't make sense for anyone to intentionally
deliver a four month wait. Of course, I'm also used to buying ICs on the
net, where practically ever vendor has a near realtime account of their
stock on-line. So you know if there's a lead time, and if so, about how
long. The fact that CWO's ordering system was listing some items as
in-stock and others as not implies this too, but apparently, they don't
keep it up to date.
> Not
> to pick on CWO specifically, I know there are thousands of satisfied customers
> out there- don't e-mail me- but if the advertised price item is not available
> from whatever store, then that would make B & H's price more than "OK", no?
This was just one example, and in fact, one of the few times I personally
found
B&H to have an acceptable price. But they're not claiming to be a bargain
outfit, and if you need something tomorrow, that's where you go. Same for
service, reputation, etc.
> It
> would make it the "real world" price, not a fantasy world of quoted prices
> that are not deliverable for whatever reason.
If that were the normal case, sure. My Dad buys lots of stuff from B&H,
but I always found them too pricey. This was the first time I ever had a
problem getting something at a lower price, though I do always check B&H
as something of a reference (and KEH and a few others that have been
around for awhile and have a certain reputation).
I actually found out about B&H though their pro audio gear business,
where they're even more out of line on price. Part of it's the whole
notion of mail order versus local purchases anyway. If I was really
concerned about support, I would buy locally -- great support 100's of
miles away is only slightly better than bad support 100's of miles away
if it fails and I need it to work today. But because I buy lots of used
stuff and, for that matter, Olympus OM-series stuff, I'm used to doing my
own support. I'm glad B&H exists, but most of the time I have the time to
check out a place like CWO or Manny's or Sam Ashe or whatever.
> In my experience, if you want to avoid the B.S., go to B&H first.
And, in fact, that is their business. I may have a pro-level camera
system, but I'm still paying out of my own pocket, and I don't normally
have a problem waiting a bit longer to get a thing if it's enough of a
savings. I think many folks on the list feel the same way. If this was a
business, I would do it differently -- in that case, lost business is the
number one concern, and you'll pay without regret for top service to
prevent that. Nothing wrong there, either.
--
Dave Haynie | V.P. Technology, Met@box AG | http://www.metabox.de
Be Dev #2024 | NB851 Powered! | Amiga 2000, 3000, 4000, PIOS One
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