B&H selling used as new? Bottom line..

A few random thoughts in no particular order;

1) never had any issues with B&H myself on new or used orders;

2) I have several friends in retail.  The number of people who buy a big screen TV and then return it after the super bowl weekend because it has some tiny flaw or the number of people who buy a dress and then return it after the wedding - or hey, I've seen people who buy a camera or a lens and then return it for some silly reason after they have used it for a job - you have no idea just how much of this goes on out there.  It is simply epidemic.  What is a retailer supposed to do?

3) the markup on some of these items is very, very low.  Many big ticket items the retailer makes 5%, if that.  The real money in retail is extended warranties, "don't pay for a year" financing, etc.

4) regardless of who does it, I don't like buying somebody else's returns as new.  But you know something - the big chain stores do it too.  A few years ago we bought a vacumn cleaner form Wal-Mart, got it home, the thing was dirty - obviously had been used, not re-packed properly, and it was missing some of the attachments.    Returned it, but never, ever buy a repacked item from Wal_mart or anybody else again.  In this case, a px on both Wal-mart and the original customer - they were both jerks IMO.

5) Sometimes it is the wholesaler and not the retailer who is the jerk behind the scences here.  Give you oen example - a local camera sotre, mom & pop shop (now sold out and closed) one year for Christmas order a case of camera s- will not say who or what brand, etc - and the case was 10 unit, at a cost of $375 each.  I think he got $25 off each for buying ten at once.

Two week's later, one of the major chain stores is selling the exact same unit, and I mean the exact same unit, not a cheaper know off, for $225 at the retail level.   Make a long story short, the big chain store got a deal from the wholesaler for $200 per unit, and - get this - no payment for 6 months on the product.   Any returned products were sent back to the wholesaler who later did the legwork of selling them as "refurbished units."

the crap that goes on behind the scences is stunning anymore.  Another story - retailer I know here in Canada - I asked hm why he didn't carry brand "X" of camera gear, and his response was the wholesale price in Canada was higher than the retail price in the USA.  When he pointed this out to the wholesaler, and the fact that most modern consumers get on the internet and know this difference ahead of time - the response from the wholesaler was "we don't give a s***, take it or leave it."

So bottom line is, I never, ever buy a return as new, because regardless of what I am buying, I always have had a problem.  but on the flip side, I understand why the stores do what they do, I just don't agree with it, and i wish idiot customers were put to as much public shame and scrutiny as the idiot retailers are.