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A little disappointed in B&H…

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DA69 said:
henryp said:
DA69 said:
Last year I was looking for a place to order a 400 L lens. I was
all ready to try B&H, but found out that their online international
ordering process was lacking the required security to provide a
safe consumer transaction.
Click to expand...
I am sorry you have somehow developed this inaccurate misapprehension.
We're happy to work with any customer to ensure a mutually
satisfactory transaction.
--
Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video, Inc.
Click to expand...
Sorry Henry, but it wasn't an inaccurate misapprehension. Nor were
you happy to work with me to ensure a mutually satisfactory
transaction. Asking a customer to scan both sides of their credit
card and then sending you the images via unsecured email is akin to
just putting the thing in an envelope, sending it around the globe
and hoping it will come back some day without mishap.
Click to expand...
This is standard practice. In this day and age credit card fraud is a BIG problem. A standard of most any hotel, for example, is to not accept a credit card for payment over the phone and that a copy (front and back) of the credit card must be provided via fax or email to allow payment on 3rd party credit card, or credit card that is not physically present.

This sounds like their policy on international orders...and I do not think it is out of line.

--
Lazy winter days are here again. Wont the sun come out and play?

 
I just had someone tampered in my credit account and charged a good amount on it. Luckily, the credit company called me and informed me of unusual charge and asked me if I was aware of it. All I had to do was to say "No". I give a high praise to American Express.

It's like going through the body search at the airport. Nobody like it but the possible consequences are far worse. Proving who I really is somewhat incovenient but I'd rather going through all the question than having someone charging on my account without my knowledge. Once you get used to it and prepare all the documents ready in hand, all you have to do is to follow the same procedure each time.
=====================
Ominous said:
This is standard practice. In this day and age credit card fraud
is a BIG problem. A standard of most any hotel, for example, is to
not accept a credit card for payment over the phone and that a copy
(front and back) of the credit card must be provided via fax or
email to allow payment on 3rd party credit card, or credit card
that is not physically present.

This sounds like their policy on international orders...and I do
not think it is out of line.
Click to expand...
--
http://sitekreator.com/allgoo19
 
Amex does not mess around and they are the Rolls Royce of credit cards. My family does almost all our non vendor supply biz with Amex and people often ask why? Well because they dont give a damn about their merchants and everything about the customer. The total oppositie of all other CC companies who cater to the merchant and not the customer. If you dispute with Amex they will imediately cancel the charge. Visa? hehe, hardly.
--
http://photos.genrxr.com
 
After all Price Match is just a gimmick retailers use. As a consumer, why not just go to the source. Wouldn't it be easier just order it from Roberts than post this long message "not bashing" somebody.
 
I know. Henry Posner showed up on Usenet in January 1995 in rec.photo.marketplace and rec.photo.help, just a few months after I first posted there. He's been around a long time taking care of customers. No doubt about that.
 
henryp said:
Habemus_Canon said:
On the other hand, if B&H gives you something you
can't get at Roberts (customer service, return policy, in stock,
cheap shipping, etc) then perhaps the higher price at B&H is
justified.
Click to expand...
Right now, that'd be availability.

--
Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video, Inc.
Click to expand...
-------------------------------

Henry,

Both stores have their pluses, but there are reasons some people don't always want to shop at B&H.

I've ordered from B&H in the past. I always call on the phone, and have my order prewritten so as not to take too long. Still, every time I've tried to ask a question, every salesperson I've talked to rushes me and has a tone to their voice as if it's an inconvenience to take my order. The boxes I've received with lenses in them once had only one small piece of packing paper in it - nothing to secure the lens... the second one had NO packing material in it, which could have led to the problem I'm about to mention - On one of those orders I thought a lens was defective (would not focus - at all). When I talked to the guy at B&H to ask him if he thought if it was defective or not, he interrupted me in mid-sentence and said, "Hey, if you don't want it, just send it back!". I did. That was the last time I ordered from B&H. It does not necessarily mean I will NEVER order from B&H again, and I've heard plenty of people say they like it and have received good service. MY experience however, has been different on several occasions.

That being said, I recently ordered a Canon and lens from Roberts. They packed the wrong lens. Sent me a Nikon instead of the Canon ordered (packing slip showed Canon). They eventually made it right, but wanted me to pay shipping for the right item to be shipped out via the same way my original order was ordered (overnight), and wanted only to do the swap when their lens came back. They were very polite about it - but it was their mistake and wasn't what I would call a good service experience... until I talked with a manager on the phone. He made everything right in the end, but it was an ordeal to get it done that way.

So - who do you pick? One doesn't pack things correctly, closes for every religious holiday man has ever invented, and is rude on the phone. The other has packers that can't tell the difference between Canon and Nikon, and wants you to pay for their errors. You go to other online vendors and talk to people who speak English as their FOURTH languages and who try to pressure you into accessory sales.

My lesson: Just spend the extra money and go to a physical store like Circuit City or Wolf. No phone attitudes, no shipping and packing errors, no worries about damages during shipping, and if there's a problem you can walk right back in and solve it ASAP. No one wins (except maybe me). What you save in money at these places, you gain in frustration.
 
I just received another camera from B&H. I ordered it on Sunday for a Tuesday delivery. By late Monday the order was still pending and I was worried about the Tuesday cut-off time. I called and talked to a gentleman who assured me that it would be shipped that day.

I wished him an enjoyable holiday and hung up. The camera arrived before 10AM the following day in perfect condition as usual.

Why shop anywhere else? What more can I say?
 
You're not getting the picture here guys. This is exactly the point I was trying to make. When you go through the bother of setting up a secure web shop, why then leave yourself open to send the most sensitive part of the whole transaction (the credit card) via the most insecure method available (email).

There are various secure measures that can be implemented which would allow someone to send a file or to verify them with the credit institution. Having someone send their credit details (including their signature) via email is not only foolhardy but totally unnecessary.
 
My girlfriend's sister's AMEX had a fraudulent charge ($2500 at Best Buy). She's a white female in NY and the only person authorized to use her card. The BestBuy is located in a different time zone, and the person who used the fake card at Best Buy used and signed with an Asian male name.

The charge was disputed. Within 90 days, AMEX's response was, "it was a valid charge because it was her card number with the guy's name and he signed it." How stupid can you be? My gf's sister pointed out to AMEX that she's the only one authorized to use the card. They said, "Oh yeah. You'll have to dispute the charge again and wait 90 days."

I too thought AMEX was the "Rolls Royce" of credit cards, as you say, but I'm not sure anymore.
genrxr said:
Amex does not mess around and they are the Rolls Royce of credit
cards. My family does almost all our non vendor supply biz with
Amex and people often ask why? Well because they dont give a damn
about their merchants and everything about the customer. The total
oppositie of all other CC companies who cater to the merchant and
not the customer. If you dispute with Amex they will imediately
cancel the charge. Visa? hehe, hardly.
--
http://photos.genrxr.com
Click to expand...
--
Jeremy
 
In your original post, you weren't complaining about how insecure B&H's method of transaction was. In fact, you were complaining about inconvenience at B&H and took a less secure method at Adorama who took your order only with the credit card number. It's equvalent of giving away your signature and photo ID to crooks costing them no effort. Were you looking for convenience or security?

If the store asks you one additional of your information, one step more the crooks have to over come. I don't know how easy it is to steal someone's Email, maybe you can explain to me if you know how to do it so easily. At least to me, opening someone's envelope is much easier than opening someone's Email in far away computer. Email is the most insecure method, you said?
=====================
DA69 said:
You're not getting the picture here guys. This is exactly the point
I was trying to make. When you go through the bother of setting up
a secure web shop, why then leave yourself open to send the most
sensitive part of the whole transaction (the credit card) via the
most insecure method available (email).

There are various secure measures that can be implemented which
would allow someone to send a file or to verify them with the
credit institution. Having someone send their credit details
(including their signature) via email is not only foolhardy but
totally unnecessary.
Click to expand...
--
resellerratings.com
B&H 1996(reviews) 9.43(6 month rating)
Adorama 276 5.26
Smilephoto 19 2.63 (out of business)

http://sitekreator.com/allgoo19
 
allgoo19 said:
In your original post, you weren't complaining about how insecure
B&H's method of transaction was. In fact, you were complaining
about inconvenience at B&H and took a less secure method at Adorama
Click to expand...
Uhm.. did you even read the original post? You're stating the exact opposite to what I actually posted. For the record Adorama contacted my credit provider to verify my identity.
allgoo19 said:
It's equvalent of giving away your signature and photo ID to crooks
costing them no effort. Were you looking for convenience or
security?
Click to expand...
I suppose you consider giving away a scanned image of the card as not giving away your signature? The above highlights the fact that you have no concept of the issue.
allgoo19 said:
If the store asks you one additional of your information, one step
more the crooks have to over come. I don't know how easy it is to
steal someone's Email, maybe you can explain to me if you know how
to do it so easily.
Click to expand...
Again, you're just shooting your mouth off before reading my post. The issue here surrounds card holder identification in order to prevent someone who has already stolen your credit card details from fraudulently using them. Asking for additional information is exactly what I'm encouraging, but it has to be done securely. I've worked as a security analyst for over a decade and I suppose I've seen more than others how easy it is to breach systems (especially email). The surprising thing is that most people are aware of the dangers of unencrypted communications over the internet (obviously you're not).

Ask yourself this, why establish a secure web shopping site? Why doesn't everyone just use email for their internet shopping? Simple, when you go shopping over the net you want to be assured that there is a secure channel of communication between yourself and the vendor. It's imperative that when you send sensitive information you must do so via secured means. In this day and age there are many cost effective ways to establish this. There is simply no excuse for someone to ask for credit card or other identifying information to be sent via an unsecured channel.
 
Franklin said:
After all Price Match is just a gimmick retailers use. As a
consumer, why not just go to the source. Wouldn't it be easier just
order it from Roberts than post this long message "not bashing"
somebody.
Click to expand...
Because it's not in stock at Roberts. B&H has it now.
That's worth the price difference.
 
===

My guess is that B&H are obviously happy enough with their existing sales figures so that they don't need to do anything out of the norm in order to generate more business

In this case Adorama seemed to be much more eager to find a solution in order to get my business (which they did).
======

The quote above taken from your original post, and they are correct. See my sig below. Adorama is desperate because of their low customer satisfaction rating and do anything to keep their business going and you'll soon find out why. Personaly, I think their days are numbered.

Pretty soon, you'll eliminate stores one by one from your list, there will be no more store to shop.
--
resellerratings.com
B&H------------1996(reviews)----9.43(6 month rating)
Adorama------276------------------5.26
Smilephoto---19--------------------2.63-------------(out of business)

http://sitekreator.com/allgoo19
 
unfortunately this allgoo 19 guy has been ridiculed on this forum many times. See his previous posts. He even complained about something he claims happened here 10 YEARS AGO...lol. Of course he doesn't supply any proof! he's just here to make trouble and argue. The reason any reputable company asks for credit card info, is to protect the consumer as well as the merchant from fraud.
--
Jerry G.
Adorama-Supervisor
 
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