Bullet biting, Nikon D700 Amazon or B&H?

josephgaton said:

I bit the bullet for a D700 this morning. I used BING.com to search and ended up in a "Buy-It-Now" link for a D700 in eBay. I paid $1,995 + $19 shipping=$2,014 via Paypal. A few minutes after, I received my 8% cashback via Paypal amounting to $159.60. I think $1854.40 for a brand new D700 body is good deal..

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Don't you have to buy from an authorized dealer to get the usa warranty?

Hi Gordan,

The one thing i would caution you on is that your d700 may be a "reconditioned" camera. I did this same thing and received my camera in a silver Nikon box, not their typical gold box. The box clearly stated on the outside that it was reconditioned by Nikon, hence the great price, and did come with a USA warranty. I've had no problems with mine and the camera functions perfectly.

John

Juergen said:

At least B&H does: I remember a thread dealing with that issue (which was deleted by dpreview - they must have a reason to support such dealers...) where a number of people reported they got (slightly) used cameras from B&H. And henryp of B&H didn't answer to the simple, multiple times repeated question "Does B&H sell returned and used merchandise as new?" although he participated in the thread...

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Aahhh, the "natureman" question. He's been banned, you'll notice. He tried to goad me with the same question, on topic or off, at every opportunity and I simply refused to reply to ANY thread entry of his. He was a troll IMO and I do not mourn his absence.

I distinctly recall the thread in question. I do not recall a number of people reported they got (slightly) used cameras from B&H. I recall a wide-ranging discussion, some on topic and some quite off, including much speculation, many assumptions and no little innuendo.

Juergen said:

So it's clear B&H does sell returned and used merchandise as new - I don't know what the laws in NY say to that, but in my opinion a dealer who sells returned and used merchandise as new is simply a criminal.

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How is it clear? because I declined to let a now-banished troll goad me into a "have you stopped beating your wife yet" debate? Your conclusions are not supported by the available evidence.

--
Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video

JATO wrote:

I will indeed miss the plethora of Canon lenses available, there is no doubt Canon has Nikon beat on lenses.

You should buy Canon again. What are you going to do with the canon plethora of lenses? i mean if you gonna miss it is cos you own them, otherwise i own a nikkor 300mmf4 but i can miss a Nikkor 500mm f5.6 as well.

i doubt canon beats nikon in trolling threads, but i dont doubt you are wasting your time trying to convence everybodys mind with your post.

Advice: Dont claim your vision is better that the rest of the world.

I doubt that the camera B&H or Amazon would send you would have any actuations on it. If it did, either would take it back for that reason alone with a full refund. I bought a D300s from J&R, and it had focus problems. I returned it for another one, and when it arrived it had 257 clicks on it. I called them and gave them the serial number and got a 150.00 refund. The camera works great, so I have no idea why someone returned it. I still have it, and am very happy with it. Everything except for the shutter actuations was as new. Dave
--
Visit my gallery at http://www.poperotzy.smugmug.com

Juergen said:

C'mon, I very well remember a thread dealing with that issue where a number of people reported they got (slightly) used cameras from B&H. And henryp of B&H didn't answer to the simple, multiple times repeated question "Does B&H sell returned and used merchandise as new?" although he participated in the thread...

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Do you really believe he should answer such a stupid question? He goes above and beyond the call of duty in the name of customer service. I feel he shouldn't waste his time getting trolled by these idiots.

I buy a lot from BH, just received my Nikon 24-70mm and looks like it was never touched...that's the good!

If you do a search here on DPR you will find that BH has sent customers equipment that was sold as new but definitely returns. All stores do it, you couldn't take the loss too long and stay in business.

I agree that a discount should be applied to returned items, there will be buyers for that type of goods espcially when you still have a factory warranty.

Petruska said:

I buy a lot from BH, just received my Nikon 24-70mm and looks like it was never touched...that's the good!

If you do a search here on DPR you will find that BH has sent customers equipment that was sold as new but definitely returns. All stores do it, you couldn't take the loss too long and stay in business.

I agree that a discount should be applied to returned items, there will be buyers for that type of goods especially when you still have a factory warranty.

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I agree with you. You cannot stay in business having to discount your returns. I have gained confidence from these posts that Amazon will be worth the try for purchasing a D700. I would buy from B&H and may still do so its just that Amazon is also offering a 12 month interest free payment plan for this purchase. My interest in the D700 continues to rise as I see so many of the photos folks here present here in difficult lighting situations. I cannot think of a camera that is more interesting to learn about than the D700 (D3). Very well planned product by Nikon. Look forward to my order arriving... thanks

Mine had 783 miles. No problem. It was a NEW car as far as I was concerned. That was 27,000 GREAT miles ago. Any camera with shutter actuations can still be considered new. B&H has a great return policy and I will continue to use them - as I have for the last $40,000 worth of camera and video stuff over the last 10 years. Of course what you do is up to YOU.
--
Steve Bingham
http://www.dustylens.com
http://www.ghost-town-photography.com

One other thing that I think would be in B&H's favor is their option for a protection plan. Not so sure Amazon offers such a plan. They both see to have their benefits. Despite some of the posts I have seen chastening B&H, they have been superb to me.

Jato,

My choice would be B&H.

(also based on past purchases, they even gave me a refund on a differance one month after a huge price drop on Extreme IV CF cards ... there is other things too ... for me B&H is a high confidence buy)

Have been watching for a while ... and a few weeks back they where sold out of the D700 USA version.
Since it is back in stock, my guess it that it is all new.

Mine by the time I looked at it (exif) has so few shots on it ... it must have been close to zero when shipped.

HG

JATO said:

If I buy a D700 from B&H, I have 30 days to return it, in the box etc., etc., for a full refund. If I buy from Amazon and decide the D700 is not what I want, is the refund diminshed? It would appear so but I am finding the Amazon site a bit reluctant to come right out and say it. I ask in the event the camera has issues like 37,000 shutter actuations other than that, this amazing camera really does fit my needs, my desires, my ability in the future or after life. My Canon Rebel is not useable anymore. I will indeed miss the plethora of Canon lenses available, there is no doubt Canon has Nikon beat on lenses. I have my faith Nikon will respond. Other than the Nikon 50mm, my next lens will be the 70-200 VRII....

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--

Eyes of Hawaii, Largest non-profit Photography club in Hawaii : http://www.eoh.smugmug.com/

Please feel free to criticize, make suggestions, and edit any of my photos & re-post, to help show me 'the way'. * I am trying to Elevate the Level of my 'Snap Shots'

Yes you absolutely need a receipt from an authorized Nikon dealer for a warranty. There is no warranty on that camera. The likelihood of that camera being stolen is about 100%. Pro DSLR cameras don’t fall out of the sky.

I've been generally happy with B&H, but when it comes to merchandise that B&H sells as new, there are, shall we say, "quirks."

I paid for a new beauty dish a couple of weeks ago. About $250, not an insubstantial amount of money for a metal bowl with a hole in it. I received the product and it was scuffed, dented, and was missing some small bits of paint. At the bottom of the box was...the return form that the previous buyer had filled out. HE apparently hadn't been happy with that dish either. I shipped the damn thing back at B&H's expense and am waiting for a replacement that had better be pristine, and unused.

Make of that what you will....

dc

Juergen said:

I remember a thread dealing with that issue (which was deleted by dpreview - they must have a reason to support such dealers...) where a number of people reported they got (slightly) used cameras from B&H. And henryp of B&H didn't answer to the simple, multiple times repeated question "Does B&H sell returned and used merchandise as new?" although he participated in the thread...

So it's clear B&H does sell returned and used merchandise as new - I don't know what the laws in NY say to that, but in my opinion a dealer who sells returned and used merchandise as new is simply a criminal.

I don't know about adorama and the others - anyone?

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They keep track of your returns and if it exceeds a certain (very low, I've heard) threshold of some sort, you're blacklisted for life from doing business with them. In theory, appealable, but I've never heard of any appeal working out in the customer's favor. More information on Amazon's blacklisting including the 11 speculated factors beyond mere returns:

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=908910

B&H, as far as I'm aware, doesn't have this kind of customer-unfriendly policy though the business side of Amazon's blacklisting has its financial logic. Besides, who at Amazon truly understands cameras and accessories if you have issues with it? B&H does as it's their core business and consequently has a larger percentage of support staff who knows this stuff cold.

Every retailer makes a goof from time to time, both Amazon and B&H being no exception, but B&H does have a superb track record of above-average customer service even when things goes pear-shaped. I've got no affiliation with either company, only summarizing what I've read.

One point I would like to add here is that the Amazon return policy applies to goods sold by Amazon directly, not from resellers listing on Amazon - this caught me once but thankfully it was for a inexpensive accessory and I didn't mind.

For something as complicated and expensive as D700, if the price difference was minor, I'd got with a specialist dealer like BH/Adorama, for that extra confidence that when you call in for support the person actually knows the device.

I've got nothing against Amazon - I do tons of business with them but for specialist equipment, I tend to lean towards the specialist dealers.

Hocus Pocus said:

They keep track of your returns and if it exceeds a certain (very low, I've heard) threshold of some sort, you're blacklisted for life from doing business with them.

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This is bad, how? More on-line merchants need to be more restrictive with "problem" or "difficult" customers! Yeah, go out and buy a D3 and shoot a wedding then return it for a full refund the next day, cheaper than a rental. Sadly there are people that actually do this.

Here's a variation on the question that has nothing to do with number of actuations and only deals with looking for a good price on a wildly popular body.

Looking at any of the retailers (B&H, Adorama, Calumet, etc.), they will offer refurbs or reconditioned cameras clearly labelled as such for a pretty decont price ... say 2169, for example. These cameras are typically graded Like New or Like New - and each retailer clearly defines what Like New, etc. mean. So I KNOW I'm getting a camera that has x amount of use. The camera also comes with a 90 day Nikon USA factory warranty. (versus a new camera's 1-year mfrs warranty).

If I buy the Mack's (or whomever's) 3-year Extended Warranty for 89 bux, the whole ball of wax puts me into a "new enough" D700 for 2260, 200 bucks less that the best Amazon deal. (No need to discuss the wisdom of the warranty ... I buy extended warranties on anything that's not going to sit at home; it's a practice that's saved my bacon twice)

I don't think I'm getting something for nothing for one second. However, it seems like this could be a pretty good deal? Anyone else done it this way?

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The big picture is pixelated.

A couple of expensive boxes with holes in them, all with varying degrees of mechanical and electronic complexity thrown in free.

deuxcent said:

I paid for a new beauty dish a couple of weeks ago. About $250, not an insubstantial amount of money for a metal bowl with a hole in it. I received the product and it was scuffed, dented, and was missing some small bits of paint.

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I'd be happy to look into this and address this with our warehouse and returns depts but I cannot ID you or the transaction from the info here. Feel free to email with details. In the interim, I apologize for what was undoubtedly an annoying and inconvenient experience.

--
Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video

Steve Bingham said:

Mine had 783 miles. No problem. It was a NEW car as far as I was concerned. That was 27,000 GREAT miles ago. Any camera with shutter actuations can still be considered new. B&H has a great return policy and I will continue to use them - as I have for the last $40,000 worth of camera and video stuff over the last 10 years. Of course what you do is up to YOU.
--
Steve Bingham
http://www.dustylens.com
http://www.ghost-town-photography.com

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I'll second B&H. I've dealt with them (from all the way in Sydney, Australia) and they are awesome. Their customer service is simply superb.