abe4652
Senior Member
Agreed. And i can think of no basis why it would.
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Of Interest to US Buyers - The B&H Payboo Gimmick
- Thread starter Greg7579
- Start date
abe4652
Senior Member
It's ironic. This was always the argument given for why to buy with local mom and pop stores as opposed to B&H.
But the truth is that local stores have high fixed costs relative to volume that makes it impossible for them to price like B&H for the most part. And will you return one of a couple copies of a specific camera to a local store, even if they will accept it, turning it into non-new? Or will they repackage it as new? And if so, what does that say about the "new" camera you bought?
Even B&H must struggle with that question, and certainly a mom and pop store can't handle that.
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Reilly Diefenbach
Forum Pro
Facts are better than anecdotes, true enough.
Under the old DPR regime, we would normally get a post every so often complaining about B&H selling customer returns as new for full pop, insufficient packaging, etc. Then along would come the B&H PR fellow to smooth things over with a replacement. I don't think we've seen a replacement for Henry P yet :^)
Is that still the case with B&H? I have no idea, but I have no interest in finding out.
B&H tiptoeing around UMRP, etc. is fine by me, I just find it curious that the mfrs are apparently allowing it.
My concerns are a. where my money goes after the sale and what am I directly supporting and b. how they are treating their employees.
All this stuff is a matter of record for any interested parties and has been for many years.
I get my gear mostly from Best Buy. I have zero concerns regarding factory fresh vs customer returns used up to 30 days or bouncing around in the back of a UPS or Amazon truck for a thousand miles. As well, I'm supporting a local business which provides gainful employment to local people right here in Florida, starting at $19 per hour. The staff are unfailingly helpful. Many of them are young people going to college. I don't know anyone in the NY tristate area and have no desire to give them any money.
Everybody can stop typing now. I'm out.
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Can that store sell to customers living in other states ?
I live in Britain, which is all one country for tax purposes, so buying is much simpler.
Don
Suntan
Veteran Member
Yes. Of course.
In states where you have a physical presence, or where you have done a significant amount of sales, you as the retailer, are required to collect the respective sales tax and remit it to the state that you sold/shipped the sale to.
If you don't have a presence, nor do enough sales in that state, then you as the retailer is not required to collect the sales tax. But in that case, the buyer is legally responsible to submit the sales tax to their state.
mreynolds767
Senior Member
Is the IRS or State Taxation board listening? ....
yes of course everyone declares out of state purchases on their taxes (wink)
Suntan
Veteran Member
Probably not.
B&H is down to a bit over 2000 emplyees but are still hanging on.
tbcass
Forum Pro
I realize that perfection is impossible so one or two bad experiences out of many will not deter me from any retailer.
Ditto. I seek the best price with the fastest free shipping almost always.
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InkedMarie
Senior Member
Sure can! Hunts photo and video dot com. I assume the other states sales tax would be charged but I’m not sure.
Marie
M
Mark B.
Guest
Give it a rest. They're still selling at the MRP. The PayBoo card has been in operation for at least 5 years; if manufacturers haven't bothered in all this time it's obvious it's not enough to be concerned about.
Other than the camera body and the most popular lenses, spare batteries, there's little else BB carries so as a photo gear dealer, it's a no go.
BGD300V1
Senior Member
I guess that can be blamed on Gore.
That’s true of every credit card purchase. which is the primary reason I never use credit cards for buying photo equipment, computers, and other purely personal purchases.
AFAIK, your description is technically incorrect - the buyer is charged the sales tax. But B&H provides the discount in the amount of the sales tax paid. This is legal as long as the sales tax is calculated from the full price, i.e. before the discount was applied.
Yes, this hurts small stores, but is legal.
Here is how it works:
the item cost is $1000, and sales tax is 9%.
The buyer pays 1090 where B&H get 1000, and the state - 90.
With playboo the buyer pays 1000, where the state gets the same 90, but B&H gets 910.
The discount practice is widespred and is usually implemented by most big retailers through store membership cards, but discount is usually not as big as with playboo, and does not depend on the sales tax paid.
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Vlad
Yes, this hurts small stores, but is legal.
Here is how it works:
the item cost is $1000, and sales tax is 9%.
The buyer pays 1090 where B&H get 1000, and the state - 90.
With playboo the buyer pays 1000, where the state gets the same 90, but B&H gets 910.
The discount practice is widespred and is usually implemented by most big retailers through store membership cards, but discount is usually not as big as with playboo, and does not depend on the sales tax paid.
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Vlad
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Greg7579
Forum Pro
Guys, sorry I haven't responded to this until tonight. I didn't know where it was.
I am not knocking B&H. I love B&H. In fact, I just bought another 4,000-dollar lens there a week ago (the GF 30 TS) and paid it off two hours later. It is no exaggeration to say I have spent close to a hundred thousand dollars there in the last 6 years. I am probably one of their best non-business or pro customers.
I was complementing B&H for a brilliant and legal business move that I take advantage of way more than most people.
I think the term "gimmick" might have made a few of you think I was criticizing B&H. I think it is a brilliant "gimmick" and involves some risk with B&H as well as the credit card company assuming some of the burden. I got that credit card the week B&H offered it and made clear what the game was.
But you guys are wrong when you say it is like a normal credit card. Read the fine print and don't pay the entire amount off within the pay period and see what happens.
Lawsuit? I am going to comment no further on that because it is not important to what this thread was about, and litigation often takes on many forms, levels of secrecy, negotiations, deals and changes and I'm not a lawyer.
Let's just say that it is safe to say that there are very large competing retailers (and countless local camera stores) that are not happy that B&H can offer this deal, however they legally pull it off, because the States are getting their tax, and B&H is charging full list price on camera gear, as required by the camera companies. B&H is able to offer me an automatic 9% discount on every item I buy, and no other retailer in the world right now can give me anything close to that deal. It is a windfall.
However, they do it (and it is legal), someone is eating the amount of that state tax (because the States are getting paid), and that burden is shared by the credit card bank and B&H in some negotiated formula, the bet being that people will not pay each purchase off 100% the first pay period.
I'm glad B&H has this deal. I use it extensively.
After 15 years of spending a lot of money at B&H, I have never once been let down. They are an excellent company with great customer survive. I've never returned a camera or lens there, and I bet in 15 years I have bought 10 cameras, 30 lenses, 5 tripods, countless bags, filters, straps and tons of lighting equipment. On top of that I build my own PCs and buy all my computer gear there, plus a recent Dell 6K monitor.
And on all of that I got basically 9% off on every item. Great deal. It's probably saved me ten grand.
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Greg Johnson, San Antonio, Texas
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139148982@N02/albums
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chipman02
Forum Enthusiast
Buy certain Canon products and get an extra 5% back with your Payboo card.
Deal good thru October.
Deal good thru October.
Greg7579
Forum Pro
Rich, I did not know that! I have never purchased camera gear from Amazon but have and will continue to spend way too much money at B&H - especially with the very advantageous Payboo discount that is equivalent to the State Tax. (Just pay the card off the day after you buy anything from B&H with it.)
paranoid droid
Member
Interesting, this might partially explain the posts where some people report having excellent credit history yet Comenity gives a low credit limit and is generally a pain to deal with. If the main profit comes from interest and penalties, then their business model is such that they do not necessarily need (and do not really care) about customers who can just easily re-pay the purchase right away.
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