NYC Camera Merchants

EdDekker · Dec 11, 2003

I have purchased from several of the NYC camera stores and basically have learned that the stores with the low advertised prices are the worst to deal with. When dealing with the low cost dealers you must know what you want and not let the sales person suggest 'extras'.

(My embarrassing phone order moment - I ordered a VCR from FOCUS back when a VCR was a major purchase. I was offered a dust cover for a few dollars more. It seam It turned out that the dust cover was included in the package from the manufacturer and I would have received the dust cover without the extra charge. I called and complained and was told that I ordered a VCR with a dust cover and received a VCR with a dust cover. )

I can recommend B and H Photo in New York and Hunt's Photo (formerly Hunt Drug) in Massachusetts. Both have sales people who know chemical and digital photography. They both have good prices and good reputations.

B and H publishes several big catalogs and has a web site http://www.bhphotovideo.com which I find poorly organized. B and H has been my favorite photo store for a many years. B and H was an early adopter of computers and had a presence on the Compuserve Photo forums by the late 1990's

Hunt Photo started as a pharmacy with some cameras. They kept the name long after they were just a camera store. They have a web site http://www.wbhunt.com I have not used Hunt's photo for phone or Internet orders, I have used the store in Melrose Massachusetts.

J and R Music and Computer World is a big New York camera and electronics store, with reasonable prices but do not rely on the sales people to answer questions. J and R is an amazon.com affiliate and some products appear through the amazon web site. Other products appear only on the J and R web site http://www.jandr.com/.

TresCrows · Dec 12, 2003

I buy very little on line but I have done lot's of mail order with B&H advertized in Shutterbug, also Brooklyn Camera Exchange, Classic Connection, Adorama as well. I have never been cheated or dissapointed. I have ordered a lot of used Nikon optics, two point and shoots, my Nikon FMIIT and several other things from these shops. Yes, they often offer a gray market unit for less than USA. I have a second gray market motordrive that is identical to the USA drive except it was cheaper and the manual was in Japanese.
I have diffuculty using my "powers" /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gifvia internet but via telephone--no problem, if I get a bad vibe, I hang up. These people have treated me square.
E-bay, everything I have bought off e-bay I have been ripped off, everything I tried to sell on e-bay was a bust. I don't do e-bay /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif. E-bay has been taken over by scam artists and vendors attempting to scam people with junk they cannot move.

PitbullMidwest · Dec 12, 2003

I'll never buy from a NYC camera shop again. Let the buyer beware. ...It's a litle unfair to lump them all together.


You're right of coarse they are not all dishonest, I guess its the old "once biten, twice shy" syndrome.

BubbaJr · Dec 12, 2003

I posted an earlier message that was a little too nasty and a moderator deleted it. So I won't go into specifics again, I just want to give you a link to a message board that has a lot of comments both good and bad from actual customers from camera stores all over the country and especially from NYC.

LINK

BubbaJr · Dec 12, 2003

E-bay has been taken over by scam artists and vendors attempting to scam people with junk they cannot move.


You're doing the very same thing I did when I talked about NYC camera dealers and my post was pulled. There are a lot of scam artists on eBay, but by no means are they all theives. I've bought and sold hundreds of items on eBay, and with very few exceptions the sale was without any problems. We both took our personal experiences and made a sweeping generalization that was in fact not totally true. I apologise for my nasty remarks in my earlier post. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

F350Lawman · Dec 12, 2003

You're right of coarse they are not all dishonest, I guess its the old "once biten, twice shy" syndrome.

I understand, I've been there.

I posted regarding the particulars of the stores that have cropped up in the past 15 years. Unfortunately my post was edited due to it being "insulting or deliberately offending other users" . I don't know about that, it was however accurate and was based on actual experience with these merchants in both a personnal and law enforcement capacity.

The NYC camera market was made up years ago of numerous small family stores with years of experience and solid reputations. A rash of scam artists have "relocated" to NY and become a large % of the market. These new merchants are not ALL dishonest nor are they the ONLY dishonest merchants, they are however the main reason for this thread.

I doubt anyone who spends an hour shopping for a camera in NYC in the 42st area, 14th street, Nassau St. and numerous other areas with a high concentration of electronics/camera shops will disagree with my statement.

If anyone viewed my post before it was edited and was offended I apologize. I am still working on becoming politically correct, for now I am stuck operating under the outdated concept of speaking the truth as politely as possible.

BigDave · Dec 13, 2003

I've purchased from Etronics and J & R Music World without any problems. I also purchased from Amazon(not NYC) on multiple occassions and found them to be competitive with an excellent return policy. I made a return without the least amount of hassle.

I did buy a printer a few years back from some NYC store that I don't remember the name. They were about $25 cheaper than their competition, but they tacked on a $25 shipping cost which made them only $10 cheaper.

TresCrows · Dec 13, 2003

Well, as to e-bay, if the shoe fits------ /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif.

I love the rating systems people give things on e-bay. They will say it is "excellent" or "like new". On e-bay, like new is equal to my "well worn", "average" would be equal to my "ready for the junkyard." /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif It is almost funny /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif. I was looking for a parts bike for my Bultaco. I came across "ready to race--fully restored"----a careful inspection of the picture despite the placement of a shadow to cover it revealed a frame that was pretzled and the seat had then been sat down on it to hide it--nope, I don't think so dude /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif.
I suppose some catagories are rife with scams while others are relatively safe. The best guide whether shopping for cameras in NYC by computer or phone in order or buying "like new" items on e-bay is buyer beware.
I always like to act like I am stupid and then ask a question that will require honesty to answer correctly. If they give good advice that is at least an indication that the person you are speaking with may be OK, at least you have something, a human connection, to go on to base your trust or lack thereof. Oh, the Bultaco on e-bay, I questioned the seller about the frame--he said it was in perfect condition, then a second correspondence I pointed out where it was bent, I heard nothing more from him. Internet purchases and e-bay make that much more diffucult, though not impossible. Each to their own, I don't do e-bay, that is just me. J

JDgreen227 · Dec 13, 2003

I have never ordered camera or video equipment online but spent thousands of dollars on mail orders with B&H over the last 15 years. I have NEVER had any problem with them of ANY type. They are hands down the BEST you will ever find for mail order photo equipment but for online purchases I have no experience.

RobertN · Dec 13, 2003

I use BH Photo-video in NYC. They have been good to work with. Good prices, response, ect. I got my Nikon F100 body from them, as well as other stuff over the last few years. I think they ship for free over $100 orders too?

I also use Cameraworld.com in Oregon. Free shipping over $100, no tax(Oregon...). I have bought lenses, doodads, film from them.

Both were recomended by a friend who is a photo teacher and pro-photographer(we went to Alaska with her for a week long photo trip too). I now know of other folks who have bought from both places and like them.

TresCrows · Dec 13, 2003

Yeah, I forgot about Cameraworld, I have had good luck with them as well.
I was riding around yesterday before the snowstorm and went into an old camera shop. They sell mostly Canon but had aquired a bunch of used Nikon stock. I spied out a 85mm f2.8 and a 18mm f2.8 Nikkors and a 20mm f3.5 Nikkor. They were dusty and sitting way back on a dusty shelf. They were rather old but in perfect mechanical condition and at least a 9 plus cosmetically. I now own them for a song. Like all of the old Nikkors, they are made out of metal and glass and are quite hefty. They all had been converted to AI with the factory kit at some point in their long life. I figure they are good for a couple more lifetimes, yeah, I think they came from an estate sell. They are incredible pieces. Sometimes I luck out /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif. Most of my lenses are used, in fact, all but one are, I like to imagine sometimes that they were on the battlefield in Vietnam, or maybe in Beruit or in the jungles of Africa. For all I know pictures in National Geographic may have been taken through their glass or maybe they just layed in a bag for 35 or so years /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif.
This was the same shop that had the new Canon digital SLR, did you know that those things don't do wide angle. About the widest you can go is 35mm equivlent to a 35mm camera. Darn, that is dang near telephoto for someone like me that loves super wide angle. Telephoto is nice but for DRAMATIC perspective nothing beats lenses 24mm and wider (35mmSLR equivlent).
Like I said in an earlier post, I have also had good luck with B&H for phone in mail order. J

RobertN · Dec 13, 2003

I used my photo teacher/friend's 20mm/2.8 when taking some pictures of old tractors. I will have to look up those slides and scan a couplke in to show you. I was able to take some barely off-angle shots that really set off a couple of those tractors.

That's part of why I like my 24-120 zoom I got a couple years ago. It has a great range! The 24mm end is significantly more "wide" than a 28-80.

BIGUN · Dec 13, 2003

Thanks for all the feedback. I decided to order an Olympus C-750 from B&H Photo in NYC /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif. Several people here have highly recommended them and they have received very good reviews on the evaluation sites. Newegg, my usual mail order place has raised the price on this camera a couple of times over the past week till they are $30 higher than B&H, so I decided to give them a try. One thing that has impressed me about B&H is the one employee from there that checks the evaluation sites and constructively replies to the few negative evaluations. Their website was easy to use and the shipping was free. I will post the final outcome here after my camera arrives.

herbenus · Dec 15, 2003

My Minolta G5000 just arrived as it was supposed to. The tracking feature is neat as we knew what day UPS would deliver. Everything looks in order. I love this little camera. I bought from digitalfotoclub.com.

millsnhills · Dec 15, 2003

Last year I purchased a digital camera from B&H Photo and just recieved a digital camcorder from them. I have always had good experiences and they have been more than happy to discuss questions. The shipping has always been quick and packing very good.

Chuck52 · Dec 17, 2003

HiTech Camera jerked me around, very politely, for eight days. I think the problem was that the camera I ordered was out of stock, and when it was re-stocked the price had gone up. Rather than sell to me at the old price, they simply jerked me around until I gave up. No big loss. There's still time before Xmas, to buy locally anyway, and the cameras I'm looking at are fairly low end. All the companies make 3MP units now that are in the $200-$300 range, and some of those are discounted locally. I just have to figure which one to go with....again. It's mainly to replace all the throw-aways my daughter uses to take snap shots of the grandkids. I doubt we'd be able to tell much difference in the picture quality the way it will be used.

Chuck

frank_f15 · Dec 17, 2003

as from previous post and a few PM's see u decided on the c750, as u know i have one and thik it is a great camera. although i ordered from a different place. as long as u are happy that is all that matters. let us know how u like the camera!

BXMMCC · Dec 19, 2003

Well, since nobody else mentioned them - try

pictureline

They're in Salt Lake City, good prices, quick delivery, know cameras, have the time to talk to you.

BIGUN · Dec 19, 2003

Well, my new Olympus C-750 and the 256MB memory card both arrived today.
Based on recommendations from TBN members, I ordered the camera from B&H Photo in NYC. Based on my first experience with them, I can say the recommendations were justified. The website was clear and easy to use, followed by confirmation emails and later updates including UPS tracking numbers. Got none of the so-called “address confirmation calls” that so many of the NYC camera shops are famous for. Like Newegg their price went up $20 after I ordered but before my camera got here. I was billed the lower price that I ordered at. Don’t know if Olympus has raised prices or the mail order places are jacking up prices for last minute Christmas shoppers.

I ordered the memory card from Newegg since it was a little cheaper and shipping was free. As I expected, from experience, everything went fine with that order.

Both were ordered Friday 12/12/03, shipped Monday, and arrived today, Thursday 12/18/03. Interesting, two orders placed a couple hours apart, first to NYC, the other to California, shipped by UPS and FedEx, both routed through Fort Worth, Texas arrived here at my house in Oklahoma about an hour apart.

The camera outer shipping box from UPS had the sealing tape rubbed completely through on two corners and almost through on a third. The box was pretty dirty with some black material, but was not crushed and the camera box inside was in excellent condition.
The box from Newegg shipped by FedEx was in perfect condition.

So far I am very happy with the C-750, the only thing that is taking some getting used to, is the lag time after pressing the shutter. That seems to be a common complaint from digital camera users.