B & H and UPS surprise

[tobey bilek]

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I placed an order for sd cards and spare battery for the M9 the day Sandy hit New York.

Stupid I know and I figured the server was without power . Still the SD card sale was over 10/31 and I wanted Lexar cards that were on sale. Well to order stuck and I got confirmation. Ok so it probably is an automated response. Waited a few days and a tracking number shows up in the mail. This means the order the packed, not necessarily shipped. All the bridges and tunnels are closed so how are the trucks going to get there. I put the tracker in UPS site and it is in Ohio due in Illinois for delivery Monday.

 

My best hope was by placing the order Tues I would be at the top of the list when things got moving again. Some times the stars line up.

 

Then again maybe I was the only one foolish enough to place an order the day of a major storm that flooded half of New York that was all they had to do.

 

Who is worried about camera parts with all the problems NYC faces now. I wish them all the best in the recovery that will unfortunately be years in the making.

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[iedei]

I placed an order for sd cards and spare battery for the M9 the day Sandy hit New York.

Stupid I know and I figured the server was without power . Still the SD card sale was over 10/31 and I wanted Lexar cards that were on sale. Well to order stuck and I got confirmation. Ok so it probably is an automated response. Waited a few days and a tracking number shows up in the mail. This means the order the packed, not necessarily shipped. All the bridges and tunnels are closed so how are the trucks going to get there. I put the tracker in UPS site and it is in Ohio due in Illinois for delivery Monday.

 

My best hope was by placing the order Tues I would be at the top of the list when things got moving again. Some times the stars line up.

 

Then again maybe I was the only one foolish enough to place an order the day of a major storm that flooded half of New York that was all they had to do.

 

Who is worried about camera parts with all the problems NYC faces now. I wish them all the best in the recovery that will unfortunately be years in the making.

 

this is a VERY tough city. I have been to many cities around the world...but have never seen a western hemisphere city so willing to get through stuff.

 

there is no gas, no milk, no water and electricity in places....people are frustrated, tired, and confused. but people are living. we are living! the other day....I was leaning against a car....and a cop pulled up to me and looked through the window...smiled and held a 'thumbs up' sign at me....I gave him a salute and a thumbs up sign back....we smiled at each other and he drove away.

 

you will get your battery, mate. just understand if it's delayed.

[Messsucherkamera]

New Yorkers have somewhat of a reputation of being rude and/or obnoxious, but ya gotta give the devil his due: They are also tenacious. That earns a certain level of respect.

 

 

Bruce Gilden and Jay Maisel are two of my favorite photographers - because of their work, but also because of their cinder block tough tenacity. Everyone who aspires to be a street photographer could benefit from their example of never give up mental toughness (even if you have no interest in using flash as Gilden does) .

[iedei]

New Yorkers have somewhat of a reputation of being rude and/or obnoxious, but ya gotta give the devil his due: They are also tenacious. That earns a certain level of respect.

 

 

we are only rude to people from out of town when they look confused

 

before i moved here 6.5 years ago, i heard the same about NYers. But having lived here since then, I have realised that it is not 'rudeness'.....it is directness. That often gets interpreted as 'rude' by other people....but it's more functional than anything else. There is so much crap to deal with living here...that people just don't seem to spend the time on sugar-coating things. That can be a good and bad thing, of course.

[Messsucherkamera]

I will take directness over pussyfooting around every time.

 

In a previous life, I worked with an Italian gent from Brooklyn whose family were restraunteers. When the 9-11-01 attacks took place, I asked about his family. He said all were safe and accounted for but that the smoke plumes feom the WTC towers were visible from his parent's front porch, which greatly traumatized his grandmother.

 

Once he told me a story from his days of working in the family restaurant. A thief had kicked in their basement window and leapt in, landing on the top of a freezer below. He/they then proceeded to steal as many of the best steaks and bottles of wine as he/they could carry off.

 

Two weeks later, the same thing happened, but with a twist. The morning after, my workmate found the same window kicked out but with blood running down the front and sides of the freezer. Seems that the thief had landed on a sheet of plywood placed on top of the freezer that was riddled with tenpenny nails, installed points up by, uh, "someone" (sometimes karma requires a bit of assisstance ) .

 

Oddly enough, they never had another break-in. It appears that the NYC "directness" applied to this situation was effective.

[farnz]

Sorry to continue off topic but that reminds me of a similar story. For many years I had a Dobermann Pinscher, who was large for his breed as were his two brothers. Both brothers were owned by a friend of mine and they used to stay inside his house when he went to work.

 

One day on coming home from work at around 8 pm he noticed that a pane of glass in his back door was broken and fearing that he'd somehow been burgled he quickly entered to see if his Dobermanns were okay. Inside he found one very frightened thief cowering in the corner of the kitchen being watched over by two unharmed but proudly happy dogs.

 

The burglar, who was in his mid-twenties, told my friend how he'd knocked on the front door at around midday, got no reply, went around to the back and knocked on the back door, got no reply, assumed no one was home, broke the glass, reached inside turned the key and entered the house. The two dogs had silently crept up on him and when he turned round after closing the door they bared their teeth menacingly, started to growl fiercely and one grabbed him by his wrist and dragged him into the kitchen where there was no way out and stood guard over him until my friend returned home. Every move he made caused them to inch closer and growl more fiercely so he had no way to escape. My friend hadn't taught them to do this but is very happy that they did. The police howled with laughter and mercilessly took the p1ss out of the burglar before cuffing him and carting him off.

 

Pete.

[k-hawinkler]

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Good doggies! Well done!

No doubt, your friend gave them a treat.

 

http://www.k9pups.com/site/657261/page/356753

[k-hawinkler]

I placed an order for sd cards and spare battery for the M9 the day Sandy hit New York.

Stupid I know and I figured the server was without power . Still the SD card sale was over 10/31 and I wanted Lexar cards that were on sale. Well to order stuck and I got confirmation. Ok so it probably is an automated response. Waited a few days and a tracking number shows up in the mail. This means the order the packed, not necessarily shipped. All the bridges and tunnels are closed so how are the trucks going to get there. I put the tracker in UPS site and it is in Ohio due in Illinois for delivery Monday.

 

My best hope was by placing the order Tues I would be at the top of the list when things got moving again. Some times the stars line up.

 

Then again maybe I was the only one foolish enough to place an order the day of a major storm that flooded half of New York that was all they had to do.

 

Who is worried about camera parts with all the problems NYC faces now. I wish them all the best in the recovery that will unfortunately be years in the making.

 

 

I have ordered and received many things from them.

IIRC, their warehouse for mailing stuff isn't in NYC.

However, I forgot the name of the town.

If you track your purchase it should list the origination point.

[sblitz]

Their warehouse I believe is in NJ. Probably not an area flooded could be without power. The items will show, as was written before, just some patience for the obvious reasons

[tobey bilek]

It is interesting why and how answers come to a post. The last one is perfect, be patient. I was patient and in fact am not in a hurry. I am both surprised and happy it did ship and will be delivered tomorrow. Obviously did not read at all what I wrote and thought I was complaining. I was not complaining, I was praising them for a job well done.

 

And I never complained about short curt answers by New Yorkers as impolite. How did that get started?

 

I never knew the warehouse was in New Jersey. I live near Chicago and have not visited NYC for 44 years and that was a drive thru. Jersey location makes it understandable how this happened. Must be far inland though.

[jdlaing]

I have ordered and received many things from them.

IIRC, their warehouse for mailing stuff isn't in NYC.

However, I forgot the name of the town.

If you track your purchase it should list the origination point.

 

It's in the old Brooklyn Navy Yard at 400 Flushing Avenue.

[k-hawinkler]

B&H Photo Video - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia , quote:

 

"It also runs a warehouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.[1]"

[iedei]

B&H Photo Video - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia , quote:

 

"It also runs a warehouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.[1]"

 

that is most likely flooded OR affected. the navy yard is quite close to the water...

[jdlaing]

that is most likely flooded OR affected. the navy yard is quite close to the water...

 

Imagine that!

[CalArts 99]

Some time ago a Brooklyn resident took pictures of all the camera and electronics stores in the NYC area while riding around on his bicycle. It was in part due to people getting gray market items when they assumed they were not, bait and switch tactics, and from places that were overall just dubious in their business practices. Some weren't even stores, but residences where goods were being shipped (or not shipped as from some of the worst offenders.) However many are established and ethical businesses (like B&H.) But there was/is still the caveat about buying from certain "stores."

 

Here's the Brooklyn B&H warehouse (which had a major fire a few years ago) B&H Brooklyn Facility

 

Here are the rest of the photos of the Brooklyn businesses: Brooklyn Camera/Electronic Dealer StoreFronts

 

Here are the Manhattan camera and electronic stores: Manhattan StoreFronts

 

He also has pages of photos for out-of-business shops and those that moved across the river to New Jersey.

 

 

 

EDIT: fyi, here's an article from the NYT about the notorious "Brooklyn stores" and also about the above website owner, Don Wiss. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/11/nyregion/11cameras.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[TomB_tx]

Last week I ordered a Leica lens (last new one I bought was in 1971) from Ken Hansen, who is still in NY. He shipped the next day, but said it took him a few hours to find a post office that was open. The next day "Express package" took a few days to get out of New York, but arrived today.

Great service on his part, and also good from the postal service, considering the situation in NYC.