MO: Consolidated Orders from B&H

vince123123 · 18th September 2003

Hi all, this is a thread that spun off from mpenza's thread asking about the various methods of shipping goods from B&H.

As I have seen that there are several people who are interested in ordering stuffs from B&H on a consolidated basis, I have started this thread to see if such a method could be worked out.

Those who are interested, pls pm me the name/qty of the item that you want and the maximum price u are willing to pay for it.

Also, for the avoidance of doubt, anyone who wishes to place an order with me would have to pay 50%-100% (not decided yet which it is, depending on the cost of your item) upfront to me so that I wont have to deal with pple who back out after the order has been placed.

I have two qns for those who have ordered from B&H before. First, according to their website, it says:

International Orders

If this is the first time you are using a credit card issued by a non-USA bank to make a purchase at B&H we require a legible fax of both sides of the card you will be using with your order. Please include your order ID number with this fax.

Is this fax/photocopy thing really needed?

Second, i tried a dummy test run on buying on B&H and i seem to have difficulty figuring out the shipping costs for multiple items. they would only state general rules like $35 for first 1lb and $4 thereafter, or they would provide shipping charges for single items. any oneknows how to tell how much the shipping will be BEFORE entering in your credit card no. etc?

tks

Darren · 18th September 2003

Originally Posted by vince123123

I have two qns for those who have ordered from B&H before. First, according to their website, it says:

International Orders

If this is the first time you are using a credit card issued by a non-USA bank to make a purchase at B&H we require a legible fax of both sides of the card you will be using with your order. Please include your order ID number with this fax.

Is this fax/photocopy thing really needed?

Second, i tried a dummy test run on buying on B&H and i seem to have difficulty figuring out the shipping costs for multiple items. they would only state general rules like $35 for first 1lb and $4 thereafter, or they would provide shipping charges for single items. any oneknows how to tell how much the shipping will be BEFORE entering in your credit card no. etc?

tks

I have ordered from B+H before - yes, the fax/photocopy thing is REALLY required, otherwise your order will not be processed.

Can't really remember whether B+H emailed me on the shipping cost before they shipped my stuff, or whether I just guesstimated it. In any case, I was doing an MO for ClubSNAP as well, so I just divvied up the total shipping cost over the number of items.

pcwe68 · 18th September 2003

Originally Posted by Darren

I have ordered from B+H before - yes, the fax/photocopy thing is REALLY required, otherwise your order will not be processed.

Can't really remember whether B+H emailed me on the shipping cost before they shipped my stuff, or whether I just guesstimated it. In any case, I was doing an MO for ClubSNAP as well, so I just divvied up the total shipping cost over the number of items.

By doing a MO, is the saving only on shipping cost? Do they give bulk order discount on the products?

vince123123 · 18th September 2003

DOnno if they give bulk discount, but i anticipate that pple woudl be ordering different items...

the savings on shipping look substantial in theory...but can't really try out without actaully buying it.

for e.g. UPS express i think its like 35 for first lb and $4 for each subsequent lb.

means u buy 2 1lb stuffs together you already save US$15....of course the more the better

Winston · 18th September 2003

Originally Posted by vince123123

Hi all, this is a thread that spun off from mpenza's thread asking about the various methods of shipping goods from B&H.

As I have seen that there are several people who are interested in ordering stuffs from B&H on a consolidated basis, I have started this thread to see if such a method could be worked out.

Those who are interested, pls pm me the name/qty of the item that you want and the maximum price u are willing to pay for it.

Also, for the avoidance of doubt, anyone who wishes to place an order with me would have to pay 50%-100% (not decided yet which it is, depending on the cost of your item) upfront to me so that I wont have to deal with pple who back out after the order has been placed.

I have two qns for those who have ordered from B&H before. First, according to their website, it says:

International Orders

If this is the first time you are using a credit card issued by a non-USA bank to make a purchase at B&H we require a legible fax of both sides of the card you will be using with your order. Please include your order ID number with this fax.

Is this fax/photocopy thing really needed?

Second, i tried a dummy test run on buying on B&H and i seem to have difficulty figuring out the shipping costs for multiple items. they would only state general rules like $35 for first 1lb and $4 thereafter, or they would provide shipping charges for single items. any oneknows how to tell how much the shipping will be BEFORE entering in your credit card no. etc?

tks

I read a report in the Straits Times, a while back that due to the high fraud rate of credit cards in Singapore, several websites and even places in US are hence afraid to accept credit cards from certain countries, including singapore.

There was even 2 persons in the ST forums who claim their DBSBank credit cards was 'rejected' in Japan. (The waitress actually asked him if he has another card when he produced the DBS one)
He had to pay with a Amex.

But So far, my orders to amazon.com has been ok.

Caspere · 19th September 2003

1. No bulk discount
2. Pay GST when reaches Singapore. I have a personal account with Fedex so they (customs) just charge my account and I pay Fedex (thru my CC with them). Don't know how customs is going charge/bill you. Maybe they won't charge??
3. If you have ordered from B&H before, and your details (CC, delivery method & address, etc) have not changed, it is very fast; like <2 mins after confirmation of stocks! Thereafter, Fedex will call me to make sure I am at the location of the delivery before they show up.

If this is the VIRGIN deal with them, they want a copy of your CC.
BTW, you are dealing with NewYorkers. They are curt but not rude. It is just their style. So avoid asking too much questions. Make sure you know exactly what you want to buy; model number, number of items in the package, type of delivery, address, which CC to use, etc.

Another important thing; B&H will only ship to YOUR billing address for your CC. That is OK if you are there. What if you are in the office during the day?? Fedex will follow B&H instructions to deliver, but you can track where (UPS also) the package is. SO when it reaches Singapore (B4 they go out in the morning to deliver your package) call them and tell them to deliver to your office address. Fedex delivered the package to my office! Nice. (THREE EOS 3s!!)

But that was my last order more than a year ago.

Maybe the MODs can make this a FAQ so the rest may know too.

Cheers.

Cheers.

arm · 19th September 2003

Have used b&h in the past when the price difference was great. Currently it is small except for specific items. May be better to buy locally & save the trouble.

kl241280 · 19th September 2003

wat's the website?

overcrash · 19th September 2003

wat's b&h url?

cheechee · 19th September 2003

Originally Posted by overcrash

wat's b&h url?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

wacko · 19th September 2003

anybody with any idea of what is a good deal at B&H compared to local prices. mind-boggling array of equipment listed on B&H...

Caspere · 20th September 2003

Originally Posted by wacko

anybody with any idea of what is a good deal at B&H compared to local prices. mind-boggling array of equipment listed on B&H...

I priced some of the common items like 300D, 10D, 16-35, 24-70, 70-200. I do not find them any cheaper after shipping and 4% GST by customs. We may save some money if we order in huge volume, but not practical leh.

I suggest we KIV the idea until the exchange rate goes to 1:1

or just 1:1.60 will be enough

cyrilng · 20th September 2003

Originally Posted by Caspere

I priced some of the common items like 300D, 10D, 16-35, 24-70, 70-200. I do not find them any cheaper after shipping and 4% GST by customs. We may save some money if we order in huge volume, but not practical leh.

I suggest we KIV the idea until the exchange rate goes to 1:1

or just 1:1.60 will be enough

Wait long long

pcwe68 · 20th September 2003

Actually, what about MO and buy it from store in Singapore like CP, AP or MS or TCW? Will they entertain?

I bought a second hand lens from someone here, and when I saw the receipt I realise that AP could give really low price almost $500-$600 cheaper, the seller claim that he bought it together with his friend with total sales of $5K-6K.

darr · 21st September 2003

US prices for photogear ain't that cheaper. I buy stuff from US only when not available locally.

And note that if you purchase Canon items from US, the warranty will not be honoured here. Some other brands also. Very few companies like HP will honour warranty anywhere.

I cant remember exact amount but you pay GST only when total value exceeds S$500.

rubric · 22nd September 2003

Hey vince123123,

Any updates on the MO? I PMd you earlier. Thanks.

wacko · 23rd September 2003

Originally Posted by darr

US prices for photogear ain't that cheaper. I buy stuff from US only when not available locally.

And note that if you purchase Canon items from US, the warranty will not be honoured here. Some other brands also. Very few companies like HP will honour warranty anywhere.

I cant remember exact amount but you pay GST only when total value exceeds S$500.

B&H website itself stated categorically that there's International Warranty, I don't think we have to dispute that. Well, someone can always call up Canon Singapore and enquiry if they will honour International Warranty items.

Minimalis · 23rd September 2003

For the faxing of CC bit, you can actually scan in both sides of your credit card, save it as a jpeg and send it over to them via email. Done this before.

Caspere · 24th September 2003

Originally Posted by Minimalis

For the faxing of CC bit, you can actually scan in both sides of your credit card, save it as a jpeg and send it over to them via email. Done this before.

Faxing involves one fax on your end and the other on his end.

Emailing involves like 20+ servers each saving a copy of it for who knows how long. If the email bounces than its another 20+ servers with its respective copies. emailing CC jpegs is really not a wise idea. Avoid.

darr · 26th September 2003

Originally Posted by wacko

B&H website itself stated categorically that there's International Warranty, I don't think we have to dispute that. Well, someone can always call up Canon Singapore and enquiry if they will honour International Warranty items.

it means as a us citizen, when you are in singapore and the equipment breaks down, you go canon singapore show them the card and us passport. thats intl warranty

18th September 2003	#1
vince123123 Deregistered Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: West Posts: 6,689	MO: Consolidated Orders from B&H Hi all, this is a thread that spun off from mpenza's thread asking about the various methods of shipping goods from B&H. As I have seen that there are several people who are interested in ordering stuffs from B&H on a consolidated basis, I have started this thread to see if such a method could be worked out. Those who are interested, pls pm me the name/qty of the item that you want and the maximum price u are willing to pay for it. Also, for the avoidance of doubt, anyone who wishes to place an order with me would have to pay 50%-100% (not decided yet which it is, depending on the cost of your item) upfront to me so that I wont have to deal with pple who back out after the order has been placed. I have two qns for those who have ordered from B&H before. First, according to their website, it says: International Orders If this is the first time you are using a credit card issued by a non-USA bank to make a purchase at B&H we require a legible fax of both sides of the card you will be using with your order. Please include your order ID number with this fax. Is this fax/photocopy thing really needed? Second, i tried a dummy test run on buying on B&H and i seem to have difficulty figuring out the shipping costs for multiple items. they would only state general rules like $35 for first 1lb and $4 thereafter, or they would provide shipping charges for single items. any oneknows how to tell how much the shipping will be BEFORE entering in your credit card no. etc? tks

19th September 2003	#6
Caspere Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: East Side Posts: 1,412	1. No bulk discount 2. Pay GST when reaches Singapore. I have a personal account with Fedex so they (customs) just charge my account and I pay Fedex (thru my CC with them). Don't know how customs is going charge/bill you. Maybe they won't charge?? 3. If you have ordered from B&H before, and your details (CC, delivery method & address, etc) have not changed, it is very fast; like <2 mins after confirmation of stocks! Thereafter, Fedex will call me to make sure I am at the location of the delivery before they show up. If this is the VIRGIN deal with them, they want a copy of your CC. BTW, you are dealing with NewYorkers. They are curt but not rude. It is just their style. So avoid asking too much questions. Make sure you know exactly what you want to buy; model number, number of items in the package, type of delivery, address, which CC to use, etc. Another important thing; B&H will only ship to YOUR billing address for your CC. That is OK if you are there. What if you are in the office during the day?? Fedex will follow B&H instructions to deliver, but you can track where (UPS also) the package is. SO when it reaches Singapore (B4 they go out in the morning to deliver your package) call them and tell them to deliver to your office address. Fedex delivered the package to my office! Nice. (THREE EOS 3s!!) But that was my last order more than a year ago. Maybe the MODs can make this a FAQ so the rest may know too. Cheers. Cheers.

19th September 2003	#7
arm Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 147	Have used b&h in the past when the price difference was great. Currently it is small except for specific items. May be better to buy locally & save the trouble.

19th September 2003	#8
kl241280 Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Old Trafford Posts: 325	wat's the website?

19th September 2003	#9
overcrash Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Hougang Posts: 472	wat's b&h url?

19th September 2003	#11
wacko Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 440	anybody with any idea of what is a good deal at B&H compared to local prices. mind-boggling array of equipment listed on B&H...

20th September 2003	#14
pcwe68 Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: HOME Posts: 315	Actually, what about MO and buy it from store in Singapore like CP, AP or MS or TCW? Will they entertain? I bought a second hand lens from someone here, and when I saw the receipt I realise that AP could give really low price almost $500-$600 cheaper, the seller claim that he bought it together with his friend with total sales of $5K-6K.

21st September 2003	#15
darr Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Hill View Posts: 306	US prices for photogear ain't that cheaper. I buy stuff from US only when not available locally. And note that if you purchase Canon items from US, the warranty will not be honoured here. Some other brands also. Very few companies like HP will honour warranty anywhere. I cant remember exact amount but you pay GST only when total value exceeds S$500.

22nd September 2003	#16
rubric Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Somewhere East Posts: 727	Hey vince123123, Any updates on the MO? I PMd you earlier. Thanks.

23rd September 2003	#18
Minimalis Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Bukit Panjang Posts: 784	For the faxing of CC bit, you can actually scan in both sides of your credit card, save it as a jpeg and send it over to them via email. Done this before.