B&H Photography - Will it get here on time?!

[phsv]

I am stuck in a small bind. I am leaving to Oregon and Washington next Friday (June 20th) and I need to order some stuff from B&H before I head out.

I am going to be placing the order today which means that it won't be process until Monday or maybe tomorrow Saturday if I am lucky. I live in South Texas and I was wondering based on you all's experience, would I be safe to order it w/ UPS 3-5 days or should I pay more and go for the UPS 2 day?

UPS 3-5 days - $12.40
UPS 2 day - $23.00

Thanks for your input.

[hommedars]

UPS 2 day

[phsv]

Well I think i might end up doing 2 day and end up ordering on Monday morning or Sunday evening. That way I can try to collect some more funds before ordering. :)

[rdricks]

Definitely 2 day. B&H will get the items shipped promptly. But recently I have had issues with UPS where they will "Sit" on an item until the designated delivery day. I can track the package to the local distribution center, but I have had instances where it arrives on Fri, but the estimated delivery date is Tuesday. I don't expect weekend delivery, but it should be delivered Monday. They hold it until Tuesday. (In a couple cases I had a second package coming that was to be delivered on Monday, so they made two trips instead of one). That's my recent experience:mad:.

[tim1960]

I vote for the 2 day. I've used them a lot and have not had any problems getting the delivery using the 2 day.

[beepclick]

If the stuff you want is availabe directly from Amazon, I'd go with them. For each item they stock, it will say something like "order in the next XX hours and receive this item by June XX". I've ordered as late as 5 PM and received item the next morning.

For items Amazon offers through 3rd-party, like Adorama, all bets are off on the shipping time.

[cdifoto]

Two-day just in case. Overnight would be even better. You might want to phone in your order...not sure if it could be expedited on the processing side of things that way or not.

[phsv]

Well, I ended up placing my order last night and went for 2-day shipping. Figured I end paying a little more to guarantee or have a better chance of getting here and have some time to play with the equipment before I take it out on the field (Gradient filters).

[phsv]

Yeah, ordering items items that have been available directly from Amazon are great because it usually only takes a few days, even with free shipping; usually around 2-3 days. but at times I have noticed that it takes a bit longer w/ B&H and Adorama mainly becuase of processing and at times it might take a day to process the order.

Just got a confirmation today that my items were shipped and should be receiving them by Wednesday. They were sent in two boxes, so hopefully both make it. :)

BTW, I ended adding a 70-200 f/2.8 IS w/ 77mm B+W UV filter at the last minute. so that added a bit more to the total and to the shipping. :)