Why is BH closed on Saturday?

S.Horton wrote in post #13009671
They lose no business.

They earned their brand power. If they were open two days a week they would still be my first choice.

Not mine, as that would mean horrible customer service.

That being said i have no problem with them closing on Shabbath, its a friday/saturday thing, theres no shipping on during those times anyways. Besides, it probably saved me a few impulse buys lol.

I don't agree with their beliefs but applaud them for holding their own personal values above money.

tonylong wrote in post #13020972
Henry, if you see this, how long ago did you become active as a B&H Internet presence? For the life of me I can't nail a date down for my activity.

Thanks for your kind words. I started at B&H in April 1994 as director of employee training. At the time we had one chap visiting CompuServe's two photo forums via a text-only modem connection. He spent an hour a day at this, every morning. He didn't enjoy it so the boss asked me to take it on since I had a couple of decades experience as a professional photographer and also was able to produce a reasonably well-crafted written sentence.

So I stated on C'Serve using WinCIM and a computer recently upgraded from Windows 3.1 to WFWG 3.11. Those of you around then recall this was a MAJOR advance in the Windows OS and widely embraced by users everywhere.

From there I expanded to AOL and (here's a blast from the past) Prodigy, co-owned by IBM & Sears. (Everything IBM knew about retail and everything Sears knew about computers). As terrible as it was, Prodigy was the first to roll Netscape out to users, giving us a GUI for web browsing. Credit given where due.

It was a short step to the Usenet newsgroups. There were about a dozen rec.photo groups back then and the conversations really ran from the sublime to the ridiculous. I recall one guy who hid behind the nickname "liam@ork.net" who got irked one year because we weren't in the NY Daily News or NY Post pre-Christmas shopping special (because we weren't advertisers) and, overlooking that we didn't and don't advertise in any daily newspapers, took it upon himself to wage a jihad. Good times.

All this was before we had any www presence. That started when I begged for a FAQ because I tired of answering the question, "Do you take AmEx?" which I got a dozen times per week. We didn't then but do now, BTW. From the FAQ we found that we could, via a relatively simple plug-in, convert the very first edition of our SourceBook to html. That's when we started posting products with features, specs, images and so on.

From little acorns, to mighty oaks.

Just a small world experience, but a couple years back while living in Tokyo, I was at the Yodabashi camera store in Akihabara when two somewhat elderly ladies approached me to ask about iPhones. They turned out to be Americans looking for a deal on the phone. Aside from informing them about contract/usage issues, I basically told them that they would be better off using B&H's online service. One of the women then responded, "BH? We're from New York, we know the owner." Of course, I told them that they should see if they could snag a discount.

Anyway, I was in Bangkok when I ordered an Epson 2400 from B&H, and to this day, I remain impressed how quickly the beast arrived (particularly given the inherent obstacles of the Thai postal system). And although while subsequently living in Tokyo, replete with great camera stores, I still needed some US-based items (Canon 7NE new was about US$400 to US$500 less than Yodabashi's offering), and B&H always promptly delivered the products.

While I'm B&H centric, I've heard great things about Adorama, and NYC, my current joint, is lucky to have two of the world's best photography stores; Saturday's closures are a small price to pay.

henryp wrote in post #13024090
Thanks for your kind words. I started at B&H in April 1994 as director of employee training. At the time we had one chap visiting CompuServe's two photo forums via a text-only modem connection. He spent an hour a day at this, every morning. He didn't enjoy it so the boss asked me to take it on since I had a couple of decades experience as a professional photographer and also was able to produce a reasonably well-crafted written sentence.

So I stated on C'Serve using WinCIM and a computer recently upgraded from Windows 3.1 to WFWG 3.11. Those of you around then recall this was a MAJOR advance in the Windows OS and widely embraced by users everywhere.

From there I expanded to AOL and (here's a blast from the past) Prodigy, co-owned by IBM & Sears. (Everything IBM knew about retail and everything Sears knew about computers). As terrible as it was, Prodigy was the first to roll Netscape out to users, giving us a GUI for web browsing. Credit given where due.

It was a short step to the Usenet newsgroups. There were about a dozen rec.photo groups back then and the conversations really ran from the sublime to the ridiculous. I recall one guy who hid behind the nickname "liam@ork.net" who got irked one year because we weren't in the NY Daily News or NY Post pre-Christmas shopping special (because we weren't advertisers) and, overlooking that we didn't and don't advertise in any daily newspapers, took it upon himself to wage a jihad. Good times.

All this was before we had any www presence. That started when I begged for a FAQ because I tired of answering the question, "Do you take AmEx?" which I got a dozen times per week. We didn't then but do now, BTW. From the FAQ we found that we could, via a relatively simple plug-in, convert the very first edition of our SourceBook to html. That's when we started posting products with features, specs, images and so on.

From little acorns, to mighty oaks.

Thanks for the memories, Henry! Heh! Those were the days!

The '90s were pretty "exciting" as we saw all the technology for the personal computer rolling out. Even though it took me awhile to upgrade my home from dial-up stuff (and bulletin boards and such) to broadband, still at work it was a bit of a paradise. The place I worked (HP) was immersed in the technological revolution -- not just the computer stuff but led the inkjet revolution back then as well as put out scanners of various sorts, so a lot of us were getting into digital images a number of years before we had even heard of a digital camera (at least one that wasn't some mythical government beast).

And then the Internet, the strides that were made! Prior to the WWW making a splash, my Internet time (and my working system) was Unix -- we tended to look at Windows in the 3.0 time as, well, a plaything. But Unix was a genuine playground for us geeks, and since the Internet was native to Unix, well, the sky was the limit! So all the Usenet stuff was active, alive and well before Windows had really "figured it out".

And yeah, those Usenet characters in the unmodified newsgroup ranged from being hilarious to ridiculous to downright disgusting! But it was all fun and, like here, the amount of info and help you could pick out was pretty amazing.

And yeah, I remember Henry back in those days and took note that he was a valuable help and contributor, and so it's a pleasure and a nice memory whenever he pops in here!

I just gave BH another $8,000 yesterday. I retract my last statement, they don't lose any money at all =p

I bought the new Canon 300mm F2.8L mkII =p

BLD_007 wrote in post #13036545
I just gave BH another $8,000 yesterday. I retract my last statement, they don't lose any money at all =p

I bought the new Canon 300mm F2.8L mkII =p

You lucky guy! Whew! I want one but y'know..gotta have groceries and tax money and boring stuff like that. Please post pics you take in the lens section when you can.

Very interesting history, Henry. I remember shopping in B&H before the "superstore, when it was in the "teens" in Manhattan; don't remember the exact street, but remember it was a free for all at the counters with ten deep. I bought my first video camera there in the early 80's.

I lived for a short time in Forest Hills in 1981-82 and remember IBM opening a retail computer store on Queens Boulevard. My wife and I went in and drooled over the computers. They were thousands of dollars, had dual floppy drives. no hard drives, and were just out of reach for the average person.

I then went to B&H and bought my Zeiss 10x40 BGA rubber armor coated binoculars for the then princely sum of $500. In 1981. My wife couldn't believe they cost so much.

I still have them.

Many thanks to Henry and Helen. They are invaluable assets on this forum and always there to help and lend a hand.

henryp wrote in post #13024090
Thanks for your kind words. I started at B&H in April 1994 as director of employee training. At the time we had one chap visiting CompuServe's two photo forums via a text-only modem connection. He spent an hour a day at this, every morning. He didn't enjoy it so the boss asked me to take it on since I had a couple of decades experience as a professional photographer and also was able to produce a reasonably well-crafted written sentence.

So I stated on C'Serve using WinCIM and a computer recently upgraded from Windows 3.1 to WFWG 3.11. Those of you around then recall this was a MAJOR advance in the Windows OS and widely embraced by users everywhere.

From there I expanded to AOL and (here's a blast from the past) Prodigy, co-owned by IBM & Sears. (Everything IBM knew about retail and everything Sears knew about computers). As terrible as it was, Prodigy was the first to roll Netscape out to users, giving us a GUI for web browsing. Credit given where due.

It was a short step to the Usenet newsgroups. There were about a dozen rec.photo groups back then and the conversations really ran from the sublime to the ridiculous. I recall one guy who hid behind the nickname "liam@ork.net" who got irked one year because we weren't in the NY Daily News or NY Post pre-Christmas shopping special (because we weren't advertisers) and, overlooking that we didn't and don't advertise in any daily newspapers, took it upon himself to wage a jihad. Good times.

All this was before we had any www presence. That started when I begged for a FAQ because I tired of answering the question, "Do you take AmEx?" which I got a dozen times per week. We didn't then but do now, BTW. From the FAQ we found that we could, via a relatively simple plug-in, convert the very first edition of our SourceBook to html. That's when we started posting products with features, specs, images and so on.

From little acorns, to mighty oaks.

That Leica Freedom train is an amazing video. Thank you for posting that. Never heard of it. Makes me want to go support them and get an S2.

I presonally admire any company, whether I believe their views or not, that will stand up for what they believe, enough to lose a few dollars. I use Adorama, but still a hats off to B&H for standing for what you believe.

CameraClicker wrote in post #13038230
I presonally admire any company, whether I believe their views or not, that will stand up for what they believe, enough to lose a few dollars. I use Adorama, but still a hats off to B&H for standing for what you believe.

Just so you know - & don't have a wasted journey - while you can place an online order at Adorama ('tho it won't be processed 'til Sunday), the Adorama b&m store is completely closed on Saturdays......

S.Horton wrote in post #13009671
They lose no business.

They earned their brand power. If they were open two days a week they would still be my first choice.

Wrong, they lost my business several times when I went to buy something on their website and it was "down." I went elsewhere - every time. The do lose business, but it is probably minimal and definitely not something they can measure or even know about.

CalPiker wrote in post #13043683
Wrong, they lost my business several times when I went to buy something on their website and it was "down." I went elsewhere - every time. The do lose business, but it is probably minimal and definitely not something they can measure or even know about.

Its only down on Saturday "unless its a holiday". Even if you did order something, it would not be shipped till Monday. This goes for all online websites.

B & H is and probably always will be my favorite electronics store, but my most recent purchase was an exception. I've been wanting to upgrade to a 5D MK II ever since it came out, but have been hanging back hoping for a better deal. I finally decided not to wait any longer and went to B & H with the intention of ordering one, taking advantage of their 6-month no-interest financing. While there it occurred to me that I remembered that Best Buy had 18-month no-interest financing, and although I doubted that they stocked this camera I decided to take a look at their site first. Lo and behold they had it, and at the same price as B & H and no shipping charges. Ran into a couple of snags, such as having to get a Best Buy Credit Card, and then after it was approved to get the limit raised from $1550 to $3000, but accomplished that fairly easily, so the camera is now on its way to me.

I normally pay cash for everything, but anytime I can get no-interest financing I'll take it.

Problem with no interest financing is if you are so much as a day late with your payment it's a game changer and the interest can go upwards of 30 percent and more and egregious late fees. If you are scrupulous then it's fine