Anyone Use Amazon?

Another option is to look for recognizable stores (like Adorama or B&H) on eBay. Using PayPal, it typically takes half the time to check out on eBay as it does on other sites.

Shawn_BS wrote in post #17662874
I legit laughed out loud at this

I kinda did too. Had to do a double take.

Use to buy lots of stuff on Amazon. Now it is cheaper stuff only since they started charging tax in my state as they apparently built a computer center here. (even the cheaper stuff often isn't too much cheaper than local now.) Oh well, lost sales for them and more sales for places like Adorama and other "stret price" vendors from CPW.

The prime membership seems to be losing much of it's original appeal. They seem to be focusing more into the media aspect, which is NOT why I bought Prime and as a result of those trends from Amazon, I believe their prices are suffering.

Forgive me in advance for my ignorance, but I don't get what is so funny. I have been purchasing photo equipment since the early 1980's from brick & mortar shops, mail order and (much later) online retailers. I actually purchased items from B&H way back before they even had a website.

Throughout the years I have had the unfortunate experiences of purchasing what I thought were new camera bodies, lenses and flash units only to find out they were either demo or returned items. Ritz Camera was notorious for this. I have also experienced the shady bait and switch tactics from New York retailers.

Many people purchase photo equipment then return it for whatever reason. Retailers would go broke if they had to take a hit on accepting all these returns so it makes sense that they would resell it to the next person. My gripe with this is that I personally don't want someone's returned item. I am paying full retail price, therefore I expect no less than brand new merchandise. It would only be fair if retailers would be more honest and add a label indicating that the items were open boxes plus offer their items at a slightly lower than retail price. While some retailers practice this, other more unethical retailers don't; they simply resell their returned/demo items as new.

When browsing different photo related items on Amazon I have come across "order fulfilled by..." and the name of some retailer. A few of these retailers are listed as 47th Street Photo and Ritz Camera. I would never buy from these two places again, so I would not trust them to fulfill my order even though it is backed by Amazon. When I came across items sold by Amazon with no retailer listed it was natural that I would want to know more, specifically where Amazon is getting this photo item I want. Do they pull their items straight from their own distribution warehouse, or do they simply get it from any of their retail associates (like Ritz camera or 47th Street Photo)?

As for Amazon Prime membership, I too have been debating whether I should renew it or not now that they charge sales tax in my state (FL). On items costing more than $400 it makes sense to buy from B&H now as shipping sometimes is cheaper than the 6% tax on certain items. Also, Amazon's Prime movies/TV shows aren't really all that great compared to Hulu or Netflix.

A couple things to remember when ordering from Amazon.

1) If it says Prime shipping right below the price, it ships directly from an Amazon warehouse.
2) Below the price it will say who it is sold by. (on high ticket items I'd rather only deal with Amazon. if BH or Adorama has it listed, I'd rather just go through them.
3) If Amazon ships you a product that has been opened, just call them and they will replace it at your option. (They sell the opened stuff as warehouse deals, or locally through auction sites it appears)
4) if the sold by isn't Amazon, you can click on the link below that and the sellers are all listed and you can scroll to see what the Amazon price is and order directly through Amazon.

I recently did the Pixma Pro-100 and paper rebate as Amazon had the printer for $299. I ordered the printer and paper and then realized the paper was through a different vendor even though it had the prime shipping. I cancelled the order and reordered the printer and then found the paper through Amazon for like $2.50 more by scrolling through the offerings. Have to keep an eye out for those things. I think I would have been screwed on the rebate had I not noticed.

starlights wrote in post #17662675
I would rate Amazon as my #1 choice except now they charge tax which increases the price quite a bit.

At least here in AZ, if Amazon sells something, they are required to charge state sales tax, as their warehouse in considered to be a business presence. This was hashed out a couple of years ago with several states who did not want to "lose" the tax that they would have collected from an in state sale. Many businesses were behind this as well. If Amazon fulfills (and ships) an order, sales tax is not applied. Both the state and some cities, through statutes or ordinances, require a resident who makes a purchase where no sales tax is paid (could be on line or from a state with no sales tax) to submit the forms and pay the "use tax".

IShootThings wrote in post #17662869
.....If you're looking for a good price on product (and no sales tax if applicable), I'd choose Greentoe, Adorama or B&H in that order.

You know that GreenToe is an affiliate, not a retailer, right?

I went ahead and ordered a lens from Amazon. Just got it today. Seems new, no sign of use. All the warranty info is in the box.

Thanks everyone!

I have bought all of my camera gear (except for one lens) from Amazon (sold by and fulfilled by) and I will continue to do so. I've been very pleased and have had zero issues.

I think at Amazon (Sold by Amazon, not 3rd party) they sell the return items via Amazon Warehouse for a little discount. If by any chance, you get a product that looks used, call up their customer service and they will send out a replacement right away.

Link to Amazon Warehouse : http://www.amazon.com …36162&pf_rd_i=1​0158976011

snegron wrote in post #17663381
Forgive me in advance for my ignorance, but I don't get what is so funny. I have been purchasing photo equipment since the early 1980's from brick & mortar shops, mail order and (much later) online retailers. I actually purchased items from B&H way back before they even had a website.....

Your thread title is chuckle-inducing. It's like you are asking about some new or unknown web site that you are considering buying from.

HelenOster wrote in post #17664433
You know that GreenToe is an affiliate, not a retailer, right?

I know that GreenToe is not a retailer, but please tell us how that is significant to us? They certainly offer the lowest price in many cases. Thanks.

mpix345 wrote in post #17665300
I know that GreenToe is not a retailer, but please tell us how that is significant to us? They certainly offer the lowest price in many cases. Thanks.

The difference is that Greentow isn't selling you the product, the actual retailers are. If you have good service with Adorama on one transaction and you get your stuff shipped same day, you can expect that for most all transactions. With Greentow, you may get a product one day from C store, and the next purchase it comes from S store. there may not be any consistency as how quickly it arrives or ships, either. One should factor this in when choosing who to spend their dollars.

mikeinctown wrote in post #17666036
The difference is that Greentow isn't selling you the product, the actual retailers are. If you have good service with Adorama on one transaction and you get your stuff shipped same day, you can expect that for most all transactions. With Greentow, you may get a product one day from C store, and the next purchase it comes from S store. there may not be any consistency as how quickly it arrives or ships, either. One should factor this in when choosing who to spend their dollars.

If you need something quickly, where same day shipment is necessary, you probably want to avoid GreenToe. Their business model requires a bit of patience. The price you offer to purchase for may not be accepted for several days, and may end up being negotiated if no retailers accept it. They are not about "quick". They are about "lowest price".

The comment by IShootThings comparing them to Adorama and B&H was about price, not ship time.

So why should I care that GreenToe is not a retailer?

mpix345 wrote in post #17665300
I know that GreenToe is not a retailer, but please tell us how that is significant to us? They certainly offer the lowest price in many cases. Thanks.

My point is that it isn't a matter of choosing GreenToe OR Adorama. We fill a lot of the GreenToe bids.......

HelenOster wrote in post #17667047
My point is that it isn't a matter of choosing GreenToe OR Adorama. We fill a lot of the GreenToe bids.......

So we should just order from Adorama directly because you might be filling the GreenToe order anyway?

Are you suggesting that we call Adorama and ask for better pricing? The couple of things I've purchased through GreenToe were markedly lower in price than the big 3 (Adorama, B&H, Amazon) that I usually default to, and who generally are priced pretty similarly.