B&H are negotiable

I think that the point is that its wonderful that B&H was willing to negotiate on price for a VERY large order, but that does little or nothing for the average user that purchases one, maybe two, items at a time.

Kind of file it under the interesting but useless data file...

BradT0517 wrote in post #3593368
Well it might go better since it is BH and not some russian company. Also, we should probably have a mod or other well trusted person do the order.

You trust mods? Next you will tell me you have a rabbit guarding your lettuce garden.

Quad wrote in post #3603791
You trust mods? Next you will tell me you have a rabbit guarding your lettuce garden.

No my rabbit is gaurding the carrot patch.

BradT0517 wrote in post #3605358
No my rabbit is gaurding the carrot patch.

Yup Ive seen it.

nicksan wrote in post #3576851
Cool...
I was just going to B&H to spend $50,000 on some new gear.

Yeah, baby, finally coming through with my birthday present. And I had almost given up hope. Make it easy, just get me a gift card for the 50 LARGE.

As to the group buy, it's a great idea. I'll hold all the money.

You can trust me. Really, you can.:p

I'd be in for a 500/f4 group buy

MDJAK wrote in post #3605409
Yeah, baby, finally coming through with my birthday present. And I had almost given up hope. Make it easy, just get me a gift card for the 50 LARGE.

As to the group buy, it's a great idea. I'll hold all the money.

You can trust me. Really, you can.:p

Yeah, but you can't be the one to place the order...

$50,000 with an 8.375% sales tax rate would be a whopping $4187.50 in taxes.

So I'll hold the money. Plus, I'm centrally located in Iowa. UPS ground should be cheap and quick to most places. Lastly, I'll only charge a 1% handling fee - and I get all the airline miles on my credit card... much more affordable than that pesky 8.375% sales tax.

group buy?

Shadowplay wrote in post #3616836
Yeah, but you can't be the one to place the order...

$50,000 with an 8.375% sales tax rate would be a whopping $4187.50 in taxes.

So I'll hold the money. Plus, I'm centrally located in Iowa. UPS ground should be cheap and quick to most places. Lastly, I'll only charge a 1% handling fee - and I get all the airline miles on my credit card... much more affordable than that pesky 8.375% sales tax.

So you claim 1% and you get the airline miles sounds like a pretty unfair deal to me. Until I take it into account you the handling the entire opperation.

BradT0517 wrote in post #3617394
So you claim 1% and you get the airline miles sounds like a pretty unfair deal to me. Until I take it into account you the handling the entire opperation.

Well, you'd still have to pay shipping from me to you, and I'm only in for a 500L group buy, so $50,000 is really only 9 or 10 lenses and I have UPS pickup and 4 secretaries at my office that can re-ship everything for me.

Shadowplay wrote in post #3618530
Well, you'd still have to pay shipping from me to you, and I'm only in for a 500L group buy, so $50,000 is really only 9 or 10 lenses and I have UPS pickup and 4 secretaries at my office that can re-ship everything for me.

Guys, leave my $50k alone!!!

Guess the group buy has interest, but no leaders?

If I were to plan a group buy, one of the first things I'd do is make sure I offered BH CASH, certified check actually. Gather all the money and then buy with cash, as BH has to pay maybe 2% to 3% to use credit cards for each purchase. Add that on to any other savings they could offer, and it just might make it worthwhile for people to participate. I'd think if you got a total of a 7% off on each item`that would be both excellent, and doable for BH. Not sure, as the OP didn't say, which makes no sense to post he got a big discount and then not say. National security reasons?

I'd think you wouldn't have to buy just one product either, but could be multiple/any products that BH sells. The glaring issue to overcome is if BH would be willing to do all of this, yet ship items to different addresses. This might be an insurmountable obstacle for both them and us. How do you figure out in advance what shipping charges will be charged to each individual, in advance, so the money comes out right in the end. The only way to get around this would be to ship everything to one centralized location. That person then would need to separate the orders and then reship everything out to each buyer. This would mean two shipping charges for each purchase. Kind of tough one there.

We buy a ton of stuff here on POTN, for sure, as evidenced by some of the monthly "contests" we've held in the past. It would not be out of reach to consider a $100,000 purchase, but the logistics would be a nightmare for the person handling the money and the packaging.

Just a few thoughts that add reality to a pipe dream, a pipe dream that is obtainable, but not without issues.

Would it really be worth it?

The other way would be the group purchase of just one highly demanded item that costs a bunch so that a discount wuld mean real money, such as a 500mm Canon lens. then you run into how many people would want to trust a stranger with that kind of cash? Issues, issues, issues. And yes, I red long ago about the Peleng fiasco, did anyone end up actualy losing their money and never get it back? Damn shame! And I actuay would like to have a Peleng right now, or theSigma 8mm. Oh well.

Joe

I could not disclose the discount due to our agreement with B&H. Sorry, the terms with them are entirely confidential.

Also, I highly doubt that B&H has 2-3% transaction fee for using credit cards. As a merchant that takes credit cards, I can tell you how the system works. The smaller and younger you are as a merchant, the higher your CC fees. There is also dependency on the size of an average transaction. The rates top out at around 2.5% for the VISA, MC, and Discover, and Amex is 3.5%. B&H processes $Billions (yes that's with a B) of orders a year and they have been around since the 70s. I assure you, they are not paying anywhere even remotely close to 2% in CC fees. I would be surprised if they have to pay even 0.5%.

I am not sure what to tell you about organizing a huge buying round here on POTN. I would do it, but I would have to do that as a side of the business, which would put us into reseller category. I don't really want to play that game quite yet. Maybe something official that the owners of POTN could do... complete with banner adds, etc. If some of the savings are pocketed by the POTN owners, could be a nice little chunk of revenue.

I would be in for a 70-200 F2.8 IS

one helpful tip.....B&H will match their competitor's price. I often go there saying I've found prices cheaper elsewhere (i.e. Calumet). They check it out and match......