So, I have been in contact with Chris Chase, the general manager over the past week or so. It all started with a typo on their website. I emailed them and made them aware that to date, there is no 50mm 1.2 II like their site was saying.
I get an email back from Mr. Chase saying it was fixed and had asked if I had any further questions. (I didn't even look at his title until just now before posting this. I honestly just figured he was one of the IT guys that is in control of the website.)
Anyway, I emailed him back inquiring about the estimated arrival date of their next 5D Mk II shipment. He emailed me as soon as they came in. I found one elsewhere for cheaper and asked if he would price match and he declined but thanked me for the opportunity to ask him. Since I saved money on the body, I wanted to get the grip, an extra battery, more memory cards and other small accessories. I noticed that they had their grip listed at $299.94. I emailed Mr. Chase back asking if they'd price match BH at $275.95. Not even two hours later he responds letting me know the price had been updated to remain competitive. They even beat BH by a penny haha.
Being more towards the west coast, it is beneficial both money and time wise to order from Canoga if they have the item in stock and at a nice price. I would have paid the extra $25 for the grip if he would have said no because I can get ground shipping which takes just 3 days compared to 5 days from BH via ground. Upgrading to 3 day select ups the shipping price - maybe not by $25 in all cases, but still... for the most part, it is worth it for me to order from Canoga.
Thumbs up - I just wanted to share my experience. Obviously the battery is backordered right now - along with the lens pen I got - but that shouldnt take long to get in. Even the 4GB Extreme III CF cards were backordered but Mr. Chase said they were expecting a shipment of those today - so they should ship soon.
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