I finally took the plunge and ordered my GL2 today. After much searching around, I had read several very positive reports here at dvinfo about this company. They had a great price and I really felt confident ordering from them.

I read through their policy multiple times, and from what I understood, they would imediately run my CC, get it authorized, then pull the item and ship it out to me. Seemed pretty straight forward.

1. I placed my order early this morning (Wednesday) at around 10am pacific time, which should have been around 1pm on the east coast.

2. I was hoping to have the cam by this weekend, so I paid for the extra charge for 2nd day delivery, which was $80 whopping bucks. I could have fed-ex'd my 2 year old for less than that, but hey, I was getting a great deal on the camera, so I didn't complain too much.

3. I got an email right back after ordering confirming.

4. I checked later in the evening to make sure they'd sent my tracking number, but I had no new email from them. Then I got to really reading over the first email they had sent. Look at this quote:

"To insure the best handling of your order please allow 48-72 hours for the processing and the shipping of your order."

What the h@ll does THAT mean? That I paid them $80 for a shipping job that might cost them 20, and they're going to sit on my order for at least 48 hours?!?!?

And the paragraph following the above...

"Please Do Not call or email us for status or tracking number as this will only delay the shipping of your order."

For 80 d@mn dollars I'll call however many times it takes to get my order out the door. How is my making a phone call going to delay my order??? Are they going to see to it that my package just happens to "miss" the truck when FedEx stops by??

None of this garbage was on thier website. They chose to tell me all this AFTER I'd placed the order.

So what should I do about this? I'm kinda worried now. I can choose to sit and wait until early next week to realize they STILL haven't shipped my order, or I can just put a block on my CC from this vendor, send them a cancelation email, and order it elsewhere? I know I can get overnight shipping from anywhere else for the $80 I paid buydig and it will still be here on Friday.

I've read lots of good things about them here on this site and other forums, they have great reviews on other boards, they are cnet certified, and so on - so this may turn out okay - but this email I got just screams "shady salesman".

Thanks for listening to the rant and appreciate any advice.

I ordered my Panny DV53 from buydig with no problems -- in fact, it arrived a day earlier than expected. I got the same email about how calling will delay your order that you did -- although I seem to recall seeing the "allow X amount of time for processing" before ordering.

Processing time is usually typical with most retailers -- 2 day shipping from Amazon.com means 2 days from the day they ship it; there's still a day or two processing time before that. Personally, I would probably expect 2nd day delivery to get to me by Monday (at least 24 hours to process; it might not ship until late Thursday or early Friday) at the earliest, even from a reputable seller.

And even reputable dealers can strain the idea of processing time -- don't bother ordering from B&H next week, for example: they're closed for Sukkos.

I understand your frustration. There are a lot of shady camera shops out there. My one experience with buydig was fine, for what that's worth. Even with shipping, the DV53 was almost $100 less than retail price. I ordered late on a Thursday and IIRC they shipped (Fed Ex Saver) on Monday and I had it by Wednesday

As for your shipping cost, I do know that B&H sent my DVC80 via UPS next day air for $73.00.

But remember that retailers that offer producs at very low prices aren't doing it because they love people. Somewhere along the line something gets sacrificed -- maybe customer service, maybe low-cost shipping, maybe manpower (a small staff costs less, but it will increase processing time). Nothing unexpected occurred during my transaction w/ buydig -- except for the fact that no one called me to pressure me into buying accessories, that was a pleasent surprise!

I'm sure if you want to cancel your order, they would do so for you. And when shipping is a major priority, I'd recommend biting the bullet and buying through B&H -- like I said, in order to offer cheap prices, places like buydig have to cut corners.

I don't mean to sound like an apologist for buydig -- if they've screwed you, by all means cancel that order ASAP.

I got my GL2 from buydig.com in the spring with the Fedex Saver shipping and it arrived a day earlier then I was expecting if I recall correctly. It worked out fine for me, hope it does for you as well.

Cheers,
Huey

They're legit, but I think they're a bait and switch company. . .I got my XL1s from them, but somehow with shipping and a warranty that they convinced my I couldn't live without, the price went up from the alleged $3400 or so up to $3800.

Haha. Wait a couple of more days before losing it. (You'll probably get it on Monday.)

I didn't get the 'bait and switch' treatment and got a good price from a company with a decent reseller rating. Placed the order online and they called the next day to confirm info but didn't try and sell me anything else (I just got the camcorder from them). But for guarenteed good service go with one of the DVinfo.net sponsors.

Cheers,
Huey

Silly me. . .I ordered over the phone.

I got my GL2 there, and it came a day early,,,no "bait and switch" either. I was happy as a pig in sh@t...no worries, mate

"Expedited shipping" usually gains you 2 days... and that's about it... sometimes only 1 day...

Before B&H went UPS I could order stuff on Monday or Tuesday and have it for sure by Friday... now for whatever reason, they keep telling me I'm getting 3-5 day delivery and UPS has never been less then a week. Ordering on Monday means arriving on Monday.

Sure it bums me out that I have to plan the need of an item by an extra weekend, but I really appreciate JOHN BRITT's comments about price vs. service.

Everybody with a job wants great pay and wants to pay the lowest possible dollar for everything... I've been bitching about the same thing for years, but here it is for anybody that doesn't get it... In our efforts to be sure we are paying the absolute minimum for everything, we are reshaping our own pay and job security... when you consider that we in the developed world enjoy a higher standard of living then the other 90% of the planet you realize that there is ALWAYS somebody who'd love your job at half the pay...

Mom and Pop shops that offer incredible service are forced to close by places which sell for less... all because we are all guilty of wanting to save the last possible dollar. Now even "Sears" fits this point... I'm not saying I'm above any of this... I'm just pointing it out.

With an item such as a gl2 you can save hundreds, but on some other stuff you may want to knowingly buy from a store you LIKE, realizing that they may be a couple bucks high... because I get tired of people bitching about stores like WalMart while not being able to pay a dollar more for a "Walmart item" someplace else.

Sorry, it's early and I'm tired... don't panic, the gl2 will be there soon.

I prefer to buy big ticket items from places with real live people so I can get customer service. I think you guys that buy from the discount faceless internet sellers are a little crazy (no offense meant). I like to know that if my item breaks, I can go into a real place and scream my friggen head off until they make me happy.
For Example: buydig.com sells the Digital Rebel I want for $1 less than B&H. On the other hand ( if I lived in the area), I could go into B&H and have people to talk to.
I'm not trying to push the site's sponsors specificaly, but really, they aren't much more money, and there are real people there that will give you real customer service if you need it.

they're legit...i've ordered several HIGH dollar items from them. they take a little longer than most places, and, their feedback on status is really poor. I wouldn't worry. they'll come thru.
get some patience, man.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I found even more info about buydig after I posted above. Lots of really bad feedback about people not being able to contact them. I realized that if I do get this item and there's a problem with it, I'm in for a big hassle.

I called my CC company and they hadn't recieved the charge yet, so I put a block on the card and emailed cancellation to buydig, explaining my concerns. I haven't gotten an email back to confirm my cancellation or make any amends to my concerns. I'm not surprised.

I ended up placing the order with B&H this morning (whom I've ordered from lots of other times). As usual everything was fine. I actually got OVERNIGHT shipping all the way accross the country in AZ for $49. I paid about 1/2 the price for my extra batteries also. All in all, my total was right at $150 more than my price from buydig - but that's not too much to pay for peace of mind.

Thanks again everyone.