Hey guys- B&H has the Canon XH-A1's in stock....I went down there today and picked one up. Guy at the store told me 4 were in the store but had many more in their warehouse (Brooklyn, NY)......so get 'em while they're around!

(I already like it better than my Sony FX-1- it sorta feels like a beefed up GL2 with some XL2 bits but for HDV- feels great and smaller than FX-1!)

I ordered from B&H late Sept - they said it might ship today.

Bill ritter

I am upset, they wont get back to me.

It is in stock they have already charged my credit card (two weeks ago) and it probably wont be shipped today.

I will respond to this thread as soon as I hear back from them.

Has anyone recieved a tracking from B&H yet?

Have you contacted B&H customer service?

It's important to familiarize yourself with a dealer's policies before committing to an order. B&H routinely charges on the day of the order, not the day of shipment, so that should not have been a surprise to you. See our sponsors link at http://www.dvinfo.net/sponsors for a list of suggested dealers if you're looking for an alternative to B&H.

I have had B&H ship orders without emailing me a tracking number first. Sometimes the package simply shows up on my doorstep a few days later. They have ALWAYS shipped items as soon as they had them in stock.

B & H said that they 'might' get it shipped tommorow (Tuesday). The guy on the phone said he's pretty sure, but can't guarantee. He said that only rushed order's are shipped the same day, and other's wait. (what?)

It makes no sense to me, considering that regardless of rushed or not, they should have shipped it out today because they had it in stock on Sunday.


I guess this is what you get when you deal with a store that thinks of you like a number, instead of a customer.

All in all I am happy to be getting the camcorder, I just wished it was sooner than I am getting it.

I received an email that my camera was shipped today with a tracking #. I ordered on September 21.

I'm willing to bet the camera is already on it's way to you- B&H is on the Up&Up- there's no scamming with them! I was told they had many more at their warehouse- so be patient- it's coming!!!

"I'm willing to bet the camera is already on it's way to you"

I would actually win the bet then. I called them and they explicitly promised that it would not be shipped today. They guy said that maybe tommorow, but no promise.

I know that it is eventually coming, but the service has been far from great.

I have used B&H for many accessories in the past with no problems but for this camcorder I have been less that impressed with their communication and the speed and times in which they operate.

I actually tried to cancel the order on Friday for not having it in stock, but they were closed.

Then..... Closed Saturday.

Then.....Sunday, the cam became in stock so I was relieved.

Then more waitiing..... Monday, they tell me that it wont be shipped today.

Tommorow I can hope for a tracking, no guarantee.

In the future I will not be doing business with them again.

I guess it all comes down to making the customer feel secure and happy.

Holly, being a native New Yorker I'm a regular customer of B&H. I have 2 friends that work there that I ride motorcycles with on weekends and I have no affiliation with them and have become upset with their (B&H) treatment of me on a few occasions. I think because they are such a big outfit and probably do more than a million $$ per day of business, sometimes the little guys (and gals) like us get tossed about in a way we don't like. They are simply "swamped" with business, if you get a chance to visit their NY store try to do so- it's quite different. There are floating bins on the celing that carry orders all over the stores different areas of specialty. The best way to describe the store is, it's like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory but for electronics!!!! I've spent about $35grand this year alone at that store and I'm not a pro- just a hobbyist who pays with my own cash- no expense accounts here- and I've been "mad" at times....it's just a madhouse there all the time and when I walk-in I feel like a fly on a wall!

I am in no way defending them but more like trying to shed some light on maybe why you've been told what you have. The XH-A1 is a hot item and on Sunday evening I was told they had 10 yet the next morning- 4 were left- it seems at least 6 were sold just the 1st day it was in stock at the actual store (orders are handled in their Brooklyn warehouse from what I understand.)

Well anyway- I guess I'm just trying to calm you down just a bit as I get hot-headed when I feel I'm not being treated right- once you get that camera in your hands you'll realize the short wait was worth it.
Congrats on the camera- I hope you'll like it as much as the current owners seem to like it (myself included.)

I just got an email back from B&H saying that the reason for the delay was because it was out of stock (YES THAT IS WHAT THEY SAID JUST A FEW MINUTES AGO) and that they should have some tommorow to ship out, maybe. I explicity asked them on the phone if they had it in stock and the guy on the phone said yes we have them. Otherwise I would have cancelled the order.

I hate getting various information from people.

So maybe I will get it shipped out tommorow.

I luv NYC, greatest city in the world and I luv New Yorkers but Holly, your story is Deja Vu' what I went through with them.

Yes they are up 'n up but they were a royal hassle for me.

Whilst i can understand people's annoyance at being badly-informed or getting contradicting info, i do think ultimately patience pays and content yourselves with the thought that you're getting a dynamite cutting-edge camera that very very few people in the world have currently got and an extra 24 or 48hrs isn't going to make a huge difference.(however painful it may feel!)
The important thing I think is that it's on the way and you made the right hardware choice for yourself.

It could well be (a guess) that B&H are getting the same "run-around" from *their* suppliers and are as aggrieved as you are !

(no personal affiliation at all with B&H).

All you have to do is walk in there for a minute and you feel like an ant in an ant colony with busy ant-workers all around you. It's always a frantic pace and they have a huge staff behind the scenes filling orders etc- it's truly an enormous business going on in there. I just go there because they are the closest and have fair pricing.

Like Chris said earlier, if you feel they didn't treat you right- there are a few site sponsors that have excellent feedback from users here who swear by them (with excellent reputations) -you can always try them next time for more personable service.

Let us know how you like the camera!

I ordered my XHA1 from B&H in September too. Received a tracking number a few hours ago. Holly- I would be furious if I were you. Combine slow service with the runaround you've been getting and that's enough for me to never use them again. Not with all the great reviews I hear about ZGC and some other smaller stores.

I really must plug Zotz Digital, a DVInfo sponsor. We just ordered $15k worth of stuff from them and they were great. Much smaller outfit. I always get Brian on the phone. They were the first to have the XL H1s when they came out.

I ordered mine 25 Sept and I got my tracking number today from B&H, supposed to arrive Wednesday.

Holly, when did you order yours?

Thanks,

Bill

I have had nothing but good experiences with B&H - ordering, shipping, tracking, everything. The sales guy last time told me they have upwards of 400,000 items in their inventory and i was amazed... I've always come away from them feeling very cared-for.

I ordered an A1 from B&H on Sunday when I saw they were in stock. The on-line Order-Status says 'Processing' (which I interpret as, "you're in the queue"). Have not heard anything from them yet (aside from automated email confirmation) and my credit card has not yet been charged although I did see somewhere on their site that they would charge my credit card before shipping (didn't think that was legal). I have had good experiences with them in the past.

From this thread it sounds like I might be in for a wait.

I ordered one yesterday around noon and I received an email this morning saying it shipped today with tracking number.

I got an email from B&H today requesting that I call their Verification Department. They said they want me to fax a copy of my Utility Bill. (I moved two months ago). Can't argue with that.

Finally it got sent out. I am happy that I am getting the cam, but I am not happy at the service provided.

Marc, have you received your camera from B&H yet? I put in the discount code, and I noticed that the product number was not a manufacturer number, but a B&H product number. This leads me to believe that it could be a grey-market camera. I'm wondering if it actually is just a discount number, or if it is an imported camera. The $200 off looks pretty nice, but wouldn't be justified if I could not get a US warranty.

Also- does anybody know if B&H offers an extended warranty?

Anybody know about B&H? I would call them tonight but they're closed.

Finally it got sent out. I am happy that I am getting the cam, but I am not happy at the service provided.
Holly:
I am glad the camera's gotten to you and on behalf of B&H apologize for your inconvenience and frustration.

Andrew: B&H is among the best of the mail oder photo/video houses. Nice showroom too if you ever get to NYC.

Don

I know that occasionally somebody has a problem with B&H; it's probably inevitable with the volume they do. But I've been buying everything from a $20,000 camera to C-stands and memory cards for 6 or 7 years now, and the service has always been perfect. These cameras are probably selling like cheatsheets before a final exam for an MBA, and since they're fresh off the boat, there probably was some confusion within the store. I know that mine's on the truck headed this way--don'tcha love that UPS web tracking service.

Marc, have you received your camera from B&H yet? I put in the discount code, and I noticed that the product number was not a manufacturer number, but a B&H product number. This leads me to believe that it could be a grey-market camera.

Also- does anybody know if B&H offers an extended warranty?

I received a US camera with US warranty. It's the real deal.

For an extended warranty, you can buy a Mack warranty from B&H. When I lived close to the service center, that made sense. Now, I just take advantage of my credit card plan, which automatically doubles the manufacturer's warranty, up to one additional year. Thus, you can send it to Canon should the camera break down after their warranty period. This really works, since I have a repair job going on with an appliance purchased with a cc.

I'm getting the extra year of warranty, too, with my credit card company. Should be arriving any time.

How do you get the extra year warranty via credit card- do you have to call it in and register?

I think Andrew is referring to the extended warranty program offered by some of the credit card companies when you make a purchase using their card.

Here's some info on the American Express program:

https://www124.americanexpress.com/cards/cda/dynamic.jsp?name=BuyersAssurance_ALLCCSG_SharedDetails&type=intBenefitDetail

There are some limitations however; you are not covered if you used the camera professionally unless you purchase it with an American Express Business Card.

https://www124.americanexpress.com/cards/benefits/includes/pdf/buyersAssurance2003.pdf

Also see the following thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=68675

You can buy the Mack warranty via credit card from Zotz Digital. I think it's about $179.

On the Mack Warranty. I had a point-and-shoot stolen (after 6 months) and Mack transfers its warranty to my simiarly valued replacement point-and-shoot. Did this over the phone, no hassel.

Last year I sent them a GL2 (under warranty) with zoom and rewind problems and they had it back in about a week (I think) in good working order.

Small point maybe... but I noticed that B&H doesn't list an HDV tape and an SD card in their XH-A1 kit. Canon and the other suppliers I've looked at do. Did you get them with your camera from B&H?

Brad,

The SD card is a supplied accessory from the factory. The included master series tape was also in the box but isn't listed in the manual as a "suppied accessory". I think it's just a promotional from Canon.

Thanks Wade.

I always click on the "what's in the box" button and noticed that B&H didn't mention them although Texas, J&R, Amazon, and the Canon site did. Somebody was talking about open boxes and I was just wondering...

I've ordered from B&H before and never been unhappy, even when I returned an LCD for bad pixels 3 times. Ended up getting my money back and not having to pay for shipping. Actually pretty good service.

I bought mine from B&H and the card and tape are included. However, you might consider TapeworksTexas--they've had a free bag deal when you buy an A1--it's a $150 bag.

I ordered my XH-A1 from B&H last week and apparently they are including a Porta Brace "Field Production Vault" case. Didn't even know I was getting it until I checked the shippment e-mail they sent me. Not sure I even need it, but it wil be nice to have.

I came across Zotz after seaching for a Libec tripod. Great service from Brian who always answered my questions via email quickly. I will order my Libec tripod sometime this week.

I got the Libec from Brian at Zotz--great customer service there and fun to talk to. It's unusual to talk to a sales type person who actually knows something about the gear and is interested. He recommended the Panasonic AMQ tape stock, which he also sells at a reasonable price (though I get it locally for about the same). Zotz apparently sells a lot of Canons, and he said tape problems with this stock are almost nonexistent--the only dropouts he's heard about come from a wildlife photographer who changes tape in dirty, dusty windy conditions. This corroborates what I've seen in DV tape dropouts too because the only ones I've seen came from guys who practiced lousy tape handling procedures out in the dirt.

Brian recommended the Libec 22 for the A1, and it's a perfect fit. Very lightweight and collapses down pretty small. My purchase of the A1 is all about small, light and fast, so I wanted a much lighter tripod then the normal ones I use. This one is not bullet-proof and you have to watch the end of your pans. You can't just let go like with an O'Connor and expect the head to come to a perfect stop. With a little practice, you can make perfect moves.