Still unavailable

[Lynne Whelden]

Today I got an email notice from one of the forum sponsors, B&H Photo, that the Hero 3 is "still" unavailable. Anybody know the reason why, months after its supposed release? Are their standards different from other retailers?

[John Forsythe]

I realize that B&H is a sponsor, but I was able to walk into BestBuy and purchase one.

[Lee Mullen]

Wonder why this, the GH3 and BMCC are slow? Manufacturers should not showcase any product unless they are going to be available with a certain reasonable timeframe. Not good enough.

[John Forsythe]

But the GoPro3 is available. I can understand if you want to buy from a certain retailer but let's be a little bit more balanced in your outrage. Admit you want to buy a certain product from a certain retailer before you wholesale suggest a product isn't available when I bought one on an impulse by at BestBuy.

The GH3 isn't supposed to be available until mid December, again let's be a bit more honest about your outrage.

Ghost and limited releases of products ranging from CPU's, motherboards, etc are not at all uncommon in any semiconductor industry.

I'm not trying to start any discord esp since I'm "new" but I felt this is something that should be out in the open.

[Ian Newland]

Could not agree more John, HD3 blacks have been available for weeks in limited batches and for those with preorder, USA, Australia, UK,, mostly from the large " box" retailers, but also some smaller ones.

Our forum has videos and tests done by ordinary members with macro attachments, underwater filters, battery life tests, the lists go on.

Google search "GoPro HD3 in stock" and you will find them.

[Lynne Whelden]

My guess (and I'm surprised nobody floated this hypothesis yet) is that retailers like B&H, who have a generous return-policy (30 days or even longer during the holiday season), don't want the headache of dealing with an admittedly "buggy" camera.
They're probably waiting for GP to get their act together. Other retailers have different (some would say lower) standards.

[Derek Reich]

I wouldn't agree with that at all. Best Buy has a return policy equal to or even more generous than B&H, and they've had the GP3 in stock for weeks. I bought two from my local BB (which is not even one of the larger ones) almost two weeks ago. They're also in stock at at least one local non-chain camera store. As for being buggy, that remains to be seen... but so far (fingers crossed) I have had no problems with the cameras or the wifi's.

[Damian Heffernan]

I was checking stores daily and when the hero3's turned up they we're selling out almost instantly. One shop had 11 pre-ordered and we're expecting 25 in a shipment but only received 9 so they couldn't even cover the pre-orders. The next day a store 500 metres away had 2 which turned up unexpectedly and I rushed off to get my wallet. Should've asked for them to be put aside as they sold in the 10 minutes I was away.
I finally got one online which shops in a week or so. But when I told a friend he went to order half an hour later and they we're sold out. These things go like hotcakes.

[Lynne Whelden]

Something odd is going on here.
I've talked to two different B&H sales people. (Unfortunately I haven't been able to get through to the main buyer.) I've learned that they have at least 1000 backorders. But the one guy thought the bottleneck is on GP's end. The other guy didn't seem to be aware of buggy issues with protune (and was grateful for the information I provided).
I still believe that B&H is insisting GP get their Protune act together before they start selling such a product.

[Raymond Schlogel]

Personally don't think there are any problems with Protune though it seems to be being repeated a lot. I went through the whole freezing issue with my first unit, spent a lot of time tinkering to get it working and a good amount of time on the phone with their tech support. Eventually returned it for a new one and though I haven't played with it for hours on end the difference is night and day. It's my impression that there were some units that had a hardware defect.

- Ray

[Lynne Whelden]

I got yet another product update from B&H today saying the Hero 3 "still remains unavailable." The latest sales person I talked to suggested the issue was that, when they do get Heroes they arrive in limited amounts, they get shipped out right away to those on back-order lists.
That sounds strange to me because their web site only says it's a "pre-order" item.
I don't know, is it just me? Is GoPro so overwhelmed or disorganized they can't muster up 1000 cameras to send to B&H and be done with it?
It reminds me of the situation with viruses getting into corporate systems. The corporations rarely if ever admit it was their fault. Someone here isn't "fessing up" to what's really going on!

[Chris Joy]

Have you tried ordering directly fro GoPro? When I drop the Black Hero3 in the cart it says that it will ship tomorrow. As others have said, Best Buy may have them in stock. I walked into one over the weekend and there was a display with white, silver and black Hero3's. I'm selling my Hero2 before buying a Black myself.

[Damian Heffernan]

Thought I had one but got an email today stating that due to a worldwide shortage they couldn't fulfil the order and we're refunding my money :(

[Ian Newland]

Originally Posted by Damian Heffernan

Thought I had one but got an email today stating that due to a worldwide shortage they couldn't fulfil the order and we're refunding my money :(

That would be because the Aussie Master Wholesaler has now just received large stocks into their warehouse and distribution to retailers will be done over the next 2 weeks. Accessories have already been dispatched, except spare batteries.

[Chris Joy]

Just got an email in-stock notice for the Hero 3 Black from Amazon US. If you're persistent, they do pop up.