B+H Sourcebook. Ridiculous!
 

In an age of going green, I can't imagine what the carbon footprint of producing and shipping the B+H Sourcebook that just appeared at my door. It is a huge 2 volume goliath of info that I will almost always look to their website to acquire.

Seriously.

BE

the same reason as phone book.

Just this morning my wife decided to call B&H to get off their mailing list.

WARNING: Don't even bother. You'll get caught in phone machine hell.

After about 40 minutes - and one guy hanging up on her - my wife finally talked with somebody helpful who directed her to the web page where you can get off the list.

Just last week my wife called a number of companies to get off their lists. It was never a problem. B&H is clearly set up well for sales, and probably returns, but not for other aspects of customer service.

Personally, I have no beef with B&H, but my wife has now forbade me to buy even a paperclip from them. Crap!

Oh well, just another reason for me to buy locally...

So, indirectly, the Sourcebook cost them a customer.

Just got one today, and was equally annoyed. Thanks for sharing the process of removal with us.

Would you mind sharing the link? I got two boxes of two volumes each here. The postman wouldn't deliver them - had to pick it up at the post office!

I received those books as well and the first thing that popped in mind is that in a few years, it’ll look like their sending encyclopedias to people’s doorstep if this keeps up.

I enjoy receiving their catalogs and I hope they continue making them for years to come and yes you can always use the web but you may end up being in a place that doesn’t get web access plus as far as the environment goes, you are saving yourself electricity reading information from paper than from a computer but I do think they need to cut the information down by a lot for example the Canon XH A1/G1 and the Sony Z1u each takes up 4 pages. 1 page would have been enough for each camera.

It's shiny! I like shiny things...


On a serious note, it does make life MUCH easier for my purchasing department. Sometimes the printed page is a LOT more familiar and comforting to people than a weblink when you're looking to spend thousands of dollars. And when other people are buying me gear, I want them to be VERY comfortable.

There's a place for them. I just want to opt out, and it sounds like a chore.

Yes. I complain to them about the B&H 'Bible' in person at every conference I meet them at conferences. It's no use.
Waste=Wealth. B&H Probably has family in the catalog publishing biz.
Just wait till paper prices skyrocket (they've begun climbing).

I relieved the Video/audio/post books from them, and have mixed feelings. The books/catalogs are really well done, but man that's a lot of paper they used.

The catalogs are read on the porcelain throne rather than scan web pages on your computer.

BTW, what is the web address for opting out?

And seriously, I disagree. I think they are an invaluable resource as the way information is presented and searched through on the web is entirely different from print. I find things in the sourcebook that I would never find online despite being an ubergeek with a laptop glued to my hands (with wireless time on the porcelain throne).

The same goes for visiting a store in person.

Plus all the green/carbon chatter seems a tad strident coming people like us who consume vast amount of resources making moving images.

I have to agree with Stephen. This 2 volume source book is invaluable in that is a very complete presentation of the state and availability of video production equipment. Open to any page randomly, and you are bound to find something you didn't know existed, and would fit and resolve a problem you will face in the future, and suffered through in the past. Many of us would have no problem with buying a slick hard bound volume by Joe ProVideo, laying out the equipment and tricks of the trade, and this book has the same information and a way to get it, too.

Thanks B&H for being there for the industry !

I am sure it is valuable for some. They should have an easy opt in/opt out for this though. It has a cover price of 7 bucks (each, maybe) and I don't know if they send them to ALL who have ordered through B+H or just frequent shoppers, but I think they should just send them to those who sign up.....or at least make it simple to sign out.

My bicycle is powering my computer right now. Is that green enough?

Did your bicycle power the plant that made your computer ? How about when it was delivered to the store you bought it at, or by delivery? And does your bicycle power the internet systems and servers that connect you to the rest of us.

Lets face it, if you and your opinions are going to be known to us in the rest of the world, you are going to use up resources. But then you might think that knowing you is important, and that knowing what BH has to offer and sell is not.

Ultimately, BH has determined what it thinks is the most economical way to let the world know what it has to offer. This is called advertisement. BH doesn't send this source book to everyone in the US, just those who have clear ties to the industry. In that manner, they are really getting information to those who need and want it..., with the exception of a few complainers. Seems like a pretty decent approach, ecologically...