Here is a message I received from Henry Posner at B&H Photo after I cc'd him
my direct responce to Tom Zeman's original B&H complaint.
I, Art Searle wrote to Tom Zeman and cc'd B&H:
>> Hi Tom,
>>
>> I read you posting to the Nikon Digest user's group and I am quite
>> concerned. I have used B&H for over $10,000 in purchases in the last 2
>> years without a single incident. Please let me know the outcome of your
>> gray F5 problems as I intend to buy an F100 and a couple of SB28s as
soon as
>> possible.
>>
>> Thank you for sharing your problem,
>>
>> Art
>>
>> Art Searle, [EMAIL PROTECTED], Lake Grove, NY, USA
>> 20 miles east of Nikon USA www.erols.com/w2nra
>>
>> your message follows:
This is Tom Zeman's oringinal post:
>> >Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 11:50:57 -0500
>> >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> >Subject: Warning about B&H [v04.n145/19]
>> >Message: 19
>> >
>> >Nikon users in the U.S. will probably be familiar with B&H Photo in New
>> >York. I ordered my F5 (and other equipment totaling around $5000) from
>> >them in early September. The order arrived about a week and a half
later.
>> >Everything arrived in good condition as promised, except for one thing:
>> >the F5 did not come with a warranty card or owner's manual. Since I had
>> >specifically ordered Nikon USA for full warranty coverage, the lack of a
>> >warranty registration card bothered me immediately.
>> >
>> >I called B&H and they said it was a mistake. They would have to secure
a
>> >new warranty card from Nikon, who is notoriously slow about such things,
>> >and they would send it to me with a manual.
>> >
>> >Three months later I have still received nothing. I've called B&H
several
>> >times, sent them letters, and faxed them. Each time I've been told that
>> >they would send out the papers as soon as possible. This morning I
called
>> >Nikon. The representative was very nice about the whole thing, but he
said
>> >that the warranty card is the only proof I have that I in fact purchased
>> >Nikon USA and not grey market. He further said that what B&H has done
is
>> >frankly illegal and that they must provide the warranty paperwork or I
>> >should return the camera immediately. Nikon has filed a dealer
complaint
>> >which could affect B&H's status.
>> >
>> >After speaking to Nikon, I called B&H again. I went through the whole
>> >story again and was told that thay had mailed the papers on November 1.
>> >Didn't I receive them? No, I did not. I told them that what they did
was
>> >illegal and that if I do not have the warranty card and manual within
one
>> >week, I am sending the camera back and filing a complaint. They said
they
>> >would send it out today.
>> >
>> >Why they could (supposedly) send out the papers today, when they've
always
>> >needed weeks of time before is a bit strange, but I think their whole
story
>> >is bogus. I suspect that they slipped me a grey market F5 at the full
>> >Nikon USA price. I should have just sent the whole camera back
immediately
>> >when I did not find the warranty in the box. I'm going to give them one
>> >more week. If the warranty does not arrive as promised within that
time, I
>> >am going to send the camera back and get my credit card company
involved.
>> >I will also likely file a consumer complaint against them and inform
Nikon
>> >of the lack of resolution.
>> >
>> >If you're considering doing business with B&H, you might want to go
>> >elsewhere.
Henry Posner of B&H wrote:
Dear Art:
Thanks for forwarding your correspondence to us. I would request that you
post
my reply publicly in the Nikon Digest user's group as I don't subscribe to
that forum.
>> >I called B&H and they said it was a mistake. They would have to secure
a
>> >new warranty card from Nikon, who is notoriously slow about such things,
>> >and they would send it to me with a manual.
This is entirely accurate. For reasons I cannot determine this
customer,
who ordered, paid for and received an F5 with Nikon USA warranty, got a
"USA"
camera body but the box apparently lacked the documentation he mentions.
Perhaps Nikon accidently missed on. Perhaps the box was summoned from our
basement warehouse for perusal by a retail store customer who decided not to
make a purchase & when it was repacked, our sales associate inadvertently
overlooked the documents in question. We, of course, regret the customer's
dissatisfaction and inconvenience, no matter what the original cause.
Nikon USA _IS_ <notoriously slow about such things> and requires
proof
of the camera's provenance before complying with such requests in any case.
They have recently (within the past 18-24 months) become quite diligent
about
such matters. They have gone so far as to print a cautionary on the back
cover
of their new F100 brochure with specific and assertive warning language.
>> >This morning I called
>> >Nikon. The representative was very nice about the whole thing, but he
said
>> >that the warranty card is the only proof I have that I in fact purchased
>> >Nikon USA and not grey market. He further said that what B&H has done
is
>> >frankly illegal and that they must provide the warranty paperwork or I
>> >should return the camera immediately. Nikon has filed a dealer
complaint
>> >which could affect B&H's status.
This is filled with inaccuracy. The law is that the customer's
warranty
is protected with a dated invoice. As far as I know, this customer received
same with his shipment.
What we did was neither illegal nor unethical, and for a Nikon rep to
suggest
culpability on our part when the delay rests with their excessive caution is
IMHO humorous, to say the least. I do not know (after 4-1/2 years at B&H)
what
a <dealer complaint> is. I do know that we would never sell a "grey market"
item as "USA" nor would we sell a "USA" item as "grey market." Since our
profit
is the same, we don't even care which customers purchase as long as they
make
their decisions from knowledge and get what they requested and paid for. We
have gone as far as posting our "grey market" policy on-line at
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/greymkt.html for any and all to see.
I cannot guess what would cause Nikon USA to <affect B&H's status.>
since we are, frankly, the largest single-site retailer of Nikon USA
products
in the country. Our volume (in both quantity and dollars) is exceeded only
by
the chains (Ritz and Wolf's) who sell far more entry level and point-n-shoot
merchandise than pro equipment. We sell vast amounts of both, as I am sure
you
can imagine.
> >After speaking to Nikon, I called B&H again. I went through the whole
>> >story again and was told that thay had mailed the papers on November 1.
>> >Didn't I receive them? No, I did not.
What this paragraph regrettably fails to mention is that we mailed
the
documents on November 1st, but were advised by a fax from the customer of
his
new address on November 9th. Of course he didn't receive them. Either
they're
being forwarded by the Post Office, or they're in a dead letter box
somewhere,
or they're in the hands of whoever now loves where this customer once did.
We
haven't received them back, to my knowledge.
>> >Why they could (supposedly) send out the papers today, when they've
always
>> >needed weeks of time before is a bit strange, but I think their whole
story
>> >is bogus. I suspect that they slipped me a grey market F5 at the full
>> >Nikon USA price.
Because we would, if possible, have stripped them from another
camera
and waited for Nikon's replacements before restocking THAT piece in an
effort
to mollify a dissatisfied customer, whose suspicions are entirely groundless
and unfounded.
The icing on the cake of this story is that the customer e-mailed
me on
December 2nd, and received a reply THE SAME DAY apologizing and offering, in
partial compensation, a free copy of Hove's extensive book on the F5 at no
charge. He confirmed his new address on December 3rd, and the book will be
shipped this week.
As always, we regret anytime a customer is inconvenienced or
dissatisfied but regret even more a post of this nature. If there is any
follow
up on the Nikon board of which I should be aware, I'd consider it a favor to
receive a copy.
For your own personal information, we don't expect the F100 during
1998;
the "USA" warranted SB-28 is 319.95 at this time. The "grey market" version,
with a one (1) year B&H warranty, is 299.95.
regards,
Henry Posner/B&H Photo-Video
http://www.bhphotovideo.com
We now know 2 of the 3 possible sides to this story.
Art
Art Searle, [EMAIL PROTECTED], Lake Grove, NY, USA
20 miles east of Nikon USA www.erols.com/w2nra
