After 29 years, B&H has lost my business

[Timmyjoe]

The frustration level with B&H Photo has finally hit the breaking point. Ever since they changed their main shipper from UPS to FedEx, reliable delivery has gone down the toilet.

After twenty nine years, and giving them tens of thousands of dollars for equipment, they've finally driven me away. In the last two years, there have been so many packages shipped from them via FedEx that have been delayed, and the tracking information on the FedEx site has been wildly inaccurate, that I can no longer trust when I will receive an item from them.

It's a shame, as I really like a lot of the folks that work there, but they refuse to address the FedEx issue (I have contacted them about numerous orders), so I'm going to have to take my business elsewhere.

Besides Freestyle, what do folks here use?

Best,
-Tim

 

[splitimageview]

I have them ship via USPS to my PO Box. Not had any problems.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Interesting, USPS doesn't come up as a option for shipping when I order from them. Where do you live?

Best,
-Tim

 

[Deleted member 65559]

B&H is still the best source of paper for me. Their free shipping over $99 makes prices substantially cheaper than Freestyle, and despite the shrinkage in their available product lines they still have more selection than my closest shops. 4-5 day delivery from NY to western Canada continues to be fast and reliable.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Is it via FedEx? The issue I have is they only ship to the Chicagoland area via FedEx, and FedEx has been horrid the last few years. Had no issues back when they used UPS. When I've talked to B&H about this their response has been, "Sorry, but that's how it is."

Best,
-Tim

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I placed an extremely inexpensive order—a B&W filter—with them some time in early March, and it came very quickly (via FedEx). Then, I ordered a small digital camera for my son... and nothing happened. In fact, they sat on it for so long I had time enough to cancel the order (the camera was no longer needed). If they had shipped the camera as quickly as they did with the filter I wouldn't have been able to cancel the order online.

 

[Deleted member 65559]

TJ, They've used various companies, but lately it's been FedEx and the service remains similar.

 

[zuiko85]

Haven’t ordered much from them, or anybody really, but the last item, a lens, arrived a day earlier than originally stated. I live in south Puget sound, Washington state. Usually if I order on a certain day of the week, by noon my time, the item arrives one week later.

 

[Timmyjoe]

The most recent order I placed last Thursday morning (April 15) and the B&H website said Fast/Free shipping would get it here Wednesday (April 21). I needed it right away, so they offered the option of Overnight shipping, for an extra $25, I was willing to do that until I saw that overnight shipping would have gotten it to me Tuesday (April 20) how exactly is that overnight? So I just ordered it Fast/Free and came up with an alternate solution for my immediate need.

Friday afternoon I get an email from B&H saying the package shipped and giving me a FedEx tracking number. I figure, great, maybe it will get here early and I can use it instead of my work around. FedEx tracking site says it's gonna be delivered to me by end of day Saturday April 17. Cool. So Saturday comes and goes with no package, and I check FedEx site Sunday morning (April 18), and it still says package will be delivered Saturday April 17, but it also says package arrived in Chicago at 3AM Sunday. Check B&H website and it says package will be delivered Sunday April 18. So Sunday comes and goes, and I check the FedEx site this morning and the package shows it's still at the site in Chicago, and now it says, "No scheduled delivery date available at this time."

If this were the first time this has happened with FedEx and B&H I would say, "No big deal." but it has been happening repeatedly over the last few years, and when I've talked with B&H about it, their response has always been "Sorry, nothing we can do." When I mention to them that they could go back to UPS, they say nope, not happening.

Best,
-Tim

 

[B-9]

I always prefer USPS or UPS.

Every time I get a package coming FedEx I end up driving 20 miles to the nearest sorting hub to pick it up. Delivery happens maybe 1 out of 5 times. They have a habit of skipping sections of their routes or something. I’ve been at home waiting only to find tracking update with a “delivery attempted” the heck they did.

It’s so bad - I refuse to order anything if the only postage option is FedEx.

Your not crazy!

 

[Timmyjoe]

Thanks B-9. It pains me as I've used B&H for 29 years, but this FedEx thing is just too frustrating.

Best,
-Tim

 

[JeffS7444]

Global logistics have not returned to normal: Sometimes I've gotten lucky and had near-normal delivery times, while on other occasions I've waited weeks and even months for delivery. Amazon in particular has been hard-hit. For smaller items shipped within the USA, I just use the post office.

 

[airfrogusmc]

I have had problems with them lately to and I to am off them or life. Their customer service used to be very good. Not so much now.

 

[Larry Cloetta]

Where I live, FedEx is by far the quickest and most reliable option, either FedEx Ground or regular FedEx (which are more or less run as two separate companies when it comes to deliveries). Better than USPS and, locally, UPS is by far the slowest, least reliable.
I have seen this order change over time, and when it has changed, it has changed with changes in local management. Locally, I have lived through FedEx going from being the best option to the worst and back again and it has always been due to the way local management runs things. And, locally, FedEx and FedEx ground will be under two separate management teams no matter where you live.
The fact that different people here, who live in different areas, are reporting completely different experiences would support this. Everyone is right, but it is locality dependent and I don't think it has anything to do with B&H per se. Am guessing it may be a combination of bad service/management in both NYC and Chicago, or one of those. Though that still doesn't solve Tim's issues.
This particular issue is not a global supply chain issue. That exists, but causes a separate set of problems.
Everything comes down to the actual people who handle your packages, their decisions and how hard they work--the people where the package originates combined with the people at the destination; it's not a uniform national thing, with any of the services.

 

[helen.HH]

I have not used B&H in years
I prefer Adorama ...
Stellar service, great customer service !!

 

[Rayt]

I only buy from B&H if I can’t get what I need anywhere else and I am willing to pay more from elsewhere notably Freestyle.

 

[agentlossing]

I have had plenty of problems with FedEx, but I've sort of resigned myself to routing the package to a business for pick-up. If you sign up for FedEx's Delivery Manager, there are usually options for hold counters at local stores like Walgreens. It means making a special trip 30 min north for me, but it's better than having them mishandle the delivery of my stuff.

 

[jsrockit]

Was this before Covid or during Covid (Fed Ex issues)?

 

[rolfe]

The problem, at least here in the northeast, is not Fedex Express, it is Fedex Ground. B&H switched to them from UPS as the default "free" shipper a while back and it has been horrible. I've complained multiple times, but clearly this is all about the money. You can still get UPS if you're willing to pay extra for it. I'm not. I've switched some business to Adorama as a result.

 

[Sal Santamaura]

This has nothing to do with B&H. It's a regional carrier problem. Here, UPS has become very unreliable, delivering packages to the wrong place more often than not. FedEx is extremely reliable. Also, note that Freestyle sends my packages via FedEx Ground, and I've had no problems with those either.


The best approach is to plan ahead, order what is needed from whichever supplier offers the best net cost, then expect delays until the pandemic and its impacts completely end. I don't anticipate a return to normalcy until next year.