B&H not stocking M8 any longer

R

rsl

Russell
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Dec 31, 2006
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Anyone know why B&H isn't stocking the M8 and has it up as a special order item? Sounds ominous.
 
Nothing new. It's been like that since the announcement. I think that Accepting Orders means that it is back-ordered more than the Out Of Stock item, but hey they use all three phrases and it's hard to know why!

But in any event, there is no real change in status. So rest easy.
 
When they're back ordered they say, "Back Ordered." When they're out of stock they say, "Out of Stock," just as they're saying right now regarding the chrome version. If you click the "Accepting Orders" hyperlink associated with the black version, this is what you get: "This is not a regular stocking item. Estimated arrival at B&H 7-14 business days. You will be charged upon placing your order." I have to take them at their word that it's not a regular stocking item any more and that they'll order one from Leica if you order and pay up front. Again, I say: ominous.
 
RSL,
Sometimes you read like the Watch Tower predicting the end of the world (and just as I hear that old song and dance I smile and laugh to myself).

One day your reporting they have had them in stock for X numher of hours as if this is a sign of pending doom and the next it's out of stock and this is a pending sign of doom- ROFL.

Carry on : )
 
Sailor Ted said:
RSL,
Sometimes you read like the Watch Tower predicting the end of the world (and just as I hear that old song and dance I smile and laugh to myself).

One day your reporting they have had them in stock for X numher of hours as if this is a sign of pending doom and the next it's out of stock and this is a pending sign of doom- ROFL.

Carry on : )
Click to expand...

Gotcha, didn't I. When you leaving for your trip? And is your new M8 performing up to standard?

Gotta call B&H today and find out why they aren't stocking the M8 any more. Not stocking is different from out of stock.
 
shutterflower said:
this is surprising to me. Considering how pricey it is. Man, there's lots of cash in the world.
Click to expand...
thats the same feeling i have too
alot of people seem to be able to "afford" this M8:confused:
i dont see the Canon 1Ds Mark II on backorder very often (No doubt canon has a large market share but they also dont make excessive numbers of their super expensive top end model)
:eek:
 
B&H writes this a lot for expensive items. The whole "estimated delivery in 7-14 days" is an automatic statement from the computer. If you actually want to buy a camera from them, then give them a call, ask for someone who works at the Leica counter and talk to them. B&H does not always stock the really expensive stuff, because there are two groups -- those who buy stuff from B&H when they have it, but prefer boutique sellers (like Tony Rose, Photovillage, Kurland etc) for big purchases, and those who buy from B&H no matter what. The first group won't buy an M8 from B&H and the second will wait for them to order it. Anyway, that's just my take. They make so much money from less expensive items and high volume that it does not make a lot of sense for them to have a ton of slower moving high priced inventory in stock. Boutiques on the other hand do fairly low volume and generate sales by having the expensive stuff on hand for demonstration. Granted, the M8 is still a hot seller, so I assume they just have that up because they don't have any at the moment. People are much more willing to buy from someone that says "accepting orders" than "out of stock". Out of stock implies that there aren't any...period. Accepting orders sounds like, "we don't have one at the moment, but we can get you one quickly". Or at least that is my rambling take on the situation. It is certainly not something to lose sleep over.
 
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Previously when they had M8's "In Stock" and sold out, the message changed to "Out of Stock", and then in a day or two, to "Back Ordered". The silver ones have remained at "Out of Stock" since the last sell-out, and this time after selling out their latest batch of black ones they've put "Accepting Orders". I don't know if it represents a change in B&H's policy or not. It could be that they rather get them from Allendale quickly and not invest tens of thousands of dollars in inventory. According to my dealer, Leica's new products have historically reached market saturation much sooner than other brands, and now with digital's short product life the stores are trying to be very careful about not overstocking.
 
Stuart's right on this. There are plenty of items at B&H that state 'Accepting Orders'. And despite the fact that the M8 is selling quickly for Leica (and new lenses as well) that volume is nothing compared to the volume does B&H does in P&S and low-end SLRs. The Leica counter in the B&H store is tiny and gets very little attention compared to everything else.
 
There is a place on the B&H site, it is when you blow up the product, I think where they will email you when it is in stock. But from experience you better act fast.
 
Could Impact Their Return policy?

Could Impact Their Return policy?

I wonder if the reason for the "not a regularly stocked item" status is to disallow returns for other than product defect? :confused:

Henry Posner of B&H chimes in on DP Review from time to time to clarify issues raised there, so perhaps this thread should be directed his way.

So I emailed it to him. :angel:
 
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Thanks for your curiosity. Our buyers determine what will be regularly stocked and what won't by a variety of factors including demand, availability from our supplier and so on. If a big-ticket item is in relatively low demand and is at the same time available from the supplier, availability to the end-customer is practically the same.

There's nothing "ominous," about it, now is there?
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