Amazon policies.

[sanj]

I wanted to order the 600 at Amazon and give them a shipping address later. Am attaching the online chat. Am not satisfied.

Me:Hello!
I want to buy a lens: Canon 600mm II right now. BUT I want you to hold on to it and ship it later when I send you an address. Is that acceptable?
Saket :Hello, my name is Saket. I'll be happy to help you today.
Me:Namashkar
Saket :I am really sorry It will not be acceptable but You can place the order and You will not face any problem
Me:How can I place an order without a shipping address? Thx
Saket :I am sorry but You can use any friend address to place the Order as the deals and the price which is reflected on the site are subjected to change '
so I am not able to do promise for that
Me:Ah. See I am ready to buy it now. Pay for it in full. And then later give you an address to send it to.
Saket :SANJAY ,How can be this possible when you place the order It goes for shipping and the item for which you place goes for packing and then it goes for delivery
so It will not be possible to hold the package
Me:Ok thanks...

[Mooose]

Outrageous!

[dstppy]

How many online retailers do you know that do this?

[Mt Spokane Photography]

This sounds very reasonable to me.
Amazon does not do lay-away orders.  You must pay by credit card, and a address must be given that matches the credit card.  That is also the address that the order will be shipped to.  Holding the shipment for some other address is not a safe practice.
Order the camera when you are ready to get it.
 

[billnelson75]

I'd have to agree, you are asking for something that the retailer doesn't do.  Amazon is an automated machine built on a process of getting you your products as quickly as possible.  If you want someone to hold an item and ship it later, call your local camera shop, or if you don't have one, call a reputable dealer somewhere and get it shipped from them.  I'm sure they will hold a product to ship it later.  You are asking for brick and mortar service from an online retailer, and that isn't going to happen.

[sambafan]

I'd have to agree, you are asking for something that the retailer doesn't do.  Amazon is an automated machine built on a process of getting you your products as quickly as possible.  If you want someone to hold an item and ship it later, call your local camera shop, or if you don't have one, call a reputable dealer somewhere and get it shipped from them.  I'm sure they will hold a product to ship it later.  You are asking for brick and mortar service from an online retailer, and that isn't going to happen.

+1

[neuroanatomist]

This sounds very reasonable to me.
Amazon does not do lay-away orders.  You must pay by credit card, and a address must be given that matches the credit card.  That is also the address that the order will be shipped to.  Holding the shipment for some other address is not a safe practice.

+1. Payment method billing address verification helps prevent fraud.  They will ship to an alternate address as long as the billing address matches payment info.

This is a $13K lens and what if you later provide a shipping address in Nigeria or some other international location? 

[RLPhoto]

Pay to play. Quite straightforward.

[joshmurrah]

Yeah, that's not the way amazon works, they don't do layaway type service.

Also, as somebody else pointed out, the BNA (your shipping address) is part of the fraud prevention.

[unadog]

In addition to the above, low level CSR's (Customer Service Reps) have no authority or ability to alter standard processes.

They are basically just 1 step ahead of you in reading the text on the web site. Anything. more complex is just out of their realm.

In most places the CSR turnover is about 200% per year (average of 6 months on the job.) Unless it is outsourced to India, etc., in which case they are even more remote from any of the company management..

You can often identify alternate sellers on Amazon - Adorama, JR, etc. Call one of their stores, talk to someone who works retail there, they will help you

[unadog]

Looks liker Calumet has it at the same price, $12,999.

http://www.calumetphoto.com/eng/product/canon_ef_600mm_f_4l_is_ii_usm_telephoto_lens/ca405852

Check store inventory and then call.  Real salespeople from the floor ...  Or one of their "professional services" reps, that is a big ticket item.

Share your studio/etc info,, let them know who you are.  Smaller retail stores are better at some things (specialized customer service), the big, automated retailers at others (standard order, lowest price.)

FWIW, the owner of Midwest Photo Exchange in Columbus, Ohio gave me his personal cell phone number and his **home phone number** and offered to come into the store on Thanksgiving for me to pick up a printer. (I actually needed it that weekend, not on Thanksgiving day.)

that is the kind of **great** customer service that the smaller independent shops can deliver, and which is worth paying a bit more for if necessary.  Support them if they help you out!

Cheers. Good luck.

Michael

[pierceography]

Totally reasonable on amazon's part.  The fraud prevention part aside, they are a highly mechanized and automated service.  It's not like the CSR is going to run back, grab that lens, and stick it on a shelf with a note that says, "hold for sanj".

Sorry, but if this is the type of service you expect, you should probably stay away from the Internet and stick to brick and mortar shops.

[Dylan777]

This sounds very reasonable to me.
Amazon does not do lay-away orders.  You must pay by credit card, and a address must be given that matches the credit card.  That is also the address that the order will be shipped to.  Holding the shipment for some other address is not a safe practice.

+1. Payment method billing address verification helps prevent fraud.  They will ship to an alternate address as long as the billing address matches payment info.

This is a $13K lens and what if you later provide a shipping address in Nigeria or some other international location? 

+2

[canon_convert]

Shopping for the first time in US ? No online retailer would entertain such request...period !

And what was your reason anyways ?

[sanj]

Thx. Understood.

However I have shopped with Amazon for last 10 odd years and have used my India credit card. I live in India and order with my credit card and it gets shipped to a friend of mine in USA who is coming here and the stuff gets transported.
The credit card verification works simply: In the order form at Amazon there is a billing address and shipping address!! That takes care of the fraud bit.
I thought Amazon has a large warehouse but I think it is only virtual.