What's the deal with B&H being closed on weekends?

[Chadowe]

I admire B&H for adhering to their beliefs rather than bow to the almighty dollar, in fact, it's one of the major reasons I patronize them.  FWIW, I also support RC Willey and Chick-Fil-A (when I can) for their same conviction towards the Christian Sabbath on Sunday.  While I know it doesn't guarantee everything will always go perfectly, or even smoothly, knowing company leaders give value to doing the "right thing", will always attract my business.

[ScottyP]

I have bought stuff from Amazon and Adorama, but I mostly buy from B&H.  The prices are usually exactly the same as their competitors, but it is their site that is the real gem. 
Compare all the others and then look at the superior search interface on the B&H site.  You can enter search parameters that will progressively narrow your search logically (usually) and help you drill down on what you are looking for. 

Compare that to Abe's of Maine (sorry guys) who really need to upgrade their site's search system.  They have overlapping search criteria, many of which were irrelevant to begin with. Just one example:  When searching for a LENS, who does so based on whether they are a "photo enthusiast, an enthusiast, a semi-pro photographer, a semi-professional, a pro photographer, or a professional"? Talk about splitting hairs.  Who knows what you'd be eliminating if you clicked any one or any combination of those?

I think B&H has it running so smoothly that they can take a day off every week and their automated system will still do a superior job with no one steering the wheel.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I have bought stuff from Amazon and Adorama, but I mostly buy from B&H.  The prices are usually exactly the same as their competitors, but it is their site that is the real gem. 
Compare all the others and then look at the superior search interface on the B&H site. 

+1
 
The other sites are not in the same league as far as finding the product you want.  Its often a ordeal to find a item on the other sites.
 
Finding the right memory card, for example.

[photophreek]

cayenne wrote:

Interesting...thanks for all the posts......I learned something today.

I wasn't being disrespectful...just something I'd never heard of before. I've never grown up around many people of the Jewish faith...so, not something I'd have guessed off the top of my head, as that I'd never heard of this before.

Great response and I learned something as well, "Blue Laws".  Now I know what my father taught us growing up.  I always complained to him that I wanted to go to the movies with my friends on Sunday and he would not have any part of it.

[mws]

While born and raised Catholic with 12+ years of Catholic schooling, I no longer identify with the faith mich, I find B&H's ability to resist the all might dollar of capitalism for for their own personal beliefs a refreshing idea. I order from because I really like their site, product selection, and customer service.

You can still place a order, it just doesn't ship until later anyway.

[Steinn]

BH is a great company for us photographers. But they do close during jewish holidays. But they always inform when they are closed, so no problem for most of us.
Stein,
Norway

[RC]

Hmmm, I learned a few things from this thread, thanks all.  Kudos to B&H and any other retailer who puts values and principles on top.

[koolman]

As an orthodox Jew, I can say that I am proud to observe the Sabbath, even if it means not making money.
I find, that overall, if you live by spiritual principles, you will never lose, and on the contrary gain.

[Fotofanten]

As an atheist, I am glad you feel that way koolman. All is good that brings joy to this life without harming others

[NHK]

Hi, i have a little question for you guys.
As a foreign customer, when you buy gear (lens, bag...) in the NY shop (not online) is it possible to avoid international taxes and/or the New York VAT?

Thanks.

[cayenne]

Hi, i have a little question for you guys.
As a foreign customer, when you buy gear (lens, bag...) in the NY shop (not online) is it possible to avoid international taxes and/or the New York VAT?

Thanks.

I don't know about international taxes....but as far as I know...no US city or state currently has a VAT.

There are state and local taxes, but at least at this point, when you buy online, US companies do not collect any taxes if the sale it to an address outside of that state, if said company does not have a presence in your state.

Internationally.....they won't collect it either, but I think I've heard, that if it is going to anywhere in the EU, for instance...that the authorities on that end charge the end user there for it somehow, before you receive it..? I'm guessing they're checking all international packages coming in at the border over there...?

C

[ramon123]

As an Orthodox Jew I am quite surprised to see what was said in this thread. I'll do my best to straighten out the comments that were made here.

1. The written Torah and the Oral Torah are one entity. The Oral Torah expounds on the Written Torah to explain what each posuk (verse) means. The Oral Torah is thousands of years old and has a Mesorah (tradition) to have come directly down from Moshe (Moses) from Har Sinai (Mount Sinai).

2. Millions of Jews keep Shabbat. There's no such things as Chassidic Jews are "serious" about it or keep it more. There is something called Halacha (Jewish Law) which dictates exactly how to keep everything including positive actions and negative prohibitions.

3. A Jew cannot have his business open on Shabbat period and that includes benefiting from it. That's why B&H are closed on Shabbat and all the Festivals.

4. Many people think that by being closed that they would lose money. Jews believe opposite, that by closing and observing what the Creator wants, He will shower down more blessing. Well lets see, I think B&H shows us what massive blessing is.

5. B&H is an Orthodox Jewish store.

Have a great day

[NHK]

Hi, i have a little question for you guys.
As a foreign customer, when you buy gear (lens, bag...) in the NY shop (not online) is it possible to avoid international taxes and/or the New York VAT?

Thanks.

I don't know about international taxes....but as far as I know...no US city or state currently has a VAT.

There are state and local taxes, but at least at this point, when you buy online, US companies do not collect any taxes if the sale it to an address outside of that state, if said company does not have a presence in your state.

Internationally.....they won't collect it either, but I think I've heard, that if it is going to anywhere in the EU, for instance...that the authorities on that end charge the end user there for it somehow, before you receive it..? I'm guessing they're checking all international packages coming in at the border over there...?

C

Sorry to speak of that in this thread, this will be my last answer about taxes.
My bad for the VAT, i wanted to say taxes.
Thanks for your answer.

[Positron]

2. Millions of Jews keep Shabbat. There's no such things as Chassidic Jews are "serious" about it or keep it more. There is something called Halacha (Jewish Law) which dictates exactly how to keep everything including positive actions and negative prohibitions.

3. A Jew cannot have his business open on Shabbat period and that includes benefiting from it. That's why B&H are closed on Shabbat and all the Festivals.

I think the point was that in this day and age, many people who identify as Jewish do not fully observe the Jewish law (for example, by working on Shabbat or not keeping Kosher). Many businesses run by Jews remain open on Saturday, which is precisely why the behavior of closing a large business can create confusion amongst those who haven't been exposed to it.

It's no different from identifying as Christian but not following the literal word of the Bible (find me a single person who actually does verbatim and I will be phenomenally impressed).

It's not that Chassidim are "more serious" but rather that their dedication to observing Jewish law to as great a degree as they can manage is what drives them to identify with that group in the first place. That is to say, cause and effect are reversed here. Chassidim don't follow every word of the Torah, either. Just a much higher percentage than most other Jews do.

At the end of the day religion is a very personal thing, and one of the reasons I love living in America is that you can choose to live however you want, even if that means closing a hugely successful business every Saturday, and people may wonder why but nobody can tell you that it's not okay... that's freedom of religion. Identifying as Jewish even if you never attend synagogue, don't observe Kashrut, and work on Shabbat is also your right. As long as you eat bagels and lox. If you don't do that, then go find some other religion, because Judaism doesn't want you anymore.

[t.linn]

Memo to Christians - those Old Testament references apply as well, though the Christian Sabbath falls on Sunday, although the proscription is largely ignored.

Not true.  Christians believe that Christ freed us from the law.  This is not to be confused with freedom from ethical or moral restraint, however it does mean freedom from Jewish laws like the one discussed here.  The apostle Paul discusses this often in his epistles and specifically takes Judaizers (Jews who accepted Christ as Savior but also suggested that keeping the Jewish laws remained necessary) to task for distorting the gospel message.