5DIII pre-order thread

[bgstucki]

Well, with the baby coming I decided not to risk a delayed shipment with amazon. I cancelled my preorder and bought a 5D3 locally. The UPS man dropped off the cameras at noon and I was there to get one. The owner said it was their first batch. In fact, the employees gathered around as I opened it up there.

I'm glad the battery had a tiny drop of power so we could snap right away. Sounds great.

 

[jalbfb]

I told the B&H guy why I cancelled and he said that there was no way Shutterbug could get me the camera that soon. Somebody is full of crap and I will find out in the next few days just who that is. I would bet on B&H. The Shutterbug CS was very helpful and said he would check with the buyer and call me right back. He did exactly that.

The question I have -

Does BH, Adorama, and other large volume shops have their stock yet?
Are they ordering container/semi-size volumes and are those trailers still in transit from the west coast (by rail or truck)?
Did they just get undercut by less-than-trailer size shipments (carton size) that may have left the docks by carrier late last week and arriving at smaller shops throughout the US. Seems so.

Maybe the March 22 date was based on an intermodal shipping calculation.

Seems Adorama made the move to try to keep if not attract orders with the new bundle.

This cant be lost on them, even if the sales room doesnt have the full picture.

We have no way of knowing what is going on with the bigger stores since they are treating us all like mushrooms: they are keeping us in the dark and feeding us manure.

 

[martydo]

I just talked to the custyomer service at B&H- I ordered my mark3 on 3-5-12 and he told me it will not be shipping in this initial batch they are going to release soon. He wasn't willing to commit when it would ship-only that it wont be this week. He did mention that all of the authorizations they put on credit cards would have dropped off already so to cancel the order is no problem. The guy didn't really seem to care if they got the order or not. Nice customer service.

 

[jalbfb]

I just talked to the custyomer service at B&H- I ordered my mark3 on 3-5-12 and he told me it will not be shipping in this initial batch they are going to release soon. He wasn't willing to commit when it would ship-only that it wont be this week. He did mention that all of the authorizations they put on credit cards would have dropped off already so to cancel the order is no problem. The guy didn't really seem to care if they got the order or not. Nice customer service.

Well, at least we have some info FINALLY!! I ordered on the 6th so I figured I was in the 2nd or 3rd wave of shipments-hopefully it'll be the 2nd! And hopefully, they will open up a little with the info they give out.

 

[Warninglabel]

B&H

22 bodies = 76,978 | 2% profit = $1,539.56
32 bodies = 111,968 | 2% profit = $2 239.36

400 bodies = 1,399,600 | 2% profit = $27,993

@ 5% profit $69,983

I don't know the mark-up on these cameras but theirs money in add-on sales if you get a good experience from buying from them. like a new Lens!

B&H Must not care or not be prepared/ planned for this event.

Find the Pre-oreder list B&H Sales Manager, send out a I care letter, to make at-least some of the people happy Not no computer generated letter that says, You have place an order on a out of stock product, soon as we get stock back in, we will promptly full fill your order.

 

[kilobit]

Got it...

Visiting the US for a conference, I called a local canon dealer today, and they just then received two bodies from their courier.

I bought it at lakeside camera, New Orleans.

 

[aZhu]

sadly, looks like adorama kit deal is no longer on their site!!

Wow... I'm SO glad I jumped on that while it was still up...

 

[JerryFish]

Called B&H after reading all of these negative comments. The guy I talked to was very nice and polite, but as with others, he wouldnt give me any numbers or dates.

I asked if my order would be shipped this week, but he would not reply.

I asked him if he were in my position would he want a response? He then told me that they had recieved an "unextectadly large" number of pre-orders and that they "My order will probably not make the first wave of distribution" and that they "will be processing your order as soon possible when sufficient stock arrives"

This really concerns me becasue I my order was placed confirmed at 1:30AM PST on 3/2/2012. I guess not early enough. Probably cancel and find one locally :'(

 

[PeterPanFan1953]

You know... considering that B&H's google ad is saying "New Canon EOS 5D Mark III | BHPhotoVideo.com" - "The Kits Start Shipping Today 3/20! Order Now, $3499 Charged Upon Ship" (seen when searching for Canon 5D Mark III) you would think they would have a bit more info now

 

[Drama79]

This really concerns me becasue I my order was placed confirmed at 1:30AM PST on 3/2/2012. I guess not early enough. Probably cancel and find one locally :'(

WHAAAAAAAA???? that's ridiculous! Perhaps they are just saying that to everyone. It seems like it's a standard response. Better to not get hopes up. 1:30am, pre-orders were open what, an hour maybe? I ordered about an hour after that. So no camera until June for me then...

 

[TexPhoto]

B&H has placed 2 charges for $1 on my card today. That ussually means a check to see the card is working.

 

[Arkarch]

Just checked my Adorama Order Status. It is listed as "Pending".

I cannot recall if it was always that way, or "Backorder" before. So if someone else can confirm their own Adorama status as being changed, that sounds very promising.

 

[PhotoMoose]

I also pre-ordered with both B&H and Adorama and got the same scripted response from both when I asked if my camera would go out with the first wave. They would not say. I think that is an acceptable question that deserves an answer. Lets me see, I spent over 30k at B&H this year alone. Not asking for special treatment, but just where on the list I might be. I talked with my local store and they have cameras coming and have no list and that I would be #1! I like my odds with the local shop. THis is one time I'm shopping local and just may become a loyal customer. Sorry B&H and Adorama, but that is called customer service.

 

[dturano]

did anyone preorder from abesofmaine? I checked my status today says "in process" has anyones stated this for some time now? I know crutchfield and other vendors have stock and are shipping, im hoping its actually in process.

 

[JasonATL]

I pre-ordered from B&H on 3/2/2012 at 7:30 AM central. So, I figured I was as anxious as the next guy to get mine. I even payed fifty bucks for overnight shipping. I'm in a situation in which no local dealers within a 90 minute drive will have 5D3.

I guess I'm not "as anxious as the next guy." I just don't get all the bashing of B&H (or Amazon and others, for that matter) here. Like many here, I've relied on B&H's great selection and service for many years to buy high-end video and photo gear. They've always delivered, often exceeding my expectations.

I don't find it insulting, surprising, or discourteous for them to give out no information right now. First, and most likely, there may be no information to give. They can't say this, since people here would just assume they are lying, apparently. Even if they were expecting a shipment from Canon today or tomorrow that would allow them to fill every pre-order, they would be foolish businesspeople to tell that to anyone, since it is something outside of their control. If you want to get a bad business reputation then start setting expectations and making promises on something you do not control. Second, even if they have units in stock and ready to ship, Canon appears to have placed embargoes on the release of these. Either smaller dealers don't have those same rules or are breaking the rules. Ask yourself this: Is it likely that a dealer who doesn't play by Canon's rules will continue to pull the wool over Canon's eyes? Authorized dealerships require authorization. That's not a good long term strategy for the dealer and not a good long term strategy for someone wanting to depend on a solid dealer.

As yet, B&H has broken no promises. Will I be disappointed if my 5D3 isn't shipped in the first batch? Yes. Will I hold this against B&H? Probably, in the sense that I will question their ability to get stock on high-demand units in the future. Should I do that now, before anything has shipped from larger retailers (e.g., Best Buy, Amazon, B&H, Adorama, etc.)? No. B&H has at least earned my "benefit of the doubt."

We're talking days (actually, we're probably into hours, now) until these units ship or not. I'm anxious and excited, too. Let's just not blow this out of proportion and smear some good businesses over nothing.

And, if you're still reading, I agree with those who are cautioning others about the "no sales tax" issue. In Illinois, the law requires you to pay Illinois sales tax on any item bought online and shipped to Illinois. To not report and pay the taxes is, indeed, gambling with the law, and is unethical. That the state may be corrupt and misspending the tax dollars it receives isn't an excuse, as two wrongs don't make a right.

 

[Seamus]

Ah, the voice of reason.... Nice post JasoanATL. I agree, at this point it is probably hours, not days. Although it is easy to jump on the bashing wagon, I will refrain. I feel extremely fortunate just to be able to purchase this camera at all. So for now I will count myself fortunate and continue to check my status every 5 minutes until my fingers bleed....

 

[Drama79]

excellent points, made far more eloquently than my stumblings earlier on. Canon originally said the 22nd, and monday the 26th is now a mentioned date. I would expect to have heard shipping from the big dealers by tuesday. After that and then maybe we have the right to get antsy...

 

[TexPhoto]

B&H just charged me in full for my 5dIII kit. Which means I have to pay :'( But I get my 5DIII ;D

I have 2 day shipping, so maybe, just maybe, they will ship so I receive on the 22nd. Apple is famous for that.

 

[takoman46]

B&H just charged me in full for my 5dIII kit. Which means I have to pay :'( But I get my 5DIII ;D

I have 2 day shipping, so maybe, just maybe, they will ship so I receive on the 22nd. Apple is famous for that.

what time did you place your order?

Nice! congrats! I'm jealous... lol

 

[Seamus]

B&H just charged me in full for my 5dIII kit. Which means I have to pay :'( But I get my 5DIII ;D

I have 2 day shipping, so maybe, just maybe, they will ship so I receive on the 22nd. Apple is famous for that.

Congrats TexPhoto!!! I hope I see a charge soon, too!