B&H has PST's...oh, sorry, they don't...

I have been looking for a Coronado PST for the last two weeks, and I placed an
order with Orion that is scheduled to ship on August 8th. A friend of mine was
also looking for one, especially after seeing what the PST can do with the SM40
attached to it.
I have been checking B&H Photo's web site for the last week after hearing that
some people have been getting them from there. Last night the site finally
listed the PST as being "In Stock". This held true this morning as well, so I
called B&H to see if they were in fact in stock. I was told that there were
two in stock, and I told them to hold them for me. They gave me an order
number and I called my friend. We took the 80 mile drive down to Manhattan,
found a parking space and went in to B&H Photo. We went to the counter of the
binoculars and telescopes department and gave the order number. The manager
said that there none in stock. We were there for fifteen minutes while he
fiddled with the computer more and we also found out that they had only
reserved one instead of two...but there were no PST's anywhere in the store, so
our order could not be filled. No one ever went in the back to check visually
that they weren't there. The guy who is their "buyer" was out today (coming
back in on Sunday). We were asked to leave our phone numbers and that they
would call us back and that they would ship them out to us for free ($11
shipping usually) when they got them in. Completely aggravated, we left B&H
and came back home. 160 miles, tolls and gas later, we are still without PSTs.
I am done with B&H Photo as a source for my gear. I will wait for Orion to
ship theirs. Now hopefully, they will get their shipment of PST's on time!
I guess the axiom that good things come to those who WAIT is probably right.

Mark
The Catman
^..^

www.geocities.com/mark_rosengarten
Owner/Coordinator of the Neko Ultraportable Solar Observatory
Fun WITH The Sun for Everyone!

"Mark Rosengarten" wrote in message
...
I have been looking for a Coronado PST for the last two weeks, and I
placed an
order with Orion that is scheduled to ship on August 8th. A friend of
mine was
also looking for one, especially after seeing what the PST can do with the
SM40
attached to it.
I have been checking B&H Photo's web site for the last week after hearing
that
some people have been getting them from there. Last night the site
finally
listed the PST as being "In Stock". This held true this morning as well,
so I
called B&H to see if they were in fact in stock. I was told that there
were
two in stock, and I told them to hold them for me. They gave me an order
number and I called my friend. We took the 80 mile drive down to
Manhattan,
found a parking space and went in to B&H Photo. We went to the counter of
the
binoculars and telescopes department and gave the order number. The
manager
said that there none in stock. We were there for fifteen minutes while he
fiddled with the computer more and we also found out that they had only
reserved one instead of two...but there were no PST's anywhere in the
store, so
our order could not be filled. No one ever went in the back to check
visually
that they weren't there. The guy who is their "buyer" was out today
(coming
back in on Sunday). We were asked to leave our phone numbers and that
they
would call us back and that they would ship them out to us for free ($11
shipping usually) when they got them in. Completely aggravated, we left
B&H
and came back home. 160 miles, tolls and gas later, we are still without
PSTs.
I am done with B&H Photo as a source for my gear. I will wait for Orion
to
ship theirs. Now hopefully, they will get their shipment of PST's on
time!
I guess the axiom that good things come to those who WAIT is probably
right.

I've had trouble with B&H myself within the last year. Mainly, they refused
to ship any other way than what they specified and, of course, most of these
firms overcharge shipping costs to make up for discounts, a trick I see
through on a regular basis. So, if they don't have actual shipping options,
I avoid them.... and B&H was one of those I decided to avoid.

Ted


Mark
The Catman
^..^

www.geocities.com/mark_rosengarten
Owner/Coordinator of the Neko Ultraportable Solar Observatory
Fun WITH The Sun for Everyone!

I've had trouble with B&H myself within the last year. Mainly, they refused
to ship any other way than what they specified and, of course, most of these
firms overcharge shipping costs to make up for discounts, a trick I see
through on a regular basis. So, if they don't have actual shipping options,
I avoid them.... and B&H was one of those I decided to avoid.

They actually have many shipping methods now, at least for the PST...but that
is kind of moot if they don't have any. By the way, the web site still lists
the PST as being in stock. I called Coronado and let them know what happened.

Mark
The Catman
^..^

www.geocities.com/mark_rosengarten
Owner/Coordinator of the Neko Ultraportable Solar Observatory
Fun WITH The Sun for Everyone!

elete (Mark Rosengarten) wrote in message ...
I've had trouble with B&H myself within the last year. Mainly, they refused
to ship any other way than what they specified and, of course, most of these
firms overcharge shipping costs to make up for discounts, a trick I see
through on a regular basis. So, if they don't have actual shipping options,
I avoid them.... and B&H was one of those I decided to avoid.

They actually have many shipping methods now, at least for the PST...but that
is kind of moot if they don't have any. By the way, the web site still lists
the PST as being in stock. I called Coronado and let them know what happened.

Mark
The Catman
^..^

www.geocities.com/mark_rosengarten
Owner/Coordinator of the Neko Ultraportable Solar Observatory
Fun WITH The Sun for Everyone!

Did B&H have the $99 Cemax eyepiece offer that the Coronado website
mentions? I ordered my PST from Orion (same ship date as yours) and
wanted the Cemax but they don't offer it. Its my understanding that
Coronado products are no longer available directly, so we must go
through dealers now. Hey, its a $30 saving!
That can buy another astronomy book.

We took the 80 mile drive down to Manhattan, found a parking space and went in
to B&H Photo. We went to the counter of the binoculars and telescopes
department and gave the order number. The manager said that there none in
stock.

Please accept our apologies. There are a couple of reasons why this could have
happened but none will make up for your inconvenience and disappointment. We
are very sorry this happened.

but there were no PST's anywhere in the store, so our order could not be
filled. No one ever went in the back to check visually that they weren't
there.

There's no in the back for them to go to. For security purposes, store sales
associates cannot enter our Manhattan warehouse, and if the item was in our
Brooklyn warehouse, obviously there's no way for him to physically check.

I've had trouble with B&H myself within the last year. Mainly, they refused
to ship any other way than what they specified...

From your post I don't know who you are or what you ordered or where you're
located, but for domestic shipping, your options include standard and rush UPS,
standard and rush FedEx, priority mail, express mail, etc. For international
orders, depending on weight, value & destination, options include air parcel
post, global express mail, UPS, etc.

most of these firms overcharge shipping costs to make up for discounts, a
trick I see through on a regular basis. So, if they don't have actual shipping
options, I avoid them.... and B&H was one of those I decided to avoid.

Perhaps your vision is cloudy? B&H does NOT use shipping as a profit center nor
do we inflate s&h rates to compensate for artifically low merchandise prices.
One proof is that our store prices, where no shipping is involved are the same
as our web/phone prices. B&H does have actual shipping options as I outlined
above.

By the way, the web site still lists the PST as being in stock.

Not as of this morning.

Did B&H have the $99 Cemax eyepiece offer that the Coronado website mentions?

I didn't see this on their site. If you can send the details to
I'll be happy to investigate.

- --

regards,
Henry Posner/B&H Photo-Video
http://www.bhphotovideo.com