Pre-order from B&H versus from other region

I placed a pre-order from B&H on 10 April. Like most, I have not been able to get any definite answer from their customer service regarding an estimated time of shipment. I believe it is because their number of pre-orders for the BMPCC are just too big.

EBay has had buyers paying over $1400 for the camera, so I decided to look elsewhere. I thought I could just try my luck ordering from a nearby vendor. In this case it was at Expandore Electronics Pte Ltd located just across the border in Singapore. ( Google to get the website address)

I made the online purchase on 9 September 2013.

Today (16 September 2013) I received a notification that my card has been charged, and moments later a tracking number from Fedex.

That is exactly a week. I just could not believe my luck!

If I am allowed to make an assumption, it would be that the number of pre-orders in Asia is much less compared to the US or Europe. I saw this clip today https://vimeo.com/groups/blackmagic/videos/74562414 , at 16:07 the BMD representative said something about even distribution of the BMPCC across the regions. It could explain this unexpected shipment. I could be wrong though.

This particular vendor also has a disclaimer to say that any products purchased from them will be delivered within 50 days.

Disclaimer : This is not an advertisement for the vendor. I am just too happy. First post!

Lucky you... it's seems that B&H, while being the "biggest" reseller of BMD cameras, is not getting any kind of preferential treatment. That's fair, but the fact is they likely have hundreds or even thousands more pre-orders than anyone else. If what you're assuming is true, that there there is less demand in other regions, it means BMD has taken a "one size fits all" approach to distro and those in your region (or ordering from that region) are at an advantage. I guess... Who knows - BMD continues to stay silent.

That happened with the original BMCC too. You could buy them off the shelves in Japan months before all the pre-orders were filled anywhere else.

I placed a pre-order from B&H on 10 April. Like most, I have not been able to get any definite answer from their customer service regarding an estimated time of shipment. I believe it is because their number of pre-orders for the BMPCC are just too big.

EBay has had buyers paying over $1400 for the camera, so I decided to look elsewhere. I thought I could just try my luck ordering from a nearby vendor. In this case it was at Expandore Electronics Pte Ltd located just across the border in Singapore. ( Google to get the website address)

I made the online purchase on 9 September 2013.

Today (16 September 2013) I received a notification that my card has been charged, and moments later a tracking number from Fedex.

That is exactly a week. I just could not believe my luck!

If I am allowed to make an assumption, it would be that the number of pre-orders in Asia is much less compared to the US or Europe. I saw this clip today https://vimeo.com/groups/blackmagic/videos/74562414 , at 16:07 the BMD representative said something about even distribution of the BMPCC across the regions. It could explain this unexpected shipment. I could be wrong though.

This particular vendor also has a disclaimer to say that any products purchased from them will be delivered within 50 days.

Disclaimer : This is not an advertisement for the vendor. I am just too happy. First post!

Good luck with customs tax and FedEx fees

Edit: Oh I just realized you're close to Singapore (Malaysia?). So why did you order from an American company at the first place?

Does anyone know what the import fees would be for the United States? I'm getting pretty impatient with my B&H order, and well, I knew there would be a big back order but I need this camera before January. I really didn't think that would be a problem but I'm getting unsure with the current state of things...

Good luck with customs tax and FedEx fees

Edit: Oh I just realized you're close to Singapore (Malaysia?). So why did you order from an American company at the first place?

Cameras & Lenses are tax-free items, regardless of the value in Malaysia. I saved up $9 in shipping fees buying from Singapore. We are quite used to paying $40-$60 for shipping cost to Malaysia.

This was not my first purchase from B&H, I have actually spent quite a bit at their online store. I normally do a bit of research on the price first - comparing locals versus B&H/Adorama, and if it is cheaper (with shipping) then will choose to make the online purchase. Some items you just cannot source them locally so it makes sense to buy online. The trouble is of course when the item is defective/lost or requires warranty claim. Thank god that has never happened to me before.

I must say I like B&H and have never had issues with them. Unfortunately with BMPCC, they do not have much say over the supply. I cannot even get a straight answer for a simple question like "Will I get this before Christmas?"

Anyway, I am slowing down with my US purchase now as the exchange rates are no longer in my favour.

I have not decided about my pre-order with B&H though. If I cancel it and get a refund, I may actually make a few cents extra from the higher Dollar value

Here it is.

BMPCC

1.jpg (221.51 KiB) Viewed 12447 times

Ordered 9th September
Shipped 16th
Arrived 18th

Must be the fastest BMPCC order fulfilment on record for now!

Here it is.

1.jpg

Ordered 9th September
Shipped 16th
Arrived 18th

Must be the fastest BMPCC order fulfilment on record for now!

I see a storm coming!!

Here it is.

1.jpg

Ordered 9th September
Shipped 16th
Arrived 18th

Must be the fastest BMPCC order fulfilment on record for now!

Congratulation! I also phoned up Expandore after reading your post, and decided to bite the bullet and place an order on 16/Sep, I got the shipment information from DHL today (19th/Sep!!!!) with shipment information to UK! Now just waiting for the camera to arrive so I can put my Zeiss 12-120 on it!

I can't believe how fast it is, I am only at queue number 9 with a UK reseller today, thats after I placed an order on the 14th/Aug, number 16th in the queue.

So happy to hear that pre-ordering means nothing to BMD...

WTF if thats true that u just ordered ur pocket cam and recently received it,,,,,,,,,im pissed. What type of BS is that.

Yea that sucks! I ordered on April 8th from B&H and still nothing. Not cool!!

They are being assembled in Australia but Aussie customers seem to be the last on the list! C'mon BMD.

Here it is.

1.jpg

Ordered 9th September
Shipped 16th
Arrived 18th

Must be the fastest BMPCC order fulfilment on record for now!

Congratulation! I also phoned up Expandore after reading your post, and decided to bite the bullet and place an order on 16/Sep, I got the shipment information from DHL today (19th/Sep!!!!) with shipment information to UK! Now just waiting for the camera to arrive so I can put my Zeiss 12-120 on it!

I can't believe how fast it is, I am only at queue number 9 with a UK reseller today, thats after I placed an order on the 14th/Aug, number 16th in the queue.

what about import costs???

They are being assembled in Australia but Aussie customers seem to be the last on the list! C'mon BMD.

Aren't they made in Singapore? And several Aussies, including me, ordered in July and already have our pocket cameras.

I ordered today from Expandore. I'll keep others posted with updates.

I'm not a big fan of how they process payment and fees, but if I get mine in a couple of weeks I'll be happy. I'm sure there are several hundred pre-orders before mine at B&H since I placed my order July 9. Fingers crossed that Expandore will come through.

about import costs???

I will keep others updated, the item is still in Singapore, being processed by DHL at the moment. I am expecting being charged with VAT when purchase the item, end up with the same UK price.

Keep in mind that they are not on the official reseller of BMD, so treated it as a grey import is probably the best way.

I ordered today from Expandore. I'll keep others posted with updates.

I'm not a big fan of how they process payment and fees, but if I get mine in a couple of weeks I'll be happy. I'm sure there are several hundred pre-orders before mine at B&H since I placed my order July 9. Fingers crossed that Expandore will come through.

There are people who ordered on 4/8 from B&H and have still not received their cameras. I (like many others) ordered from B&H because they are the most reliable and reputable company in the US for these products. But BMD apparently does not care about that. B&H get's the same amount as anyone else, and OK, I guess that is "fair" but it seems that means under a dozen cameras per shipment, and shipments come randomly (no less than a week apart) and BMD does not communicate to their resellers when to expect shipments. So if you are not in the first 20% or so of pre-orders, don't expect your camera this year.

There are people who ordered on 4/8 from B&H and have still not received their cameras. I (like many others) ordered from B&H because they are the most reliable and reputable company in the US for these products. But BMD apparently does not care about that. B&H get's the same amount as anyone else, and OK, I guess that is "fair" but it seems that means under a dozen cameras per shipment, and shipments come randomly (no less than a week apart) and BMD does not communicate to their resellers when to expect shipments. So if you are not in the first 20% or so of pre-orders, don't expect your camera this year.

I agree with your analysis David. That's why I'm willing to give a foreign company (that I have never heard of) a try. I really like B&H. It's a shame that BMD isn't distributing their products based on demand (read pre-orders), rather than a "fair" even distribution. I placed my pre-order late because I had no idea that this was how BMD handled distro. I wasn't around for the BMCC shipping fiasco last year, so I'm just now learning how different this is from ordering, say, a new iPhone, etc. Best of luck to everyone who is awaiting a camera.

There are too many variables to come to any conclusions I think.
I think BMD need to weight in favour of official outlets (which I'm sure B&H is one?).
But then if 100 people order in the whole of Australia, or the whole of Singapore, do we have to wait for the first 1000 B&H customers before cameras ship in Oz and Singapore?
Maybe BMD should bung a few extra each week to Adorama and B&H because they are important sellers in an important market. But then we don't know for sure they aren't.

But then if 100 people order in the whole of Australia, or the whole of Singapore, do we have to wait for the first 1000 B&H customers before cameras ship in Oz and Singapore?.

No it should simply be proportional. Because the way they're doing it now, people who pre-ordered on the first day from B&H are still waiting where people who ordered days (or even months!) later from other companies already have their cameras. This is hardly fair, especially when BMD's supply is so ridiculously low.

Drifting OT into BMD business strategy. I'm sure they don't give a rip what I think but here goes....

Clearly, BMD have left money on the table. The Pocket could easily have supported a $1300 - $1500 price point at introduction. The BMCC price drop would have been fine at $2299 to $2499.

I get the aggressive price points below $1K, $2K, $4K but the extra money could have been used to fund additional engineering resources. I know that adding engineers doesn't always equal faster development but it seems obvious that many fixes/enhancements are long overdue. Who knows why but one is left with the impression that currently it's all hands on deck to get the 4K out the door.

In addition, a price point for the Pocket above $999 would help keep the wrong people from buying the product in its current incarnation (i.e. those who can't take advantage of RAW/ProRes). Once supply constraints are gone, there will be increased likelihood of people buying it who think it's a super-GH3 without still photo capability. Just the fact you can't delete clips in camera might put a bunch on ebay, maybe for much less than current list.

Again, just looking in from the outside. I find not only the technology fascinating but also the business side. A biz school prof could sift through the threads on this forum and generate a very interesting case study for a management class. It is also interesting that the BMD product strategy is so aggressive and their PR/communication strategy so conservative.

Of course, they can do whatever they think best. This is just my opinion.

It is also interesting that the BMD product strategy is so aggressive and their PR/communication strategy so conservative.

Clearly their investment strategy (in production) is also very conservative, as they are continue to produce a very small amount of cameras, despite the fact that they (and we) know the pre-order lists are very long and demand is very high. There is absolutely no way they underestimated demand - instead they released the camera knowing full well they couldn't meet market demand in a reasonable time frame. By the time the cameras hit the street ("In Stock") they will obsolete.

And it's not OT, as their supply-strategy is absurd. B&H is receiving literally the same amount of cameras per shipment as any other dealer (which is very few), despite having the largest amount of pre-orders in the U.S. If I were the CEO of BMD, I would worry very much about how this will effect my company's relationship with B&H. If I was the CEO of B&H, I would wonder why my customers have not yet received their cameras, when the customers of other retailers (who ordered much later) have. I would wonder whether it is worth it to do continue doing business with a company that does not communicate with me about when I will receive a product which I am expecting to gain millions of dollars of sale through, and is responsible for the tons of inquiring and angry emails/calls I receive every day.

I ordered on 8/23 from Safe Harbor, decided to go with a smaller supplier because I knew the bigger ones would have a large back log of orders. I was told I was about number twenty on the list when I ordered. They charged my card today and marked it as shipped. Cant wait to be using the Pocket soon! Hopefully the calibration will not be an issue...

I think the trick is about ordering from a smaller supplier versus a larger one. I ordered from a small Ohio supplier in late august, even though I live and work less than a mile from B&H and Adorama. The store I ordered from said they had put in a large order of cameras to BMD on the day it was announced and they were getting in a trickle of cameras, maybe one every two weeks.

I was number ten on the list originally, but so many people on the list cancelled their orders during White-Orbs-gate that I quickly moved to number one and got a camera out of the third shipment.

The issue is that many of these small resellers are not authorized resellers that BMD has listed on their website. Many of them are just third-party "middle men" who ordered a ton and are reselling them.

Well, I don't know how BMD can stop that. I didn't pay any markup beyond the advertised retail price of $995 at a smaller supplier.

I ordered on 8/23 from Safe Harbor, decided to go with a smaller supplier because I knew the bigger ones would have a large back log of orders. I was told I was about number twenty on the list when I ordered. They charged my card today and marked it as shipped. Cant wait to be using the Pocket soon! Hopefully the calibration will not be an issue...

Thanks for the tip on Safe Harbor. Ordered online from them on Monday and it looks like it shipped today. I had been on the order queue at BHPhoto and Adorama for months and who knows when those would have shipped. Looks like the small supplier is the way to go.

Just picked up my Pocket Cam from the sharp guys over at ColorScene. They mentioned that they had a few more in stock from canceled pre-orders. So if you guys are still looking for one, swing by their online store (just Google "colorscene") which is synced to their current inventory.

Proof Attached...

Ron Anderson
Colorama

Three Rivers Video in Pennsylvania has a 'large order' due in next Thursday (Oct 3) per their website. Rumors indicate 20 units, nothing pre-sold yet. Thanks Cuz !

I also ordered mine from a " small" dealer, who is on BMD list,, primarily selling BMDs accessories, and got mine in Sept. I thought about B&H, whereI have an account, bit knewnthebwaiting list was long. Also knew from experience with Nikon, that's distributors, not BMD will pull,orders from large companies like B&H to spread a new product to all dealers, so smaller dealers get at least one or more. B&H/?Adprma probably are getting 12+'camerasmper shipment, but that's not many compared to their long waiting list.
So small guys do winmoncevin a while.

The only caveat one may want to consider is the return policy of the vendor. For instance Three Rivers does not allow any returns on Black Magic products unless "proven defective by the manufacturer" and Safe Harbor only allows credit toward another purchase with a 5% restocking fee.
Unlike B&H who I have never had a question concerning any return and for full refund.
Just something to think about...

Got my BMPCC almost a month ago but I ordered literally seconds after the announcement on April 8th.

i preordered from b&h, well, after may. no idea.

so, i have ordered another one, today, from local reseller.(Asia)
and i got a call. they said i'll get my bmpcc next week....

hmmmmm, i wasted my time with b&h...
i think, waiting for b&h shipping is not a good idea.

Just picked up my Pocket Cam from the sharp guys over at ColorScene. They mentioned that they had a few more in stock from canceled pre-orders. So if you guys are still looking for one, swing by their online store (just Google "colorscene") which is synced to their current inventory.

Proof Attached...

Ron Anderson
Colorama

Thanks for the tip Ron, I just placed an order for one just last night... For anyone looking, they do have 1 left at the moment.

-justin constan

After cancelling the BMPC long time ago, I will give it a try (again)!
Anyone knows or recommends, the best place to order the camera?
I'm located in switzerland (Europe), but we are outside of the european union, so not a real benefict for me to buy from EU. I'm asking this, because for some reason Adorama has blocked the shipping outside US for the camera now!

Thanks,
JDS

Hello everyone,

Firstly let me say thank you to both Ron Anderson and for all the recent orders of the Pocket Camera. To all those who ordered the camera last night, your orders will be shipping today.

Unfortunately as of 9:47am EST we are out of stock. We are expecting a few more next week and I will update you all again when they come in.

Yours,
Jonathan

I ordered on 8/23 from Safe Harbor, decided to go with a smaller supplier because I knew the bigger ones would have a large back log of orders. I was told I was about number twenty on the list when I ordered. They charged my card today and marked it as shipped. Cant wait to be using the Pocket soon! Hopefully the calibration will not be an issue...

Thanks! As of Sept 25th noon EST, they had one ready to ship out for me!

Tekserve in NY has some in stock now with no backlog, . . for now. 212-929-3645

Tekserve in NY has some in stock now with no backlog, . . for now. 212-929-3645

Ship to uk?

Sorry, Tekserve will only ship this item to USA addresses.

Ordered from Tekserve. I hope my order was in on time (while there was still stock).

Joshua, your order was processed. Tekserve still has them in stock.

Excellent! Thank you. Well my US friends, now you know where to go.

Thanks Tekserve. Just ordered. B&H can kiss my pale white butt!

I guess tekserve are out of stock despite that their website still lists the product as in-stock. I just canceled my order after waiting about 18 hours for a confirmation email.

Who's next? Are there any other smaller stores in the US with stock? I'd love to give them some money!

Who's next? Are there any other smaller stores in the US with stock? I'd love to give them some money!

How long can you wait? They have been coming in one at a time every two weeks or so; expecting another one in the first week of October; no pre-orders yet.

Ordered from Tekserve this morning. Website said it was instock but when I rang they imformed me that they were out of stock but expecting 8 more in that day or monday. I have been informed that one of those 8 cameras will be mine providing I provide them with an authorisation signature, apparently a measure to prevent fraud. I have a pre-order with B&H but I have massive reservations as to the waiting times.
As of this moment, Tekserve is my best option. I will let everyone know what happens Monday.
Fingers crossed for me, yeah?

Who's next? Are there any other smaller stores in the US with stock? I'd love to give them some money!

How long can you wait? They have been coming in one at a time every two weeks or so; expecting another one in the first week of October; no pre-orders yet.

Really, anything sooner than my mystery delivery date through B&H would be nice, though something delivered on or before Thursday of next week would be ideal. I'll keep an eye on tekserve if they're expecting more on Monday! Otherwise, I'll definitely keep you in mind!

Just got mine from TekServe. I posted earlier that I would give an update when I finally ended up getting one. Good luck to everyone else in your search for one without a wait (if that's what you are doing).