Kudos to Berger Bros for my S5 Pro

i noticed the S5 Pro was in stock at an online (storefront) dealer, so i

instantly placed the order. turns out it went on backorder.

 

in a bit of frustration, i went searching elsewhere. in another thread within

the Nikon forums, another poster asked whether the S5 was worth the purchase.

 

to make a long story short, Roy Tangen posted (in the same thread) that he

purchases from Berger Brothers (http://www.berger-bros.com), with the quote, "I

have been using them for years and have been thrilled with prices and availability".

 

i called them this morning at 9:05 (NY time) to check on the stock of the S5 -

they had two ... one bundled with the Pantone Huey and one as a body only.

 

i claimed the S5 body only. i also inquired about an MB-D200 vertical grip and

Mark said they didn't have one in stock, but would contact me when they came in.

we finished the transaction, and i asked if they could email me the tracking

number, and he said, "sure".

 

on the way home from the office, Mark called me on my cell phone and announced,

"we had an MB-D200 grip in our other store so i had it sent over and included it

in your order and both are boxed and ready to ship".

 

needless to say, the S5 and grip are in UPS's hands and on the way. i commend

Berger Bros, especially Mark, for their very personal service.

 

i normally order everything i own online, but this time around, the whole

transaction happened on the phone (with Mark). he was very cordial and pleasant,

making the whole transaction a pleasant experience. he answered all my

questions and there was no hint of up-sell.

 

to top it all off, in addition to the "automated" email i received about the

shipment, Mark emailed me personally to let me know the shipment left and

provided the tracking number.

 

many kudos to Berger Bros for their outstanding personalized service!

 

regards, michael

I purchased my D200 from them last January and had an excellent experience as well. They're a good group of folks. :)

Agreed that Berger Bros. is a reputable place. Having said that, however, did you ask them if the S5 you're getting is a USA model?

 

My understanding is that the stock that are clearing shelves quickly in the US are **imports** i.e., gray market. -- I believe this is the case at B&H and the other **go to** online stores.

 

I have no idea if Fuji's warranty policy is anything like Nikon's; but if it is, I hope nothng goes wrong with your S5.

 

KL

To KLIX. FYI Berger Brothers does not deal in any grey market goods. I have asked them in the past to get some and the answer was a big NO. Brad the owner is very honest and will not play games with USA vs Grey

I actually used to work for Berger Bros, it was a part time thing and got me a great deal on my setup. :) I know first hand that Brad doesn't deal with grey market merchandise. He has sales reps from all of the manufacturers that would often come into the stores and he gets everything direct from Canon, Nikon etc. So no need to worry about you S5!! Happy shooting!

<i>Brad the owner is very honest and will not play games with USA vs Grey -- Roy.</i>

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First of all, USA vs. Gray does NOT have anything to do with (dis)honesty. USA and gray are both legal and both perfectly legitimate and usable. In fact, in most, if not all cases, they ARE the same physical product, probably coming off the same assembly line. In the Nikon world, at least, the only difference is warranty coverage. Again, I don't know if Fuji's warranty treats USA vs. gray market products differently.

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Again, agreed the Berger Bros. is a legit store.

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And again(?!), what I'm saying is that AFAIK, at least 5 other online stores I've checked (B&H, Adorama, etc...) have not YET received USA models, and what have been selling are gray market. So, unless the sale people at ALL 5 stores have been yanking my chain, USA models does not seem readily available. Maybe Berger Bros. has its own source for USA models not available to B&H or ADorama or anyone else.

howdy KLIX ...

 

i dont get it ... i've checked Berger Bros, B&H, Adorama, Ritz ... they all say, "FujiFilm S5 ... USA" (with some, you have to click through to find it), or they mention "one year limited warranty", which *is* the standard USA warranty.

 

regards, michael