nikon 16-35

<p>i placed an order for the 16-35 lens from adorama about 5 weeks ago and i knew that it was on backorder and was willing to wait. but what i find hard to understand is when you can go on ebay and find dealers here in the u.s. who have 10 or more in stock but are selling them for $300 to $400 above retail. i understand supply and demand but how do these dealers get supply from nikon while adorama and b&h can't seem to get supply. is kickbacks involved?</p>

<p>You've answered your own question. They have stock because no one's going to pay $300-400 over the going price.</p>

<p>I think if you ordered it from a reputable local dealer you might get it faster (not speaking from personal experience).<br>

Learn from the "D800 pre-order mayhem" ...<br>

This lens is VERY hard to find. It will pop up and disappear within an hour. I suspect there are a few pre-orders ahead of you on this item. I was going to go this route, but decided on primes instead. I'm not sure it's all that awesome either. Distortion at 16-18mm is said to be quite high.<br>

<br />Good luck!</p>

Nikon Japan seems to have delivery planning problems. I wonder if Canon is doing better.

<p>Keeble and Shuchat <strong>seems</strong> to have it in stock: <a href="http://kspphoto.com/spec_sheet.html?catalog[product_guids][0]=ea8e223d-7810-40fa-b2cb-0e26ff035175">http://kspphoto.com/spec_sheet.html?catalog[product_guids][0]=ea8e223d-7810-40fa-b2cb-0e26ff035175 </a> You need to call and verify it yourself.</p>

<p>However, Adorama has a lower price listed, although prices are kind of meaningless when you don't have it in stock.</p>

<p>Reminds me of a joke.</p>

<p>A guy walks into a hardware store and asks for a gallon of blue paint. The shopkeeper says "that'll be $40 please". The customer says "but that same paint is only $30 at the store down the road!", at which the shopkeeper asks why the customer didn't buy it down the road. "They didn't have any" replies the customer. Shopkeeper - "Well, when we don't have any it's only $30 too."</p>

<p>IMO, Nikon USA is currently allocating inventory to its dealer more evenly. Big volume stores aren't getting big shares of the production. Local stores are getting their "fair" share, so products are easier to find at your local dealer.</p>

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<p>Local stores are getting their "fair" share...</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Fair is an ambiguous term IMO. I understand it's not reasonable to leave a small shop with no inventory to satisfy a larger retailer, but sending a handful of a $3000 slr to a shop that normally wouldn't sell three in a year while customers who've ordered from higher volume retailers are left without begs the question, what is fair? YMMV</p>

<p>Henry Posner<br /><strong>B&H Photo-Video</strong></p>

<p>Henry, I am a long time loyal B&H customer for sure. I wasn't saying I necessarily agree with Nikon USA on this, only that it appears to me to be what is going on these days. B&H should surely be able to list the D800 and current inventory this long after its introduction.</p>

I waited 5 months at b&H for my fully paid for D800 order while others were getting ahead of me at mass merchants, like

BB. I don't believe it is good for either Nikon or B&H to let customers placing multiple orders at many outlets. If I have to

do it over, I may buy from manufacturers who could deliver the goods in reasonable time, like Canon. I also think B&H let

their customers down not to fight harder for them for their timely delivery according to their time of payment for their

orders.

<blockquote>

<p>I also think B&H let their customers down not to fight harder for them...</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I appreciate your feelings but I can assure you none of our customers will ever know the full measure of the fight we engaged in on their collective behalf.</p>

<p>Henry Posner<br /><strong>B&H Photo-Video</strong></p>

Henry, I heard you. But it was B&H who took my money, not Nikon, for 5 months.

<p>@Jim: For US customers paying with credit cards we only charge the customer when the merchandise actually ships.</p>

<p>Henry Posner<br /><strong>B&H Photo-Video</strong></p>

<blockquote>

<p>I appreciate your feelings but I can assure you none of our customers will ever know the full measure of the fight we engaged in on their collective behalf.<br>

Henry Posner<br /><strong>B&H Photo-Video</strong></p>

</blockquote>

<p><strong><br /></strong>I'm sure you did fight - on your customers behalf <em>as well as your own</em>. The solution is to no longer take pre-orders, or a least drastically change how they are managed. I don't see this happening though because no one wants to lose a sale to the competition. So then this will happen again with the D600 and everyone will point fingers - again.</p>

<p>Look in the mirror folks. The retailers that promote pre-ordering, websites with the click through ads, and the customers that click them and pre-order from multiple sources. Blame Nikon all you want (and they deserve some blame), but if you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem.</p>

<p>I have ordered many things through B&H as well as Amazon. I won't deny that the savings of sales tax was a big consideration. I have to say though that perhaps supporting my local dealer is what needs to be done from now on so I don't find myself forced to deal with the consequences of the business practices of these (primarily) web based retailers.</p>

<p>My 2 cents.</p>

<p>Regarding sales tax: Most (maybe all?) states that have one also have a use tax imposed at the same rate on Internet and mail order purchases where no sales tax was charged. If you don't pay sales tax, you're supposed to pay the use tax. If you don't pay it, you might not get caught, which is OK if you can live with a self-image as a tax cheat.</p>

<p>Or you might get caught.</p>

<p>If you're going to pay the tax anyway, then it doesn't cost any more to support your local shop.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Regarding tax, we have devolved into a nation of free-loaders and swipe-your EBT gamers, while gorge themselves on government loans and unemployment payments. Not to mention a bloated government that waste money faster than they can print an borrow it as trillions of dollars of debt accumulate to the Gods of waste. To suggest that paying taxes is a noble venture is ludicrous.</p>

<p>Just to lighten the tension a bit. My 16-35/f4 taken with a D4. So far, this lens has been fantastic. I found no real distortion (first at 16mm) that I had to fix since owning it in July. I have used it on my D200 and D4, just love it. I have taken shots as close to 3 inches away (second around 24mm), and the detail is great. Not saying, it is a marco or can be used as such. But, it can get real close. VR is great, if that is a concern. Second, the VR kicked in while I was sawing with the flower in the wind.<br /><img src="http://www.planetnikon.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=27507" alt="" width="466" height="700" /></p>

<p><img src="http://www.planetnikon.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=27748" alt="" width="800" height="800" /></p>

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<p>Regarding tax, we have devolved into a nation of free-loaders ... To suggest that paying taxes is a noble venture is ludicrous.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Likewise suggesting people skirt taxes when they're due is, IMO, ethically questionable and skirting taxes when they're due suggest an issue with integrity. Like everyone here I want to keep as much of the money I earn as I possibly can and (I presume) like everyone here I'm disgusted by wasteful and profligate spending of the taxes I pay.</p>

<p>But I value my school teachers, paved and plowed roads, clean drinking water and those who keep the country safe while I sleep soundly. I pay taxes so my kid can have the same. YMMV</p>

<p><em>My <strong>PERSONAL</strong> opinion</em></p>

<p>I live in Mass. People go to New Hampshire all the time to buy things and avoid sales tax. There are no state troopers waiting at the border to check our shopping bags. In fact, Mass has tax holidays every year to help the Mass merchants with this fact of life. I'm not condoning it, or saying people are not hurt by the practice. Just that it's been a fact of life here for decades and will continue to be until we have tax reform.</p>

<p>Amazon.com just built a warehouse in Mass. and the merchants are demanding that Amazon register with the state prior to the upcoming holiday season so that Amazon can start charging sales tax to Mass residents and "even the playing field" for the upcoming holiday. Amazon is required to charge sales tax now per Mass. state law due to having a presence in the state. I was surprised to hear that Amazon is dragging it's feet on this.</p>

<p> </p>

<blockquote>But I value my school teachers, paved and plowed roads, clean drinking water and those who keep the country safe while I sleep soundly. I pay taxes so my kid can have the same. YMMV

<p><em>My <strong>PERSONAL</strong> opinion</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Henry. Does this mean that you'll be charging sales tax to Mass residents now just like Amazon so that all merchants play by the same rules? Or are you going to continue to take advantage of state laws that give your store the competitive edge?<br>

Ya, that's what I thought ....</p>

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<p>Does this mean that you'll be charging sales tax to Mass residents...</p>

</blockquote>

<p>We may not and cannot collect sales tax for any state other than New York. We collect sales tax for orders placed in our store and for orders shipped to an address within NY state. For other orders we are not permitted to collect sales tax. That's one reason we cannot make retail sales at trade shows situated in other states.</p>

<p>Henry Posner<br /><strong>B&H Photo-Video</strong></p>