BREAKING NEWS!
BH Photo Video (www.bhphotovideo.com) is now offering FREE SHIPPING to Canada on orders over $99.
I'll let that sink in for a second.
A MAJOR retailer in the United States of America is now offering FREE cross border shipping to Canada.
This is HUGE. It has the potential to pave the way for other retailers to follow suit (*cough* *cough* www.walmart.com, www.homedepot.com, www.amazon.com *cough*)
True, you are still responsible for paying the duties, which basically amounts to whatever HST, PST or GST amount you'd pay in your respective province. Don't fret, BH conveniently allow you to pre-pay the duties when you checkout, preventing you from having to pay them when your package arrives at your door. This is an awesome feature: it saves you time, prevents packages from not being delivered due to duties owing and saves you the brokerage fee that companies like UPS, DHL, FedEx, etc, use when they collect duties at the door. Don't skip it, just use this option if you ever see it at checkout.
I've ordered many items from BH Photo Video in the past. Their prices have almost always been considerable cheaper than those of retailers here in Canada. Shipping was reasonably priced (considering) and very fast. It was not uncommon for an order placed on a Monday to arrive by end of day Wednesday (less than 2 days) and if you've ever ordered items from other retailers in the USA, you know that that's a pretty fricken' awesome turnaround time. Heck, it's really good compared to most Canadian companies when you're ordering online!
And did I mention the prices? These are just three random examples I pulled:
Nikon D810 (body only)
Canada: $3499 @ FutureShop (http://bit.ly/1GBeFJL)
BH Photo Video: $2996 (USD) (http://bhpho.to/1GBhH0v)
Fuji Film X100T
Canada: $1399 @ Henry's (http://bit.ly/1GBhWsy)
BH Photo Video: $1299 (USD) (http://bhpho.to/1GBivCJ)
Nikon EN-EL15 Battery (this is where it gets awesome: accessories prices)
Canada: $99 @ FutureShop (http://bit.ly/1GBiKxw)
BH Photo Video: $43 (USD) (http://bhpho.to/1GBiX3K)
That's less than half the price!
BH Photo Video just made it harder for all the photographers out there with G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) to resist temptation. They're awesome and with this change in shipping they just got even more awesome...er. So go nuts.
Now if only the loonie would stop dropping in value...