B&H - So much smarter than Photog's Formulary (NOT!)

[William McEwen]

Here's a photo of the 8x10 contact printing frames from Photographer's Formulary, on their Web site:

http://www.photoformulary.com/Deskto...ion=0&langId=0

And here is the same product, posted on B&H's! The smart guys who put together the product photos at B&H added their own touch, so we could learn how a contact printing frame is used! Ah, the folks at B&H... they have so much to teach us!

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...int_Frame.html

[Bob Salomon]

Errors are not unusual on any dealer's web site. But did you see the link towards the bottom of B&H's page? It says:

"See any errors on this page? Let us know."

[Daniel_Buck]

"See any errors on this page? Let us know."

indeed, nobody's perfect!

[Gem Singer]

I deal with both of these vendors on a regular basis.

The Photo Formulary assumes that the people who order from them are knowledgeable about photography and don't need someone to explain how to use the item, or help them make a decision.

B&H makes the opposite supposition. Did you ever ask one of B&H's sales staff to help you make a decision?

I enjoy the ability to order online from both vendors. I can charge the purchase to my credit card, and avoid the need to talk directly to one of B&H's "friendly, knowledgeable sales staff"(that's a joke).

However, I do like talking to one of the nice ladies at the Formulary once in a while.

[William McEwen]

It looks like I wasn't clear.

B&H appears to think these are picture frames. They've put pictures in them.

[Bob Salomon]

It looks like I wasn't clear.

B&H appears to think these are picture frames. They've put pictures in them.

I am the contact person for B&H's web and catalog people who put the products on their web site and in their catalogs for our products. The people who buy product for B&H are very knowledgeable about the products they buy. But some of the people who actually put the images and the text on the web site and catalogs are not particularly knowledgeable about photography (some are). They are writers or graphics people, so they do make mistakes. But they also ask anyone who finds a mistake to tell them about it so they can correct it. Considering the size of the market for contact printing frames vs the market for picture frames it isn't that surprising an error. But note that their written description was very accurate and descriptive.

[Daniel_Buck]

The people who buy product for B&H are very knowledgeable about the products they buy. But some of the people who actually put the images and the text on the web site and catalogs are not particularly knowledgeable about photography (some are). They are writers or graphics people, so they do make mistakes.

could very well be that the person putting the images into the website isn't even a writer or web guy, it may be an intern (unpaid, or little paid), since it's a fairly remedial task.

[BrianShaw]

could very well be that the person putting the images into the website isn't even a writer or web guy, it may be an intern (unpaid, or little paid), since it's a fairly remedial task.

It was an ADVERTISMENT, folks... not an INSTRUCTION MANUAL.

The intention was to look good, not to look correct.

[William McEwen]

It was an ADVERTISMENT, folks... not an INSTRUCTION MANUAL.

The intention was to look good, not to look correct.

So it's OK if an illustration is inaccurate and deceptive -- making it look good is paramount?

[BrianShaw]

So it's OK if an illustration is inaccurate and deceptive -- making it look good is paramount?

The way in which the product was "being used" in the ad was inaccurate, but what was "deceptive" about it?