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I recently purchased a z6 from BH. New. What I got was a camera with 500+ shutter count. 
The box was banged up. The books were unwrapped and used. 
The wrap around the camera was torn. 
I sent back immediately (I took one pic to check shutter). 
I’m now questioning my choice of vender after 10+ years. 
The last camera I bought I wondered but trusted BH and didn’t check. 
Now I also wonder about the cameras I’ve purchased in the past.
I wanted the z6 for a trip so contacted Adorama and paid extra to get overnight. 
The shutter count on that camera was 1 - the pic I took to check. 
If I buy New I guess I expect New. 
Really disappointed in BH and won’t be choosing them any longer. 
Just a rant and just think as consumers we need to be more diligent. 
Lenses and cameras aren’t cheap and I want to get what I paid for. 

I'm guessing that a customer return accidentally got put back into new inventory and you got that. Likely an error rather than purposeful. I do agree that the "quality" of how they ship stuff has gone down dramatically and Adorama is definitely better in this regard. The upside of B&H is the Payboo card though which basically allows you to continue to get your gear without paying sales tax legally.

Sounds like you received a refurbished camera. Yeah that's a bummer if you order a new camera. You also mentioned you have used B&H for 10+ years, no issues I presume. One mistake in 10+ years is in no way indicative to poor quality or service. I really have no preference one way or the other. I use Adorama more than B&H. I have also used Hunt's Photo & Video as well. I actually called Hunts to check on a sale price of a Canon printer a while back. My called was answered immediately by someone in the store. I had just missed the deadline of the sale price and a sizable rebate, but they honored both anyway. I will have no issue using them in the future.

For local purchases that are hard to find elsewhere I still use BH and Adorama, though prefer the latter. Both have some issues in their brick and mortar stores that I personally have problems with but cannot discuss. However, their service generally has been good and I've bought from them for over 20 yrs.

My go to camera gear shop for the past 12 yrs has been Allen's Camera in PA. Very friendly, very prompt and same price as BH or Adorama. They are authorized dealers for most major brands and whatever I order is in my house the next day, shipping and tax-free. Cannot beat that.

I used to visit my local camera store since I liked supporting the local guys but stopped after I had a couple of bad experiences with cameras or lenses that had been sitting on the shelf for too long. Many of these smaller stores will sell you what is essentially an open box item and has been handled by many people. They just cannot afford the huge inventories the big guys can I suppose.

Pradeep

I don't think you can expect a company that has hundreds, if not thousands, of daily transactions to get it right 100 per cent of the time. I've been dealing with B&H since they were a mom and pop store with less than a handful of employees. Their customer service is excellent. The one time I had a major problem it was rectified immediately. Not that I don't also use other photo retailers. I seldom use Adorama because many years ago the had a non-retuned policy that still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Peter

P.W.Post wrote:I don't think you can expect a company that has hundreds, if not thousands, of daily transactions to get it right 100 per cent of the time. I've been dealing with B&H since they were a mom and pop store with less than a handful of employees. Their customer service is excellent. The one time I had a major problem it was rectified immediately. Not that I don't also use other photo retailers. I seldom use Adorama because many years ago the had a non-retuned policy that still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Peter

Yeah, Adorama was a bit shady 30+ years ago but they are very good now but they don't have anything that offsets your taxes like B&H does.  On some purchases that can be hundreds or even as much as a thousand dollars if you are buying something like a super-telephoto prime lens.

I have two words for you............................Allen's Camera!