one site to rule them all

Disclaimer: This posting is almost a shameless advertisement, for amazon.com (they didn't ask for it though).

For a while now, I've had my eyes on the Pentax K20D and today I decided I'd get one, preferably by the end of the day.

I searched online, and went with the top camera shop, as returned by a Google search (in this case, www.bhphotovideo.com).

After approximately two hours on the website, browsing for lenses, bags and accessories, I picked three lenses (not all of them for me), the camera body and a camera bag, then happily proceeded to checkout.

Five or so tries later, after acknowledging again and again that I'd have to go home and take a picture of my credit card and send it to them, and after five refusals of my credit card, I decided to switch websites.

www.bhphotovideo.com, you didn't get my money.

I picked the second choice from the Google search results, adorama.com. I picked the items I had already decided on (no browsing the website this time, just specific searches) and proceeded to checkout, again. After three tries, all I have to say about this, is adorama guys, international phone numbers are not necessarily ten digits long, and if you don't allow people to make accounts because their phone numbers are not ten digits long, you lose customers. Like me, for example.

In the end, adorama.com guys, you didn't get my money either.

Then, I abandoned Google search results altogether and went directly to amazon.com. I did a search for the camera type, added it to the cart, and among the recommendations made by amazon's engine, I found everything I had already decided to get (their recommended stuff engine is spot-on). I ended up spending no time on the site, searching for items or otherwise.

Two minutes later (the two minutes being mostly filled with completing a new delivery address) I had completed my order, checked it, and received a confirmation email for my order.

To conclude, the next time, I don't think I'll bother with other websites at all.

My second conclusion: Hey, amazon.com guys, thanks!