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B&H photo (run by Orthodox Jews out of NYC) stops accepting orders during the sabbath in their time zone. You can keep browsing, but you can’t generate work for

B&H photo (run by Orthodox Jews out of NYC) stops accepting orders during the sabbath in their time zone. You can keep browsing, but you can’t generate work for them. This seems like a decent compromise, and it’s definitely not hurting their business.

Wowfunhappy 6y ago
> And it’s definitely not hurting their business. I would question that conclusion. There have been times in the past I've wanted to order from B&H, but could not because it was on the Sabbath. In most cases, I just keep looking until I found the item on a different website. I'm sure they consider the loss of business worthwhile to comply with their religion, but there is a cost.
- nullc 6y ago
  > but there is a cost. It may be less than you suspect because the regular bubble in their ordering pipeline might give them time to deal with suppliers, maintain stock, improve their website, maintain systems, relax and refocus, etc. I doubt it works out better than not doing it at least economically, but there may be enough benefit to offset most of the costs. The times I've run into the B&H sabbath outage, I just waited and ordered later. There are more thing in my life than just ordering things as fast as possible, and I respect a business for having other priorities. (Plus, B&H is just generally a really good supplier)
  - Wowfunhappy 6y ago
    > There are more thing in my life than just ordering things as fast as possible. On a purely personal level, it's not so much the speed as it is the need to get it done and move on with my life. If I need to order something, I want to just do it and forget about it for a few days (or whatever) until it arrives in the mail. If I have to come back later, that's one more thing for my mental to-do list.
  - m-zuber 6y ago
    >It may be less than you suspect because the regular bubble in their ordering pipeline might give them time to deal with suppliers, maintain stock, improve their website, maintain systems, relax and refocus, etc. the thing is, the bubble they have includes not doing anything on this list :)
    - nullc 6y ago
      Not during the time but presumably the lack of orders during that period results in reduced work the following day. Otherwise, they'd be like many businesses: closed on sunday, but handing sunday's orders on monday.
  - snapetom 6y ago
    B&H is also very competitive in price and still doesn't charge sales tax in many states. Save twenty bucks by placing the order tonight instead of right now? Sure, why not.
- beenBoutIT 6y ago
  Chick-Fil-A does the same thing domestically with their respective Sabbath on Sunday and it's reported to cost them over $1 billion a year in lost sales. Remembering the Sabbath day to keep it holy is extremely expensive, especially when the business is online and serving a worldwide customer base.
  - smabie 6y ago
    A private equity company should LBO that shit and then open on Sundays. If you Guaranteed profit.
- Fripplebubby 6y ago
  This is actually my favorite thing about B&H, because I'll be impulsively browsing on a Friday night or Saturday online, and sure enough coming back one day later is enough to re-evaluate whether I did really need to have that gadget. I also find it charming that they've managed to become a massive retailer while sticking to their religious values, although there are plenty of examples of that in other chains in the US that don't sit as well with me, personally (Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, etc).
  - snapetom 6y ago
    It's extra impressive considering that not only are they closed on the Sabbath, but also the major and mid-importance Jewish holidays. Count on them being shut down for weeks during September and October.
- telcal 6y ago
  Every single time I've walked by the physical store location in NYC on a Saturday (or holiday), there's always people approaching the entrance expecting it to be open. They're certainly losing business at the store too.
- ashtonkem 6y ago
  B&H also has a stellar reputation for service, support, and selection. Lots of people will choose to wait another day in order to do business with someone they trust.
bandhphoto 6y ago
Thank you all for participating in this conversation. We are aware our Sabbath schedule is an inconvenience, however brief, for a few. We regret the inconvenience. It is also, based on our owner's beliefs, unavoidable. -- Henry Posner / B&H Photo-Video

Wowfunhappy 6y ago

> And it’s definitely not hurting their business. I would question that conclusion. There have been times in the past I've wanted to order from B&H, but could not because it was on the Sabbath. In most cases, I just keep looking until I found the item on a different website. I'm sure they consider the loss of business worthwhile to comply with their religion, but there is a cost.

nullc 6y ago
> but there is a cost. It may be less than you suspect because the regular bubble in their ordering pipeline might give them time to deal with suppliers, maintain stock, improve their website, maintain systems, relax and refocus, etc. I doubt it works out better than not doing it at least economically, but there may be enough benefit to offset most of the costs. The times I've run into the B&H sabbath outage, I just waited and ordered later. There are more thing in my life than just ordering things as fast as possible, and I respect a business for having other priorities. (Plus, B&H is just generally a really good supplier)
- Wowfunhappy 6y ago
  > There are more thing in my life than just ordering things as fast as possible. On a purely personal level, it's not so much the speed as it is the need to get it done and move on with my life. If I need to order something, I want to just do it and forget about it for a few days (or whatever) until it arrives in the mail. If I have to come back later, that's one more thing for my mental to-do list.
- m-zuber 6y ago
  >It may be less than you suspect because the regular bubble in their ordering pipeline might give them time to deal with suppliers, maintain stock, improve their website, maintain systems, relax and refocus, etc. the thing is, the bubble they have includes not doing anything on this list :)
  - nullc 6y ago
    Not during the time but presumably the lack of orders during that period results in reduced work the following day. Otherwise, they'd be like many businesses: closed on sunday, but handing sunday's orders on monday.
- snapetom 6y ago
  B&H is also very competitive in price and still doesn't charge sales tax in many states. Save twenty bucks by placing the order tonight instead of right now? Sure, why not.
beenBoutIT 6y ago
Chick-Fil-A does the same thing domestically with their respective Sabbath on Sunday and it's reported to cost them over $1 billion a year in lost sales. Remembering the Sabbath day to keep it holy is extremely expensive, especially when the business is online and serving a worldwide customer base.
- smabie 6y ago
  A private equity company should LBO that shit and then open on Sundays. If you Guaranteed profit.
Fripplebubby 6y ago
This is actually my favorite thing about B&H, because I'll be impulsively browsing on a Friday night or Saturday online, and sure enough coming back one day later is enough to re-evaluate whether I did really need to have that gadget. I also find it charming that they've managed to become a massive retailer while sticking to their religious values, although there are plenty of examples of that in other chains in the US that don't sit as well with me, personally (Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, etc).
- snapetom 6y ago
  It's extra impressive considering that not only are they closed on the Sabbath, but also the major and mid-importance Jewish holidays. Count on them being shut down for weeks during September and October.
telcal 6y ago
Every single time I've walked by the physical store location in NYC on a Saturday (or holiday), there's always people approaching the entrance expecting it to be open. They're certainly losing business at the store too.
ashtonkem 6y ago
B&H also has a stellar reputation for service, support, and selection. Lots of people will choose to wait another day in order to do business with someone they trust.

bandhphoto 6y ago

Thank you all for participating in this conversation. We are aware our Sabbath schedule is an inconvenience, however brief, for a few. We regret the inconvenience. It is also, based on our owner's beliefs, unavoidable. -- Henry Posner / B&H Photo-Video