Does anyone know why there are so few sellers in the US? Why they're not available on Amazon for example?
Why aren't Dahua cameras more easily available in the US?
- Thread starter wrybread
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fenderman
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They are easily available however dahua like many other manufactures, only sells via authorized distributors who in turn generally only sell to installers.
Still seems odd that there's no authorized reseller on Amazon or similar. There's obviously lots of other PTZ cameras on there.
If the authorized dealers are making more money selling quantities to professional installers who won't blow up their phones 24/7 with stupid networking questions, why bother selling to the public? They also don't want to undercut their customers who will then choose to carry another brand instead.
fenderman
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I believe that generally they are not permitted to sell to end users.... I'm not sure how B&H get around that...
If that's the case, then why are people in the US more than happy to sell cameras by pretty much every single other manufacturer?
That makes a lot more sense. Any idea why that might be?
Speaking as someone that buys regularly from B&H (not cameras, I just buy those from Andy), it might boil down to not asking too many questions when a retailer wants to offer your product as a portion of their north-of-150 million in annual sales. Similar to Newegg also has Dahua product they sell officially (but more per unit than Andy's labeled and unlabeled stuff in this case). But if you didn't find this forum, or have dozens of people swearing buy @EMPIRETECANDY would you give him a 2nd thought over a few bucks?
As a regular ecommerce buyer, I still feel Amazon is a little more wild-west than a NewEgg-direct (not partner / marketplace or whatever they call it, had some knockoffs/junk make it thru that channel) and definitely feel comfortable buying just about anything from B&H (which I guess is brick-and-mortar out of Manhattan that I haven't ever visited). Price is usually comparable, but sometimes slightly more for electronics than insert-random-ebay-amazon-seller-here. But wouldn't you buy from a trusted seller if the price was close? I know I sometimes pay $1-$5 more for something to get it from NewEgg, simply because I know I'll have it in like 2 days instead of 7+ days later off the slow boat, never mind if I don't get it I have experience getting reliable refund from a trusted ecommerce site, haven't tried on Ali or Amazon personally.
That's also why I don't sweat buying from @EMPIRETECANDY versus one-of-the-other-1000-sellers-on-Amazon-or-Alibaba --- trusted seller, fast, reliable delivery, personally experienced. Happens to also be among the cheapest options, saved about $40 off/Newegg or approx $50 off/B&H for the mini-dome buying it from @EMPIRETECANDY. But then I saved $100 buying a same-model computer display from B&H on sale over Newegg before so can pay you back to shop around. Personal experience I could have saved $120 if I had waited a couple weeks when the same item showed up in a sales flyer, but who has a crystal ball?
As a regular ecommerce buyer, I still feel Amazon is a little more wild-west than a NewEgg-direct (not partner / marketplace or whatever they call it, had some knockoffs/junk make it thru that channel) and definitely feel comfortable buying just about anything from B&H (which I guess is brick-and-mortar out of Manhattan that I haven't ever visited). Price is usually comparable, but sometimes slightly more for electronics than insert-random-ebay-amazon-seller-here. But wouldn't you buy from a trusted seller if the price was close? I know I sometimes pay $1-$5 more for something to get it from NewEgg, simply because I know I'll have it in like 2 days instead of 7+ days later off the slow boat, never mind if I don't get it I have experience getting reliable refund from a trusted ecommerce site, haven't tried on Ali or Amazon personally.
That's also why I don't sweat buying from @EMPIRETECANDY versus one-of-the-other-1000-sellers-on-Amazon-or-Alibaba --- trusted seller, fast, reliable delivery, personally experienced. Happens to also be among the cheapest options, saved about $40 off/Newegg or approx $50 off/B&H for the mini-dome buying it from @EMPIRETECANDY. But then I saved $100 buying a same-model computer display from B&H on sale over Newegg before so can pay you back to shop around. Personal experience I could have saved $120 if I had waited a couple weeks when the same item showed up in a sales flyer, but who has a crystal ball?
fenderman
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As with many industries that do this, this is to preserve profit margins for installers and integrators who are their primary clientele. They also dont want folks who dont have a clue about what they are doing having issues then leaving poor reviews based on user error or calling/emailing dahua.
Not me, I buy from Amazon almost daily. Amazon Prime is downright amazing, especially their return policy. I'm not worried about my purchase from Andy, I trust him because of this forum, but it strikes me as very odd that many Dahua cameras aren't available on Amazon (though plenty of others are), and there's lots of alternatives to the Dahuas that are the same feature wise. None of the explanations given in this thread make any sense and are all conjecture anyway.
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fenderman
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They are not conjecture...you are simply not familiar with the security industry ...this requirement that authorized dealers only sell to installers to protect their interests is basically the status quo for alarm panels, access control, intercoms, fire, and cameras. This is not the only industry that does this - it is VERY common. These manufactures specify in their contracts that distributors may only sell to "trade installers"
Then how is B&H, one of the most reputable camera stores in America, selling them? And why are so many other Dahua cameras on Amazon for example? And why were even their advanced PTZ cameras on Amazon in the past?
And do you have a link to support your statement that Dahua specifically has this policy? It should be easily available if that's their official policy.
fenderman
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I dont know the agreement between BH and dahua..perhaps they have a deal..they sell hikvision as well and hikvision is specific in their contracts about only selling to trade installers.
There are NO authorized dahua distributors on amazon..none...most are china hacked cameras...the others are international...the fact that they are on amazon does not mean they are authorized. You will not get a dahua warranty with them. You will not get tech support.
That information is available to dahua distributors.
You must be right, perhaps the dahua distributors have never heard of amazon
fenderman
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Did I say that?
Maybe, but the fact that B&H sells them does, I think, mean they're authorized. Seems strange to be the only authorized seller and nothing you've said makes that make any sense.
Edited to add: Here's B&H's selection of Dahua cameras. That's a whole lotta Dahua!
dahua | B&H Photo Video
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fenderman
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No you said the reasons here are conjecture...perhaps you can think of ANY other plausible reason?
READ my post again. I dont know the agreement BandH has...its either one of two possibilities...they have permission unlike the others OR they are violating the terms and dont care.
So to answer your question, perhaps someone from dahua management will comment
fenderman
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it is also possible that bandh is not an official dahua distributor as they are not listed on dahua site...rather they dropship every order using ADI.
B&H Now Authorized Distributor Of Hikvision
it is fact that hikvision has dropped distributors who sold direct and it made clear in 2016 that they will not allow that practice, but BH gets around it...there are exceptions to the rule.
B&H Now Authorized Distributor Of Hikvision
it is fact that hikvision has dropped distributors who sold direct and it made clear in 2016 that they will not allow that practice, but BH gets around it...there are exceptions to the rule.
I can't, that's the point of this thread. I think B&H proves your theory is at least not 100% correct.
About B&H drop shipping, that's plausible, but seems strange that they'd be the only ones doing that, especially when the Dahua products are better in quality and price than most of the competition.
Also seems strange that B&H would be offering these without a manufacturer's warranty (if what you said earlier is correct). B&H is SUPER reputable and they'd mention any warranty restrictions on their site. As it is, there's a 3 year warranty on this Dahua camera for example:
Dahua Technology Pro Series 59430UNI 4MP Outdoor PTZ 59430UNI
fenderman
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There are exceptions to every rule...read my post. hikvision prohibits selling to end users..it is fact that they have dropped distributors for this reason. BH is still allowed to do this.
BH must have an agreement with Dahua and/or ADI to facilitate the warranty .
But you know better and will solve this mystery...
fenderman
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Sure, youll wait for a dahua rep or a BH employee to answer your pressing question.