B&H will NOT ship [lithium batteries] to Alaska???

resummerfield · Apr 21, 2017

This has to be a mistake. I just attempted to order a D4 from B&H, but they refuse to ship, citing “Shipping Restriction- There are currently no shipping methods available to AK USA due to carrier regulations regarding products containing lithium batteries…”

Have I missed a new regulation or something? I checked with some other retailers in NYC, and they all agree to ship the camera to Alaska.

Henry P… can you help???

Ai Print · Apr 21, 2017

resummerfield said:
This has to be a mistake. I just attempted to order a D4 from B&H, but they refuse to ship, citing “Shipping Restriction- There are currently no shipping methods available to AK USA due to carrier regulations regarding products containing lithium batteries…”

Have I missed a new regulation or something? I checked with some other retailers in NYC, and they all agree to ship the camera to Alaska.

Henry P… can you help???

Did you call them?

resummerfield · Apr 21, 2017

OK. Cancel this emergency. I guess you can NOT order lithitum batteries separately. So no spares. But the camera should ship just fine.

jvo · Apr 21, 2017

you can see russia from your front door... if war is imminent, you wouldn't want them to get a hold of that lithium battery!

Old-N-Feeble · Apr 21, 2017

You're too close to Russia... can't have any D4's going to Russia.

Sirius Glass · Apr 21, 2017

Lithium batteries cannot be shipped because bipolar people take lithium.

David A. Goldfarb · Apr 21, 2017

Title updated to avoid unnecessary concern.

Sirius Glass · Apr 21, 2017

Aw shucks

faberryman · Apr 21, 2017

I can't imagine anyone being concerned about B&H's shipping policy.

Kilgallb · Apr 21, 2017

To air ship Lithium Ion batteries you need to do dro testing of the battery in the box it ships in to get IATA approval. No doubt the camera company did so installed in the camera packaging but doubtful B&H did in the individual pack. However, they could ground ship without that testing. You of course wait longer.

Skai King · Apr 22, 2017

Kilgallb said:
To air ship Lithium Ion batteries you need to do dro testing of the battery in the box it ships in to get IATA approval. No doubt the camera company did so installed in the camera packaging but doubtful B&H did in the individual pack. However, they could ground ship without that testing. You of course wait longer.

Probably is the cause of me being denied a replacement battery for my IdeaPad.

Sal Santamaura · Apr 22, 2017

faberryman said:
I can't imagine anyone being concerned about B&H's shipping policy.

Lots of people are concerned about B&H's shipping policies. Those people are called customers. They're people who appreciate the wide array of products B&H efficiently and economically provides, especially analog photography products, in this era when brick and mortar camera stores are almost extinct.

I can't imagine why you persist in conducting a 'hate B&H' posting campaign.

darkroommike · Apr 22, 2017

faberryman said:
I can't imagine anyone being concerned about B&H's shipping policy.

Everyone should be concerned with B&H shipping policy, and a heads up like this helps inform purchasing conditions, especially when an item is needed in a hurry. Alternative vendors abound, but when service is an issue I still tend to try B&H first.

resummerfield · Apr 22, 2017

Kilgallb said:
...However, they could ground ship without that testing. You of course wait longer.

Ground shipping from the “lower 48” to Alaska takes longer, usually a week, but at some point it gets on an airplane. UPS, FedEx, even the US Postal Service have this policy.

So the only way we can get "hazardous materials" to Alaska is to ship to a freight forwarder in Seattle, where is waits a week or so to get loaded on the ship (along with ammunition and other “dangerous goods”). Then I have to pick it up at the terminal in Anchorage. All this costs another $50-100 or so depending on the weight, and takes about a month.

Kilgallb, how do you get lithium batteries in Canada? Can the major carriers ground ship hazmat to Canada?

And if so, why can’t they just “keep going” to Alaska?

Luckless · Apr 22, 2017

Canadian shipping is kind of interesting due to our geographic and development patterns. We have pretty solid east-west freight routes for the majority of the country, and then a scattering of north bound transit lines to a select few major centres.

Check out google maps satellite view on a trip from Toronto to Anchorage, and you might agree that "Just put it on a boat in Seattle/Vancouver" makes a whole lot more sense. But I still find it frustrating that the shipping companies haven't made it less painful to get basic package services into some of the more northern regions.

Sirius Glass · Apr 22, 2017

Sal Santamaura said:
Lots of people are concerned about B&H's shipping policies. Those people are called customers. They're people who appreciate the wide array of products B&H efficiently and economically provides, especially analog photography products, in this era when brick and mortar camera stores are almost extinct.

I can't imagine why you persist in conducting a 'hate B&H' posting campaign.

+!

He also spend part of the time in his "hating Kodak" campaign.

faberryman · Apr 22, 2017

Given the difficulty of getting lithium batteries to Alaska, it seems like a golden opportunity for an entrepreneurial fellow for a home based business in Anchorage.

Kilgallb · Apr 23, 2017

resummerfield said:
Ground shipping from the “lower 48” to Alaska takes longer, usually a week, but at some point it gets on an airplane. UPS, FedEx, even the US Postal Service have this policy.

So the only way we can get "hazardous materials" to Alaska is to ship to a freight forwarder in Seattle, where is waits a week or so to get loaded on the ship (along with ammunition and other “dangerous goods”). Then I have to pick it up at the terminal in Anchorage. All this costs another $50-100 or so depending on the weight, and takes about a month.

Kilgallb, how do you get lithium batteries in Canada? Can the major carriers ground ship hazmat to Canada?

And if so, why can’t they just “keep going” to Alaska?

Lithium Ion batteries are not considered hazardous materials for ground transportation. That does not stop individual carriers from making tougher rules.

Sirius Glass · Apr 23, 2017

The lithium batteries in the Samsung smart phones can be used as hand and leg warmers on a one time basis.

cmacd123 · May 3, 2017

firtulatly it seems that they can ship them to Canada! Canada shipments do come by Purolator GROUND. Received both a spare DSLR battery (which we won't talk about here) and some CR123A primary cells (used in my Canon Elan 7 FILM camera) this week.

B&H will NOT ship [lithium batteries] to Alaska???

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