B&H Photo Video list the 950&950XL w/prices

[libra89]

I was poking around on B&H Photo Video, like I like to do randomly, and for the first time, I came across listings for the 950 and 950 XL with pricing.
It's not for sale, but you can pre-order if you want. Expected date of availability is December 15, which is interesting to me.

$549.99 for the 950:
Microsoft LUMIA 950 DS RM 1118 UNLCKD GSM PHN-BK A00026441 B&H
Microsoft LUMIA 950 DS RM 1118 UNLCKD GSM PHN-WH A00026803 B&H

$629.99 for the XL:
Microsoft LMA 950XL DS RM 1116 UNLCKD GSM PHN-WH A00026457 B&H
Microsoft LMA 950XL DS RM 1116 UNLCKD GSM PHN-BK A00026806 B&H

 

[wpfan86]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing. Also interesting that it availability isn't listed until December 15th. I think Microsoft is making a mistake if these things aren't out in time for Black Friday in the US.

 

[jlangner]

Nce find

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I have an early pre-order at the Microsoft store but just pre-ordered a 950Xl from B&H. I bought my 1520.3 from them and they gave outstanding service before and after the sale. The 1520.3s didn't have any US factory warranty but B&H provided their own that I had to use to replace the phone after it developed extreme touch problems at about 6 weeks of age. Fortunately the replacement has been perfect for more than a year now.

Anyway, the chat rep could not tell me if the phone has a US factory warranty but I suspect it will and hope to get confirmation from someone at B&H that does know. I also hope to find if my pre-order will come from their first shipment.

As to the Dec 16 estimated date, I hope its just being pessimistic to avoid upset customers in case their source is slow to deliver. Or it could be because they are getting them from outside the US (like the 1520.3s) or that MS has such a backlog of orders B&H is at the back of the waiting list.

Anyway, I'll post when/if I have more info. I hope I end up getting it from B&H instead of directly from MS. B&H's price is $20 cheaper plus no sales tax which is more than $50 at the MS store.

 

[wpfan86]

I have an early pre-order at the Microsoft store but just pre-ordered a 950Xl from B&H. I bought my 1520.3 from them and they gave outstanding service before and after the sale. The 1520.3s didn't have any US factory warranty but B&H provided their own that I had to use to replace the phone after it developed extreme touch problems at about 6 weeks of age. Fortunately the replacement has been perfect for more than a year now.

Anyway, the chat rep could not tell me if the phone has a US factory warranty (all of their past WPs did NOT and were gray market) but I suspect it will and hope to get confirmation from someone at B&H that does know. I also hope to find if my pre-order will come from their first shipment.

As to the Dec 16 estimated date, I hope its just being pessimistic to avoid upset customers in case their source is slow to deliver. Or it could be because they are getting them from outside the US (like the 1520.3s) or that MS has such a backlog of orders B&H is at the back of the waiting list.

Anyway, I'll post when/if I have more info. I hope I end up getting it from B&H instead of directly from MS. B&H's price is $20 cheaper plus no sales tax which is more than $50 at the MS store.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5734/22342386059_a58fa69f21_b.jpg

How did you preorder from the Microsoft store? I see no option to do so.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

How did you preorder from the Microsoft store? I see no option to do so.

Only at the B&M (physical) store. I live a few miles from the first MS store.

And they may have stopped taking them so check before driving to one if there are any close enough to you.

 

[PepperdotNet]

I just got this chat response from B&H:

This is an imported version and does not come with Microsoft's warranty. We provide you with a 1-year warranty, though. It would cover any defects the regular warranty would cover you for as well.

And further:

This would be a Latin American version.

So... the question to ponder, for US buyers, is whether it's worth the extra $20 (and sales tax, which can be considerable) to get a default US English language and US English printing on the box, user guide, etc. @HoosierDaddy, am I correct in assuming that the box and user guide for your 1520.3 were printed in some other language and that you had to adjust the language when you first set it up and after every factory reset?

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I just got this chat response from B&H:


And further:

So... the question to ponder, for US buyers, is whether it's worth the extra $20 (and sales tax, which can be considerable) to get a default US English language and US English printing on the box, user guide, etc. @HoosierDaddy, am I correct in assuming that the box and user guide for your 1520.3 were printed in some other language and that you had to adjust the language when you first set it up and after every factory reset?

B&H's knowledge base says that if the phone description does NOT say its a foreign market phone, it will have a US factory warranty. The problem is that is often not the case as with the 1520.3. You can't order them any more but the page is still on B&H and it does NOT say the 1520.3 is a foreign market phone. The chat rep I spoke to said they haven't passed that info about the 950s to the reps yet so I think you may have got a best guess. In fact you may have gotten the same rep that once told me (incorrectly) that NONE of the B&H Microsoft phones have a US warranty. I have emailed someone at B&H who can find out for sure and let me know.

If it doesn't I may still go with B&H, especially if I decide to get a hazard insurance for the first time in my life. B&H sells a two year SquareTrade (sp?) warranty for $99. Microsoft told me theirs was $150 for ONE year. I don't recall if the deductibles were the same. So for $120 less at B&H ($20 purchase, ~$50 tax, and $50 insurance) AND an extra year of insurance, hard to pass on since I have experienced B&H's own warranty first hand. They acknowledged my 1520 should be replaced based on a video I showed them and they shipped me another new 1520.3 the same day and gave me a shipping label to send the bad one back. I had the replacement phone 3 days after the first one failed. Disclosure: I did have to put up the price of a new phone since I wanted them to ship the replacement before they received the defective product back. The credited that back to me as soon as they got the bad phone which was in about a week since they chose the cheapest return shipping (on their dime).

For your question: My 1520.3 from B&H came in a sealed factory box. The box and internal documents are multi-lingual with English the first. The phone initially started with Spanish as the default language but that was without a SIM. Since then I have restored the phone with the recovery tool after playing with W10 and the default language was always English which may be because the phone uses a language from the SIM as default.

 

[RumoredNow]

I'm sure the availability date is B&H hedging their bets...

Like HoosierDaddy, I view B&H in a very favorable light. I'd buy from them again, having already gotten 2 handsets from them and also some other items. Great service, very knowledgeable. Good prices and a safe place to do business.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Found out my pre-order will be fulfilled from B&H's first shipment.

Still waiting to hear from their buyers if these will have factory warranties. Expect an answer today.

 

[PepperdotNet]

I just placed my order for two 950XL. One white, one black.

I will let the wife decide which one I get, though it's likely she'll want the red leather one with gold trim

 

[HoosierDaddy]

B&H got back to me to say these will have a one year B&H warranty that covers everything the factory warranty does.

So if factory warranty is a must have, I guess people need to order from MS or AT&T or ????. At this point, I am leaning to going with B&H for sure if I buy hazard insurance. And still likely go B&H anyway unless my MS pre-order gets here while the B&H pre-order is still in the wind. Even then, I'll probably set my MS phone aside unopened to see if the B&H one shows up soon after. I can return the MS purchase to the nearby B&M store. That's assuming my conscience will allow it if these are back-ordered everywhere at the time.

 

[CaptainLumia]

When I went to the MS physical store they said the MS add-on warranty is $99 for two years and a $49 deductible, usable twice during the two year period for hazards. It also extends the mfg warranty an additional year to two years. Since I've never dropped or damaged a phone, I'm still in for extending the mfg warranty another year. Plus, after the nightmare (and failure) of getting my 640 XL fixed under warranty through MS, I want to ensure I get a US model from an authorized dealer.

Glad to hear everyone is so pleased with B&H and their service. I have bought from them before and was pleased.

SquareTrade is a gamble. I read somewhere in their terms and conditions that the device must be purchased from an authorized retailer with a valid mfg warranty for the SquareTrade insurance to be valid. Not sure how they would know this, but it certainly gave me pause.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I've mentioned in other threads that I will be keeping my B&H 950XL only if I can purchase Microsoft Complete for it at a Microsoft Store OR if B&H offers an extended defect warranty. According to B&H these foreign market phones do not come with a US factory warranty. That was definitely the case with the Lumia 1520.3s they sold. But B&H matches the factory warranty for the phones they sell and I can attest its the real deal and maybe even better than the factory warranty. But its still just one year.

I have talked to Microsoft Store employees and gotten conflicting stories about getting Microsoft Complete for a foreign market Lumia 950 or XL. The most plausible sounding but unconfirmed and also ambiguous is that you can buy Microsoft Complete if you bought the phone in the US from an approved seller. They were unable to say how a customer could ascertain if a seller is "approved".

On the promising side, enzom09 posted in a WC article a year ago (Why you should buy Microsoft Complete for your phone, Band or Surface | Windows Central) that (s)he was able to buy Microsoft Complete for his/her 1520.3. I am waiting for confirmation if that was in the US and other particulars about the transaction. If it was in the US and MS hasn't made a change for the worse, it looks promising for getting Complete for phones from B&H.

I am also in contact with B&H about the possibility of them offering a second year of their defect warranty for a fee. So far that has gone badly because by the time my input to the chat people works its way up the chain of command it comes out at that end as a request to buy Microsoft Complete from B&H. SMH. Maybe if a few other people hit them up for a paid extension to their own warranty the light bulb over their head may light up.

I'm starting to get a bad feeling I'll have to cancel or return my B&H 950XL just because they don't understand a demand for a 2 year defect warranty to compete with Microsoft Complete; B&H already offers a 2 year damage warranty.

So as it stands now, I will be sitting on two 950XLs from Microsoft Stores (one online and one B&M order) waiting until I receive my B&H 950XL and take it to a Microsoft Store to see if they will add Complete for it. And then return either both MS phones or the B&H and one MS phones. It seems like a crazy number of hoops to jump thru just to find out if you can buy Complete.

 

[PepperdotNet]

When I placed my B&H order (since cancelled), it had an offer to buy an extended warranty. Check your order status.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

When I placed my B&H order (since cancelled), it had an offer to buy an extended warranty. Check your order status.

I mentioned they sell an accidental damage policy. But Microsoft Complete also doubles the factory 12 month defect warranty. I have almost no interest in the accident insurance but want a 24 month defect warranty.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

It's looking likely I will be cancelling/returning my B&H 950XL.

I found out the Microsoft store gives a veteran discount which makes it even cheaper than B&H.

Plus today it has been confirmed that the MS store one is also dual SIM.

Plus I don't have to spend who knows how many hours trying to find out if you can get Microsoft Complete for a B&H phone.

Plus I won't be spending time talking B&H into selling an extra year of their excellent one year warranty that comes with their phones in case Complete falls thru.

Plus I don't have to spend how many hours finding out if the free dock app will be installed on the B&H phone.

Yeah, MS will be a few bucks more with the sales tax but that will go towards fixing a pot hole I might drive over.

So....if my online MS order gets here first or my in store pre-order gets here first, well B&H .... I tried; I really did.