Black Friday 2017

abwRN · Nov 21, 2017

GadgetGuy said:
Also, B&H Holiday Returns are extended until February 1st! That's 18 days longer than Best Buy!

Not if your a Best Buy Elite Member...I have had nothing but great service from BB and since it’s local, it’s a quick an easy return/exchange. I find that when buying DJI products, it’s hyper important to be able to swap the unit out quick and easy if needed. A lot of folks don’t even realize that they have bought drone with a deficiency. (That shows you how nice these drones really are)

In reality, the cams or antennas are often not up to spec but you wouldn’t know that unless you paid close attention. I would say that about 40%-50%. of the NIB Phantom 4 Pros have an issue with the cameras 4K /60fps setting. In those cases, you don’t want to be stuck returning a big box item like a phantom via long distance... but to each their own..

cadeet · Nov 21, 2017

I just purchased a phantom 4 advanced & being new to the game, is there some checks to go through to verify that it’s functioning within tolerance?

John Locke · Nov 21, 2017

cadeet said:
I just purchased a phantom 4 advanced & being new to the game, is there some checks to go through to verify that it’s functioning within tolerance?

This list is for P4P, but there is commonality with P4A because the camera and gimbal is the same.

GadgetGuy · Nov 21, 2017

abwRN said:
Not if your a Best Buy Elite Member...I have had nothing but great service from BB and since it’s local, it’s a quick an easy return/exchange. I find that when buying DJI products, it’s hyper important to be able to swap the unit out quick and easy if needed. A lot of folks don’t even realize that they have bought drone with a deficiency. (That shows you how nice these drones really are)

In reality, the cams or antennas are often not up to spec but you wouldn’t know that unless you paid close attention. I would say that about 40%-50%. of the NIB Phantom 4 Pros have an issue with the cameras 4K /60fps setting. In those cases, you don’t want to be stuck returning a big box item like a phantom via long distance... but to each their own..

Perhaps you miscalculated the Best Buy Elite Plus Member 45 day return. For purchases made now at Best Buy, until December 1, the Holiday Return period until January 14 is still longer than that of even the Elite Plus members' 45 day return. Until December 16, B&H still has them all beat with a February 1 return date deadline.

However ease of return is a factor, as you point out. The biggest problem with Best Buy is they seem to have the worst of the DJI P4P inventory. The exchange will be from the same defective stock. B&H Just seems to have better P4P inventory out of the box in my experience. Maybe they make sure of it because returns are more of a hassle for them and us, than an over the counter exchange ay Best Buy.

Agreed about the P4P 4K 60fps video glitches at 4096x2160. All P4P's have that problem. Use 3840x2160 60fps instead. However, I also agree that the majority of P4P cameras are defective in some way out of the box. Between the crooked cameras, the flipping gimbals in light wind, the video glitches, and the red crescent lens flares, it's hard to find a good one. I'm on my 12th one, and it's just an issue of which of those problems I am willing to live with. However, I still love the results better than any other Phantom!

GadgetGuy · Nov 22, 2017

abwRN said:
For sure..”Gearbest” is just a drop shipping scam...You’re lucky to get anything at all and when you do, I have read is usually just a small part of you’re order. That way, they can tell PayPal it was delivered and you’re stuck trying to work something out with a bunch of scammers. If “gearbest” isn’t a total scam, it’s close!

Here is they’re BBB profile..It’s not just bad, it’s terrible..The worst possible.

https://www.bbb.org/new-york-city/business-reviews/online-retailer/gearbest-com-in-staten-island-ny-154606

PS-Thanks for looking out GadgetGuy!

With reputable dealers like B&H, Amazon, and Best Buy, and even DJI, offering 10-20% off, no reason to fall prey to a complete scam.

abwRN · Nov 22, 2017

GadgetGuy said:
With reputable dealers like B&H, Amazon, and Best Buy, and even DJI, offering 10-20% off, no reason to fall prey to a complete scam.

Very True...

F3honda4me · Nov 22, 2017

GadgetGuy said:
Perhaps you miscalculated the Best Buy Elite Plus Member 45 day return. For purchases made now at Best Buy, until December 1, the Holiday Return period until January 14 is still longer than that of even the Elite Plus members' 45 day return. Until December 16, B&H still has them all beat with a February 1 return date deadline.

However ease of return is a factor, as you point out. The biggest problem with Best Buy is they seem to have the worst of the DJI P4P inventory. The exchange will be from the same defective stock. B&H Just seems to have better P4P inventory out of the box in my experience. Maybe they make sure of it because returns are more of a hassle for them and us, than an over the counter exchange ay Best Buy.

Agreed about the P4P 4K 60fps video glitches at 4096x2160. All P4P's have that problem. Use 3840x2160 60fps instead. However, I also agree that the majority of P4P cameras are defective in some way out of the box. Between the crooked cameras, the flipping gimbals in light wind, the video glitches, and the red crescent lens flares, it's hard to find a good one. I'm on my 12th one, and it's just an issue of which of those problems I am willing to live with. However, I still love the results better than any other Phantom!

For best buy, Purchases made October 29 through December 30, 2017 have an extended return period

Jan 14, 2018 for regular customers
Jan 29, 2018 for Elite
February 13, 2018 for Elite Plus

So if an elite plus member bought a DJI drone October 29, they have until Feb 13 to return it.

John Locke · Nov 22, 2017

abwRN said:
I would say that about 40%-50%. of the NIB Phantom 4 Pros have an issue with the cameras 4K /60fps setting.

I think it's more like 90% cannot record glitch free video at 4096X2160 at 30 or 60FPS. However if you set the P4P camera to 3840X2160 UHD resolution, most all cameras work fine, even at 60FPS.

Dirby · Nov 22, 2017

I would like to get a p4p smart battery where would be the best and cheapest place to get one?
thx D

John Locke · Nov 22, 2017

Dirby said:
I would like to get a p4p smart battery where would be the best and cheapest place to get one?
thx D

Make sure you get the high capacity version 5870Mah, not the P4 version, even though both will work in your P4P. B&H has them for $149, no tax free shipping. Normally they are $169 at DJI.

Dirby · Nov 22, 2017

best buy said they would match bh price.
I was looking for a black Friday deal cheeper.

John Locke · Nov 22, 2017

Dirby said:
best buy said they would match bh price.
I was looking for a black Friday deal cheeper.

That's unlikely, $20 off is probably the best you find. You'll pay tax at BB, that's $13 in CA.

Speedmeister · Nov 22, 2017

Dirby said:
best buy said they would match bh price.
I was looking for a black Friday deal cheeper.

Whomever you choose to buy one, ask them for there return policy on batteries. There have been reports of DOA batteries. Who knows how long these batteries have been sitting on the store shelves.

abwRN · Nov 22, 2017

Speedmeister said:
Whomever you choose to buy one, ask them for there return policy on batteries. There have been reports of DOA batteries. Who knows how long these batteries have been sitting on the store shelves.

For sure...I just had a thread about a DOA battery that I bought at the Apple store. Apple store has a crap return policy and only gives you like 2 weeks to bring it back. I didn’t even fire it up in that time frame and by the time I did, I learned it was DOA. I sent it back to DJI and got it back 4 weeks later...[emoji36]

GadgetGuy · Nov 22, 2017

F3honda4me said:
For best buy, Purchases made October 29 through December 30, 2017 have an extended return period

Jan 14, 2018 for regular customers
Jan 29, 2018 for Elite
February 13, 2018 for Elite Plus

So if an elite plus member bought a DJI drone October 29, they have until Feb 13 to return it.

Thanks for the correction! Got it, finally. I hadn't seen that anywhere!

One caveat is that membership statuses require buying the requisite minimums each calendar year to be maintained. However, the P4P purchase would count toward the 2017 minumums, but not if returned.

GadgetGuy · Nov 22, 2017

Dirby said:
best buy said they would match bh price.
I was looking for a black Friday deal cheeper.

Buy another P4P from DJI, and get a extra P4P battery for FREE!
That's the best Black Friday deal you'll find on the P4P battery, if $149 isn't cheap enough.

GadgetGuy · Nov 22, 2017

abwRN said:
For sure...I just had a thread about a DOA battery that I bought at the Apple store. Apple store has a crap return policy and only gives you like 2 weeks to bring it back. I didn’t even fire it up in that time frame and by the time I did, I learned it was DOA. I sent it back to DJI and got it back 4 weeks later...[emoji36]

Beware! DJI will replace it without any retail packaging, loose, even if you send in the retail packaging! So send it in bare, and keep the foam and box, in case you want to exchange it or resell it unused later. The serial numbers won't match, but better than a bare battery!

Speedmeister · Nov 23, 2017

abwRN said:
For sure...I just had a thread about a DOA battery that I bought at the Apple store. Apple store has a crap return policy and only gives you like 2 weeks to bring it back. I didn’t even fire it up in that time frame and by the time I did, I learned it was DOA. I sent it back to DJI and got it back 4 weeks later...[emoji36]

I read somewhere maybe DJI manual I cant be sure but it says not to store the battery longer than 6 months. I wonder what the dealers do with the batteries that are not sold within that period. They can't charge the batteries since it keeps track of charging cycles. This is the first thing I checked when I got my batteries.