Where to buy?

[Dbez1]

I’m on the fence about moving up to an Air 2 from my MM. If I do decide to make the plunge, is it better to purchase from Best Buy or an out of state company? If Best Buy, our local one has it in stock plus I remember reading that possibly there’s a 10% discount during my bday month. On the other hand, an out of state option eliminates sales tax which saves 6%. The unknowns are ease of returns in the event of a defective unit or if I just don’t like to fly the model. What has your experience been? I live in the USA.

 

[Starz]

Best Buy. The 6 % will be a small price to pay to avoid the DJI issue that you could potentially run into. There are lucky people that glide right through the DJI system, but several that don’t.
Good luck and have fun when the new camera arrives!

 

[VenomXts]

I upgraded from a MM to an air 2 as well, i live in Texas and they changed some of those rules on sales tax so you still have to pay now for us. My advice would be to look at amazon or other places then find the cheapest price. If you got o best buy because you want it now take that with you and show them and they will price match and you can ask at the same time about the discount. Also i have never heard about that birthday month discount at best buy interesting....

Just make sure you by the refresh package from dji or get it through your insurance, i skipped it with the mini but for the air 2 i fly a little more freely with it.. Just my opinion though.

 

[Dbez1]

Thanks Venom. I just heard back from my State Farm agent and I can get insurance through them even though I have my homeowners elsewhere. The following is what they emailed me...

If the drone weighs 55 pounds or more it is ineligible.
If the drone is used in business it is ineligible.

If you would like to pursue writing a policy I will need the following:

Copies of actual purchase documents for the drone.
Brand and Model of the drone and its related components.
A list of the related items on drone with details and values. Example: Camera
Current Homeowner insurance company
Any claims in the last 3 years?

The minimum premium for the policy is $45.00 a year.


Maybe this will help someone.

 

[VenomXts]

Thanks Venom. I just heard back from my State Farm agent and I can get insurance through them even though I have my homeowners elsewhere. The following is what they emailed me...

If the drone weighs 55 pounds or more it is ineligible.
If the drone is used in business it is ineligible.

If you would like to pursue writing a policy I will need the following:

Copies of actual purchase documents for the drone.
Brand and Model of the drone and its related components.
A list of the related items on drone with details and values. Example: Camera
Current Homeowner insurance company
Any claims in the last 3 years?

The minimum premium for the policy is $45.00 a year.


Maybe this will help someone.

Just to save me a call, whats the deductible then for the claim if you lose the drone?

 

[Dbez1]

0 deductible for a crash. Unsure about loss. I haven’t got that far yet. I’m still trying to decide if I want to make the investment??‍

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

We are a company out of Fort Myers, Florida. We have a good reputation among pilots on this forum and have sold quite a bit on here over the years. We would be happy to help you into whatever set up is best for you. I will say we strive to have a great after sales and tech support. Which I have heard can be not great with big companies like Best Buy where you are just another sale to them. And as mentioned above DJI can be a pain to deal with in certain instances. We always try and help our customers out with that as well and try and gain a customer for life.

 

[Dbez1]

Thanks FDS. I’m still trying to decide if I want to keep my MM or upgrade. I’ll give you a call when I decide. Thanks again.

 

[Platinum 4 ever]

I’m on the fence about moving up to an Air 2 from my MM. If I do decide to make the plunge, is it better to purchase from Best Buy or an out of state company? If Best Buy, our local one has it in stock plus I remember reading that possibly there’s a 10% discount during my bday month. On the other hand, an out of state option eliminates sales tax which saves 6%. The unknowns are ease of returns in the event of a defective unit or if I just don’t like to fly the model. What has your experience been? I live in the USA.

If you get it from Best Buy. It will be easier to return. If and when you need to.

 

[Dale D]

I’m on the fence about moving up to an Air 2 from my MM. If I do decide to make the plunge, is it better to purchase from Best Buy or an out of state company? If Best Buy, our local one has it in stock plus I remember reading that possibly there’s a 10% discount during my bday month. On the other hand, an out of state option eliminates sales tax which saves 6%. The unknowns are ease of returns in the event of a defective unit or if I just don’t like to fly the model. What has your experience been? I live in the USA.

I am one of those people who have ordered Mavic Air 1 and Osmo Action and Osmo Mobile 2 from DJI China directly. Each time, the delivery was within a week and no tax whatsoever. I did order my Mavic 2 Pro from advertiser here on the forum with forum member discount and Black Friday sale price. No real complaints about DJI despite fearing plenty of problems. Support from DJI is fraught with big language barrier- very heavy accents prevents any meaningful help over the phone.

 

[chuckm]

I really recommend buying from B&H Photo/Video in New York. They offer excellent online service, have a very good return policy (30 days and no restocking fee) and they even offer a credit card that, when you use it, will pay your sales tax (saved me $83 on my Air 2). I have bought photo and video equipment from them for years with no problems.

 

[Flycaster]

Like "chuckm" said, B and H Photo, in over 15 years, I had to exchange/return something, maybe 2/3 times, and it was all handled withing a week.
Best Nuy is a good place to buy from also.
Either way, muuuch easier return/exchange process...

 

[Dakarenduro]

One thing specifically with the Air2, from reading the threads and youtube videos it appears there *may* be problematic ones. One pilot on here said he could not get it to go past 3000ft, period. Had bought it from Best Buy and promptly exchanged it for a different one, the 2nd Air2 out of the box didnt have the range problem and went out 10kft. So the theory is that there are batches of 'bad' Air2 birds. If you buy one you might want the ease of being able to walk into a store and return/exchange it. Or buy from FDS or DDS on here (excellent reputations both of them) and ask them to test it before shipping to make sure you have a good one.

You should watch the Air2 videos, there are other 'bugs' in that new drone you should be aware of. Here is one-
Brutally honest review- Air2

 

[Dbez1]

Thanks Dak. I watched the video twice and I don’t hear others with the same complaints as this is guy. I wonder if he got a bad one?

 

[Dakarenduro]

Well, I have no personal experience, but I have seen threads on here, for example-
Very poor range with MA2