B&H Photo Return Policy: 30 Days From Delivery — and Until February 1 for Holiday Purchases
B&H Photo’s return policy, published on bhphotovideo.com, leads with the friendliest sentence in electronics retail — “if you are dissatisfied with your purchase for any reason, you may return it” — and then attaches the strictest homework in this batch of guides. The window is 30 days from the delivery date, and for the holidays it stretches: purchases made after November 1, 2026 through January 1, 2027 can be returned or exchanged until February 1, 2027.
The homework is the condition standard: everything must come back in new condition, in its original unaltered box, with all packing material, blank warranty cards, manuals, accompanying free items and accessories — and if any of it is missing, B&H reserves the right to refuse the return or charge a minimum 15% restocking fee. Refunds are of the original purchase price only — shipping fees are never refunded — issued the same way you paid, appearing 5–7 days after B&H receives and inspects the item.
RETURN PERIOD
30 days from the delivery date — holiday purchases (Nov 1, 2026–Jan 1, 2027) returnable until February 1, 2027
RESTOCKING FEES
None when all conditions are met; a minimum 15% restocking fee — or refusal — if they are not
CONDITION
New condition, original unaltered box, all packing material, blank warranty cards, manuals, free items and accessories included
REFUNDS
Original purchase price, issued the way you paid; allow 5–7 days for the credit to appear after receipt and inspection; shipping nonrefundable
Return Windows at a Glance
| Category | Return window | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Most purchases | 30 days from the delivery date | Any reason — dissatisfaction is enough |
| Holiday purchases (after Nov 1, 2026 through Jan 1, 2027) | Until February 1, 2027 | All other standard conditions still apply |
| Mail-in exchanges | Same window | Allow 3–5 business days for the exchange to be processed |
| Missing or transit-damaged item claims | Within 2 business days of receipt | A claim deadline, not a return window — report fast |
| Opened TVs and monitors 37″ and larger | No window once unsealed | Nonreturnable if the original packaging is opened |
| Opened software, consumables and educational media | No window once unsealed | Film, tapes, paper, bulbs, CDs, DVDs, ink cartridges |
| Custom-built computers, submerged underwater gear, select special orders, electronic downloads | No window | Nonreturnable outright |
How to Return an Item to B&H
- Locate your order first — every return starts there. Log in to My Account/My Orders, filter by Eligible for Return and select Start a Return. A single order or quote placed by phone, chat, in-store or online as a guest can be looked up the same way. Returns can also be initiated by phone or Live Chat.
- Complete the RMA request. Fill out the online Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) Request — returning without one is not part of the published process.
- Repack like you mean it. Put the item(s) and the invoice back in the original packaging, complete with all packing material, blank warranty cards, manuals and every accessory and free item that came with it. Anything you keep has its retail value deducted from your refund.
- Choose your label. Affix the preprinted label provided with your RMA and the return shipping cost is deducted from your refund — or buy a label from a carrier of your choice. B&H recommends insured ground service with tracking, is not responsible for lost, stolen or damaged packages, and return shipping fees are the customer’s responsibility.
- Ship it to the Returns Department: Attn: Return Department, B&H Photo Video Inc., 290 Daniels Way, Burlington, NJ 08016-2141. Or skip the postage entirely and return in person to the Returns Department at the New York Superstore, on 34th Street around the corner from the main entrance.
- Wait for inspection, then the credit. Once B&H receives and inspects your item, it credits your account — allow 5–7 days for the credit to appear. Electronics holding your data must be factory reset or password unlocked before they go back.
How Long Do You Have to Return Items to B&H?
30 days from the delivery date — note the start point, because it differs from much of retail: the clock runs from when the item arrives, not from when you ordered or paid. The 30 days buy you a return for any reason, which is broad, but the reason never relaxes the condition rules in the next sections. The one seasonal exception is the holiday extension covered below, which pushes the deadline to February 1, 2027 for purchases in the November–January window. The tightest deadline on the page is not for returns at all: claims for missing items or items damaged in transit must be received within two business days of receipt — if a box arrives wrong, the two-day claim clock matters more than the 30-day return clock.
Can You Return to B&H Without a Receipt?
B&H’s published process has no walk-up, no-receipt lane — and it is built so you rarely need one. Every return begins by locating the order: in My Account/My Orders if you bought online, or through the guest order lookup for a single order or quote placed online as a guest, by phone, by chat or in-store. The invoice goes in the box with the return. In other words, your receipt is the order record, and B&H can pull it up for any of its own sales channels. What the policy does not publish is any route for returning an item with no B&H order behind it — no store-credit fallback, no current-price merchandise card. If you cannot connect the item to a B&H order, the published process has no door for it; start with customer service (800.221.5743 or Live Chat) before shipping anything.
What Can’t Be Returned to B&H?
B&H splits its exclusions into items that become nonreturnable once opened or unsealed, and items that are nonreturnable outright:
- TVs and monitors 37″ and larger — if the original packaging is unsealed or opened
- Computer software — once unsealed or opened
- Consumable items — film, tapes, paper, bulbs, CDs, DVDs, ink cartridges and the like, once unsealed or opened
- Educational tapes and books — once unsealed or opened
- Any computer built or modified by B&H to customer specifications
- Underwater equipment that has been submerged
- Select special-order merchandise, or any item indicated on the website as nonreturnable
- Electronic software downloads
- Anything that fails the condition standard — not in new condition, not in the original unaltered box, or missing packing material, blank warranty cards, manuals, free items or accessories; B&H may refuse such a return or charge a minimum 15% restocking fee
The defective-item route sits outside these exclusions: a defective item may be repaired, exchanged or refunded at B&H’s discretion for the same model or the manufacturer’s equivalent, and return shipping for a verified defective or damaged item is reimbursed — but the claim for transit damage or a missing item must land within two business days of receipt.
How Are Refunds Issued and How Long Do They Take?
Once B&H receives and inspects your return, it credits your account — allow 5–7 days for the credit to appear. In most cases the refund is issued the same way you made the original purchase. One payment method runs slower: if you paid by check, the refund check is issued no sooner than 10 business days after the date of purchase. Three deductions define the final figure. B&H can only refund the original purchase price — shipping and handling fees are nonrefundable, in both directions: you never get the original delivery charge back, and if you used B&H’s preprinted return label, the return shipping cost comes out of the refund too. And anything from the original order that you keep — above all the free items bundled with it — has its retail value deducted. A return that fails the condition standard faces the bigger lever: refusal, or a minimum 15% restocking fee.
How Do B&H Exchanges Work?
Exchanges run on the same rails as returns: the same 30-day window (or the holiday extension), the same condition standard, and the same three ways to start — online, by phone or by Live Chat. The one timing figure B&H publishes is for mail: allow 3–5 business days for mail-in exchanges to be processed. For a defective item, the exchange is one of three outcomes at B&H’s discretion — repair, exchange or refund — for the same model or the manufacturer’s equivalent model, with return shipping reimbursed once the defect is verified. An exchange does not dodge the box rules: the outgoing item still needs its original unaltered box and every included piece, or the 15% restocking conversation starts.
Does B&H Extend Returns for the Holidays?
Yes — explicitly, and with dates a gift-buyer can plan around. As a courtesy for the holiday season, B&H has extended its usual 30-day limit: you have until February 1, 2027 to return or exchange items purchased after November 1, 2026 through January 1, 2027. All other standard return policy conditions apply — the extension moves the deadline, not the condition standard, so a holiday camera still needs its unaltered box, blank warranty cards and every accessory to come back fee-free. For a gift bought in early November, that turns a mid-December deadline into a February one; for anything bought on January 2, the standard 30-days-from-delivery rule resumes.
B&H Contact Options
| Option | Details |
|---|---|
| Start a return or exchange | Online via My Account/My Orders (Start a Return / RMA request), by phone, or by Live Chat |
| Customer service | 800.221.5743 |
| Mail returns | Attn: Return Department, B&H Photo Video Inc., 290 Daniels Way, Burlington, NJ 08016-2141 |
| In-person returns | Returns Department at the New York Superstore — 34th Street, around the corner from the SuperStore’s main entrance |
| Guest order lookup | Available for orders or quotes placed online as a guest, by phone, by chat or in-store |
| Full policy | The Returns & Exchanges Policy page at bhphotovideo.com |
B&H on Social Media
B&H’s official profiles include:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bhphoto
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bhphoto
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/bhphoto
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bhphoto
B&H does not handle returns through social media — start with your order, by phone or by Live Chat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Guides
- Walmart Return Policy
- Target Return Policy
- Costco Return Policy
- Amazon Return Policy
- Best Buy Return Policy
- Home Depot Return Policy
- Lowe’s Return Policy
- Kohl’s Return Policy
- Nike Return Policy
- Apple Return Policy
Conclusion
B&H’s policy is a fair bargain stated in unusually plain terms: any reason is a good enough reason for 30 days — February 1 for holiday purchases — but the box is sacred. Keep the original unaltered box, every piece of packing, the blank warranty cards, the manuals and the freebies, and a return costs you only the postage. Break the set and the conversation changes to refusal or a minimum 15% restocking fee. Photographers already baby their gear; this policy simply pays them for doing it on paper too.
Disclaimer: Policy Return is an independent guide and is not affiliated with B&H Photo Video. Return policies can change at any time; always confirm the current policy on B&H’s official website before making a return.
Checked against B&H’s published policy on 1 November 2026. Policies change; the retailer’s official page is the final word.
