Well I guess I'll be buying my cameras off the internet from now on

[WDodd]

I stopped in Ritz camera at the nearby mall just because I was there and I had been wanting to get an RC-5 remote control. Since I knew what I wanted I just asked the salesperson for it and immediately her response was, "We don't have that." I'm like are you sure? I ended up having to explain to her what it was and she still insisted they didn't have it.

Long story short I ended up getting her to get the manager and have him pull one out of the display case for me. Simply ridiculous.

 

[Seefutlung]

I've had two on-line purchases go bad. One just last week. I hate buying online. I tend to buy at Canoga Camera here in SoCal. For an extra 8.5% I get over the counter service with internet pricing.

Admittedly, that 8.5% starts getting significant real quick ... so on large purchases online is the way to go ... but whenever possible I say buy local.

Gary

 

[Alex_B]

I've had two on-line purchases go bad.

sad to hear ...

.. actually, I never buy at the cheapest online store, I usually find the cheapest, and then buy somewhere where it is 1-3% more expensive and where the shop got lots of good feedback at independent sites.

 

[sabbath999]

OK, well since I don't live within 100 miles (that's about 161 kilometers for those of you who live where people use civilized measurements for roads) it is not much of an issue for me. I order it online, or I wait until I happen to be in town... and I am not very good at waiting.

What really bugs me isn't that the locals don't have the same price... I understand that... what annoys me is when companies like Best Buy or Walmart will not give you their website price on something... not that I do a lot of camera shopping at Walmart.

Often, the camera will be 10 percent cheaper online from Best Buy & the other big box retailers than buying it in their own store, and they offer you free shipping online.

There is no sense in that.

 

[Alex_B]

Often, the camera will be 10 percent cheaper online from Best Buy & the other big box retailers than buying it in their own store, and they offer you free shipping online.

There is no sense in that.

Same with a large retailer in Germany. so i asked them, and they told me that the online shop and the local shops are actually separate companies, and the online shop does not need to pay all the staff and the rent for places in expensive spots.

 

[StreetShark]

Yep I buy them from photostores which deal with high volumes of professional gear and thus don't question their customers. I would have probably done the same as you in your situation.

I understand what walmart was trying. They just wanted a sale. But the guy at the local store did he have an SLR? If so he's just a bad salesman. He shouldn't be questioning you.

Yea the local shop doesn't sell D-SLR bodys any more because walmart moved in (small down) and screwed over all the local shops. He only sells lenses, filters, high end bodys, etc.

 

[Mosis]

Just got myself a Canon S3 from an online shop...
$289 with shipping fee and tax, never found a better deal than that in a local store.
So far Im happy with it:mrgreen:

 

[tempra]

Worked out that over the last couple of years I've saved more than £1,200 (thats around $2,400 US) by buying online as opposed to local - mind you, there are no local camera shops left anymore, just Jessops and they are in financial trouble.

 

[three_eyed_otter]

For an extra 8.5% I get over the counter service with internet pricing.

This is what I'm asking for. I'd pay the local tax on most purchases if they would at least match the internet price. I mean most of the camera shops in my area have been in business for quite awhile, which implies they already do a decent local business. Why not beef up this local business by giving me the price match when I ask for it. The profit margin may be smaller on my purchase, but like I said, they obviously already have a base of clients so why not throw me (or the next fellow) a bone?

have a good one
3Eo

 

[WDodd]

That is so true. I know if it were my business, I'd rather have some profit than no profit.

 

[DSLR noob]

I have a GREAT little camera shop privately owned near me. He has a table of opened, used, and older filters grouped by sizes (A table with 52-62mm, a table with 67mm-77mm etc.) where you can get any 3 filters for $12 regardless of company add $1 for each polarizer. He gave me a brand new unopened 52mm Circular Polarizer WITH the MSRP sticker on th eback clearly reading $69.95 for $20 and also gave me a 52mm lens cap for one of my FD lenses I had never had a cap for. I love that place and the guy is very straightforward and honest.

 

[table1349]

Ok, I just had to reply to some of the threads since my last post. When I said photography shop. Wally World, Best Buy, Circit City, Ritz camera etc is not what I meant. I mean the good old fashion mom and pop one owner one store photography shop. Most of the people in the box stores are lucky to know which end of the viewfiner to look through. I don't even walk into the camera areas in these stores as I don't want to listen to the little sales person tell someone that "You can use any flash with that camera. They are all really made by the same people. They just put different names on them so they can charge different prices. They all work the same no matter what camera is on."

This is what I'm asking for. I'd pay the local tax on most purchases if they would at least match the internet price. I mean most of the camera shops in my area have been in business for quite awhile, which implies they already do a decent local business. Why not beef up this local business by giving me the price match when I ask for it. The profit margin may be smaller on my purchase, but like I said, they obviously already have a base of clients so why not throw me (or the next fellow) a bone?

In a real photography store, the bone you are talking about is called going out of business. These stores were established long before the internet and digital. They lived on local film business. They all had darkrooms and hand processed film, not machine processed it. Some did move up to machine processing for snapshot type prints but still offered hand processing. Then handled everything needed for photography. New and used. Not just cameras and a couple of tripods but everything. 30 years ago there were 5 true photography shops in my city of 400,000. Now there is one. The one I deal with.

Three went under completely and the 4th is basicly an overblown Ritz. He can order anything you want but only keeps a few bodies on hand and the most common lenses plus a few tripods, filters etc. Half of his space is devoted to a gallery where you can buy the works of others.

The Canon 24-70mm f2.8 I used as an example in my first post is exactly what I am talking about. B&H price as of today for that lens is $1139.00. Price the photography store PAYS for that lens $1225.00. What bone does he have to throw to you. Shipping for that lens from B&H to here $16.00 so the B&H total is $1155. Still below what the mom and pop store pays to get it from Canon. You want him to price match, loose money and still eat?

So why does the Mom and Pop not buy the same lens from B&H and sell it. B&H is a reputable company, they are a authorized Canon dealer. You want your warranty to not be questioned if you have to send it in for warranty work then your receipt needs to say B&H for that serial numbered lens that Canon knows they shipped to B&H. The local photography store is also an authorized Canon dealer. Buying a couple of Canon cameras wholesale does not make you an authorized Canon dealer. So for me if the local dealer can come within 10% of the B&H price with shipping, I buy there. The people there are knowledgeable, helpful and curteous, plus I don't have to wait for it to arrive or pay extra to get it here quickly.

Now don't get me wrong, I like and have used B&H and continue to do so. They have always in my experience been a good company to deal with. That is why the local shop tries to come close when they can, because the owner will tell you B&H is a good and reputable company as well. But I'm in the heart of the midwest and tomorrow afternoon I can't just stroll into B&H and get the service I would like. We are too far apart. There is a place here that I can and that service is worth a few dollars to me.

 

[three_eyed_otter]

I mean the good old fashion mom and pop one owner one store photography shop.

Well in San Antonio, the only mom/pop stores we have are mexican food restaurants and I'd bet we have the whole country beat in that dept. I was referring to the Ritz/Wolfe jobbers.

have a good one
3Eo

 

[carusoswi]

It is pretty obvious to me that most here have never owned a business or experienced the hopelessness that one feels when the infrastructure that supported acceptable business practice starts to crumble. One comment "that a long time local shop already has a base of local business, so, why not cut 'me' a break" is an example of lack of understanding that a business sustains itself by supporting established customers and by adding new ones. For every new customer, an old one either expires or loses interest in photography.

What with digital taking over the camera market, there are fewer and fewer revenue producing sources for the small camera shop. Giant big-box computer stores have cornered the market on photo paper. The revenue stream has shifted from camera shops to those types of stores and to manufacturers of printer inks, etc.

By what means is a shop owner to generate cash to pay bills (even if he/she personally works the shop during all its open hours)? If the owner wants to actually derive a life from his/her entrepreneurship, it requires him/her to take at least a little time off - and that requires hiring help. What can he/she offer the help in the way of an incentive so that the help (if they have the talent and inclination) will stay long enough to become qualified to answer questions and give the kind of service the lack of which is expressed in this thread?

B&H and the like used to be the shops you could explore from the back of a catalogue. Now, they have pretty much become the source for camera equipment.

I shop them and have used them. But, I bought both of my film SLRs at local shops. I'm not saying that any of you are wrong to save dollars by shopping online, but you should be aware that doing so does have consequences - positive and negative - on photography.

The local shop doesn't match online prices because it doesn't make business sense for him/her to do so. If you are selling an item with less margin that you need in order to pay for the item and contribute to defraying your overhead, you are only contributing to your own eventual demise. You cannot make up losses by selling more merchandise and creating ever increasing losses.

In the end, we all lose, really.

I remember when the big box computer stores first arrived on the scene. CompUSA (it wasn't called that at first) was selling software with a no questions asked guarantee - just to get people into the door. If you didn't like the software for any reason, you could return it for refund or exchange (even if you had made an illegal copy).

Prices were cheaper . . . and customers flocked to the stores.

Today, you will notice that prices among all the "competing" big box computer stores are almost identical. The main difference is that the small mom and pops operated by folks who were really excited about computers are all gone, unable to support the overhead involved in operating a store because the big volume migrated to the big box stores.

The same has happened in photography, stationery/office supplies, audio equipment, etc. Once they own the market, the big guys don't need to worry about service (and have so many locations, they have difficulty in hiring/keeping qualified help).

In my view, it's a constant downward spiral in terms of service that we have traded-in for a temporary price advantage.

Sorry to rant, but this thread touched a nerve.

Caruso

 

[Alex_B]

It is pretty obvious to me that most here have never owned a business or experienced the hopelessness that one feels when the infrastructure that supported acceptable business practice starts to crumble.

i understand part of that rant. but why am i treated arrogantly by the shops, as if they like to scare away potential customers just because they do not wealthy or professional enough?

strange enough they seem to make good profit, and they can afford to have each and every Nikon, Canon and whatever lens above the 2000USD margin in stock.

Maybe the situation in Germany is different than in the US.