I've bought a couple of items from 42nd street Photo over the last 25 years. I bought a very expensive Bronica SQ-A series 150mm f/4 PS medium format lens from them at a ridiculously low price back in the pre-internet era, and later a Sunpak 622 Super flash. My old friend David F. bought a Fuji S2 Pro d-slr from them, which was at the time a $2495 d-slr body, and he got it far cheaper than that then-current normal retail price. 42nd Street has always been a low-price specialist. I have not bought anything from them in a long,long time.
I do NOT think it is stupid to buy from other vendors besides
B&H or
Adorama. Neither place is the "low-price leader" that they used to be, now that they have driven so many other smaller dealers out of business. In fact, when an item is scarce, I have seen
B&H price-gouging, by up to $1,000 per lens for example, on the Nikkor 200-400 AFS-VR-G pro zoom lens. Of course, that was when the lens was new, and was "the hot ticket". I was able to locate seven 200-400 VR-G lenses here in town, 3,000 miles from
B&H, all for sale at $1,000 UNDER THE
B&H PRICE at that time. WITH full USA warranty, and original manufacturer's packaging. The 70-200 VR-G was the same way, priced at well over MSRP when new, but was not gouged to such a high percentage, when it was new.
At times, when items are in short supply, oftentimes the "big five" dealers will be sold out, and the only place to get hard-to-find items is "elsewhere".
So I am trying to find another seller. Has anyone bought from Ryther Camera or 42nd street?
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