That seems to be a problem with buying locally... the tangible benefits are not really there.
Price - a big factor when most small camera stores have a price that is 20% + higher than an online merchant. Tax - a big factor on high dollar items, even worse when paying it on an inflated base. Stock - Consumers want something when they want it Knowledge - Being a knowledgeable consumer of photographic equipment myself, it would be a rare salesperson indeed, that can tell me something I don't already know, or help me to use the product better. Service - Where are they going to send it to? The same place I would, but through the store I'll most likely be charged a markup. Unfortunately, it seems the largest benefit has become nostalgia. We have an affinity for photographic gear, so seeing lots of it in one place makes us feel good. The chance to touch an item for several minutes does not make up for the huge difference in price one wil pay. Don't get me wrong. I like small independent camera stores. I definitely appreciate them when I'm away from home and want a particular lower dollar item on the spot, filters, tripod head, film(?). But those times are far and few between. I'm afraid they increasingly will be the domain of those that don't like to shop online and/or for which price is not an important factor, or cease to exist. It's been like this for a long time, even when I bought my PZ-1p in 1998. It may have been earlier than that as well. It's a changing world and in this case I don't believe the collective effort of a small group will change it. Not without real tangible benefits. Tom C. ----Original Message Follows---- From: Robert and Leigh Woerner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List <[email protected]> To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Support your Local Camera Shop Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 16:39:10 -0400 Well, I agree for the most part but..... I asked my local Pentax dealer (not a big box) if he could order me a PZ1p in 2001. He quoted me $1333.00 before taxes. I ordered one from B&H for $479.00 and it got to me in two days. This is just one example. I did insist that my wife buy a Bogen tripod and head (as my birthday present one year) to "give him some business"....cost our household nearly $75 more. Needless to say, I buy from B&H and Adorama routinely. Robert John Celio wrote: > The photographic industry needs your support right now, and I'd like to take > a moment to convince anyone who is willing to listen why you're better off > buying from local camera shops than internet sites or big box stores. > > > When you buy something from a local store, there are two major advantages > for your community (this is from a US point of view, so things may be > slightly different elsewhere). First, your money is supporting local > businesses and jobs, and it stays local. It doesn't go to some corporate > headquarters on the other side of the country. Second, the taxes you pay > support your local municipalities, such as schools and fire stations. > Buying online does not support any of these services, which you may need > some day. > > Buying local can also be more convenient in the event you need any sort of > customer service. The fact that you can talk to someone face to face means > you can usually get your problem solved in a more timely manner. At the > very least, having a local specialty shop to go to usually means a large > portion of the staff knows what they're talking about, and since they want > to keep you as a customer they will usually do what it takes to make you > happy (managers especially). > > Big box stores (by which I mean places like Fry's, Best Buy, Wal*Mart, etc) > and internet stores don't care about the customer; they usually care more > about sales volume. Their prices are low because they move so many items > they don't need a large profit margin on most things. Their prices are also > low because their staff is often not as knowledgeable about the products > they sell as staff are at specialty shops, like the one I used to work at. > In other words, the box stores tend to hire cheap labor. > > A lot of internet stores sell low-quality accessories at high markups > because they know the customer won't know what they're getting till it > arrives in the mail ("it comes with a memory card? great!"). I know a lot > of PDML members probably wouldn't fall for that, but it something a lot of > everyday buyers have no clue about. > > > There are plenty more reasons for shopping at local stores and specialty > shops, but suffice to say, if you want local camera shops to exist AT ALL in > the future, please consider buying from them in the present. Yes, you'll > probably pay a little more, but it's worth it in the long run. > > Isn't it? > > John Celio > (if it weren't for so many people buying online and at big box stores, I'd > probably still be working at Reed's) > > -- > > http://www.neovenator.com > > AIM: Neopifex > > "Hey, I'm an artist. I can do whatever I want and pretend I'm making a > statement." > > > > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
