Unfortunately, this is a rather typical story. I have been in shops where I have felt I was speaking a different language...perhaps these clerks speak only NiCan and Digispeak.
Glen On Sep 8, 2007, at 8:05 PM, Y. Rowe wrote: > I'd support local shops if they carried my preferred manufacturer's > products > including the brand-specific accessories. I would rather see what > I'm buying > in person. I would prefer the instant gratification of walking in and > exchanging money for what I want. Waiting for the delivery truck is > agonizing. > > I was in the Biloxi area recently and drove to Mobile, AL because I > needed a > piece of gear. That shop got my business because they had the item > in-stock > and were able to set it aside for me. Imagine my surprise when I > walked in > and there was still a space for non-Optio Pentax gear. As I waited > my turn, > I perused the offerings. When the sales clerk appeared, I asked to > see a > lens that was on display. She said that they didn't have it in a > Pentax > mount. (It clearly was marked as such in the appropriate section. She > eventually found it and I got to test it.) Out in the open was a > third-party > 18-200mm which is nice for walking around (finally found with my > diligent > help--LOL). Hidden away was the beauty of the bunch: SMC DA* > 50-135mmm. It > begged to come home with me. How could I refuse? Needless to say, I > walked > out of the establishment much poorer than I was upon arrival. > > Here's the kicker: My purchases were placed in a large shopping bag > emblazoned with a picture of a huge Canon bearing the EOS logo. > ARGH! Had > she heard nothing I said about a certain marketing behemoth? LOL > > Yolanda > > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On >> Behalf Of >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Sent: Wednesday, September 05, 2007 14:47 >> To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> Subject: Re: Sometimes it's hard to shoot Pentax >> >>>> "Well, I don't know anthing about it, I haven't read any of >>>> the reviews on it, and I don't make those decisions anyway >>>> the owner does. There's a lot of great gear out there that we >>>> don't carry." At that point he handed me the charge slip to >>>> sign and I took my yellow copy and left. >>> >>> One of the local dealers was telling me that no Pentax field sales >>> representative had been in to see them in several years. They're not >>> negative on the brand, they simply don't know what's going on or why >>> they haven't been contacted in so long. >> >> I would find that hard to believe. I knew Pentax's rep for Northern >> California >> (his territory was bigger than that and included other states, but >> I'm not >> sure >> exactly how big), and he was in at least every other month, >> sometimes more >> often if there was new stuff to show. >> >> I think (without having time to read more posts in this thread) >> that the >> reason >> Pentax is not better shown in shops is primarily because of >> marketing. >> I'm not >> just talking about advertisements, though. Canon and Nikon >> (KonicaMinolta, >> too, before they chickened out) both offer a lot of marketing >> materials, >> ad co- >> ops, and other benefits to dealers. Pentax never seemed to have >> much of >> that >> compared to the other guys. In this down market, if a camera >> dealer can >> get >> help from a company, he'll do whatever it takes to get it. I know >> this >> was the >> case at my previous employer, as well as at others. >> >> Plus, I think we all know Canon, Nikon, and Sony are the >> juggernauts here. >> Pentax is more like Leica, and since both sell a lot less than the >> other >> brands, relative profit is much lower. Dealers have to sell what >> makes >> them >> money on a consistant basis, and thus the smaller guys mostly get >> left >> out. >> >> It's all about profit, people. Camera shops are having tough >> times, so >> they do >> what it takes to make a profit. It's unfortunate for us Pentax >> users, but >> what >> can we do? >> >> Besides trying to buy from local shops, not a whole lot. >> >> John Celio >> >> -- >> 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 -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
