cambridge camera

[bmattock]

The customer service horror stories are amazing. And yet, I note that some folks will continue to post "Well, I bought from them and it was fine" stories and "Well, I read all the negative reviews and decided to try anyway, since their prices were so low - why did they rip me off?"

I realize that no one on RFF is a flaming idiot - but there appear to be a lot of them out there, and you can't STOP THEM from getting ripped off. They ask "How's camera dealer XYZ in Brooklyn NY?" and you tell them all this, and then they call right up, plunk down their credit card number, get ripped off, and then complain about it.

Some people, it seems, cannot be dissuaded from being utter morons when someone dangles a seeming low price in front of them.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The price on a Leica MP and M7 is lower at cameraquest.com. It is a "grey market", and carries an in-house warranty. Stephen Gandy is a reputable dealer with a repair department that will even take on S36 motor drives.

 

[dmr]

Very interesting thread -- and article and photos. 🙂 I always wondered what happened to them, I guess they are still around, sortakinda, anyway.

Cambridge was one place I looked back when I bought my original Spotmatic. IIRC they were closed Saturday but open Sunday, and Saturday was always the shopping day. 🙂 🙂 They weren't on 17th back then, but somewhere else in the teens.

I ended up buying from a place called Minifilm Photo on 8th Ave. Nicest guy there and no pressure or upselling. They didn't have the one I wanted in stock (the black "press" model) so his assistant went to the warehouse for one. I did tell the guy I wasn't sure if I was gonna buy that day and he just said that they should probably have one there anyway so don't worry about it.

A few places gave you the hard sell to buy a case, which I really didn't need.

I admit that then I didn't know if this was a grey market or US version.

 

[shaaktiman]

hehe. EVERY camera store in NYC is closed saturday and open sunday. Adorama, B&H, all of them are owned by Hasidim. I don't know why, it's kind of funny.

So, those links were real eye openers. Wow do they seem shady! Thanks for all the answers, this is exactly what I was hoping for.

 

[bmattock]

hehe. EVERY camera store in NYC is closed saturday and open sunday. Adorama, B&H, all of them are owned by Hasidim. I don't know why, it's kind of funny.

So, those links were real eye openers. Wow do they seem shady! Thanks for all the answers, this is exactly what I was hoping for.

You know what the really funny part is? Henry Posner runs B&H - he is completely, 100% decent and honorable, and so is B&H. They're huge, they make all kindsa money, and they don't have to be the lowest price in town to do it.

You'd think the little guys would get smart - it's better business to be honest than crooked.

I guess crooks never learn.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[djon]

Bill Mattocks seems to have contributed the only non-gossip info.

I wouldn't deal with Adorama on anything urgent, because of my experience with their flakey inventory. B&H and KEH are reliable.

When geezers have complaints from ten or twenty years previous, I chalk it up to senior moments (I'm an expert on senior moments). 😛

I did recently get that extremely good deal on a Canon P from Cambridge, and I had a helpful email and two helpful telephone conversations in the course of the deal: they first emailed three days after my EBay purchase with apology because shipment was delayed for a day plus weekend due to mailing info error...they needed to confirm address. I called back, spoke with an apologetic salesman who followed up by phone, a day or two after I got the camera, to inquire about my satisfaction. I gave them a very strong positive on Ebay.

Could not have been better.

Shipping was USPS Priority and the charge was exactly as stated on receipt.

One thing that's fired me up, recently seen in P.N. (NOT HERE), is openly anti-Semitic slurs against this company. I have no idea about the ethnicity/religion at Cambridge, but being Irish, I'm hostile to anti-Semitic people.

I may have had remarkably good luck. Or I may simply have gotten what one gets when one has faith in other people. :angel:

John Kelly

 

[dmr]

hehe. EVERY camera store in NYC is closed saturday and open sunday. Adorama, B&H, all of them are owned by Hasidim. I don't know why, it's kind of funny.

I remember that Olden used to close early Friday and for some of the holidays, but back then most all of the midtown camera shops were open Saturday, places like Willoughby, Cameracade, and of course Spriatone and many I can't remember. (Saturday is when goyim do their shopping.) 🙂

 

[dmr]

You know what the really funny part is? Henry Posner runs B&H - he is completely, 100% decent and honorable, and so is B&H. They're huge, they make all kindsa money, and they don't have to be the lowest price in town to do it.

I have no complaints at all about B&H and I can't think of hearing any right off hand. I've only ordered film and small stuff, but I do trust them. I just got their big new catalog the other day. 🙂

Still haven't been in that part of NYC since they opened their new place, and it's a must-do when I can get there. 🙂

You'd think the little guys would get smart - it's better business to be honest than crooked.

I think the sleazoids only care about a one-time sale. The reputable places want you to be happy with your purchase so you will come back and buy more, and of course recommend them to others.

 

[djon]

As to Hasidim, it's worth noting that for years they sold more Canon AE cameras from 47th Street alone, than did Canon proper in the entire US. Because Canon USA couldn't compete, it forced little camera stores to sell various AEs for less than their alleged wholesaler price, but only if they could ream buyers with junk accessories. You can still see that today on Ebay. The future was here long before Ebay.

This is well known, ask any old camera store. It was explored at length years ago in Wall Street Journal. Hasidim are good at international trade and have been for hundreds of years, eg with diamonds from Holland.

People who are sharp camera shoppers or who give engagement rings to young ladies are inevitably dealing with Hasidim 😉

And people who have trouble with dark ethnicities should avoid Leica, because like Mercedes, their German craftsmen are largely Turks.

 

[zpuskas]

A few years ago I ordered on line a Metz module for an M6 TTL. It was listed as "In stock". A week or so later I called and was told it was on it's way..I said the web said it was "in stock".
Well anyway 8 weeks later I finally canceled the order since they had no idea when--if ever-- it was going to ship. Only good thing is they never billed me for anything.

 

[Oldprof]

... When geezers have complaints from ten or twenty years previous, I chalk it up to senior moments (I'm an expert on senior moments). 😛 ...

Do you realize how offensive this statement is? The self-deprecation and smilie do not save it.

 

[jano]

Some people, it seems, cannot be dissuaded from being utter morons when someone dangles a seeming low price in front of them.

It only takes one. 🙂

Are you familiar with "Jack in the Box" fast food franchise? If so, you may remember a commercial from a couple years ago: "Jack" strolls through a tradeshow, and comes across a booth with a young kid sitting in a lawnchair. We discover the kid provides an analysis on whether the company's product is any good (i.e. he gives you his own opinion by tasting the product). Cost? $50k. The kid makes a comment, "It only takes one."

Following the product promotion, they close off the commercial with a suit signing a contract using the kid's back as a support.

 

[djon]

Do you realize how offensive this statement is? The self-deprecation and smilie do not save it.

It speaks volumes that edgy comments about Jews are passively accepted or even encouraged by some, but they get "offended" when an old guy (me) makes fun of himself.

 

[bmattock]

It speaks volumes that edgy comments about Jews are passively accepted or even encouraged by some, but they get "offended" when an old guy (me) makes fun of himself.

It might be a good place to stop this particular line before it takes a turn for the worse.

I was not offended by your 'geezer' remark, but I read it as meaning you preferred news reports and so forth over anecdotal evidence and remembrances from purchases long past as indicators of current behavior. But I'm not Oldprof, not sure how he read it - or how you intended it.

I am reasonably certain that none of the RFF regulars are racists. I have abandoned Usenet photo discussion groups because the racists destroyed it. I know Joe won't permit that to happen here, even accidentally.

I will do my part by no longer commenting on this thread - I think the initial question has been answered adequately at this point, and we need take this no further.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[djon]

I agree entirely with Bill: Good observations.

 

[shaaktiman]

Cheers guys, my initial question's been pretty well answered.
Cambridge sucks and it's not because they're Jewish OR old but because they are thieves. 🙂

Happy to let the thread die at this point. Thanks for all of the feedback, it is much appreciated. I was never really planning to go there but if I was even mildly considering it I am certainly not anymore.

adam