Online vs the local store,,,

I'd love to support the 2-3 local stores that offer basic 35/120 film types and developing chemicals/supplies, but their selection isn't very broad (or dependable... they'll often not have basic films like Tri-X in stock) and generally 50%-100% higher in price than online retailers like B&H.

In other words, I'm not going to pay $8 per roll of Tri-X (plus 8% sales tax) IF it's available locally when I can buy it at a significantly cheaper price, with no sales tax, guaranteed to be in stock, no need to drive 20-30 miles round-trip, and free shipping.
 
4th largest city in the U.S. and Houston really has one camera store left. Over the years and lots of money spent, I've come to know almost everyone at the Houston Camera Exchange and my Leica guy steers me in the right direction when something new comes in, which is rarer and rarer. They don't seem to get much cooperation or respect from Leica either. I try to deal with them rather than online, simply to help keep the local guys in business. I can come in and just hang and pick brains when needed. Can't do that much online. Getting film developed, ha, good luck. You have to go to Austin.
 
I spent several years in high school hanging out at the local camera store, knew the staff well. Used to do the same at Willoughby-Peerless in Chicago in the '70s. And I've gotten good advice, loaners, etc. from Calumet in Cambridge, MA before they closed a few years back. Keble&Schuhat in Palo Alto was always worth a visit (the store that Godfrey mentioned) -- I understand that their camera collection will have a new existence in some space close to where the store was. And FotoSchwartz in Jerusalem, a tiny little shop, has a few knowledgeable people. They keep no longer legal batteries deep in the drawer for older cameras, and a small supply of chemicals and papers. It is art students who provide a market for these, apparently.

Availability and sales taxes complicate my life, and internet purchase for any major equipment is the only solution. In Europe, VAT of about 20% is standard. For a business, this is a pass-through, but for a consumer it is just a sales tax. It can be avoided by internet purchases with shipment to another state in the US or outside of the EC, so I end up trading taxes for shipment costs and storage until I can get to the US to collect things. And gear on the shelf is pretty limited in Israel. The headaches of shipping something from Israel to where it can be repaired and getting it back fixed without paying customs duties are also significant, but can be managed.

scott

PS: Note that avoiding sales tax in the US by collecting your stuff in a state other than NY (for B&H) or CA (for Popflash and Cameraquest) will go away someday. Amazon has already started charging sales tax almost everywhere since they have a presence, well, almost everywhere.
 
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I'm spoiled in that I live in NYC and I can still go to a few stores. However, where I differ is that I don't necessarily like sales people or gear talk (though my friends seem to love it). The internet allows me to bypass the annoying part of the process... sales people. That said, there are exceptions. In the early 90s, I enjoyed going to one camera store a lot. Dover Camera.
 
jsrockit said:
I'm spoiled in that I live in NYC and I can still go to a few stores. However, where I differ is that I don't necessarily like sales people or gear talk (though my friends seem to love it). The internet allows me to bypass the annoying part of the process... sales people. That said, there are exceptions. In the early 90s, I enjoyed going to one camera store a lot. Dover Camera.
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I'm kind of the same way, but what I dislike is sales people that know less about the camera than I do. I used to work in a camera store many (many) years ago so I know how hard it is to keep up with new models. And it's harder still with all the info available on the internet. But when it's obvious I know more than the guy behind the counter, I walk away.

I usually buy over the internet; however, when I purchased my Nikon Df, I did it in the store, in person. Mostly because they let me bring in all my old Nikon MF glass and try out on the camera.
 
drseuss said:
I'm kind of the same way, but what I dislike is sales people that know less about the camera than I do... But when it's obvious I know more than the guy behind the counter, I walk away.
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I generally find that camera salespeople know things that I don't know, and I know things that they don't know. Since I don't ask them about things I already know, I can usually learn something from them. I try to establish friendly relationships with the salespeople at my local camera store. Comes in handy during negotiations.
 
I'd like to visit my local store and help keep them in business, but over the last decade or so, I've become increasingly frustrated with them. Normally I'm averse to sales and being sold, but their sales tactics are like reverse psychology. They're the most reluctant sales people I've ever met. I could deal with that, but rarely do they have what I want in stock. Sometimes they have fixer, sometimes they have developer, sometimes they have paper. When I get the itch to shoot a few rolls of film, or use the dark room, I don't want to wait a week for a package to arrive, I want it now. When a local brick and mortar business can't harness the one advantage it has over the online world, what's it good for? I live in a rural region and the nearest camera store in any direction is at least 250 miles away. But with the plethora of choices available online they can't act like they're the only game in town.
 
A camera store I used to frequent was The Camera Trading Company on Bank street in Ottawa. The two owners in this small shop will talk your ear off about stories about each piece of history that catches your eye. Though their prices aren't as competitive as some online sources for used camera equipment, the opportunity to look through their stock and learn about film photography was certainly worth the price. Unfortunately, they're closing down in April. I managed to snag a very good deal on a Rollei 35 SE while I was in town last. Here's a brief video on the store if you're interested.

Since moving to Toronto in March, I've discovered a wonderful gem on Queen street: Downtown Camera. Very conveniently located if you're ever in town for a visit, they have tons of fresh stock of film as well as full lab services. The customer service here is amazing and will make sure you're happy with your purchase. Their selection is great and every time I visit it's usually bustling with photographers of all ages. They typically do a film photo challenge every year in which amateurs and advanced photographers participate. I did it this year and had a blast. Of particular note is the amount of younger photographers who are getting into film photography for the first time. Seeing their reaction when they pull out their prints or contact sheets puts a smile on my face.
 
I live out in the west end Suburbs of Toronto On Canada in Oakville. We have a chain store called Henry's which does nothing for me. Now I'm blessed to be in the middle of two local stores, Burlington Camera with a great used camera selection, darkroom section, decent lab services and great staff. Over in Toronto is Downtown Camera and I use them to buy paper and darkroom supplies. We have a nice little online retailer called Argentix.ca that sells niche films and chemicals.

My purchases at B&H are pretty much film, and more film. In particular Ilford and Kodak colour products. Kodak pricing is insane and talking to people at Burlington and Downtown Camera and the culprit is a predatory distributor who oddly enough really isn't in the photographic business, and I flat out refuse to $18 CAD for a roll of Ektar 100.
 
Old thread, I know.

I stopped in at Kurt's Camera Corral in Albuquerque a few months back to check out used Leica-M lenses. The COF (Cantankerous Old Fart) in charge said he hated Leica gear and film shooting in general. He implied I was another Leica collector pestering him (the shop was empty, save me). All I did was ask him where the Leica gear was.

He tried to sell me his boss's old Hasselblad film outfit. He said that he can't believe that people still shoot film, when the digital Hasselblad, which he owns, was so much better.

He brightened up when someone came in, seeking a digital point-and-shoot. I left. Kind of sad.

I depend on the Internet to buy gear due to the remoteness of where I live, in northwestern New Mexico. Kinda risky, but what choice do I have? Nevertheless, I've gotten some great Leica-M gear, so no complaints.

I spent two years in retail camera, so I can understand the old guy in Albuquerque. But it doesn't have to be that way, does it?
 
Down in Florida, we have 2 big time Leica dealers for rich folks and one (as far as I know) traditional camera store left. Employees look like they are two skips from retirement. They were not up on the latest stuff.
 
creenus said:
Old thread, I know.

I stopped in at Kurt's Camera Corral in Albuquerque a few months back to check out used Leica-M lenses. The COF (Cantankerous Old Fart) in charge said he hated Leica gear and film shooting in general. He implied I was another Leica collector pestering him (the shop was empty, save me). All I did was ask him where the Leica gear was.

He tried to sell me his boss's old Hasselblad film outfit. He said that he can't believe that people still shoot film, when the digital Hasselblad, which he owns, was so much better.

He brightened up when someone came in, seeking a digital point-and-shoot. I left. Kind of sad.

I depend on the Internet to buy gear due to the remoteness of where I live, in northwestern New Mexico. Kinda risky, but what choice do I have? Nevertheless, I've gotten some great Leica-M gear, so no complaints.

I spent two years in retail camera, so I can understand the old guy in Albuquerque. But it doesn't have to be that way, does it?
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Kurts is gone, they closed up recently. I lived in Santa Fe for a while, and Kurts was very expensive for film.
 
Bill Pierce said:
It was the place. Is it true he opened a store or mail service in Florida when he left NY?
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Just picking up on this thread: Ken is still in business and can be reached by email at khpny19@aol.com.

He is in Florida in the winter and NYC in the summer but doesn't maintain a physical store any more.

We haven't had a Leica dealer in Oklahoma City since the last big oil boom went bust in the 80s. Ken is a great source of gear and knowledge (as was his employee the late Jose Gaytan when Ken's last shop was in operation on Madison Avenue). Jim Estrin of the NYT wrote of Ken's shop as the closest thing to a graduate education in gear and how to use it one could get and I think he was right.

--Bob
 
If you watch the stock market, retail is getting killed. Even big old stores like Macys.

Nordstrom is shaky.

Marshall Field, the icon of Chicago, sold out a few decades ago.

Big malls are going under because the have no anchor stores.

Whats wrong? It`s the economy stupid. I know why, but I am not going to get into a contest over it or try to teach economics.

There are not enough sales to support the camera industry. Read cell phone. I was tasked to do confirmation pics for church this AM. 15 parents, one camera, 14 cell phones and not a one of them knew what that were doing.

Nikon is dropping the low end cameras because there is too much competition. They had a choice, put a phone in the camera or quit. They picked the latter.

Small local camera stores can not exist on selling only high end merchandise.

So the really big outlets are sucking up the sales. Next step will be only selling direct.
Leica is going to try boutique stores. Might work for $7000 cameras and $4000 to $10000 lenses. You do not find them in big box stores.

Another problem is there is no need to replace very often. I think they have gone as far as average person needs. My son just made one gorgeous 30x60 metal print from a M8. Well he cheated and stitched with properly exposures on pano equipment.

The the whole thing started with locals not being competitive, perhaps only saving sales tax, then the economy tanked, then cell phones got better. Then Uncle Bob can shoot the wedding and journalists carry their own camera as if that makes them photographers. This translates to less high end camera sales.

I have two half decent real stores and both are near colleges that offer photography. A third had to downsize.

Then collectors or Japanese buyers have scooped up used cameras . KEH and Roberts have very low stock and that is the garbage nobody wants like Nikkorex. I had to buy an F2 from Japan EBAY to get a plain prism.
 
As far as I am aware, no flesh and blood camera stores nearer than 40 odd miles from me, but my last substantial purchase was from Grays of Westminster, an actual Nikon specialist store in London. Transaction carried out over the phone with a minimum of fuss and a day later a genuinely Mint Condition Nikkor 50mm f1.4 af D arrived for a bargain price with 12 months no quibble warranty. I believe in supporting real stores when ever I can, the exception being film which they really cannot compete with. I will no doubt deal with Grays again when looking for Nikon gear. Always worth a look through their listings and hopefully one day I will call in person.
 
My local store has good prices and friendly sales people, but have an inventory problem. I waited 3 weeks for them to get Ilford DDX in stock, and finally gave up and ordered it online. I had it in two days. I have been waiting 6 weeks for them to get a Fuji XT2 in stock. I'll probably end up ordering it online as well. I'd like to support my local store, be they make it difficult.
 
I used to shop at the local camera store, when I lived in New York, and it was B&H Photo. When I moved back to Chicago I still sent them a lot of business because I still knew so many of the folks there. The big camera stores here in Chicago, which I also used to frequent, Helix and Calumet, have both closed. I think there might be a satellite store of one or both of them, somewhere out in the suburbs, but I have never found either one. Tamarkin is still in town, and when I need something specific to Leica, he gets my dime, but otherwise, there really isn't a choice for "shopping local".

Best,
-Tim
 
Timmyjoe said:
I used to shop at the local camera store, when I lived in New York, and it was B&H Photo. When I moved back to Chicago I still sent them a lot of business because I still knew so many of the folks there. The big camera stores here in Chicago, which I also used to frequent, Helix and Calumet, have both closed. I think there might be a satellite store of one or both of them, somewhere out in the suburbs, but I have never found either one. Tamarkin is still in town, and when I need something specific to Leica, he gets my dime, but otherwise, there really isn't a choice for "shopping local".

Best,
-Tim
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Central Camera in Chicago is one of the coolest camera stores I have been in. The place is over 100 years old!
 
Timmyjoe said:
I used to shop at the local camera store, when I lived in New York, and it was B&H Photo. When I moved back to Chicago I still sent them a lot of business because I still knew so many of the folks there. The big camera stores here in Chicago, which I also used to frequent, Helix and Calumet, have both closed. I think there might be a satellite store of one or both of them, somewhere out in the suburbs, but I have never found either one. Tamarkin is still in town, and when I need something specific to Leica, he gets my dime, but otherwise, there really isn't a choice for "shopping local".

Best,
-Tim
Click to expand...

Central Camera Wabash & Jackson Been there 100 years.

Helix has online store

La Grange photo BNSF to La Grange RD, one block east on south side of tracks. Really nice people. They ship also. I try to use them whenever I can.
 
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