Speaking Of Buying From Sponsors . . .

[dcsang]

I'll be in New York City / The Big Apple / The City So Nice They Named It Twice / etc. etc. etc. starting Thursday evening until Tuesday morning.

I will, of course, hit the "big stores" but I wanted to hit Rich Pinto's store.

I had, a while back, sent an email to his store but never received any return email - and it was a question regarding shipping to Canada and a particular product that I was looking at. I was a bit disappointed I didn't hear back from them but chalked it up to them being too busy at the time.

I was wondering if anyone had ever visited, in person, Photo Village and I was curious what sort of experience they had. Some items they carry are cheaper than the usual meccas (B&H or Adorama) and I'd like to see the store for myself.

Of course, I will be carrying my M's and lenses and.. well.. my credit card, line of credit, pound of flesh and pints of blood (if it comes to that)... 😀

Cheers
Dave

 

[back alley]

it's a way tiny place in a funky old building.

they were very friendly but would not budge on price.
a store in new your city that refuses to deal is not my kind of place.
maybe you will have better luck.
they had really nice stuff though and if you go in with cash/credit at the ready you will leave with a smile on your face.

joe

 

[dcsang]

they had really nice stuff though and if you go in with cash/credit at the ready you will leave with a smile on your face.

That's the plan Joe.. 🙂

But I don't know if I'll go "crazy" as I've got quite a bit of gear as is - I'm looking for more specific stuff.. screw mount Leica stuff and a VC Meter II - the meter's a bit cheaper from Rich than it is from B&H and for $20 USD, I think it's worth the subway ride down Broadway 😀

Dave

 

[ch1]

Now here it is that I live in NYC and know nothing about this store. Even if it is in a "cheesy" location.

Why is it we have to rely on the out-of-towners to "clue" us in? :bang:

Please let me know the address etc.


BTW DC:

"Er, if you want some NYC "muscle" to help ya' lower da' price, lemme know and I'll see if my bigger brudder is gonna be in town dat day!"* 😀

Regards,
George
copake_ham

* Actually not surprised they won't bargain - try to do so at Adorama / B&H etc. and it's "shut down" time. Salesfolk there have little to no authority to "deal". I bought a $500 Nikkor AF lens at Adorama in April and I couldn't get the salesguy to "throw in" a cheapo fabric lens case! Would've walked out except they still had the best price around!!!

 

[dcsang]

Ya.. I never figure on Adorama or B&H budging.. not on new gear.. I thought maybe they would on their used gear though in order to "move stock".

As for the address:
1133 Broadway, Suite #824, between 25-26th Streets . Right in the center of the Photo District!

that's according to their website 🙂 They're a sponsor for RFF. I didn't realize there's a "Photo District" on Broadway 😉

Dave

 

[jan normandale]

Dave, don't do it!

Jan ;-)

 

[ch1]

Ya.. I never figure on Adorama or B&H budging.. not on new gear.. I thought maybe they would on their used gear though in order to "move stock".

As for the address:
1133 Broadway, Suite #824, between 25-26th Streets . Right in the center of the Photo District!

that's according to their website 🙂 They're a sponsor for RFF. I didn't realize there's a "Photo District" on Broadway 😉

Dave

Dave,

Well 25th-26th street is "stretching" the definition of the "photo district" a bit - but with B&H all the way up at 34th and 9th - who's to know?

Adorama down at 18th b/w 5th and 6th is in the "heart" of such a "district" - which started up in the late 1980's when a lot of the Advertising Agencies were pushed out of Midtown (i.e. the classic Madison Avenue) by rising rents.

Many kept their "front offices" on Mad but moved their production teams further downtown when rents were still cheap. :bang:

The mid-20's and B'Way is an interesting area - heretofore dominated by a lot of Korean import firms (BTW: great Korean food is available on 32nd b/w 5th and 6th if you get hungry).

The West 20's area - like all of Manhattan - is changing fast during this current "boom" time - but there are still a lot of old loft buildings there where a photo dealer could find "decent" rent.

I'll keep the place in mind and thanks for the tip.

Hope you have a great time while down here - I know I always enjoy visiting T.O.

Regards,
George

 

[rover]

Photo Village can be confused with a small museum display. They have lots of very nice, I mean very very nice stuff. It is a tiny little shop, not a big retail location, you will like it. Into the building, up the elevator like you are going to a physician's office. You will find it. I don't know what is more expensive, NY State and NYC taxes or Canadian Customs, but for me buying and having items from NYC are much cheaper if I have them shipped instead of paying the governor and mayor.

 

[Paulbe]

Hi Dave--re Photo Village. I visited them in Oct and was very suprised at 2 things---how small the sotre was and how friendly the one salsperson was! It is--as mentioned before--a virtual museum. Fun! They had three used Noctis when I was there. Well worth a visit but also be sure to go by Tamarkin. Equally nice and then there's B+H etcetc. The list goes on forever..
Have a great time--I'm going back next year!

Paul

 

[dcsang]

Photo Village can be confused with a small museum display. They have lots of very nice, I mean very very nice stuff. It is a tiny little shop, not a big retail location, you will like it. Into the building, up the elevator like you are going to a physician's office. You will find it. I don't know what is more expensive, NY State and NYC taxes or Canadian Customs, but for me buying and having items from NYC are much cheaper if I have them shipped instead of paying the governor and mayor.

Thanks Ralph 🙂

Canadian taxes/shipping are more expensive - 15% tax plus whatever shipping is compared to 8.625% tax - add that to our ever rising dollar and it works out to be a pretty good deal on most things. 🙂

I wonder if they allow cameras in there... 😉

Dave

 

[dcsang]

Hi Dave--re Photo Village. I visited them in Oct and was very suprised at 2 things---how small the sotre was and how friendly the one salsperson was! It is--as mentioned before--a virtual museum. Fun! They had three used Noctis when I was there. Well worth a visit but also be sure to go by Tamarkin. Equally nice and then there's B+H etcetc. The list goes on forever..
Have a great time--I'm going back next year!

Paul

Tamarkin ?? : )

Thanks for the input Paul 🙂

Dave

 

[kbg32]

I would be careful photographing in that area Dave. From 30th down to 25th Street on Broadway. I work around the corrner on 27th Street. People in this area are mostly illegal and do not like to photogrpahed. There are a lot of wholesale shops that sell counterfeit goods. Hence people are extra guarded. There is a Mosque on 29th between 5th and Broadway. The congregants do not like to be photographed as well.

The "photo district" ran from 32nd street down to 14th street, 5th Avenue going west. Most of the big and smaller camera shops were located here once upon a time -Willoughby's, Camera Barn, Competitive Camera. Olden's, etc.. Some still are, and of course there were exceptions - Wall Street Camera, Ken Hansen, etc. There were/are many labs, advertising agencies, as well as modeling agencies, and photo studios. The area is just small protion to what it was.

 

[dcsang]

I finally got to PhotoVillage yesterday (Monday) afternoon. I missed meeting up with some of the local NY RFF members 🙁 Sorry guys.

As noted by others in this thread....The non-descript building entrance, and the wait for the elevators to take you up to the 8th floor makes you feel like you're going to a doctors/dentists office. When I eventually got to the 8th floor there, amongst the other doors, was one that had "The Photo Village" sign on it. I turned the handle and entered.

Man, it was more like a museum 🙂 than a retail outlet but they sure did have a LOT of used Leica gear 🙂 I was tempted but resisted.

I asked to see an Ikon but they were all sold out.

There was just a young asian woman and a young man sitting at a computer in the back room. I don't believe Rich was in the store.

I snagged a 28/35 viewfinder and was, as I said, tempted to grab more but thought I'd hold off until the next time I go back to NYC.

The neighbourhood isn't so bad from what I could tell... it is nice to have Madison Square right there and the Flat Iron Building so it makes for a nice walk about. 🙂

Cheers
Dave

 

[ch1]

Well you certainly had great weather yesterday for your outing. A bit on the "chilly" side but nice and sunny.

Definitely sounds like a place to visit. Unfortunately, small specialty shops like PV in all kinds of fields are fast disappearing from NYC (espescially Manhattan). Rising rents, the onslaught of Big Box retailers (yes, we even have "Best Buy" here in NYC now) are all taking their toll. Hopefully there will always be a place for the small-time entrepreneaur who's business is based on personal passion as well as a desire to make a living.

Perhaps next time you are in NYC we can share a journey to PV or Tamarkin etc.

 

[George S.]

I'm just catching up on these threads and want to add that I've bought from Rich via mail, and by visiting the store. I too, was struck by how tiny it was, but they do have a lot of nice, very, very nice gear inside display walls that put some displays at Tiffany's to shame!

Whenever I have emailed Rich, I seem to get a reply in like, 5 or 10 minutes. I've spoken to him on the phone, but didn't have the pleasure of meeting him when I was there; there was a very pleasant, and attentive woman who took care of my sale, and let me handle other gear that I asked about. I've been very pleased with his sales and service and will continue to give him my business when I see that he has something I'm looking for. I'll always try to support the small, friendly guy over the big conglomerate.