Stores and dealers...

[nomade]

If u like a camera u pick it up and start playing with it, try to see how it works, test it, shoot with it in the air, and examine it well, specially if it's used...Try another one, and see what suits u, what kinda detail u need and u just can spend hours in the store trying and trying then thinking and trying, eleminating some choices and choose between the last 2...

It happens basically with everything u buy, clothes, shoes...But dealers seem to get bored quickly and they seem more agressive specially when it takes u a while, they want u to coe in with ur cash, pick soemthing and pay for it in a fraction of a second...

While i was buying the fed 3, i was trying it, opened its back, examined it from the insie, shot a few frames in the air...And i tried several other cameras, the fed was my choice from the beginning, but from the moment i put my hands on it before trying any other ones, the dealer was quite amazed why am i doin that??
What shoked me is that they r not giving u any more freedom to feel free and choose what u want, to feel free to handle the responsability of trying something before buying it, maybe i should have bought it from ebay if i was goin to it blindly,.it's right here in front of me, why can't i touch it...

Yesterday i passed by another store looking ta digital SLRs and some other cameras...And i like to take my time, comparing prices and features...And i really didn't touch a thing, but the dealer came and asked me a few times if i needed any help, and i always answer "no thank u i'm just having a look".

And finally he asked" will u buy something today???", and i thought was that rude or is it just me???

 

[peter_n]

Some dealers (maybe most) don't like cameras that are to be sold as "new" being handled by customers. For cameras that have a high "fondle factor" dealers will set aside one sample that is designated as a test or demo sample. My Leica M6TTL was a demo and the condition of the leatherette covering reflects that, the camera is perfect but the leatherette looks like it has seen better days. Leica engraved their factory test models with the label Betriebsk and sold them a little cheaper in the market.

The same principle may apply to used cameras. Many people are concerned about cosmetics and so when people handle a given sample the wear accumulates and it can show. I don't think its you. 🙂

 

[jaapv]

Leica engraved their factory test models with the label Betriebsk and sold them a little cheaper in the market

Not all of them! some (like mine) they refurbish completely and bring them to a "better than new"condition. They have a red sticker on the box, are only very slightly cheaper and preferable as they are individually tested and calibrated.

 

[jlw]

If u like a camera u pick it up and start playing with it, try to see how it works, test it, shoot with it in the air, and examine it well, specially if it's used...Try another one, and see what suits u, what kinda detail u need and u just can spend hours in the store trying and trying then thinking and trying, eleminating some choices and choose between the last 2...

While i was buying the fed 3, i was trying it, opened its back, examined it from the insie, shot a few frames in the air...And i tried several other cameras, the fed was my choice from the beginning, but from the moment i put my hands on it before trying any other ones, the dealer was quite amazed why am i doin that??
What shoked me is that they r not giving u any more freedom to feel free and choose what u want, to feel free to handle the responsability of trying something before buying it, maybe i should have bought it from ebay if i was goin to it blindly,.it's right here in front of me, why can't i touch it...

Yesterday i passed by another store looking ta digital SLRs and some other cameras...And i like to take my time, comparing prices and features...And i really didn't touch a thing, but the dealer came and asked me a few times if i needed any help, and i always answer "no thank u i'm just having a look".

And finally he asked" will u buy something today???", and i thought was that rude or is it just me???

This is a terrible thing for me to say against dealers I don't know, and I hope it isn't true -- but it may be that because you are female (correct? I believe you mentioned this in another thread) you are less likely to be taken as seriously as a potential buyer.

Having said that: I have found that if I visit the same store often, and try to use it for small purchases such as film and batteries, and maybe ask for the same salesperson every time so that s/he eventually begins to recognize me as a repeat customer... then I get more attention and more latitude to examine cameras that interest me.

There is one store here, which I have been patronizing since I was a teenager (many years ago!) where now they actually invite me to handle interesting new cameras that they have received, ask me what I think of them, offer to let me take lenses home over the weekend and try them out, etc. It's not because I spend a huge amount of money, because I don't; it's because they have been seeing me a long time and know that I am a serious photographer, and that if I decide something will benefit my photography, eventually I will find a way to buy it.

It takes a long time to build up this kind of relationship, and of course it gives you a responsibility not to abuse it (for example, not to handle a new camera at the shop and then buy it online to save a few dollars) but in the long run it can be very valuable.

Since you are interested in Russian RFs, you might try picking out a salesperson to cultivate, buy film and some small accessories for your camera from him/her, then say, "I really like using these old Russian rangefinder cameras and lenses; if you ever get any more in, could you let me know?" and then give him/her a business card or your email address. This will show the salesperson that you're a serious buyer, and also let the store know that there is a potential market for these cameras.

I have learned that many desirable cameras that come into cameras stores as trade-ins never go on the shelf; the store has an informal list of "good customers" who have let them know they are seeking that specific kind of camera, and when one of these items comes in, it's the "good customer" who gets the first chance to buy it.

Sometimes that can be frustrating: I've seen a working Contax I and an original black-and-nickel Leica II that had come in as trades, but were not for sale; they were waiting to be picked up by previously-notified private buyers. (The salesperson showed them to me only because "I know you're interested in older cameras.")

On the other hand, I can't complain because I have sometimes benefitted by this system myself: Once I bought a used Bronica S2A (medium-format SLR), lens, and two backs for a reasonable price ($199, as I recall) and then, a few weeks later, was invited to have first pick of a "junk box" of other Bronica items that had come in. The box turned out to contain one each of S and S2 bodies, three more backs, two 75mm lenses, a 50mm lens, and a 135mm lens, all in good working condition; I was invited to buy the entire box for $50, and naturally I jumped at the chance! Eventually I sold the entire outfit for more than $500 to a professional photographer who is happily using it to this day.


PS -- Personally, I envy you for living someplace where you can walk into camera stores and see used FEDs on the shelf at all; where I live, such cameras probably would be considered unsalable, and the owners counseled to sell them via eBay instead.