There was one local store near where I live who sold film. As the film users dropped off, their prices went up drastically, until, as they put it, the money they would lose by getting rid of film altogether would be less than they would lose throwing away stock.
These are changing times, no doubt. As much as I would like to support the local guy, it is difficult when the local guy does not meet me part way. I do not have to just accept huge price increases.
Ari, you might tell the shop keeper that you have a large order and why you canot buy from her. I find it interesting, though, that she is even higher than cost of film and the cost of shipping combined. If I am going to be in Albuquerque (the nearest bigish city to me) I will buy film because it is cheaper than buying with shipping. But, I will not go there specifically for film or any photo related stuff because the cost of gas is higher than the cost of shipping.
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Technological society has succeeded in multiplying the opportunities for pleasure, but it has great difficulty in generating joy. Pope Paul VI
So, I think the "greats" were true to their visions, once their visions no longer sucked. Ralph Barker 12/2004
I have had the same dilemma. Sadly to say I looked at the facts in my case. 1-photography is "just" a hobby. 2-my money doesn't come out of a bottomless pit. So I go for who has the most bang for the buck. I have found that the LCS (local camera store) is cheaper or the same price on some stuff, then I buy it there. But most of the time the internet is cheaper even if you factor shipping in and all. It is what it is--no one is paying me to take photos-I can't write it off-so I go with the best deals
Face it, the internet is a merchandising whore. There is always one person who will sell something for almost no profit, what happens when this mentality affects your livelihood? In the long term it means thousands of people working for crappy "globalized" wages and making one person rich. In the U.S. we have people holding $30 billion+ and other people eating from garbage cans...Evan Clarke
That's another possible turn; I've often wondered why wouldn't a shop order from the net instead of the local dealer, as they would have greater profit. Maybe it takes too much of involvement for something they consider rather dead.
I see it as an attitude, from not all but most dealers and shop owners. "It's an almost dead market with a few obsessed people who WILL pay whatever we ask them to anyway, so why bother?".
-Sino.
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Close your eyes to see. This will take a while.
Would it pay the store owner to join in with you on your internet purchase - she gets stock, you get film, both save on shipping?
Matt
I like this method, both of you can be winners.
I try to support my local camera store, Service Photo, even if some items cost more, even wait for special orders knowing I can get them faster from BH without a special order. There are a couple of items they just do carry so I will go else where to obtain them. It is my hope they will continue to provide B&W film, paper, and chemicals for a long time.
Face it, the internet is a merchandising whore. There is always one person who will sell something for almost no profit, what happens when this mentality affects your livelihood? In the long term it means thousands of people working for crappy "globalized" wages and making one person rich. In the U.S. we have people holding $30 billion+ and other people eating from garbage cans...Evan Clarke
The Internet is just a tool, a source and ultimately it is what we make it. The deals on the internet directly affect my livelihood. The cheaper prices I often find make it so I can shoot more, print more, and enjoy photography more. This is very good for my mentality. I do try to shop locally I/we need our LCS's I work hard to earn my money and want to make it go as far as possible. About the 30+billion$ people they earned it--good for them.
Location: Valencia, CA (for now); New England in near future.
Posts: 275
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sino
I see it as an attitude, from not all but most dealers and shop owners.
-Sino.
You are ABSOLUTELY correct. And things like this have made me worry less about keeping the local stores viable.
I think about the current situation with Samy's Camera where I am currently located in Southern California. Their store prices sometimes range 20%-30% and even higher on some items than their internet sales. For example - a Domke bag I was looking at is $59 on their website, and over $90 in their store. When asked about whether they can meet their own internet price for an instore purchase, they apologized, stating that the internet operations is completely separate in terms of bookkeepping, tax setup, inventory, etc.
This was so disappointing to me that I went back to ordering from B&H. At least when I was living in NY, B&H was selling their stuff instore at the same prices they were selling online.
I am willing to pay extra on some items to keep the local stores in business. But there has to be a limit.
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