US importers refusing stocks of Agfa photo products.

Received this from at Maco in Germany today.

 

QUOTE: .../

 

Customers world-wide, are looking for AGFA photo products!

 

MACO stores these products in substantial quantities. Unfortunately some of

the US importers are refusing our sales activities:

 

The final consumers need the products and Maco has the products on stock!

THEREFORE, MACO goes now the way to offer a "BLACK LIST".

 

Thus, MACO gives the user the chance to buy DIRECTLY in Germany!

If approx. 500 USD per shipment is too much for an individual photographer,

then there is, nevertheless, the chance to connect via the internet by

inviting further American friends to a collective ordering.

 

The English version of the BLACK LIST will be posted on Friday, 09th , 2007,

by MACO.

 

Please visit http://www.mahn.net/PRListe.htm

 

In this list, the AGFA SCALA film is also specified.

ONE DOES NOT ONLY HAVE to order the SCALA film, but you could also fill up

your order e.g. with AGFA MCC paper which is of great interest also.

 

Please send orders only by fax and/or by E-Mail, but not by telephone.

For all customers, who already have a Maco customer number, the distribution

will be handled under

the well-known conditions. For customers, who order for the first time,

payment by credit card is recommended. For high volume orders payment in

advance is also possible.

The shipment costs are individually.

 

The shipment will be proceeded per surface mail of the products will go out 24

hours after payment received. Per AIR MAIL on request.

 

For further questions, please feel free to contact me.

 

 

With kind regards

 

Hartmuth Schroeder

 

-Director-

MACO PHOTO PRODUCTS

Hans O. Mahn & Co KG

Brookstieg 4

22145 Hamburg-Stapelfeld

 

Telefon: +49 (0) 40 23 70 08-88

Telefax: +49 (0) 40 23 70 08-488

Mobil: +49 (0) 163 237 00 83

 

E-Mail: photo@mahn.net

Web: http://www.mahn.net

 

... /

 

What, with Kodak talking about getting out of film altogether, seems like

you're getting the rough end of the stick over there.

Sorry, my first sentence should have read:

 

"Received this from Hartmuth Schroeder at Maco in Germany today."

 

But whilst back, anyone discouraged by the moves in the photo products world, who hasn't seen the Fotoimpex site, should. There's a lot happening to be happy about. http://www.fotoimpex.de/ , and http://www.silverprint.co.uk/ to mention just a couple excellent suppliers.

 

Cheers, Kevin

Reading between the lines - Freestylephoto must of declined an offer.

An individual made a very interesting post about this a while ago. (sorry I forget who) Apparently this dates back to before Agfa-Photo went under. There was a dispute between AGFA USA and Agfa photo which lead to Agfa USA refusing imports to this country. It wasn't long after this supposed dispute that Agfa-photo went under, which makes me wonder if this removal of a huge consumer base might have been the event that pushed them over the brink. Apparently there are still issues regarding rights and trademarks. Agfa USA still exists just like Agfa Gaevart right? Perhaps there are still problems there. I was wondering why I hear all this talk of huge quanitities of remaining stock but see very little proof of it here in the U.S. regarding retailers who consistently stock a wide variety of product. I can't seem to find APX100 in 120 anywhere. B+H doesn't have it nor do they have any MCC. That's a huge retailer with a lots of possible sales and they should have no problem taping into these stocks if there weren't issues. Unfortunately those getting the short end of the stick are the entities who bought up supposedly huge quantities of old Agfa stock and are now watching it rot while being denied the largest photo market in the world. Of course there is also the issue of Agfa products never being hot sellers either. With current supplies existing in finite quantities, I would imagine plenty of Agfa fans have moved on to other products rather than keep working with stuff that is hard to find and will eventually be gone all together.

Several months fter Agfaphoto liquidated (and stocks were pretty much gone in the US), weren't there several big European dealers trying to sell big lots on-line at premium prices? Maybe the issue isn't that US importers aren't refusing stock, but that they are refusing stock at the prices the European warehouses want to charge? Purely conjecture on my part. But the cynic in me wonders if maybe there wasn't some speculation going on, where people thought that prices would go through the roof. The Afga films and papers were very nice, but not irreplaceable. And one of the selling points to me was that they were generally cheaper than the competitors. Assuming the stock does get into the US market, I still wouldn't pay a premium and, assuming it's now all short-dated (maybe a couple of years left on the APX 100), might actually expect a discount.

Why is this not being moved through J&C? They are the Maco US distribuor.

Why isn't this going through J&C ? Aren't they closed?

 

I've called all over the USA looking for medium format APX 100 and it's not to be found anywhere.

 

I checked the pdf that goes along with this announcement and they do not show any medium format film.

 

If it is available "somewhere", please let me know. I would be willing to raise the funds to buy every roll of medium format I could get my hands on. Thousands if necessary.

 

Oh, I am not interested in the rollei version. If I am buying, it's gotta say agfa on the box.

I'm the one who made the post about the dispute between Agfa Photo USA and the Agfa Photo operations in Germany.

 

I have no idea what's going on with this so-called "Black Listing". I do know that Adorama informed me they will no longer stock APX film about 3 weeks ago. I saw something like "Black List" on the aphog.de site today , but I couldn't translate it into anything comprehensible via Google. I have no idea what's up.

 

Agfa Photo USA basically ceased to be in early 2006. There was a big mess concerning lab equipment and part shipments that weren't honored and that did the USA outift a lot of harm. Agfa Photo USA (North America, actually) basically sought out a separate outfit (I think the name was Integra) to assume service obligations for lab equipment and then they pulled their own plug. Their former CEO now works for Fuji's US operations.

 

Bottom line: I doubt Agfa Photo USA can do very much to prevent anybody from selling Agfa Photo film anywhere.

 

There IS an Agfa USA but it primarily deals with Agfa's imaging systems for health care. I doubt they much care what happens to Agfa Photo film and paper.

 

It's a mystery; just one more among many.

Agfa stopped producing medium format APX in early 2004. I doubt you'll see any APX 100 left in 120.

 

Well, Maco has apparently been doing some odd stuff of late. Apparently, they are the sole distributor of A&O chemistry (former Agfa chemistry) and recently doubled prices.

 

There's a post to this effect on the English forum at http://fotolaborforum.de/

 

Frankly, this seems like Maco and their distributors are trying to capitalize on our fears.

Al,

the mysterious "Black List" is apperarently nothing but a special price list, where Maco tries to sell off their last remaining stocks of original Agfa material. It is not a "Black list" against some dealers, like someone might think.

 

APX100 in 120 format is now exclusively sold as the rebadged "Retro 100", because it was cut and spooled by a 3rd party manufacturer. There is some information on the net, that this was cut from master rolls of 35mm material (no back coating?), but I am not sure about this.

 

Regards

 

Georg

This Rollei Retro is one mythical beast if I ever saw one. Can anyone point to a U.S. retailer that actually sells it? I too haven't seen any medium format APX 100 in a long time now (rebranded or otherwise.) There is still APX 400 left in 120 but I think this is because so many people have a poor opinion of the film and retailers are having a difficult time moving stock that has been sitting on shelves for quite a while.

 

The whole post Agfa demise deal does seem a little shady to me even if I can't quite point out what is exactly going on. Part of me is wondering if European distributors are just trying to cut out the middle man and sell the stuff direct at a higher price. This way they can also stick the consumer with the shipping cost and make more money in the end. I've also read some reports where people have discovered that the expiration dates had been monkeyed with to extend its saleable life. With a minimum order of $500 I'm not so sure this will work out for them. Like another poster said, the products aren't that unique and valuable where I would feel like going through the hassle companies like Maco (or whoever is behind this) are causing.

Distribution is a big problem for analogue products. It is about time that all producers sold

direct via online stores. Distributors are just middlemen increasing prices and doing nothing

for the industry. There are many places in the world where you simply cannot buy certain

products, not because the manufacturer no longer makes them, but because the distributor

does not want to import them. With the Ineternet, no manufacturer has any excuse for not

selling direct. If Amazon can do it with books etc. Ilford and co. can do the same with film

and paper. Stuff the distributors.

BTW What ever happened to Maco Cube film? I ad just started to play with it and Boom it was gone.. some outdated suff at high prices showed up for a short time at Freestyle then it too was gone...

 

And where is this Mythical Lupas that has all this new production Agfa Vista? Mystery after Mystery with a simple answer.... Vaporware.

 

No I think that there is alot of old stock and time is running out.... A local store here is chock full of Agfa Color film Slide and Negative.. their secret... A huge freezer in the basement of the building..... They saw the end happening got a great price in the last days of AGFA I.S.A. and took the order.. too bad the 800 is all gon but the last roll I had was showing alot of cosmic fog... the 100 is doing fine and The 200 well it is 200.

 

Larry

David B.

 

Check out ebay.de, The german ebay. there are several dealers that offer 10- or 20 film lots APX100 and APX400 in 120 format. They usually ship worldwide. The film is usually dated 2008 and 2009. No, I am not one of the sellers, neither do I have an interest other than that I am shooting 120 as well.

 

good luck - hans

Larry - Maco Cube is now "Rollei R3". Same film, but additional back-coating to avoid extensive curling.

 

Lupus does not sell new production, but leftovers from the Agfa bankruptcy. They also put the Agfa logo on some cheap, far-east digital cameras, memory cards and so on.

 

Georg

http://www.jandcphoto.com/

 

"We are closed in order to re-organize our operations. Please click here for an update."

I just cam from B&H store on Manhattan and was wondering

what happened to the Maco IR, 4x5. Not available. But they list

Agfapan APX 100, 35mm in their catalogue. I have not asked,

however, because I still have APX25.

Last summer I discovered about 80 rolls of 120 APX100 in a small mom-n-pop camera store. It was the last production run so the exp. dates I think are 2009. I bought the lot for a song. I've used this film before a couple years ago when I started out with medium format. Now that I'm a little more experienced and I can see how great this film was I regret that once my batch is gone that's it. The Rollie film is available thru Freestyle (which I live fairly close to) but it costs more then twice the amount of fp4 or plus-x and therefore not very economical for me at this point. I usually use Pan F+ anyways but liked the idea of keeping the APX100 in the freezer for the rare overcast days here in LA.

So does anyone know for sure what is up with Agfa chemistry? Besides Agfa Ultra 100

color and of course APX25 I don't miss much Agfa film, but VIradon and Sistan are missed

in my darkroom. Is the chemistry being made for sure? and if so does anyone have a

phone # or email for the manufacturer? I want to get some chemistry, and if I can get any

more Ultra 100 I want to. I've been buying ultra on ebay, but it is hard to come by in large

lots, and the shipping kills me. Still room in the freezer for another 200 rolls. The prices in

the 'blacklist' seem incredibly high don't they?

Rodinal and Viridon are listed on Freestyles website, but not Sistan.

A German company named A&O is producing at least part of Agfa's former chemistry catalog. Maco is their sole distributor.

 

Any retailer that wishes to distribute this chemistry must do a deal with Maco.

 

If you go to the latest post on the English language forum at:

 

http://fotolaborforum.de/

 

you'll see that prices were recently doubled by Maco. The poster, Mirko Boddecker, is the principal owner of a large and specialized analog photographic supply store in Germany. I've found his postings to be quite accurate.