Opening a Photography Store

<p>Hey, I am a relatively new photographer in my area of Westchester, New York. For all of my photography needs pertaining to equipment I have to drive into Manhattan to B&H which can be extremely inconvenient if all I need is a light or umbrella. <br>

So recently I've been thinking of opening up a photo store here in my area to sell cameras, lenses, equipment and possibly provide portrait services and digital prints. However, I have no idea about where to start. First I would have to do some research but I don't know where to begin. Is it even worth it? Will people simply buy their stuff online? There are a few small photo stores in my area but they are severely lacking in stock and suffer from terrible marketing and have almost no online presence (websites, facebook, etc).<br>

Any advice?</p>

<p>I can think of at least a dozen photo stores in Phoenix who have closed in the past 5 yrs, and there are hundred all over the US. When People want to buy a camera or lenses now they think of Best Buy or Circuit City not a photographic store. In order to be able to sell something you have to have it in stock and it would take hundreds of thousands of dollars to have a fully stocked photo store. I think you are about 30 yrs to late. Good Luck . </p>

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<p>Will people simply buy their stuff online?</p>

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Yes, the only time I buy locally is when I can't wait a few days or if I need to touch it before I buy it. Local cost 10-20% more when you figure in the tax. I rarely need to touch things now, once you are locked into a system, online reviews are usually good enough for me.</p>

<p>Yea I think you guys made some great points. I don't know how these local photo stores stay in business. I didn't even know they existed until I needed some emergency lighting gear that I didn't have time to travel to Manhattan to get. When searching google, I found a few stores, most of which have no website or anything other than a phone number. And when I go into the store, most of their stuff is not for professional use.<br>

But with photography being so popular now, I thought there would be a market for a store. Best Buy and those large stores don't carry a lot of lenses and offer little information on the cameras they sell And they carry no real equipment (lights kits, umbrellas, bulbs, flashes, etc). But keeping stock and competing with online prices would be very difficult. </p>

<p>With apologies to whoever first made a variation on this observation:</p>

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<p>The best way to have a million bucks by running a camera store is to start with two million bucks.</p>

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<p>It's not that it can't be done, it's that economy of scale really weighs heavily on the math. My favorite local chain of walk-up semi-pro photography retail shops narrowly escaped death this year by being bought up (while under bankruptcy) by Calumet. Calumet stays in business by focusing most of their profit-making on the sale of house brand accessories and gear. They (like everybody else) make next to nothing when they sell a $1500 camera or lens. But they do great when they sell one of own branded light stands or a set of batteries. Without having enough of a web presence and enough stores to be able to support stocking (and jobbing out for manufacturing) their own branded stuff, they'd never make it.</p>

I've worked in two camera stores over more than 30 years. The camera store is no longer a winning business model. For

waaaaayyyyyy less money than you'll lose opening a camera store, hire a full-time personal assistant who can run into

the big city for you.

<p>In the early 1960'a each town had a camera store.<br>

Old man cullen has a big stock just about every kind of film took trades and had a big counter fulj<br>

of used cameras. The nearby drugstore had a docen cameras<br>

jewelry stores had german 35mm viewfinder Voightlander cameras..<br>

Montclkair had three camera stores.<br>

the chain stores leased out an area for Photo-craft to have a large photo department so did thwo guys and Korvetted and all the others.<br>

gradually they all dried up., I bought a 40 year old 127 camera in a candy store.<br>

it was new., I had noticed it 10 years before.<br>

the camera stores took on another line of products sometimes greeting cards.<br>

or craft-like items. but eventially most went out of business.<br>

the chain stores carried a limited line of cameras and film.<br>

those things that sold well.<br>

last store I was in was in a strip mall in Parsippany nj two older men and they had cabinests FULl<br>

of canon FD cameras as well as others.<br>

last one I ever saw I wonder if they still exist?</p>

<p>there may be a few left but when these men pass away or retire it will be the end.</p>

 

<p>I think Matt is referring to Penn Camera above. They are here in Washington, D.C. Had eight stores and an online operation and filed bankruptcy earlier this year. Came to within days of closing the doors before they were bought by Calumet. Back in operation, but with only three stores. The reality of the business today is that if you can't match the price and selection of the megastores B&H, Adorama, Calumet, etc., -- not to mention the expertise of their staffs -- it would be very difficult to compete.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for the very informative responses. Thats exactly what I was looking for, a state of where the business is today. I wanted something for enthusiasts, but its clear there are too many competitors out there and no longer room for the little guy to make a profit. Maybe I'll open a book store :) jk.</p>

<p>"Maybe I'll open a book store :) jk."<br>

Haha...thanks for the LOL!</p>