Walgreen clearancing UC400

[randall_pukalo]

Walgreens is clerancing their UC400 3 packs for $8.50. A great deal

for those who love this film, but another sad development in the

demise of film. They say it wasnt selling well, and many stores had

pulled their stock by the time I noticed (recently). Also, they are

pulling all their slide film (E200 and E100VS). Too bad, as they has a

great selection of films until recently.

[rich815]

I heard this about 2 months ago yet my local Walgreens still had it at something like $12 a 3 pack. I'll have to look again.

[lex_jenkins]

The problem with 400UC isn't the cost of the film. The film itself is a good buy. It's the unpleasant surprise ordinary consumers get when they have it processed. Because it comes in 36 exposure rolls the processing and printing cost is significantly higher than consumers have come to expect for 24 exposure rolls.

 

I suspect that if Kodak offered it in 24 exposure rolls the film would do better - considering the overall decrease in demand for film and processing.

 

I guess I'll stock up on 400UC because it's a pretty good film. Vivid colors with natural skin tones and fine grain for a 400 film.

[grant_bridenbaugh]

Lex hit on one of the problems (as I see it) with Kodak's selling of UC400 at general retail. I posted something on this in another thread a few months ago, at which time I was filling my freezer with 3x36 UC400 from Target at something like six bucks a box. (Memo to Target folks: maybe next you should try stocking UC100, or perhaps NPC, or... It would be a hit -- trust me. *g*)

 

The 36-exposure thing is a downer for general retail sale. Costs more to expose, as Lex mentioned, plus it's just too much film for your average 'mainstream' film buyer. They already have their 24-exp in the camera for months before it's all used... 36-exp means they'll develop their Christmas pictures somewhere between Easter and summer vacation.

 

Price, though, is part of it too. Lots of people will just buy whatever is cheapest. Or won't do enough on-the-fly math to realize that the box with 'only' three rolls (3x36 UC400) has more film than the box with four (4x24 of whatever).

 

And, lastly, I expect that a good percentage of mass-market film buyers are equipment-, and/or technique-, and/or processing- (i.e. never get anything larger than a 4x6) limited to the point where they may not notice any consistent, meaningful difference between, say, a MAX800 and a UC400.

 

When you see a good deal like this, I wouldn't read too much into it. Just enjoy the chance to take advantage of someone else's marketing miscalculation. :-)

[jeff_drew4]

A tale of 2 discount store or Walgreens shoppers: One agonizes whether or not to

clean out the store and freeze all the bargain priced, pro-quality films whereas the

other flies down the aisles and grabs a couple of whatever disposable cameras are in

the sale bin! Now line up the American shopping population and guess which of the 2

shopper types are the majority? Guess which type the discount store is catering to?

Now try to figure out Kodak's marketing strategy - best of luck on this one! It seems

there is lamenting that the film market is dying. I contend the market is shrinking,

and there is a difference. There will be a long curve associated with the shrinking of

the serious film users. Film prices will escalate and providers will change. Film will

continue as long as there is a market! Will the market mimic the haydays of Kodak?

No. Will R&D continue as strongly? No. Will people like me change tools and

paradigms quickly to suit marketing arms of multinational corporations? No. People

NOT like me will race from fad-to-fad, though. They won't do the math, or are not

invested in the art to the extent they care what happens. But my mechanical cameras,

films, wet printing, photgraphic interests will live on another couple decades if I stay

healthy and support the venues that further my interests. Twenty years from now, I

may be buying film from "Joe's Film & Chemical Company" at $10 a unit, but Joe will

be happy and I will be happy AND I'll bet 3 major iterations of digital and film

replacement fads will have come and gone. Yes please! Do the math!

[david_m]

Its still $11.50 or so at my Walgreens. Even $8.50 for 3 rolls is not a great price in my opinion, when I can buy other good film for $1 a roll. I notice Walgreens seems to be going to only multiple packs of the Kodak film made in China. That and disposable cameras is about it for conventional film. They are throwing the Fuji disposables away. Had a big tub containing hundreds of them priced at under $4 each.

[User_502260]

I tried a few rolls of the UC400 and I liked them. Two were processed by A&I in Los Angeles with the expected excellent results. Film is like any other product in a supermarket or drug store. If it doesn't sell in great quantities it won't be allowed much shelf space. If you go to drugstore.com you will find many products which the local drug stores stopped selling a long time ago. There is still a demand for these products but it can be served better by internet stores than by local retail stores.

 

The CVS and Walgreens drug stores in my area have really scaled back their film offerings. Target has done the same. I agree that the UC400 is not the only good film in its speed range. Some photo.netters dislike all "consumer" films. If you send one of these to a good lab like A&I you will get much better results than you would by sending professional film to a run-of-the-mill lab. Advanced amateurs will learn the characteristics of each film and lab they use and will be able to match up the right film, consumer or pro, with their subject.