Typical Cameral Store Experience?

[pge]

I am sorry this isn't Nikon specific, but all my gear is Nikon so I always find

myself in this forum.

 

I just had an experience with a reputable camera store and I was wondering if it

was typical or not.

 

On my advice a friend purchased a camera and a memory card (2 gig SD) at Vistek

in Toronto. The next day I noticed a local competitor selling the same card but

twice the size (4 gig) and with an included card reader for just $5 more. My

friend returned to Vistek and they basically said, touch luck, too bad, sorry

you got ripped off. In their defence they said it very nicely.

 

I wrote them an email and they wrote me back repeating the too bad line, again

very nicely.

 

Is this how your camera shop treats you? Is this normal? Are my expectations

too high?

 

So much for shopping locally, I always get better prices on the Net so why not.

[User_276104]

Unless the shop has a posted "We'll match any price" kind of policy, they're well within their rights (?) to say tough luck.

 

Only your friend knows how the conversation went, so we can only speculate how he/she was given this information.

 

Memory cards are a very liquid market. Walgreens recently had a sale on SanDisk Ultra II 1GB CF cards for $9.99 so I grabbed a couple, even though I don't need more cards. I can't imagine a locally owned camera store would have much sympathy for me if I'd paid $29.99 for a 1GB card from them the day before the Walgreens ad came out.

[ron_hiner2]

I think its up to the consumer to know what a fair price of an item is... and if he or she agrees on a price with the dealer, then the deal is done. If not, then no hard feelings. The dealer made no guarantee that his price was the lowest for this item -- so he has no obligation to accept it as a return.

 

Having said that, I used to buy locally all the time. And the one occasion when I went to the store for some specific advice, I made a bad purchase based on the bad advice provided by the store. Rather than giving me a refund, they would only offer me a store credit. I used the store credit, and have not purchased anything from them since. (As Julia Roberts says in Pretty Women -- "Big Big Mistake" on the part of the dealer)

 

I buy 99% of my photo stuff now from B&H -- and they have a no-questions asked return policy. I almost never need it, but because they have such a policy is why I shop there.

 

The local guys don't need to match the prices of the big on-line shops, but they sure should match the return policies.

[tri-x1]

The last place I would buy a memory card is a camera store. You are almost guaranteed to pay 30 percent more there than you would at a computer store. I can usually get card (not knockoffs) for half what they would cost at the local camera store.

[photo_dark]

Vistek has the worst customer service I have ever seen. I only go in to see if they have any good deals that I can get matched somewhere else (they never do)

 

I don't know about the toronto store, but both calgary stores are both full of total arrogant pricks. Everytime I go in, no one says hi, asks if I need help, and most answers are one word, and it's like pulling teeth to get any useful advice. It's not just the 'business', every other store in town has HELPFUL staff.

 

Honestly if you want good service, go to Saneal or The Camera Store.

[Damon DAmato]

> > The local guys don't need to match the prices of the big on-line shops, but they sure should match the return policies.

 

Last week, I bought a Peanut Slave at Canoga Camera in Los Angeles-- a local store that sells online, too.

 

The guy behind the counter told me that if there was any problem at all to bring it back. He made sure I noticed that the clam-shell type packaging could be opened without damage, and reminded me to keep the receipt. A different salesperson told another customer the same thing while I was there. They also let you buy online, at their online prices, and walk in to pick up your items without shipping.

 

I usually go to Samys for everything, but I went there this time because a friend of mine swears by the place.

I will definitely bring and send more business their way.

 

Damon

 

Damon

[janvanlaethem]

I bought my first Nikon camera at a local camera store. Their prices were in line with the rest of the stores in the same area, but I chose that particular store for their service. I remember the owner took his time to explain the camera to me. Since then I have made several purchases at the same store and always find the same friendly, professional service.

 

I have also shopped at larger stores (either electronic stores or photography chains that had stores in every large city) and find their service usually below average. I have a feeling that Vistek falls into this category. They usually only look at the profit they make on that day. Any purchase they complete means money for their pocket. They seem to forget that there is such a thing as a repeat customer. I think in your friend's case, they could have made at least a gesture to lower their price a little bit, cutting back on their profit. A happy customer will usually come back for more purchases. By telling your friend it was tough luck, even if he/she accepted the price they advertised, they basically tell him/her they couldn't care less.

[jay_poel]

I was happy with my purchase from Henrys. The staff took time to explain things to me and just chat in general. I went in knowing what I was going to buy (I spent a lot of time on the internet researching and pricing). Their prices are fair and most of the staff are very knowlegeable and are avid shooters themselves.

 

As for memory cards - buy them at a reputable computer store. The prices are much better.

[carl_becker2]

My local camera store has been very good with service, problems and help. Each store is different and I expect service for my patronage. Price wise I try to make good judgements but I accept when I have not been as wise a buyer. I also use B&H, Adorama and KEH at times.

[BrettPrucha]

This is why Photo.net has the <a href="http://www.photo.net/neighbor/opc.tcl?category_id=0">Member Recommendations</a> section which has sadly become forgotten by most users.

[dan_brown4]

A deal is a deal, I wouldn't even have brought it up to them.

[geoffs]

Its a naive question.You say yourself they were nice about it and I doubt they said tough luck or words similar.Its a free market.Just be glad we have so much choice.Shop around, nothing is set in stone.

Unless you have run a business,its very difficult to feel what business owners feel.Its a tough market out there for them.sometimes they undercut,sometimes they add a little.Thats competition for you.

Move on and enjoy life.

[pge]

Some people seem to share my point of view but most think that "a deal is a deal." But the moral of that story is to purchase from the cheapest, usually the big box store, not the higher end specialty shop for the great customer service and their support when you need it. I used to drive across town to buy ink from this specialty shop rather than the futureshop near my house. Am I every out of date.

 

However I did make too much of this, I was just surprised, after all it was only a $35 memory card.

[jc5066]

I guess they only want one time customers. I do understand their point, but this day and age with the local camera stores going by by, one would think they would be more focused on making their customers happy.

[JAPster]

Interesting discussion. In my area, as far as I know, there is only one camera store retailer, and that's Wolf Camera. They have 3 stores within easy driving distance of my house, and being a newbie to photography, I got in the habit of using them. At first their customer service attitude was pretty lousy. Eventually I found 1 employee that gave what I considered a "standard" level of customer interaction. And I rewarded his helpfulness with a major purchase. Seems like at Wolf Camera, they have to constantly divide their attention between walk-in customers and running the print machines & doing print requests, with the latter getting more attention than the former. Also, I suspect that some employees in these type stores are not paid much money, and they are not the small business owners, so they dont appreciate the need to improve customer service. I think the independant camera stores, run by the true small business owners, and not some corporation, do understand the huge difference that customer service makes in keeping repeat business. But I've progressed to where if I need something generic like a memory card, I visit different stores - Wolf, Radio Shack, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, etc. You can get some good deals when you cach things on sale.

[lex_jenkins]

Ditto what Brett said. These comments are better reserved for the Neighbor to Neighbor section. And since it's not Nikon specific I'll take the liberty of transferring it to the Casual Conversations Forum. (I'm only a fill-in moderator but since Shun has a job and a life, whereas I'm merely a personable bot, I have a bit more time today to be nosy.)

[lex_jenkins]

Heh, whoopsie! Shun beat me too it. He's Quick Draw McGraw.

[thomas_hardy1]

Poor Business Practices

 

Five years ago a car dealer pull a switcheroo on me with the financing. I think they

got some kind of kick back which netted the dealership about $500-600 over the life

of the loan. Yesterday I looked at a car for my teen daughter at the same

dealership. The salesman writes up "the deal" (if you buy today, blah,blah, etc.....).

 

Oh i'll buy the car at some point, but I have no intention of enriching that dealership.

 

So in gaining $500, they lose 10's of thousands. But they'd be too stupid to realize

the irony.

[iambaxter]

I have been buying almost all of my Nikon gear at Vistek in Calgary for the last five years. They have given me GREAT SERVICE and they will price match any price advertised in local papers or on the net from any local dealer. Not sure if your this was your friends first time buying or if he had purchased from them before, but just because one person got bad service from one sales person one time does not mean that you should stop buying locally.

[mrossi]

I went to my regular local camera store (also in the Toronto area) after already buying my 30D body from them, pointed out a lower price at Henry's and received a credit from them to make things fair. I spent a lot more money there as a result, so good business sense on the owner of the smaller shop I go to. Some items are commodity, some are overly marked up, I just pick where I buy them based on that. Vistek struck me as a store with high quality catering to people who don't mind dropping a bomb every time they need a piece of gear. Bags for $300+? Yeah, that's great but stock some rugged ones that cost less too or I'll go elsewhere. Henrys has some okay prices but you pay in the abuse you take from the overknowledgeable condescending experts that sell the gear, IMO.

[gary_watson]

Vistek, like Henry's, still hooks suckers attracted by their fading reputations for knowledge and support--a totally goofy claim measured against the wealth of information available here and elsewhere. Anyone with any intelligence working at these stores quickly moves on to better jobs elsewhere in the imaging industry, leaving the lame and lazy.Memory items like cards and USB devices are constantly on sale at wildly variable prices around the GTA. The only certainty is that you'll pay too much at a camera shop. Staff is either cynical or stupid and often clued-out about advertised prices and promos. I bought a little Nikon P50 digital for an Xmas present from Vistek and struggled to get the "special" web price advertised on their site.I now buy from Henry's or Vistek only in dire emergencies, though I find Henry's eBay dept. to be the refuge of the remaining smart employees. There's no reciprocity from these clown's for your business, so no need for guilt for shopping elsewhere.