Leica in DC update.

[_Alex_]

Hi all,

 

I'm back from DC. Unfortunately, I was unable to meet up with anyone

from the group here, but I was really busy 2 out of 3 days.

 

My first post asked about Leica stores. Here's what I found:

 

I was unable to make it to a Penn Camera outlet, so I've got no idea

what they've got. As someone mentioned, Pro Photo on 19th and I did

have some used bodies and a handful of lenses. The jackpot was when

I stumbled onto the Ritz Camera store at 18th and L. They've got a

pretty robust stock of Leica M gear. The only bodies in stock were

M6TTLs, but they had most of the lenses in the M line up. Their

prices were competitive for a retail outlet, but not as low as what

can be found on the web. I did like the 90 f2.8 I tried out, but the

focusing was stiff!

 

After reviewing the old thread, I noticed Cosmo suggested this

store, but I missed that post before I left, so I was glad to find

it find the place anyway.

[h._p.]

>>Their prices were competitive for a retail outlet, but not as low as what can be found on the web<<

 

I'm sure it doesn't apply to Alex but I do get fed up with people who use camera shops as places to try out gear which they then buy mail order. I'm not in the business but I really feel for the shops that buy stock, train staff and provide a service who then get the honour of acting as unpaid marketing organisations for some bloke in a backstreet warehouse who probably doesn't buy in stock until he's got the punter's money.

 

In the UK at least, we used to have a thing called 'retail price maintenance' which meant that everyone had to charge the same price for the same item. It was good in that it encouraged small shops to go head to head with big retailers on service and all the intangibles that go with it.

 

The thing that amazes me is how many small shops remain in business in the UK.

 

OK Rant over.

[terrestrikon]

Establish some kind of relationship with a good store, they'll meet prices on the web. Pro Photo in DC did that for me for a new US warranty Contax G2 kit, against B&H prices.

 

G.

[_Alex_]

Harvey is right. You do have to support your local retail outlets. I buy most of my common supplies locally and have purchased lenses, etc. from local dealers. However, on some items (Like Leica), the price gap between the local outlet and even a moderately priced internet dealer is too huge. Add on sales tax and you could buy several years worth of film. That said, my local camera shops are extremely limited and have little competition. Maybe they can afford to operate the way they do.

[dan_brown4]

"we used to have a thing called 'retail price maintenance' which

meant that everyone had to charge the same price for the same

item."

 

Yes, so did the Soviet Union. It didn't work out too well for them

either. On this point I think the small shops have to find a way to

compete or simply die off. It's a new market environment with

Internet connectivity. I can't think of any good reason to protect

the old way of doing business. If walking into a store to handle a

product has value, the brick and morter outfits have to figure out

a way to recapture that value. B&H, Adorama, Calumet and

many others seem to have it worked out, why protect Joe's

Camera World in Anytown?

[patricks]

Forcing people to pay list prices is complete BS. Local shops do have to find a way to stay competitive, be it through match prices from e.g. B&H, provide superior service etc. I actually did try out my latest Hexar Kit at a local store but they wanted over $1,300 for it plus 7% tax. I bought it for $889 incl. 3 yrs warranty from NY instead - I don't understand why I should pay a 30% premium just to make some local guy happy... Hence, I do buy gear from local shops, but only if it isn't at a huge premium - I simply give them the choice to compete before I buy

 

I think progressive local shops also offer their products via mail-order and the internet, such as eBay. That way they can keep a higher turnover, price differently to diff segments etc.

 

The old economy is dead...

[jay_.]

Doctors, lawyers, computer programmers, engineers etc. sell service, ie their personal expertise and talent are the basis for valuation. Camera store owners sell merchandise. The same merchandise that everyone else sells. I'm not moved, and in fact find it disgusting, listening to my local camera store guy crybabying about NYC mail-order or Hongkong mailorder or people selling their used gear on e-*** rather than giving it to him for 50 cents on the dollar. I'm fine with donating money to real charity, but subsidizing my local camera store owner's income is beyond insane.

[jason_dean1]

I agree, it's good to give buisness to your local retailer - if and when you can. I just

bought a Domke bag for $86.00, but the only camera store reasonably close to me (2

hours) had the bag for $125.00. If the local store was maybe twenty dollars cheaper, I

would have been happy to give them my buisness.

 

And another factor in this for me is that my local camera store has a pitiful selection

of stock, just point and shoots and fully automatic SLR's. If they had the stock, I'd be

willing to shope there, but it seems a waste of my time to try and shop there when

they dont have anything I want.

 

I just get frustrated with it sometimes.

[h._p.]

>>If they had the stock, I'd be willing to shope there, but it seems a waste of my time to try and shop there when they dont have anything I want<<

 

The reason your local shop doesn't have stock is because stock costs money. If some spiv is going to sell goods cheaper working out of a back street garage why should the dealer put his money into something that might not sell for a year, if ever?

 

Retail Price Maintenance may have protected the lazy and the incompetent but it also nurtured the small entrepreneur who could compete on fair terms with the big boys. In the UK we're now stuck with half a hundred big chains instead of the thousands of small shops which used to give our towns and cities and even villages so much choice and character.

 

I buy mail order when there is no local (for which read 'within twenty miles or so') company that sells the product, otherwise I support my local business because I want them to support me.