>We all know any Camera store worth anything has demo lenses to check >out, that's another story. If they have to open a box, that lens >becomes a demo. Eventually they get sold too, at a reduced price. But >I would hope the new lenses I buy are not demos, in fact came to me >straight from the factory, sealed.
BEGIN DISCLAIMER The following comments represent my own personal opinions, and not necessarily those of my employers. On the exceedingly slim chance you should happen to know me and the store where I work, feel free to chat with me personally about the contents of this message, but please understand I don't speak for the store where I work, and don't take any of this up with them directly based on what I've written here. This message is deliberately written from a retailer's point of view. I'm attempting to present a different point of view, not balance all views. Playing Devil's Advocate, as it were. That doesn't mean I don't agree with what I'm writing, just that I concede there could be very reasonable and understandable differences of opinion. My opinion has certainly evolved over time, as I gained a better understanding of the retail world by working in it. Thoughtful comments sent to me personally are welcome, and will be answered, time permitting. Flames will be ignored. END DISCLAIMER We don't ALL know that "If they have to open a box, that lens becomes a demo." At the relatively small store where I work, most customers expect to be able to handle a product before they buy it. If we get only a single unit in at a time (let's say, the EOS-3, which is a slow mover in our store), we can't very well discount it as a demo just because the box has been opened. Otherwise there'd be no reason to stock it. Or we'd have to sell it sight unseen to the customer, same as if they'd bought it online. We'd have to constantly discount the lens below our break-even point just to move the unit. Does that make us not "worth anything," just because we don't have discounted demo models? Allow me to relay a true story which I hope conveys the reduction to absurdity of this attitude: A customer was on the waiting list to see a new digicam when it was released last Christmas. (A N***n, but I hope that doesn't make this any more off topic. I realize the whole issue has already strayed out of EOS-land, and squarely into a discussion of retail marketing) We had some pre-orders with paid deposits for the aforementioned camera, so we set aside boxes to fill those orders. That left one available for sale on a first-come, first-served basis. One particular customer was the first person called on our list of those wishing to be notified that the product was in stock. This customer was also the first person to arrive at the store to look at one. We hadn't even had time to get it out of the box to display yet. He asked to see it, to try it out, to see it demonstrated. I spent at least 45 minutes with him, and at the end he decided to buy it. He then asked for a discount, because it was, to use his exact phrase, a "demonstrator model." I politely refused, on the very reasonable grounds that HE WAS THE ONLY PERSON WHO HAD TOUCHED IT. (Besides me, and then only in his presence and because he wanted me to.) (For a moment, I considered discounting the camera, but also charging him a training fee for the time I spent explaining how to use his camera. I figured the distinction would be lost on him, though.) If we get 10 of an item (let's say, Rebel 2000 Kits), we put one on display and sell the other nine. If next month's shipment hasn't arrived by the time we are down to the tenth, we sell it too, at full price. After all, there's nothing wrong with it, other than the "problem" that somebody other than a Taiwanese factory worker has handled it. There's nothing mystical about a "factory seal." Most equipment doesn't even have a physical seal. If it does, most people don't care if it's been broken. A few people who examine the last unit in stock initially are concerned about buying opened boxes of display merchandise. However, they usually change their mind when they realize that they could walk out with the last one we have, which works the same as any other unit of the same model, carries the same warranty, etc., or they could wait anywhere from a day to a few weeks to get one when we get our next shipment, or to buy one from another, less customer service-oriented, outlet. If there's something wrong with the item, we discount it. If it was broken or damaged in some way, we either don't sell it, or sell it at a discount as a demo item. We occasionally have to discount returned items because they are returned without packaging, without warranty cards, etc. But there's no reason to discount perfectly good equipment at less than retail just because it's been out of the bubble wrap. After all, we didn't pay any less for it, and we aren't exactly making a mint on hardware sales, so why should we lose money selling it? If manufacturers had some kind of "demo unit sales program," where we could buy items at well below the usual cost to keep on our shelves, we would do so. In fact, in rare cases, such programs have existed. Mamiya sent us a 645AF which we were only allowed to demo, rent or loan, not sell, for a fixed amount of time after we bought it. We bought it below the usual dealer net, which made it worth our while to do so. Likewise, our Sigma representative is currently lending us his own personal 15-30 mm lens for a couple weeks to show to customers, to see if there was enough interest to justify ordering it. Obviously, we won't be selling his particular unit at any price, but if we order on into stock we will happily let a customer mount it on a camera to try, and then buy it if they wish, at full price. As a rule, we don't get anywhere near enough profit from hardware to justify discounting every unit which has been opened for any reason. -Twency * **** ******* *********************************************************** * For list instructions, including unsubscribe, see: * http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/eos_list.htm ***********************************************************
