The issue of availability is a bit of a sore point with me. People who buy mail-order for high-end items to avoid a waiting period contribute to a vicious circle. Customers buy mail-order because they can't get it locally, but the local stores don't see the point in carrying it if no one ever orders it from them.
Sure, in an idea world your small, local, family-owned camera store would have the money to be able to keep high-end products from every manufacturer in stock at all times, but the unfortunate reality is that this is horrendously expensive. Also, items that sit unsold will cost the owner money, as dealer net cost (and the resulting street value) drops over time. You can't really blame a dealer for only being able to stock the products that actually sell. If people began ordering high-end items through them, they'd see that such a market exists, and might begin stocking similar items. If people only buy mail-order for the big stuff, then the local dealer will just assume that there's no local market for it, and that it's not worth bringing in. Price is a different issue, of course, and you'll have to decide how much extra it's worth to you to support local businesses. If yours charges significantly more than mail-order and isn't flexible with their pricing (always give them the chance to make you an offer), then mail order makes sense. Otherwise, if the price is fair, you may find it worth the three week wait to show your local store that there is a market for upper-end Pentax gear. A few more purchases like that, and you might be surprised how much easier it gets for the owner to justify stocking lenses like that on a regular basis. chris On Wed, 17 Dec 2003, Bruce Dayton wrote: > I buy from my local store quite often. However, there are times, when > the price difference is not a few bucks, but hundreds. If the > difference is less than $50, pretty much I use the local store. > > The other problem with the local store is selection/availability. I > just bought an FA*24/2 from NY because the local store would take 3-4 > weeks to get it. Generally if they have to order one, the price is > higher, too. > > So bottom line is I buy from the store whenever I can, especially if I > went in to look at something and they took the time to work with me. > > > Bruce > > > > Wednesday, December 17, 2003, 8:51:52 AM, you wrote: > > >> In way of a comparison, I work at a reasonably small, family-owned camera > >> store where the salespeople (well, most of them, anyway <g>) have a fair > >> amount of knowledge about cameras and photography. I hate people who buy > >> cameras from places like Costco or Best Buy to save a few bucks (without > >> checking to see if we'd match prices), and then come into our store and > >> expect me to spend an hour showing them how to use their camera. If you > >> want service, buy from the company you plan on bringing the camera back to > >> for servicing. > > mw> I agree with everything you say. Sad that there is not one near to me > mw> that I would trust. Although there is a camera repair organisation > mw> (closer to me than any camera shop) that everyone around here uses for > mw> non-warranty stuff. > > mw> mike > > >
