- Joined
- Jul 14, 2011
- Messages
- 13,926
- Format
- 8x10 Format
Rumors, rumors. I never trust rumors. At the moment I'm testing substitutes anew. Pros and cons either way; but ACROS combines a number of desirable features in a manner no other film does.
ACROS 100 had been in steady decline since 2013, especially the US and European markets. It simply was not being consumed in quantities to justify the effort of supply. So what's with the sudden fervent interest in wanting it back if people could not get off their backsides and use it, plenty of it, when it was available!?
So?
Buy your ACROS 100 from B.S. Kumar here on Photrio. No reason to go through Adorama.
I didnt think you had a source.
I don't know about earlier. I started selling Fuji film in February, 2016. Most of my Acros orders were from individuals who wanted 4x5 and 8x10. Then I started getting orders of 100 or 200 packs of 120 and 35mm from smaller stores in the US, Canada and Australia. It is only in the last one year or so that individuals started ordering 35mm and 120 in any significant numbers.
Kumar
I expect Fujifilm USA has minimum order requirements, or purchases of other films / items that are not as profitable may be required. Buying directly from a manufacturer has substantial costs, and significant upfront investments.
Kumar
So, they cancelled my order and B&H still has stock trickling in. Or they did. It's coming back. Maybe. No, it's dead again. This person has it. Oops, no he doesn't...So?
Buy your ACROS 100 from B.S. Kumar here on Photrio. No reason to go through Adorama.
Well, if that is true, no wonder Fujifilm has failed to keep their films alive. Distribution is a way to lower costs for everyone. Restricting customers from distribution greatly increases their costs. There's a shop selling film in the small town where I live. I can't imagine that they buy much film compared to a place like B & H. Next to nothing really. But they never did carry Acros, which I always found strange. Plenty of Ilford film at this store so I'd buy some Delta 100 on the rare times I needed film faster than I could get from B & H. Ilford's gain was Fujifilm's loss.
I don't think this is unique to Fuji, or to other manufacturers. I'm sure you've heard of small stores whose buying prices were higher than B&H selling prices. Why do you think B&H is still getting some supplies, while almost everyone else in North America stopped stocking it? Even Maco in Germany says "Due to increased import costs we had to raise our sales prices by about 20%. The lower the availability of Acros 100 gets, the more our supplier increase the prices. Because of this, this will probably be the last delivery of Acros 100."
Ilford has an illustrious history, has deep domain knowledge and makes fine products, but in terms of sheer scale, Ilford is a hobbyist with a desktop 3D printer.
Kumar
Thank you, but the party is over. I have no more stocks of Acros 120. If someone is desperate, I can get it from smaller dealers at 4,500 JPY per pack, plus shipping. But most of you did not buy at 3,150 JPY, so I'd hardly expect any response.
Kumar
My company is pretty tiny, barely 300 employees world wide. We sell millions of gallons of lubricants each year. Yet we will sell 1 gallon to a customer who wants it, all via distribution. Distributors don't care about customer sizes. They are equipped to handle small and large.
Fujifilm simply doesnt want to sell film. It's clear for all to see. If Ilford's distribution can sell to small customer's so can Fujifilm's. There are different layers of distribution that can service customers of different sizes. But none of that works if the supplier wants out of the business. Kodak's films are in this tiny shop in my town. Why? Because they want to sell film.
Not for lack of badly wanting. Priorities. I plan on purchasing a few years supply of 160ns and velvia 50 from you in the not too distant future. These films are soon to follow in my opinion and even harder to replace. Fuji is more likely to do another coating of Acros than any color film.
I expect Fujifilm USA has minimum order requirements
Both Kodak and FujiFilm distributors in Brazil have minimum order values.
They want dealers to sell all their products or at least a reasonable range in a particular product line, and not cherry pick the best sellers.
I don't know. You are quite inconsistent in your opinion of Fujifilm (and in your attitude towards photography as well). Just because Fuji discontinued Acros, you were ready to discontinue photography and buy a bicycle. B&H suddenly got a few packs of Acros and you jumped right back in. In the other thread, you praised Fujifilm for still standing while others fell by the wayside.
I don't know. You are quite inconsistent in your opinion of Fujifilm (and in your attitude towards photography as well). Just because Fuji discontinued Acros, you were ready to discontinue photography and buy a bicycle. B&H suddenly got a few packs of Acros and you jumped right back in. In the other thread, you praised Fujifilm for still standing while others fell by the wayside.
QUOTE:You live in a fantasy ignoring the reality that Kodak is today in very very serious financial trouble. Just last week Kodak floated the idea that they would sell off the most profitable part of their business in a last ditch effort to pay outstanding debt. The company is STILL not financially viable years after emerging from bankruptcy. The stock price has been declining 2-5% per day for weeks now. The rats are starting to bail from the ship. Kodak warrants have lost 95% of their value. Investors are that certain that the loans will not be repaid back.
If we are honest, it should have been Fujifilm that should have been the last man standing between the two film producers. Fujifilm is an exceptionally stable company, far stable than Kodak could ever dream of. Fujifilm at one point was committed to film. They aren't now, but they used to be. Fujifilm had it all at one point, ISO100 and 400 monochrome film. ISO160, 200, 400, 800, and 1600 color film AND two flavors of E6 film.
THAT is the company people should have rallied behind, not a dying company preparing to dismember itself. Sure, losing Portra would have sucked, but people would have moved on. They always do.
Well, we had our chance, but it was not to be.UNQUOTE
Have you asked your little photo shop why they never carried Acros? Perhaps you were/are the only person who shoots that strange Japanese film in your town? Perhaps you found that B&H was cheaper and used the local store only when you wanted something in a hurry? Maybe if you had asked them to get Acros for you, they could / would have?
Shigetaka Komori, Fujifilm's current CEO, has been with the company since 1963. He's not an outsider appointed by a private venture fund wanting to make quick bucks and exit in the next quarter. He even wrote a book detailing the how and why of the transition of Fujifilm from a purely photographic company into what it is today. The size of Fuji's non-photographic business proves that his decisions were right. Unfortunately, in the process, some things have had to be abandoned. That is simply what it is.
I have read a number of Fujifilm's annual reports and they have consistently emphasized their commitment to photography and imaging - not to film. Did you know Fuji used to make glass plates film sheaths for using film in plate holders? They even make photo frames! Instax is a hit. So what if some of us don't use it?
Let's just enjoy film while we can. After that, perhaps glass plates, tintype, even smartphone photography! There's a whole world of photography out there!
Kumar
My point is that Kodak or Fuji would not deal with a small shop wanting only 100 USD worth of a particular film.
25 packs of Acros is all it took? At that point of time, I had a hundred packs for sale, admittedly at 40 cents more per roll, after including shipping. So do we conclude that when those 25 packs are over, you will again lose interest in photography?
Kumar
Point taken and agreed!
That’s why the minimum order quantities/values are in place. I wanted to buy a C-41 “kit” directly from a Kodak distributor here, but it costs way less than the minimum order. The rep I talked to told me to buy some RA-4 and paper to top-up the order.
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