Freestyle prices are up

Andrew Moxom · Aug 15, 2008

I've just seen the latest Freestyle catalog and online prices. FOMA paper is up to $106 a box now for 100 sheets of 8x10 '131' quite an increase from $89 I paid at my last order and placing it really close to Ilfords WT paper in cost. Also, the Fuji film increases are now forcing neopan ACROS and Neopan 400 to over $3 a roll. In the grand scheme of things, not an overly large increase compared to the other vendors hikes, but still.. Not a good thing as these were my staples. :-( ... I know, just needed to vent.

thebanana · Aug 15, 2008

Everything goes up, not much ever comes down. Except purchasing power

Kino · Aug 15, 2008

Stock up boys and girls, it won't get any cheaper...

Moopheus · Aug 15, 2008

On the other hand, the price of silver has been plummeting pretty fast--a dollar and a half down just today. While it's still not cheap, and that price probably won't last forever, it should at least help take a little pressure off the film manufacturers. I'm sure they'd much rather be paying $12 an ounce instead of over $20.

Paul Verizzo · Aug 15, 2008

Once again, boys and girls, the primary cause is the devaluation of the dollar. The cost of silver is only a part of the whole picture.....and some of that is due to the devaluation of the dollar.

If you want to be (rightfully) pissed off, look to Washington for the disastrous fiscal and monetary policies of the last seven years.

Boy, that Made in America Arista Premium is sure looking sweet.

blaze-on · Aug 15, 2008

Andrew single handedly drove the price of Foma paper up becuase he uses so much and praises it all the time.
Nice going..

Did the chamois paper really go bye-bye?

Gim · Aug 15, 2008

Ah, this kind of complicates things. Thanks to Maryanne, Thomas and Andrew showing their work at Photostock I have started playing around with lith, knowing that a lot of paper goes into the round file. Now I have had my first bad box of EMAKS (ordered over 30 days ago) it just adds to the cost of playing. It may be time to re-evaluate the quality control aspects of the paper I buy and go to just first tier suppliers, Ilford?. It may be cheaper to buy the best quality control. On my next order I was going to try the Foma and Slavich...but why play games with quality control. I can get good stuff overnight.

Oh hell, I'm just venting too. But I will be re-evaluating.
Cheers, Jim

Andrew Moxom · Aug 15, 2008

Pretty much Matt Chamois is still alive and kicking. A new version of it is available in europe, but I think Freestyle is still selling the original version for now. At anyrate, Silverprint's MArtin Reed says the new version is just as good.

smieglitz · Aug 15, 2008

This week I'm putting together several startup orders for the college darkroom through various vendors and papers seem to be up 20% from the cost last year. It's not just Freestyle & Foma.

Vaughn · Aug 16, 2008

smieglitz...I'll be doing the same next week. They talk about budget cuts, when even keeping the same budget amount buys less.

On top of class darkroom time, we have 75 to 80 hours of open darkroom a week, and that means about 160 gallons of Dektol a semester (and about the same for D-76). I sure would hate to cut down hours, or start charging students for chemicals...the students buy their own film and paper except for special projects (mural printing, for example).

Vaughn

Kino · Aug 16, 2008

Moopheus said:
On the other hand, the price of silver has been plummeting pretty fast--a dollar and a half down just today. While it's still not cheap, and that price probably won't last forever, it should at least help take a little pressure off the film manufacturers. I'm sure they'd much rather be paying $12 an ounce instead of over $20.

I do hope it takes a bit of pressure off their profit margins, but I'm skeptical of it actually lowering the price of any silver-based item; seems prices go up reluctantly and almost never come back down in my experience.

Moopheus · Aug 16, 2008

Kino said:
I do hope it takes a bit of pressure off their profit margins, but I'm skeptical of it actually lowering the price of any silver-based item; seems prices go up reluctantly and almost never come back down in my experience.

It's true, prices aren't likely to go down, and it's not the only cost they have to deal with, the best we can hope for is that it will help to alleviate pressure for future price rises. And of course that it will remain economical to continue to make silver-based materials for a while longer.

Paul Verizzo · Aug 16, 2008

The recent drops in commodities prices

Moopheus said:
It's true, prices aren't likely to go down, and it's not the only cost they have to deal with, the best we can hope for is that it will help to alleviate pressure for future price rises. And of course that it will remain economical to continue to make silver-based materials for a while longer.

are just that, recent. Pricing for current products was done months ago at the manufacturer's, and the catalog prices more recently to reflect the nosedive of the dollar. (Which seems to have pulled out just before SPLAT!)

Unless silver were to become free, film and paper companies will breath a bit more profit with the new, higher prices and will not raise them for a long time.....hopefully. If people keep paying the price, why lower it?

JBrunner · Aug 16, 2008

The price of cheese here is 30% more than last year. Tortillas have doubled- a 100% increase, pretty much the case for anything corn related. Milk is up $1 per gallon over this time last year. Gas is still over $4 here. A jar of garlic stuffed olives has gone from $3.87 to $5.97. The utilities have just been granted large price increases for natural gas and electricity. Beer prices remain constant for the swill (few ingredients beyond rice), but are climbing for the good stuff.

According to the Bush administration, inflation remains mild.

Paul Verizzo · Aug 16, 2008

Only yesterday...

JBrunner said:
The price of cheese here is 30% more than last year. Tortillas have doubled- a 100% increase, pretty much the case for anything corn related. Milk is up $1 per gallon over this time last year. Gas is still over $4 here. A jar of garlic stuffed olives has gone from $3.87 to $5.97. The utilities have just been granted large price increases for natural gas and electricity. Beer prices remain constant for the swill (few ingredients beyond rice), but are climbing for the good stuff.

According to the Bush administration, inflation remains mild.

....the feds said, paraphrasing, "Well gee whiz, lookee that! Inflation twice what we were expecting." Those clowns need to go to the store or buy some gas.......

PS, Take a jar of green olives, pour out some of the brine, pour in Tabasco sauce. Ready in a week. A fraction of the price of the official ones. A couple of weeks ago I harvested all of the red ripe tabascos on my little bush, put them in the blender with red wine vinegar.......mmm mmm mmm!

Now, we resume normal photography programming....

srs5694 · Aug 16, 2008

Paul Verizzo said:
Take a jar of green olives, pour out some of the brine, pour in Tabasco sauce. Ready in a week. A fraction of the price of the official ones. A couple of weeks ago I harvested all of the red ripe tabascos on my little bush, put them in the blender with red wine vinegar.......mmm mmm mmm!

Yes, but can you develop film in it? Sheesh, nobody asks the important questions any more! (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

JBrunner · Aug 16, 2008

I guess my point is that prices are up across the board for almost anything consumable, and that the increass I have seen with photographic things at least seem to be as restrained as the providers can make it, considering the demand of today.

elekm · Aug 16, 2008

Unless everyone has been living in a hole for the past five years, oil prices have been steadily rising (with the exception of the current decline). That pushes up the price of transporting all goods and materials and eventually the prices that we pay.

It's no surprise that the price of film, as well as other manufactured goods, is rising.

I'm with Jason in that while the prices have risen, the overall price of film and other materials isn't greatly out of line.

srs5694 · Aug 16, 2008

Here's something for 'ya:

The cost of photographic papers has risen sharply. Now, as never before, it is important to make every sheet of paper count.

The source? A newsletter sent to owners of the Philips PCS series of enlargers, circa 1982.

Paul Verizzo · Aug 16, 2008

srs5694 said:
Yes, but can you develop film in it? Sheesh, nobody asks the important questions any more! (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Sadly, my film dissolved.......

Dave Wooten · Aug 16, 2008

Thanks for the olive bit Paul, I will give that a try.

Thomas Bertilsson · Aug 16, 2008

Amen to that, Jason. I think it's a combination of cost of transportation, which is closely related to the price of oil, cost of natural resources in general in fact, along with a really weak dollar.
It's time to wake up and smell the coffee. Make your materials count, make every roll and sheet of film and paper feel special.

- Thomas

JBrunner said:
I guess my point is that prices are up across the board for almost anything consumable, and that the increass I have seen with photographic things at least seem to be as restrained as the providers can make it, considering the demand of today.

Sirius Glass · Aug 17, 2008

Every time I visit FreeStyle, they always say: Have you brought enough? You know the next time you are here everythi

brofkand · Aug 18, 2008

Man, I wish I lived close to Freestyle. Or any decent photography store for that matter. It seems that by the time my previous order has even shipped, I'm already filling up another cart.

Fuji instant film went up about $2 for the 3000 ISO B&W, and $1.50 for the 100 ISO color. I'll just buy less film for my Polaroids.

Rolleijoe · Aug 18, 2008

Film has always been the cheapest link in the image. Chemistry next, with paper now the highest I've ever seen. Switching to Fomatone is great for the image look, but hard on the budget.

But still I refuse to sacrifice quality. Will be doing my (hopefully) last wedding in October, some b&w and color mixed in, is their preference. Hence bowing down to the MPix book, or Aperture2.0 hardbound/dustjacket will make a better presentation, I'm still going to hand print certain images from the b&w negs.

Freestyle prices are up

Andrew Moxom

thebanana

Kino

Moopheus

Paul Verizzo

blaze-on

Gim

Andrew Moxom

smieglitz

Vaughn

Kino

Moopheus

Paul Verizzo

JBrunner

Moderator

Paul Verizzo

srs5694

JBrunner

Moderator

elekm

srs5694

Paul Verizzo

Dave Wooten

Thomas Bertilsson

Sirius Glass

brofkand

Rolleijoe

Freestyle prices are up

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