Go buy some stuff from your local shop now !

Snapshot · Oct 27, 2007

TheFlyingCamera said:
I'll stop this from turning into an anti-UPS rant by saying that I've had multiple negative experiences with them, enough to justify my unending passionate loathing for their very existence. I go out of my way to use any other service than them - usually the post office, if not, FedEx.

I loathe UPS as well, especially for their "brokerage fee" practices here in Canada. Probably, another good reason to buy from you local dealer.

firecracker · Oct 27, 2007

TheFlyingCamera said:
trying to save on gas for shipping direct to you by shopping at the local store is a bit of a red herring- the bag/paper/chemistry/whatever got to the store the same way it got to you - by truck.

As far as I know, the store I mentioned has a regular run with their own truck anyway from their warehouse or wherever each week, so my little order is not going to make a special delivery. This is still less costly in terms of money, gas, and all the packaging materials that I don't need than having someone make a special delivery to my door directly.

Uncle Bill · Nov 1, 2007

I do have a question for Canadian APUGers who love Kodak products, when will local prices be adjusted to reflect the current strength of the Canadian Dollar? I looked at the price spread between some American retailers and the local big boys (Henrys and Vistek). Case in point a roll of Tri-x purchased at Vistek costs $6.79 versus the average cost of $3.90 US. The Canadian dollar is worth $1.05 US at the moment.

Snapshot · Nov 1, 2007

Uncle Bill said:
I do have a question for Canadian APUGers who love Kodak products, when will local prices be adjusted to reflect the current strength of the Canadian Dollar? I looked at the price spread between some American retailers and the local big boys (Henrys and Vistek). Case in point a roll of Tri-x purchased at Vistek costs $6.79 versus the average cost of $3.90 US. The Canadian dollar is worth $1.05 US at the moment.

The answer to this question is when competition starts to happen. Retailers will not lower prices until they see customers making their purchases elsewhere. All this talk of supply chains, contracts, etc... is a smokescreen to justify the price differentials, most of them having existed for sometime. We had a $0.90 USD for a while, yet prices were at least 25% to 30% higher.

PHOTOTONE · Nov 1, 2007

This "go buy some stuff locally NOW!" thread is useless when there is no place left to buy locally. And...in my case...years ago when I did want my local photo store to supply what I would guarantee to buy, they wouldn't do it, because it might sit in their refrigerator for over 30 days. I gave up on the local "Kodak stockhouse dealer" a decade ago, and its been mail-order ever since for my professional needs and personal photographic needs.

gr82bart · Nov 1, 2007

Uncle Bill said:
I do have a question for Canadian APUGers who love Kodak products, .

So why did you single out Kodak Bill?

Regards, Art

mexipike · Nov 1, 2007

My local store has a limited darkroom supply, and I understand that there are few stores to buy locally in most towns. However, promoting them is always great. Wouldn't it be nice if you read about some chemical or paper here and being able to go down the street and have it right away?

john

phritz phantom · Nov 1, 2007

as much as i'd like to buy local, my local dealer wants 30 euro (=appr. $40-45) for a ten-sheet pack of ilford multigrade fb.
i buy all my stuff (except some specialities which i have to order from germany) from a local store which is a few hundred miles away and has acceptable pricing. yay for internet.

Papa Tango · Nov 1, 2007

The future ain't what it used to be...

The majority of the stores in a 150 mile radius of me long ago left business or quit dealing in our "specialty" market. Money is in equipment. The only way now for smaller retailers to keep a variety of chemistry and light sensitive media is to join the crowd--establishing a regional market through the internet.

This whole issue started quite some time ago in almost all of the "technical" hobbies of the past 60 years. As an amateur radio operator and former owner of a consumer electronics repair business, time was I could get everything locally from a choice of several suppliers--some catering to very specific needs. Now, all of these companies are gone, as are the television repair shops. What I need these days comes through the internet.

Woodworking supplies are the same issue--now for small quantities of things I must pay cabinet shops up to twice what a material should go for just to get them to order it--if they will at all. Today it is about large niche suppliers selling online. Ain't gonna change however much I go down to the "camera store" and survey their digi-gizmos...

donbga · Nov 2, 2007

Davesw said:
This weekend I went to my local camera store for darkroom supplies. ( I had not been in for a long time ) The owner told me he was closing next week.
He no longer had enough customers to stay open and pay the rent. He was not bitter,he is a great guy,and he realised it just no longer made financial sense for him.
My point is this: we should not only support the online sellers that support APUG, but the local shops that have been there for us in the past. With out our bussniss they will not survive.

Been there, done that. Times have changed so it's time to move along. When I can I do, but when I have to order online I don't feel guilty. This goes for inkjet supplies also. It's just a sign of the times.

Lee Shively · Nov 2, 2007

Unfortunately, there's nothing local available anymore unless I need a new camera bag, strap or something digital. Since I now have a digital camera (that has gotten virtually zero use), I may use their printing service but, then again, a new Walmart Supercenter just opened across the street from my office, so....

The last time I bought chemicals locally, they were out-of-date. I don't think they've added fresh photo paper to the shelves since 1997.

Uncle Bill · Nov 2, 2007

gr82bart said:
So why did you single out Kodak Bill?

Regards, Art

It is the the price spread of Tri-X that stuck out with me between major US and Canadian outlets (compared B&H, FreeStyle, and Calmulet with Vistek and Henrys') Kodak's black and white film is made in the good old US of A and does not travel as far as Ilford product or dealing with a third currency (British Pound). So why am I paying $6.79 CAD (vistek) per 36 exposure roll of Tri-X and the price for the same roll of film is below $4 US on average? I can understand maybe $4.90 due to volumes and shipping issues but $6.79?

I worked in retail buying in the past and you know what, the dollar was somewhere in the 90 cent range six months ago, it does not explain the price spread. I don't buy being hostage to a buying cycle, film is perishible commodity and I think everyone in the supply chain keeps a tight inventory. As of this morning the Canadian dollar is worth a $1.07 US.

That being said the price of paper is pretty competitve when you do factor shipping in. I just have a beef with film prices locally.

PatTrent · Nov 2, 2007

I would if I could. It's impossible for me to go to the local camera store because none exists in this city of approx 25,000 people, nor the adjacent cities of slightly smaller size. The nearest camera store (as compared to the nearest electronics store) is about 1-1/2 hours drive away (depending on traffic).

Sad but true. I really miss the "good old days" when I lived in a different city of about 30,000 people and there were 3 "real" camera stores--with darkroom departments--within a 15-minute drive, and one of them right across the street from where I worked. But even those stores now can't offer anything of interest to a film photographer, even if I were willing to drive 2 hours to reach them.

Using mail-order has been my only option for several years now. Thankfully, I am very satisfied with B&H, KEH, and FreeStyle.

firecracker · Nov 3, 2007

I just picked up the stuff I ordered last week at the same store (corporate-chain Kitamura) I go to. A 20-roll pack(135-36) of Fuji Neopan Presto 400 was 7,030 yen, which is around 60 USD and is still a pretty good deal (even compared to the prices at bigger photo supply stores from big cities in this country). I usually prefer buying Kodak TriX, but it doesn't come in the same quantity for some reason and is a pain to order as many 3-roll packs...

aldevo · Nov 3, 2007

PHOTOTONE said:
This "go buy some stuff locally NOW!" thread is useless when there is no place left to buy locally. And...in my case...years ago when I did want my local photo store to supply what I would guarantee to buy, they wouldn't do it, because it might sit in their refrigerator for over 30 days. I gave up on the local "Kodak stockhouse dealer" a decade ago, and its been mail-order ever since for my professional needs and personal photographic needs.

I consider myself pretty fortunate living near Boston because we do have a Calumet branch along with three large regional stores (EP Levine,Hunt Photo & Video stores, and ZeffPhoto ) that still service photographers.

The remainder, however, have either closed or simply reduced themselves to selling picture frames and passport photos.

Honestly, though, I have a hard time making a case to support any of them apart from Calumet. Zeff is extremly pricey, poorly run, IMO, and the prices at Hunt's and Levine's are at a similarly ridiculous premium. Hunt is large enough to keep themselves in business by offering an aggressive pre-order program for Nikon, Canon, and Sigma for those who must have the latest digital toy when it first hits the market; I don't imagine they'd have stayed in business otherwise. Zeff's gimmick seems to be offering classes to the over-70 crowd that can't figure out how to download the photos from their digicam.

I'd rather support B&H and FreeStyle - who've continued to offer a wide-array of anlog products - and then go to Calumet when I need to rent something or need to pick up the odd roll of film or bit of chemistry.

agman · Nov 3, 2007

Going to Las Vegas during the Thanksgiving period and wondering if there are any photo stores/shops that sell film?

sterioma · Nov 3, 2007

Just been to my "local" shop to drop a roll of Portra 800 to develop. Asked about Ilford Multigrade paper developer. "Sorry, we don't carry that anymore". Any other paper developer? "Sorry sir, you need step by to the other shop downtown". :confused:

copake_ham · Nov 3, 2007

agman said:
Going to Las Vegas during the Thanksgiving period and wondering if there are any photo stores/shops that sell film?

What kind of film?

You can always get consumer color neg film at Walgreen's/CVS etc. They usually carry Kodak and the house brand (which is usually Fuji in disguise). Often you can find Tri-X too.

As to a source for pro film - I'll leave that advice to a local....

PHOTOTONE · Nov 3, 2007

aldevo said:
I consider myself pretty fortunate living near Boston because we do have a Calumet branch .

I just got their newest catalog. Calumet Focus November/December 2007.

Out of 96 pages... one-half of ONE page (pg 86) is devoted to film, and it is just a smattering of 35mm and 120 sizes, and a polaroid film and a Fuji Instant film. (They call this "old school supplies")

There are NO film cameras in the catalog, except for a couple of medium-format models that (as an afterthought, it seems) can take film.

There are no darkroom items, none. No chemicals, none. No photo paper, none. (Just inkjet). In the "used" items in back, there are a few things listed.

I think Calumet is out of the "film" business.

Jim Chinn · Nov 3, 2007

A couple of years ago we had three stores stocking supplies, one had a pretty extensive darkroom section and prices were about 10-15% higher than B&H. If I bought a certain dollar amount they would give me a discount so it was worth supporting that store.

Fast forward to today. That store aong with another has closed. One store in town that supplies Kodak and Ilford chemistry and only Ilford for a fiber paper along with Oriental RC paper. Prices are 30% more than B&H or Freestyle. Considering the wet photography materials take up about .5% of the shelf space, i don't think they are to concerned with keeping or attracting the traditional photographer.

agman · Nov 4, 2007

copake_ham said:
What kind of film?

You can always get consumer color neg film at Walgreen's/CVS etc. They usually carry Kodak and the house brand (which is usually Fuji in disguise). Often you can find Tri-X too.

As to a source for pro film - I'll leave that advice to a local....

Thanks much.

agman · Nov 4, 2007

Thanks much.

Sjixxxy · Nov 4, 2007

Went to mine yesterday and bought a new 5x7 Speed EZ-EL. Sure I paid a bit more then harvesting a used one off of eBay, but then I wouldn't have made all those nice prints last night. They can take the extra money.

GGardner · Nov 5, 2007

Why buy local?

I hate to sound harsh, but why buy local? The businesses that I have the most vested interest in seeing survive are the manufacturers, not the retailers. Given the choice, I would rather have all the local retail photo stores in the world go out of business, than lose any one of the major film or paper manufacturers.

I don't know what the markup is on film and paper, but I'd rather see as much as possible of the price I pay for materials go to (say) Ilford or Kodak. In fact, I wonder if they really need a retail channel at all today? I wonder if a new film company started up, if it could just get by with direct internet sales?

Dave Wooten · Nov 5, 2007

I agree with what GGarners mentions in the above post.

Most retail stores do not stock what I need and seem to be inconvenienced by my requests, even to purchase in bulk. I do not feel retail channels are needed. Also purchasing out of state and saving the sales tax in many instances offsets the shipping charge. For me it is so much more convenient to purchase film and equipment on line. For many products, retail brick and mortar building sales will be a thing of the past. Sales reps, once a source of information and service can not come close to the internet info highway, or surpass info available on current forums. In the end it is the manufacturer that upholds the product with the customer and not a local retail vendor...factory direct on many products is the way of the future.

Go buy some stuff from your local shop now !

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