Hi,
Yesterday I visited the last photographic shop in Plymouth that sells traditional materials and chemistry. I wanted to buy a litre of Ilford PQ Universal developer, and though I could have bought it on line, I'd much rather support the local supplier if possible. I wasn't surprised to find that the shop doesn't stock PQ but said I was prepared to wait a week or two if they could obtain it for me. Their reply was that with Harman's minimum order of £500 and the rate at which traditional materials sell, they might not reach that value for some time to come so couldn't realistically offer to get it for me. Consequently, I'll have to head for the Internet, the carriage (which will be almost as much as the product) and the hassle of having something delivered by courier that won't fit through the letterbox.
Surely there must be some way that Harman could cater for smaller requirements than £500 worth in order for the photo shop to keep its customers happy and keep itself in business? Even if I had to pay a couple of quid on top of the retail price and wait a week or ten days, that would be better than being forced to go down the route of eBay and the like.
I'm not sure why I stopped short of naming the shop, but it's three words; first word is England's capital city, second word what we use to take photos with and third word a posher way of saying 'swap'! The staff in there are always very helpful. I bought my Praktica Super TL from them in about 1974, Pentax KX in 1986 (which I still have and use), several lenses and have directed several friends their way who have spent money there.
Best wishes,
Steve
Yesterday I visited the last photographic shop in Plymouth that sells traditional materials and chemistry. I wanted to buy a litre of Ilford PQ Universal developer, and though I could have bought it on line, I'd much rather support the local supplier if possible. I wasn't surprised to find that the shop doesn't stock PQ but said I was prepared to wait a week or two if they could obtain it for me. Their reply was that with Harman's minimum order of £500 and the rate at which traditional materials sell, they might not reach that value for some time to come so couldn't realistically offer to get it for me. Consequently, I'll have to head for the Internet, the carriage (which will be almost as much as the product) and the hassle of having something delivered by courier that won't fit through the letterbox.
Surely there must be some way that Harman could cater for smaller requirements than £500 worth in order for the photo shop to keep its customers happy and keep itself in business? Even if I had to pay a couple of quid on top of the retail price and wait a week or ten days, that would be better than being forced to go down the route of eBay and the like.
I'm not sure why I stopped short of naming the shop, but it's three words; first word is England's capital city, second word what we use to take photos with and third word a posher way of saying 'swap'! The staff in there are always very helpful. I bought my Praktica Super TL from them in about 1974, Pentax KX in 1986 (which I still have and use), several lenses and have directed several friends their way who have spent money there.
Best wishes,
Steve