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Photo retailers in California?

BradS

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Sep 28, 2004
Messages
8,129
Location
Soulsbyville, California
Format
35mm
Now that the big east coast stores collect California sales tax, I see no reason to buy from them. I'm looking to buy a...ahem, film scanner (thinking Plustek Opticfilm 8200i). Please recommend retailers on the west coast...

I'll note that I have bought film and darkroom supplies from Freestyle for many years...but they don't carry this thing.
 
Plustek web site lists only 3 resellers: B&H, Adorama and Amazon.
 
Hmmm...well, Samy's carry it (and offer it at exactly the same price as the two in big New York stores) but do not have it in stock. So, maybe I'll call them and see what the deal is.
 
Place a special order with Samy's. Maybe have it drop shipped directly to you.
 
If you get the B+H pay boo credit card they pay the tax
 
Sacramento is pretty active for digital and film photography.
Photo source
Mike's cameras
Action camera

There are also swap meets and cameras and coffee events regularly
 
BradS said:
Yes. They are. I buy fixer and paper there....ever since K&S in palo alto closed. Haven't been back since I moved away from the Bay area though....someday.
Click to expand...

Losing K&S was a tragedy. I loved that store!
 
Yelp recently clued me in to Simple Photography Services in the North Bay, easily within casual cycling range for me -- stockists of Fomapan, Arista, various chemistries... wedged into about the most obscure retail location possible, behind the local hardware shop.
 

Very limited hours, though (closed Saturday and Sunday).
 
I tried Paul's Camera but they changed from one hour service to three hour service at and extra $10 a roll plus from where I live it takes over an hour one way. So back to two trips to Samy's Camera.
 
AnselMortensen said:
Kaufmann's Camera in San Bruno has closed.
Warren Kaufmann is retiring.
Click to expand...

That's sad. Kauffman's had been around forever. When I was a kid, my parents bought my first enlarger, a Bogen T-35, from them when they had their big store on Broadway in Burlingame. They will be missed.
 
Brad, B&H ships free for orders over $49 with any credit card. They do add in sales tax for the state it's shipped to unless you use their credit card payboo. Then they pick up the sales tax as well.
 
Alan Edward Klein said:
Brad, B&H ships free for orders over $49 with any credit card. They do add in sales tax for the state it's shipped to unless you use their credit card payboo. Then they pick up the sales tax as well.
Click to expand...

If Brad is still waiting for an answer - it has been nearly 4 years now - he is a lot more patient than most.
As much as I appreciate the internet order sources, their prevalence has been highly destructive to the retail part of the industry as a whole.
I used to like dealing with a variety of brick and mortar sources - now mostly gone.
 

Gee, I hope he's well.
 
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