Hando Rei Loc: Long Island New York

I shop both local and on line . I do prefer to shop locally so that I can handle the equipment ,ask questions and try a variety of different cameras etc . Have had good luck doing both and hope that it continues .

Just Fred Loc: Darwin's Waiting Room

I'm a sucker for "free," so I registered. I haven't received a confirmation email (is one sent?), but I'm logged on to the site (and am browsing around merrily). :)

Thanks!

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

I buy local. It might be a little more $s-- but I support two principles: keeping my $s as local as I can, & customer service/jobs. In my opinion, one of the most low down behaviors is to do your "hand-on" in a local shop and then go purchase on-line.

2 of 2 DSLRs & 3 of 4 lenses were purchased locally. The exception was not carried in the local store.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

I would buy on line even if the price was the same because selections are greater, delivery often free and hassle free return policy.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

I agree sort of. When in Philly, there was (is) a good shop called New York Camera and Video, in Southampton, Pa (street rd.) Anyway, they have a great selection of everything from point and shoot through Hasselblad and lenses and equipment galore. Great and knowledgeable service and they Know ALL the Professionals in the area and can point you to anyone to help or give advise. I bought my D70s and SB800 from them and constantly sent people from all over the world to them when they counldnt find a solution elsewhere. I didn't buy the d7100 from them because I had already moved to Clearwater and it didn't make sense to by from them, pay Philly sales tax and pay shipping to Florida when I could buy from online get no sales tax and free shipping. However, the guys are great and to those of you in that area, I highly, highly recommend you stopping in there. They also do processing etc.. (sorry for the ad) Down here, there are very very view true camera stores as Ritz / Wolf had already pretty much run them out and then the big boxes did the same to Ritz/Wolf. Again, Develop a relationship locally if you can, If not then definitely develop a relationship with the on-liners. Beware of Ebay and some of the on-line places that have REALLY GOOD PRICES as many are selling grey market and you will not get service in the US on those items.

photon56 Loc: North America

I like to support the local camera store. They do a good job explaining, answering questions, and most of all, let me play with the camera before I buy. Can't do that online.

Morry Loc: Palm Springs, CA

I agree with everything you said in your informative post.
My view is how I miss the old fair trade laws of yore.
I'm old enough to remember when there were many camera stores most everywhere in large cities -- even a few in smaller towns. Fair trade merchandise was mostly the same price with the exception of special sales and/or discontinued models no matter where it was purchased in the U.S.
The obvious advantage about this kind of system (fair trade laws) is that is that the little store can compete with the high volume store on the basis of service. The big store may have more profit in each sale because of volume buying -- but the little store, it seems, is still going to make a reasonable profit if they run their business well.
Under todays online discounting system small stores seem to be unable to make enough profit to stay in business. It's obvious who benefits the most and too bad for the photographic customer who would really rather buy locally.
Morry

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

Very true, the small or local store that has local taxes, rent, utilities, etc. to pay in addition to inventory, has great difficulty competing with the online retailers. Competing with Walmart, Best Buy, and Target is a little easier if you know what you are doing. Stay away from the common inventory. Work your brands and know your work. The Big Box Stores know very little about their merchandise. So you carry better product at reasonable prices and give great service. Provide lots of after sales support in the way of classes that lead to more sales and stay in touch with your customers. Also avoid carrying the same items in quantity that the big box stores carry. Walmart, on computers is so big that they have product from HP etc that is specially made for them.. be aware of that and know how to sell against it... lol sorry I get carried away sometimes.

Golan Loc: Imsbach, Germany

I buy nearly all of my cameras and gear online (Amazon or eBay). Since I live in Germany, any shipments from B&H would end up in German Customs and I would probably pay another 39%, or so. Not neat. I can purchase from the badly supplied military AAFES store, but would still have to pay nearly 18% added value tax to the Germans. I have never seen a well stocked photography store in German, although one might exist...somewhere. When visiting my brother in Austin, TX, I did some serious shopping at Precision Camera & Video, who had everything I wanted in stock, with expert advice. It was an awesome experience. If there were a good photography store nearby, I would definitely shop there to both support a small business and get my hands on the items sooner.

mjp

Mostly local. Last year I bought my D7100 and 18-200 DX lens from a local store. Their prices are very close to online, great staff, and ,as someone said earlier, Michigan needs the revenue. This year during the Nikon sale they didn't have an 85mm 1.8 in stock and I wasn't willing to wait for their 2 week order time, so I bought from Amazon.

ptcanon3ti Loc: NJ

I buy from a REAL brick and mortar but I use their online shopping to do so. Win win!

Trout man Loc: Alabama

If I lived in Germany and came back here for a visit I bet my luggage would be full going back. Sell enough there to pay for what I bought for myself.

Trout man Loc: Alabama

I'm guessing you have or have had a small retail store. Your concept is what keeps the mom and pop brick and mortar stores from going under. Good call.

Trout man Loc: Alabama

5.6% tax in WI that's not bad. Here in AL it's 9 or 10% depending on where you live. So my 18-300 lens cost $1100 here instead of $996 at B&H if I could find it here for that price. When I priced same lens at the local camera store here it was $1300+ tax at 10%. That's why I buy online.

HelenOster Loc: New York

As far as I remember from when I signed up there was no confirmation email. As long ad you are signed in you have VIP access. So, for example, certain products that we are only licensed to sell in-store are available to you as a VIP, and some get you pricing that we can't advertise due MAP.
Within the next 2 weeks you should get an email which contains a code for your free metallic print plus details of the free photography courses you can access.