SS319

On October 31, I fully succumbed to a GAS attack and I purchased my new EOS R. It is beautiful, I Love it, and the price had been recently dropped from $2300 to $1800, so it seemed like a good time to buy. Bought the camera, the adapter and the (new) Canon warranty. Oh, and I bought all this at Normans Camera in Kalamazoo, MI. The guy told me I was also buying a new printer - I said I absolutely do not have room for a new printer, and he TOLD me I was buying the new printer - a PIXMA Pro 10 and he was going to sell it to me, and he was going to throw in 50 sheets of 13 X 9 Canon Luster paper, all for $350. And, he completed and handed to me the paper work for a $350 rebate, so the printer he foced me to buy was free - with ink and paper!

Part 2

In December, Canon dropped the price $300 on the EOS R and added the adapter back into the price! instead of $1800, it was now $1500! If I had only waited!

Well, Yesterday, we were in Kalamazoo (its 50 miles from us) and I told the wife I was going to stop into Normans to say "Hi"; and maybe ask a question or two....

20 minutes later, I left the store with $300 going back into my Credit Card!

I have maintained here before that the local photography store can compete with the big boys - I have proved it again. I don't believe the Printer deal would be available at Amazon, and I don't think that most stores would rebate the price difference (a) after 30 days, and (b) when they do not have to look into your eyes.

So, no I did not get screwed, I was taken very good care of by a local camera store that has battled the big boys for 62 years. If you are ever in Kalamazoo - or Grand Rapids - stop in to Normans and say hello the the good folks there. If you can't get there, Normans sells on line at the same prices as the big boys - always have, and they include service at no additional cost.

Support your Local Camera Store - They will always return the support for your needs!

Merry Christmas, Friends.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Great story and good customer service.

skipwv Loc: West Virginia

Excellent, and just what you would expect from a good, local businessman who understands that his customers are his livelihood. Great story! I’m going to check their online store now!

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

Thanks for that. Norman Camera is great.

https://www.normancamera.com/

Mike

MSW

glad to hear that things worked out. all too often, the consumer gets left 'holding the bag' in such instances, s i'm glad to hear of a local place doing the right thing for their customer.

coachejp

Wish I had a local camera store to support. Can not find one in ALL of Wisconsin!

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

The special "deal" you got from your local photo store is not special at all. It's a standard Canon deal where they basically give away a 13X19 printer with 50 sheets of photo paper and ink cartridges. The profit margin on those 10 ink cartridges is way higher than on the printer plus, over time you will buy many, many refills for one printer. Here's how it works; the initial cartridges have just about enough ink in them to charge the system and run off a few prints. Canon makes far more money selling ink than they do printers and it's really, really not a good idea to use aftermarket ink in a Canon Pixma Pro printer.
As for the $300, many retailers, including Best Buy and Amazon, have a policy of refunding money if something you bought there had its price lowered by the supplier within the return/exchange period. It's up to the consumer to ask for the refund.
Yes, the printer deal is available thru Amazon and any other authorized Canon retailer.
Something I don't quite understand, your words, you bought a (new) camera warranty. Canon cameras distributed by Canon USA come with a 1 year warranty. Did you buy an extended warranty?

SS319

A) Printer Cartridges: The Pixma Pro 10 comes with full size, full fill cartridges. Nice thing about the pro10 - Pigment Inks rather than Dyes.

The warranty: Yes, Canon is now offering extended warranties with Service at Canon. Here is a link:https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/carepak-plus

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

I have 4 Canon photo printers including a Pro 10 and Pro 100 and none of the initial cartridges were full. They all had enough ink to charge the system and run off a dozen prints or so. The big money for Canon is in those ink cartridges, of which Canon has gotten plenty of mine.
Yes, I like the color tones from the Pro 10's pigment ink.

BebuLamar

Thank you for your information. I intended to buy one of those printer, use up the ink and toss it. I calculate the cost and number of prints made if the ink cartridges are full and I think I would do fine. But since you said they don't fill the cartridges that came with the printer full so I would be screwed. Thank you.

BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

Norman's is the greatest! When we moved to the area Norman's was close by and I often went there to buy lenses and supplies. Twenty years later both Norman's and I had moved, but when I was ready to buy my current camera, I knew right where to go for reliable sales and service.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I hope they did not have to eat that $300.00 just so you would have a good day. You may have helped decrease the bottom line of your local store and help contribute to there eventual closing.

charleswendt

I shop at Norman's in Grand Rapids, I find they are one of the best.

Fotoserj Loc: St calixte Qc Ca

Do you think you would get the same service from eBay or Amazon? I DON’T

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

Local Camera Shops have been closing rapidly. Only, the well managed ones are still showing a profit. There's a lot of overhead with these businesses. One camera shop that I went to, some time ago, to buy camera accessories, told me that one of the problems they encounter, is that people who bought cameras elsewhere, will come into the shop, and ask for advice about the camera, or how to solve a problem. It is sometimes several times a day, who request this service. And leave without spending a penny. But, they give them their time, anyway. Just to be courteous.