Lost an Old Friend this Weekend: Jack’s Camera Shop in Muncie, Indiana, closed its physical store and has gone online only, maintaining its online sales division. All the employees...

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Jack’s Camera Shop in Muncie, Indiana, closed its physical store and has gone online only, maintaining its online sales division. All the employees were friendly and knowledgable, and would go out of the way to answer questions and help however they could. It has been my go-to store for over fifty years now, and they made the best monochrome prints.

RIP Jack’s.

My closest physical camera store is now Robert’s in Indianapolis, an hour’s drive.

Blair Shaw Jr Loc: Dunnellon,Florida

jaymatt wrote:

Jack’s Camera Shop in Muncie, Indiana, closed its physical store and has gone online only, maintaining its online sales division. All the employees were friendly and knowledgable, and would go out of the way to answer questions and help however they could. It has been my go-to store for over fifty years now, and they made the best monochrome prints.

RIP Jack’s.

My closest physical camera store is now Robert’s in Indianapolis, an hour’s drive.

Fotoserj Loc: St calixte Qc Ca

And many more will be going the same route, Almost every body is buying of internet and most are doing the Amazon or eBay, my grip is the money you may save doesn’t stay in your town, 4out of 5 dollars you are spending goes out of the country and maybe 5% stay in your town.

Bob Mevis Loc: Plymouth, Indiana

It's a shame. My closest is about 30 miles away but, I don't drive anymore so maybe it closed too.

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

That is too bad, John. My closest store is more than two hours away in another state.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

Announcing "R.I.P." is a bit premature, I think. One should not rule out the possibility that they may open another physical store sometime in the future, once it is feasible to do so - assuming they can survive online only for the time being. The way things are now won't last forever - we should keep that in mind. The fact that Jack's Camera hasn't ceased operations entirely and permanently gone out of business is actually good news and reason to be optimistic; scaling back operations during difficult times is sometimes necessary for survival.

Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida

Sad! So many small businesses were struggling along before this catastrophe. They probably felt the time was right to make an exit. Still it is very sad.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

The owners are around 70 years of age and are winding down. They will not return.

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

"Another one bites the dust." I hear ya. When I moved to my present location 30 years ago, there were 4 excellent brick-and-mortar camera shops near me here in Northern Delaware. Only one remains. Before I discovered UHH, they were my chief sources for photographic discussions.

Collhar Loc: New York City.

jaymatt wrote:

Jack’s Camera Shop in Muncie, Indiana, closed its physical store and has gone online only, maintaining its online sales division. All the employees were friendly and knowledgable, and would go out of the way to answer questions and help however they could. It has been my go-to store for over fifty years now, and they made the best monochrome prints.

RIP Jack’s.

My closest physical camera store is now Robert’s in Indianapolis, an hour’s drive.

I'm pretty lucky. I can walk to B&H. Adorama is a short cab ride.

SonyBug

jaymatt wrote:

The owners are around 70 years of age and are winding down. They will not return.

After all those years, it would be just stupid to spend every penny in the bank to stay open when it is not profitable. It is good sense to cut back to get rid of inventory and when that is sold out to close and keep your savings for a good retirement. Maybe RIP for the store, but Good Luck in Retirement.

ronpier Loc: Poland Ohio

jaymatt wrote:

Jack’s Camera Shop in Muncie, Indiana, closed its physical store and has gone online only, maintaining its online sales division. All the employees were friendly and knowledgable, and would go out of the way to answer questions and help however they could. It has been my go-to store for over fifty years now, and they made the best monochrome prints.

RIP Jack’s.

My closest physical camera store is now Robert’s in Indianapolis, an hour’s drive.

We are blessed to still have one in town—YM Camera in Youngstown Oh. I always check with them first when looking for gear. YM gift cards are great to get and give.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

My go-to store is 6 miles away and is not only a sales but excellent repair, print, and studio equipment rental store. There have been several stores that have closed over the years. The owner of "my" store has purchased their equipment and store fixtures and continues on.
--Bob

jaymatt wrote:

Jack’s Camera Shop in Muncie, Indiana, closed its physical store and has gone online only, maintaining its online sales division. All the employees were friendly and knowledgable, and would go out of the way to answer questions and help however they could. It has been my go-to store for over fifty years now, and they made the best monochrome prints.

RIP Jack’s.

My closest physical camera store is now Robert’s in Indianapolis, an hour’s drive.

Dalek Loc: Detroit, Miami, Goffstown

In Miami, Pitman is still here but closed for the Covid crisis. Will they reopen? They too have an online site. Buying online lacks the panache of a face-to-face encounter with a knowledgeable sales person. Whenever I am in Orlando I always try to go to Colonial and walk around the store and see the stuff I read about in photo magazines. Sitting in front of a computer has no special interest other than a click or two.

I suppose the online market place and the covid stay home status will change many businesses when they finally open. I just wonder if work-from-home and learn-from-home will grow into a more accepted and deployed business or educational practice. I am able to see many applications.

...oh the times they are a changin'...

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

I hate to see the closings of all these smaller camera stores. You're lucky John that you live somewhat close to Roberts which is a great camera store. In NJ, the smaller stores have mostly closed. Unique Photo in Fairfield is a large store and so far has been a survivor - its about 50 minutes from where I live.