Retail Camera Stores, Why They Are In Trouble

Today I went to Keeble & Shuchat, a large camera store in Palo Alto, CA,
which is having their annual sale. I wanted to buy a Canon 70-300 IS
lens. It would still be a little more expensive than B&H, but I could
get it right away, and help out a local retailer.

So I go up to the Canon counter. There are four people behind the
counter, and I'm the only customer. I can't get their attention, as they
are far too busy in a gab-fest. I go over to the ad posted in the
window, find the phone number, and call the store from inside the store,
asking if this lens is available. I can hear the phone ring from where
I'm standing. They tell me to hold, and they make an announcement over
the PA for the Canon department to pick up. The four people behind the
counter, still gabbing away, ignore the announcement (I waited about
three minutes for someone to pick up). I call back, and this time I
think the owner picks up, and he walks over to the Canon counter and
comes back to inform me that they don't have that lens in stock.

A nice waste of about an hour, and about $3 worth of gasoline.

 

I would call the store and ask to speak to the manager (or owner). Tell them
what you said here. Years ago, I went into that same store to "look around".
Not one sales person asked me if I needed any help. I didn't care at the
time because I didn't need any help. But, if I was there to make a purchase
I would not have gone un-noticed.

The business world is very competitive and I am surprised at the way some
stores allow less than helpful sales people work at their stores. You go to
a car dealership and they sales people chase you all over the lot. You go to
a McDonald's drive-through and you don't even get a "Thank you come again".

 

Did you try around the corner at Bear Images?

 

I gave up on local camera stores for a few reasons.

Prices for lenses are way out of line. They sell what I call third party
lenses for more than what the camera brand costs at places such as B&H. One
wide angle Tamron lens I was looking at cost $250 more than at B&H. I can
undertand $50 more for a $600 lens, but $250?

Selection is poor. Obviously smaller shops can't carry a complete array of
lenses. Many have only 4 or so lenses that fit a particular SLR lensmount.
They said they could order a lens, but $1,600 for the Canon 300mm F4 IS L? I
bought it brand new from KEH, shipped for under $1,200 last year. No taxes
on these larger orders is a big plus as well.

Many local chains banter how well their quality is with prints, but I often
get prints back that are slightly blurry. I got better quality from a large
discount store at nearly half the price. An 8x10 was less than half the
price!

I was sad to see a single owned store front close earlier this year. They
had a far better selection of goods. The owner said, "Digital has not been
kind to us. It is hard to compete when every discount chain carries digital
cameras and SLRs." They hung on for three years before folding. They had
been in business for nearly a century.

John

 

This last bit is a very good point, and one I think many of us forget (me
too).
In the days of film dominance, it was NOT the norm to see a huge selection
of film cameras at diescount and electronics stores like Fry's, Circuit
City, CompUSA, and office stores. Now, you see digital cameras literally
EVERYWHERE, and this means camera stores not only have huge internet
competition, but also big competition all over the city. The local stores
that are still fairly strong around here clearly market to the upper
end/professional customers, although they do stock the lesser models too.

I just stopped by a local store to buy some items for my trip to Ukraine,
and the guy noticed my new 5D. Somehow B&H came up in the conversation, and
he said that B&H sells many items for less than his store can get it
wholesale...saying that B&H gets special deals unavailable to most store due
to their HUGE volume. I have no doubt that this is true. Its tough to
compete with. I ended up spending about $500 there...well over what B&H
would have charged me, but somehow it didn't bother me so much.

I'm a big B&H fan and buy 95% of my stuff from them, but I am also happy to
support the local guys--especially those (like this one) who still provide
excellent service and a quality in-store experience.

-Mark²

 

Retail camera stores are in trouble because they no longer can count
on years of following film and processing sales from every sale of a
camera. They also can't outbid eBay - and Web retailers - for prices
on cameras, lenses, and accessories, either.

No $4 to park! No $6 admission! http://www.INTERNET-GUN-SHOW.com

 

I suspect that it's been a common thing to see in that store for quite
some time, it's not limited to that type of business either. My
"local" store of choice is Cameta Camera and they're certainly not
headed in that direction. Service and price are excellent and they've
adapted to the changes in tha nature of their business by building a
huge ebay business. They have the best of both worlds. They're also
within walking distance of another local shop, Berger Brothers, which
is still doing well.

 

We had a great local store here, was competitive on pricing, but not
the cheapest, stiil competitive. They had full service b&W processing
etc. He was first in White River Junction VT, but most high ticket
stores in the area were in New Hampshire, Vermont sales tax = 7%, New
Hampshire sales tax = 0%. For years this store operated, could always
get the cameras the photographers in the area needed, carried the right
film etc. Walmart and Best Buy show up he finally moves to a nicer
place in New Hampshire and thinks he can compete, but film and
processing business has all but dried up, and he finds he can't compete
on camera sales alone, diversity helps. Especially when on when a sales
flyer comes out, people go to his store to handle the camera without
some theft proof device attached, then buy the camera at Best Buy cause
it is $10 cheaper. Now I have no place to develop B&W to specs, have to
buy film, cameras etc from B&H.
Now I have noticed the E6 processor in the area has layed off most of
his staff, I'm no help cause I shoot 9/10 digital, but I do need him
for occasional slide roll I do.

Tom

 

There's one important difference in your comparison: commission. The
sales person at the car lot will get a paycheck that's directly
proportionate to how many cars he sells, so he is VERY motivated to sell
you a car. The McDonald's employee is paid the same miniscule amount,
regardless of whether he or she sells a zillion hamburgers, or hardly
rings up a sale.

The camera shop may very well pay their employees a commission or bonus
based on sales performance, hence there's little incentive to help.

Working on commission has its own drawbacks, however. Going back to the
car dealership scenario: you might just want a simple but reliable
car. But the sales rep knows that that basic no-nonsense car has a low
profit margin and he won't get paid as much for selling it. He DOES
know that he'll get a big fat paycheck if he can convince you by any
means possible, to buy the gas guzzling, grotesquely-sized, feature
loaded SUV that's selling at an extremely high profit margin. He
doesn't care if you can't really need or even afford it; if he can
convince you that you WANT it, and can get you to sign on the dotted
line and drive it off the lot, then whether you really need it is your
problem, and whether you can really pay for it or not is now a problem
between you and the bank.

Additionally, he knows he'll get MAJOR bonuses for selling you things
like extended warranties, window etching, pin striping, and "paint
sealant" - all things that are of dubious value, may already come with
the car whether you pay extra for it or not, and are probably not worth
the purchase price. If he can coax you to spend more, he gets paid more.

At camera shops, I've seen both extremes: customer reps who won't help
you because there's nothing in for them, and customer reps who are stuck
to you like glue even when you haven't made up your mind, won't stop
hounding you to buy the more expensive camera or to get these
accessories RIGHT NOW, and then feed you doom & gloom about how your
cameras will break if you don't buy the service contract that has so
many legal loopholes in it it may be of no real value. I once had to
decline an extended warranty five times repeatedly, and then threatened
to walk out without buying anything at all if the sales rep didn't drop
the matter. Incidentally, that camera has outlived what the life of the
extended warranty would have been.

Personally, if I'm met with either extreme, then I have no sympathy for
the shop in question if it goes under. I'm more than happy to give
local businesses a chance, but if they make the experience more of a
hassle than it needs to be, I'll just buy it online for cheaper.

 

There is one point that is being overlooked.

As the OP stated this was a dealer show. The dealer invites various
suppliers to participate in the show and help man the counters in the
store. It is very possible that not one of the 4 people behind the
counter at that time when the OP was there was a K&S employee. More
likely they were company reps or tech reps or independent reps just
supplying manpower.

 

Been a *problem* for years....

"Terry Shuchat , December 20, 1999; 01:21 P.M.
I am the owner of Keeble and Shuchat. I appreciate the positive
comments. As to negative comments please give me a call at 650-327-8996
and give me an opportunity to correct our problems. I am here most of
the time and would like the opportunity to undo problems here. Thanks
to everyone who shops here. We try to have a very complete inventory
and comeptitive prices as well as a knowledgeable sales staff. I
realize that we can not alway keep everyone happy but would like the
opportunity to do so. Thanks--Terry Shuchat "

http://www.photo.net/neighbor/view-one?neighbor_to_neighbor_id=53822

 

Where did he say "dealer show"? He said it was their "annual sale".

Which then reflects badly on whoever they work for.

 

The number of bricks-and-mortar retailers that will be able to
SURVIVE as Internet retailers is quite small. Previously, they had
survived because they really were only competing with the other
bricks-and-mortar stores in their own locality. How many will be able
to survive when they are competing with every other no-service Internet
retailer from Boston to Boise? (And how many in high-cost locations
like Boston can outcompete Internet retailers based in nil-cost places
like Boise?)

No $6 admission! http://www.INTERNET-GUN-SHOW.com

 

He said who the dealer was. It was their annual show.

 

So I go up to the Canon counter. There are four people behind the counter,

Hmmm, your story is suspect. A nice loud HELLO! wouldn't have done the
trick?

ef

 

The words he used were "annual sale". He didn't say anything about a
"show".

 

I can give you two examples of brick and mortar retailers that have
transitioned nicely to the Internet--B&H Photo and Coastal Tool. Both
manage to combine very competitive prices with excellent service. And it's
interesting that both are in what could be considered to be "high cost
locations".

On the other hand, I wanted to compare a couple of tripods the other day and
by the time I'd found stores that had examples of each in stock and found
both and paid for downtown parking and whatnot I'd have been both time and
money ahead to take the train to NYC.

 

Being a long haired freaky type, I usually have a few rubber bands in my
pocket for hair-restraining purposes. They are also sometimes efficacious
in obtaining the attention of unobservant staff.

A Steve Martinesque "EXCUUUUUSE *ME*" however is usually sufficient.

Standing on the counter and unzipping one's fly is generally to be reserved
for the most recalcitrant of clerks.

 

At all the dealers I've ever bought cars at, the worthless-add-ons are
sold in the finance department, whether or not you're financing; the
salesperson has nothing to do with them. OEM accessories are often sold
by the salesperson.

That's how I feel. I'm less willing to even bother with a local store
these days, as the chance that they even have what I want in stock is
small, and with gas at $3.18 a gallon, I'm not driving around town,
though I could always call them first.

 

At least two of the people were store employees, and at least one was
Canon representative. Not sure about the fourth. The store was full of
reps that day, including one from Sigma, some from Nikon, some from
Canon, and some from Olympus. The E330 is pretty cool for someone that
insists on live preview.