[Leica] In Shock

[abridge at gmail.com (Adam Bridge)]

Not only that but the big camera companies are demanding a substantial
investment in product to handle their very expensive cameras - Hassy
is certainly doing this and pushing the smaller camera stores away
from handling their sales.

I guess this makes sense to the bean counters everywhere but it does
nothing for the relationship between a dealer and buyer. When forking
over tens of thousands of dollars you want to have a relationship.
Instead you get a fast talking sales person who takes no real deep
interest in you, your work, your business. You're just a buck to him.

I ponder buying my new bike as a counter-point to this experience. I
go in to Wheelworks in Davis, a city that has bike stores by the acre.
But Wheelworks specializes in the good bikes. They can be a bit
off-putting the first time you walk in if you're new. But I tell the
guy what I'm interested in. He measures my bicycle, we talk some more
- then we make an APPOINTMENT for me to come back on Friday morning
when I can give a few hours.

I discover they have built two bikes for me - adjust them to my specs.
We put them on a stationary trainer and he carefully measures the fit.
Then he tells me to "go out and give it a good ride." I am gone 35
minutes having done a reasonable round-trip over one of the "hills"
(overpasses that pass for hills) and he says "So soon?" And then I try
the other bike. I bring it back. We talk. He decides we need a
different set of gears for the front and a different set for the back,
a different crank. They have to order in the parts. The next Tuesday
the bike is ready - try it out again he says - and THEN I pay them.

I have NEVER gotten this kind of service buying ANYTHING. If a camera
shop paid 1/100th that much attention to what I wanted and was looking
for, how I worked, what I did, do you think I'd buy mail order
instead? I don't think so.

Now I have a great $1,500 bike (I wasn't even remotely into the high
end all carbon fiber bikes) that I ride almost daily with joy.

Would that other enterprises see customers in the same way. Wheelworks
has my business for life or until they change hands and some idiot
bean-counter with no passion for the business takes over. Then it'll
be a sad day.

Oh well - rant over.

Although I do have to say that here in Hawaii I'm getting the best
customer service I have ever received in a hotel anywhere. Sheraton
will get my business again.

Adam


On 12/14/06, Don Dory <don.dory@gmail.com> wrote:
> Neal,
> The camera business is one of eight hundred pound gorillas and everyone
> else.  So, B&H, Ritz, Best Buy and a few others who order in the hundreds 
> of
> thousand boxes get fabulous prices that the small shop can only dream of
> receiving.  So the small shop goes away as any rational consumer will not
> pay $50 more for a three hundred dollar camera just because of loyalty.  
> One
> example of the power of being big, Ritz sold over 50,000 HP small printers
> in 10 days as part of a free after rebate promotion.  So the small guy has
> no pricing power, can not keep the depth of stock required and has lost the
> profit from 4X6 prints.
>
> At PMA I had the chance to talk to many large and small retailers and the
> small guys are specialising in camera phones, gift items like custom coffee
> cups, studio business, large format printing, knowledge about specific 
> items
> like Epson printers, or some other niche.  But don't think the big guys are
> on easy street; prices depreciate by the minute and unless you can move the
> product through the pipeline in three to ten weeks you are stuck with money
> losing merchandise.  Manufacturers will only protect your inventory to a
> certain point after which you are out really large $.
>
> As to profit, it has always been on the accessories.  Going back to the 
> AE-1
> Canon you made more money on the UV filter than you did on the Camera.
>
> Don
> don.dory@gmail.com
>
>
> On 12/14/06, Neal Friedenthal <neal@nairobisafari.com> wrote:
> >
> > The photo retail business is the most rediculous business to gwet into, 
> > as
> > it seems to be a sin to make a decent profit. On Canon amd Nikon, which 
> > are
> > by far the most popular makes, it is impossible to sell for more than 
> > $100
> > over cost and are usually sold for less than $50 over cost. You can't 
> > stay
> > in business for long on that type of profit margin.  We have to sell some
> > cameras at cost and try to make some profit on accessories such as memory
> > cards, cases, filters, and batteries. I work part time for Le Camera in 
> > New
> > Jersey and we are trying to hang in there but it is not easy.  The only
> > cameras that we do make a decent profit on, a bit over 10%, is Leica and
> > that is only because to get a dealership with them you have to sign a
> > contract that requires that you sell no lower than their "minimum selling
> > price" which is why everyone's price is the same on Leica equipment.  The
> > small independent camera shop is a dieing breed and it is the consumer 
> > who
> > is killing it.
> > BTW we have more used equipment than we know what to do with, how about a
> > nice Nikkormat FTN with a 50mm f1.4 Nikkor for $125.....
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Leica Users Group.
> > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
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>