| Author | Thread |
|
|
01/06/2011 09:48:37 PM · #26 |
Originally posted by yanko:
Buying local for a widely available mass produced product is an oxymoron, if you ask me. |
With so many different bags available, and so many with lousy straps, it was worth a couple of bucks to try them out before buying. It was not worth $75. I guess the bottom line is I was stupidly naive. I expected them to be reasonable. I guess Art was right and I was an idiot -- but I keep expecting life and people to be fair. Maybe in another 45 years I might catch on.
|
|
|
|
01/06/2011 09:56:11 PM · #27 |
| He wasn't saying you are an idiot. He just disagreed with you calling it being "cheated". Just go in and talk to them. If they want your business they'll do the right thing; if they don't they've lost. |
|
|
|
01/06/2011 10:01:52 PM · #28 |
Originally posted by yanko:
Buying local for a widely available mass produced product is an oxymoron, if you ask me. |
So, you see no value in seeing/touching a product before you buy it? Or comparing to other competing products? or consulting someone knowledgeable about the product?
or, do you see nothing wrong with doing all that locally and then buying online?
Not to mention if you have a problem with the product, having a place to go for returns or support. |
|
|
|
01/06/2011 10:09:07 PM · #29 |
Originally posted by vawendy:
With so many different bags available, and so many with lousy straps, it was worth a couple of bucks to try them out before buying. |
That certainly makes sense. My only point was that buying local use to mean you were buying something handmade and unique. The quality was also better. It makes no sense to me to buy something built elsewhere at a local shop instead of the Best Buy down the block unless the price was lower. |
|
|
|
01/06/2011 10:14:13 PM · #30 |
Originally posted by scarbrd:
Originally posted by yanko:
Buying local for a widely available mass produced product is an oxymoron, if you ask me. |
So, you see no value in seeing/touching a product before you buy it? Or comparing to other competing products? or consulting someone knowledgeable about the product?
or, do you see nothing wrong with doing all that locally and then buying online?
Not to mention if you have a problem with the product, having a place to go for returns or support. |
No I didn't say that. See my reply to Wendy. |
|
|
|
01/06/2011 10:14:40 PM · #31 |
Originally posted by yanko:
Originally posted by vawendy:
With so many different bags available, and so many with lousy straps, it was worth a couple of bucks to try them out before buying. |
That certainly makes sense. My only point was that buying local use to mean you were buying something handmade and unique. The quality was also better. It makes no sense to me to buy something built elsewhere at a local shop instead of the Best Buy down the block unless the price was lower. |
ahhh... Does best buy carry larger camera bags? I would have never thought of them. I started out with Ritz figuring they would be cheap, but serious photographers must not go to ours much, because all there bags were tiny little things. One or two lens capacity. Certainly no room for a 100-400 in any of them. That's why I went to the camera store -- they actually had things from which to choose. Maybe if the camera store doesn't want to deal but will let me return it, I might be able to find it at best buy.
Message edited by author 2011-01-06 22:15:48.
|
|
|
|
01/06/2011 10:17:49 PM · #32 |
Originally posted by vawendy:
Originally posted by yanko:
Originally posted by vawendy:
With so many different bags available, and so many with lousy straps, it was worth a couple of bucks to try them out before buying. |
That certainly makes sense. My only point was that buying local use to mean you were buying something handmade and unique. The quality was also better. It makes no sense to me to buy something built elsewhere at a local shop instead of the Best Buy down the block unless the price was lower. |
ahhh... Does best buy carry larger camera bags? I would have never thought of them. I started out with Ritz figuring they would be cheap, but serious photographers must not go to ours much, because all there bags were tiny little things. One or two lens capacity. Certainly no room for a 100-400 in any of them. That's why I went to the camera store -- they actually had things from which to choose. |
Sorry I said Best Buy because people wouldn't consider it a local shop and I also had it on my mind after posting in another thread. I'm pretty sure they don't sell camera bags there but I could be wrong. |
|
|
|
01/06/2011 10:20:53 PM · #33 |
They do sell bags there, not the huge one though
But interesting enough, they sell filters, a lot of filters, (UV, Grads, Stars etc), for all size lenses. I was there yesterday picking up a new stylus and saw them. Good quality and cheaper than the local store I go to |
|
|
|
01/06/2011 10:30:24 PM · #34 |
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
"Support local" always seems like a bit of a non sequitur to me. Would you walk into a store and say, "hey, here's $50 because you work here"? I don't know anybody who does something like that, but that is exactly what you are doing. Personally, I'd rather take that $50 and give it to the poor.
|
I see little difference between giving money to the already poor and helping prevent people from becoming poor by keeping local jobs vibrant, both are engendering community, which is what you're talking about putting your money towards. I also tip, which is exactly what you describe.
I generally research products pretty exhaustively, so I know what I want before I get someplace- I'm not really an impulse buyer typically, so I'm not depending on their expertise, I'm depending on the convenience of not having to wait for a week for shipping.
Don't feel too bad about the cost that you paid. As long as you are always thinking hindsight is possible before the fact you'll just continue to torture yourself in a vicious cycle of what ifs and wasted efforts. That bag probably went for $50 someplace at sometime, and there's nothing you can do about it but get over it. There will ALWAYS be a better deal. Consumerism and the availability of goods do funny things to us mentally. The bag met the needs you had, and at an acceptable cost to you. Now, after the fact, you depreciate its value? |
|
|
|
01/06/2011 11:33:48 PM · #35 |
Yeah, exactly. I support local as much as I can.
Originally posted by scarbrd:
But if you shun the local merchant, don't be surprised when they are no longer there. |
|
|
|
|
01/07/2011 12:05:58 AM · #36 |
Originally posted by PGerst:
Yeah, exactly. I support local as much as I can.
Originally posted by scarbrd:
But if you shun the local merchant, don't be surprised when they are no longer there. |
|
I've lived in NY, Florida and Texas. What's local for me? Where I live now? Should I shun the other places?
|
|
|
|
01/07/2011 12:09:56 AM · #37 |
Ugh. I still think some people missed my point - but this is the pure, free-market capitalist in me - the price is "fair" if you know what you are getting and agree to it regardless of how much of a margin there is or what other places are selling it for. If you found out B&H sold it for only $5 less or even $25 more, you would be very happy even though nothing has changed - you are still out the same amount of money and you still have the same product in your hand. The consumer always has the option to buy online or elsewhere. I might sympathize more if we didn't live in the Google age.
What I am trying to get at is what do you people consider "cheating" or "unfair"? Is it >5% profit margin? Some companies have up to 90% margins - are they "cheating" those who buy from them? They may be taking advantage of the lack of competition in some cases, but not in the case of your local camera store and the market will decide who survives at what profit margins.
That said, I think it is perfectly reasonable for you to go to the store and let them know how you feel since you found out the price difference was so large. They will either refund part of your money and hope to keep you as a customer or they will not. And if enough people feel as you do, they will probably go out of business. On the other hand, if they give you the $75 difference to keep you, do you honestly think you will spend enough there in the next year or so for them to make that back up?
Message edited by author 2011-01-07 00:10:28. |
|
|
|
01/07/2011 01:23:29 AM · #38 |
I bought one of my bags at a camera store. I liked that I was able to try it (had the camera with me) see how it fit when I slung it over my shoulder, etc. I bought another bag sight unseen from probably B&H. I'm not as happy with that bag. The ad seemed to make it seem like it was everything I needed but it just didn't fit as well.
I will pay for quality, and I will pay for good service. I will rarely fret having spent "too much" for either of those things. I could spend a lot of time comparison shopping but I tend to want what I want when I want it or something like that. Or I've simply hit that age where I don't allow myself to feel buyer's remorse. At least not as much as I used to. :-) I always think I get cheated on cars, though. But I think that's normal.
If it really bothers you, take it back. But yeah, we're pretty much killing off the brick and mortars. Soon you will only get to hold things in your hands by ordering, sending back, ordering, sending back. Specialty items are already that way (like bolts for hitch mounted bike racks - I'm waiting for the right size to show up.) But I digress...
|
|
|
|
01/07/2011 02:30:02 AM · #39 |
| I bought one of those low pro sling bags i found that they were very uncomfortable i hardly take it out with me ..so i,m looking for another bag just too many too choose from |
|
|
|
01/07/2011 02:57:58 AM · #40 |
| I bought a Quantaray bag a couple of months ago to replace the one that was too small for my growing equipment inventory. I got to try it out and all that at Ritz camera. Stuff like that is handy to have something local. And I only paid 100 bucks for it. It carries everything I have and then some, very happy with it. |
|
|
|
01/07/2011 07:14:36 AM · #41 |
sorry, wendy, but i think you need to suck it up and put on your big-gurl pants on this one. you can afford the difference because you already paid the difference.
and it's not up to the clerk, or even the owner for that matter, to justify their pricing to you. they price it and people either pay it or purchase somewhere else.
you also need to factor everything in to the equation.
* you walked into the store, physically inspected various options, made your selection, paid for it, and walked out the door with your purchase.
* you didn't have to pay for shipping.
* you didn't have to wait for it to arrive.
* you didn't have to wait around your house to sign for it when it arrived.
* you didn't have to open the box to see if it was just as good in real life as it looked on the internet.
* you may or may not have had a conversation with someone in the store that was able to help you make your purchase.
and, if you have a problem, you can go right back to the store and deal with it, rather than having to repackage it, drive to a shipping outlet (like a UPS store), pay for shipping, and then wait for the online store to receive it, inspect it, refund your money, and then have to go through the whole purchase cycle again.
yeah, you are going to pay more, but what is time, convenience, and sales assistance worth to you? and some products will have much higher margins than others. so what? in the end, you are either going to support a local business for what it has to offer you, or you are going put them out of business and be at the mercy of a vendor you will never have a personal relationship with. is that really worth it?
you owe it to yourself to research this stuff before you leave the house. if you know about what you could get it for online (including shipping), you can calculate the convenience factor at the store. you don't even have to get into a conversation with anyone about "what you could get it for." if you can afford the product, buy it; otherwise, you're free to take your business elsewhere. |
|
|
|
01/07/2011 07:47:08 AM · #42 |
Originally posted by Skip:
sorry, wendy, but i think you need to suck it up and put on your big-gurl pants on this one. you can afford the difference because you already paid the difference.
and it's not up to the clerk, or even the owner for that matter, to justify their pricing to you. they price it and people either pay it or purchase somewhere else.
you also need to factor everything in to the equation.
* you walked into the store, physically inspected various options, made your selection, paid for it, and walked out the door with your purchase.
* you didn't have to pay for shipping.
* you didn't have to wait for it to arrive.
* you didn't have to wait around your house to sign for it when it arrived.
* you didn't have to open the box to see if it was just as good in real life as it looked on the internet.
* you may or may not have had a conversation with someone in the store that was able to help you make your purchase.
and, if you have a problem, you can go right back to the store and deal with it, rather than having to repackage it, drive to a shipping outlet (like a UPS store), pay for shipping, and then wait for the online store to receive it, inspect it, refund your money, and then have to go through the whole purchase cycle again.
yeah, you are going to pay more, but what is time, convenience, and sales assistance worth to you? and some products will have much higher margins than others. so what? in the end, you are either going to support a local business for what it has to offer you, or you are going put them out of business and be at the mercy of a vendor you will never have a personal relationship with. is that really worth it?
you owe it to yourself to research this stuff before you leave the house. if you know about what you could get it for online (including shipping), you can calculate the convenience factor at the store. you don't even have to get into a conversation with anyone about "what you could get it for." if you can afford the product, buy it; otherwise, you're free to take your business elsewhere. |
Everything else I have priced out ahead of time. Since there's such a large choice of bags, I didn't price every bag. I knew the range. I took money meant for other things because my other bag is ripped and falling apart.
Shipping would have been $15. It's not worth $75 for the rest of the stuff you mentioned.
Yes, I made the decision, and you are right about many things. It is definitely a buyer beware world, and it's definitely my own fault.
However,
But what it boils down to is this: I thought they were a reasonable place to deal with. Now I don't think that. Whether it's my own fault, I still have a very bad feeling about this store, and have no desire to go there again (there have been 1 or 2 non-pricing issues with this store in the past, so that hasn't helped any.) But that's cutting my nose to spite my face. So I have two options: I can either see if they want to negotiate with this or I can avoid going there in the future.
The really stupid part of all of this is that I wouldn't feel this way if it were Target or Macy's. You feel like you have a relationship with the local camera stores (only two here.) They weren't just stores, they were the friendly drug store down the street where the owner knew your name and what kind of candy bar you liked as a kid. It's just a shock to find out that they're just a store out to screw you like any other store. If that's their right, it's my right to let them know that I won't bother doing business with them because of it.
|
|
|
|
01/07/2011 08:58:05 AM · #43 |
Originally posted by vawendy:
The really stupid part of all of this is that I wouldn't feel this way if it were Target or Macy's. You feel like you have a relationship with the local camera stores (only two here.) They weren't just stores, they were the friendly drug store down the street where the owner knew your name and what kind of candy bar you liked as a kid. It's just a shock to find out that they're just a store out to screw you like any other store. If that's their right, it's my right to let them know that I won't bother doing business with them because of it. |
nice example of cake-and-eat-it-too, wendy.
screwing you would be if you were in a jam and they knew it and they jacked the prices.
they are not screwing you. not at all...unless you believe running a business and trying to stay in business is simply screwing people. if that store owner lives in a mcmansion, garages a few luxury cars, and has a couple vacation homes - all paid for by the profits from his store - then yeah, maybe he's been getting away with something. but i doubt it.
so, by all means, march right back in there and blow them out of the water for their pricing and let them know you won't be coming back. and get shrill about it. tell all your friends. tell anyone who will listen about how they screwed you. take your rant to the internet and maybe it will go viral. it's your right; go ahead, exercise it.
and seriously, if you found that target or macy's was marking things up, you wouldn't mind? gimme a break. by that logic, if you EVER charge more than anyone else for a portrait, you are screwing them.
are you a screwer, wendy? |
|
|
|
01/07/2011 09:15:01 AM · #44 |
Originally posted by Skip:
Originally posted by vawendy:
The really stupid part of all of this is that I wouldn't feel this way if it were Target or Macy's. You feel like you have a relationship with the local camera stores (only two here.) They weren't just stores, they were the friendly drug store down the street where the owner knew your name and what kind of candy bar you liked as a kid. It's just a shock to find out that they're just a store out to screw you like any other store. If that's their right, it's my right to let them know that I won't bother doing business with them because of it. |
nice example of cake-and-eat-it-too, wendy.
screwing you would be if you were in a jam and they knew it and they jacked the prices.
they are not screwing you. not at all...unless you believe running a business and trying to stay in business is simply screwing people. if that store owner lives in a mcmansion, garages a few luxury cars, and has a couple vacation homes - all paid for by the profits from his store - then yeah, maybe he's been getting away with something. but i doubt it.
so, by all means, march right back in there and blow them out of the water for their pricing and let them know you won't be coming back. and get shrill about it. tell all your friends. tell anyone who will listen about how they screwed you. take your rant to the internet and maybe it will go viral. it's your right; go ahead, exercise it.
and seriously, if you found that target or macy's was marking things up, you wouldn't mind? gimme a break. by that logic, if you EVER charge more than anyone else for a portrait, you are screwing them.
are you a screwer, wendy? |
That's my problem -- I have a hard time charging what other people charge for photographs because it seems incredibly high, and in many cases, doesn't seem quite fair. Luckily I avoid doing shoots whenever possible so that it's not an issue. I'm not returning the bag -- I remembered that they have a no return policy on anything purchased there. I'm not going in to talk to them, because it was my stupidity. I needed to vent, however, because I thought it was an icky way to do business -- because I would never consider having that ridiculous of a markup. I haven't in any business that I've done. And it doesn't make me appreciate their business methods.
|
|
|
|
01/07/2011 09:22:50 AM · #45 |
Ok...now...here is an opportunity to have a little fun....just some harmless fun.
Step 1. Get a friend to go to the store a few minutes before you to look at bags
Step 2. Go into the store, never make any eye contact with your friend (pretend you don't know them). You inquire about making a camera or lens purchase, something expensive.
Step 3. Your friend picks up a similar but equally highly priced bag and asks about it. You are near your friend.
Step 4. After seeing the price, your friend states that the bag is cheaper elsewhere and by how much.
Step 5. You have a very surprised look on your face, give a little glance to the person who is helping you with the lens.
Step 6. Your friend leaves.
Step 7. You wait a few moments, politely say thanks for the info on the camera or lens. Smile. Leave.
Step 8. You meet your friend for lunch and by them a nice meal.
Originally posted by vawendy:
I'm not going in to talk to them, because it was my stupidity. I needed to vent, however, because I thought it was an icky way to do business -- because I would never consider having that ridiculous of a markup. I haven't in any business that I've done. And it doesn't make me appreciate their business methods. |
|
|
|
|
01/07/2011 10:17:45 AM · #46 |
Okay, I'm on hospital wifi with limited time so I didn't read all of the replies, so if this was mentioned, I apologize, but I can tell you what I do is... I use my android phone to price compare with BandH and Adorama while I'm in the camera store, and I use it as leverage to broker the deal. If they are unwilling to come down on their price, I simply walk out.
I think just about everyone can relate to paying more for something and then finding it cheaper. Depending on your relationship with the store, I would consider talking to them simply to inform them that A.) Their mark-up is way to high and that B.) You will no longer be making purchases from them because they lost your faith as a consumer. They may not care at all, and may brush you off... but that's bad business, so if that's what they do, they are not worth dealing with in the first place. What they should do is offer you some sort of compensation. It may be small, like a 20$ store credit or something, but at least it would be a token that they were willing to try to make things right. From someone whose been on both ends of that deal I can offer you this piece of advice, make eye contact, smile, keep a very friendly tone, and remember that they owe you nothing. Usually, that will get you somewhere, if it doesn't then bookmark B and H and Adorama :P
Best of Luck |
|
|
|
01/07/2011 10:24:58 AM · #47 |
PGerst, that is so much like what happened to me... I went to the Crumpler store and was enquiring about their bags and was seriously considering a purchase. Another customer was ahead of me in the queue and, just before he paid, he checked the online price of the bag using his smartphone. It told him that store prices were about 40% higher than online. He asked the sales assistant if they could try to match the price and they couldn't. The customer left and the store emptied in about 5 seconds. (small place, everybody overheard the conversation)
I guess Crumpler and other retailers could do what Apple do - one price, no discounts, no discussion. Apple stuff is premium priced but do you feel cheated when you buy? (I'm guessing you own some Apple product(s)) |
|
|
|
01/07/2011 10:30:23 AM · #48 |
Originally posted by ray_mefarso:
PGerst, that is so much like what happened to me... I went to the Crumpler store and was enquiring about their bags and was seriously considering a purchase. Another customer was ahead of me in the queue and, just before he paid, he checked the online price of the bag using his smartphone. It told him that store prices were about 40% higher than online. He asked the sales assistant if they could try to match the price and they couldn't. The customer left and the store emptied in about 5 seconds. (small place, everybody overheard the conversation)
I guess Crumpler and other retailers could do what Apple do - one price, no discounts, no discussion. Apple stuff is premium priced but do you feel cheated when you buy? (I'm guessing you own some Apple product(s)) |
Umm... well... actually I don't own an Apple products anymore -- they priced themselves out. They used to have great student/faculty discounts, so I actually thought that I'd get my daughter an apple through my husband's work. It would have been 4 times the price of the notebook we ended up getting. We just couldn't swing it.
I did like that the canon cameras were all the same price, regardless of where you bought it.
Message edited by author 2011-01-07 11:15:54.
|
|
|
|
01/07/2011 11:32:48 AM · #49 |
Maybe go in there and ask them why they charge so much more.
Will they replace it in a year if the zipper breaks?
Side note: How do you like the bag?
I recently got the ThinkTank Streetwalker Hard Drive which appears to be similar, but I'm not 100% sold on it.
BTW; online stores will return usually for at least 2 weeks if not a month or more, your store should do the same. There may even be state or local laws assuring that they will.
|
|
|
|
01/07/2011 11:42:17 AM · #50 |
You guys know nothing about difference at prices...
Brazilian e-store. That would be more than 3,500.00 dollars for a Canon T2i.
If I go to an specialized shop at SP (major urban center), I can buy it for half that price (but still double of B&H price).
70% taxes + retailer profits. :-(
edit to sorry for hijacking the thread... just wanted to show some major variation at prices here...
Message edited by author 2011-01-07 11:44:38. |
|
