In a few recent CR posts, I have mentioned that I have no Specialty Retail Camera Stores within 100 miles of my home. Sadly, that is true. When I perform a Google search looking for a Camera Store, at least a half a dozen store names come up but when I call, their phones are disconnected or when I drive by to check them out, they are no longer there. Once thriving local camera stores, now nothing but a memory. I am a firm believer in supporting local businesses when and where I can. In the photographic field, this is no longer possible where I live.
In the late 80's, I lived in the Atlanta area and there were several large, local camera stores where I could go check out the latest photo gear offerings from most Mfgs. Wolf Camera on 14th St and Showcase Photo and Video on Cheshire Bridge road were the two local mainstays. Both are now history but more on that in a moment. Somewhere around 1991-92, I walked into Showcase, sauntered up to the counter, patiently waited for a sales clerk, since the floor was slammed with potential customers and glanced at the glass cases behind the sales counter, where I saw some of the new white L lenses Canon was offering. Once a clerk was available, I inquired about the EF 300mm F4L lens that was begging to be touched. He attached the lens to a Canon A2e body, turned it on and handed it to me. I was unfamiliar with the new AF EF mounts, so when I depressed the shutter, not hearing the lens focus caused me to hand the camera back to the clerk and inform him it wasn't working. He picked up the camera, pointed it at a car outside the showroom and pressed the shutter button. It both focused and fired away, sans film in camera, of course. He smiled that knowing smile but without making fun of me, he proceeded to hand the camera back to me, briefly explaining what an ultrasonic lens was and told me to depress the shutter and point the lens at different subjects. I couldn't believe how quiet this new Canon Ultrasonic lens was. It not only focused, I was just overwhelmed with its ultra quiet autofocus and so, I walked out of Showcase that day with my very first Canon Camera, an A2e (eye controlled focus) and that ever so quiet EF300mm F4L lens. The rest is history and I have been a Canon Shooter ever since. I bought a myriad of Canon gear from this store and Wolf's over the next several years. Sadly, Wolf's filed bankruptcy several yrs ago and in 2017, Showcase, the last surviving full service, camera store there, liquidated all of its 40 yrs of inventory and closed its doors for good. But why, you might ask??
John Williams, the long time General Mgr at Showcase, shared his reasons for the store closing with PetaPixel. While this is an older article, I think many of you will find it enlightening, as it sheds some light on the daily workings of a camera store and it's interaction(s) with both customers and Manufacturers. Much of the information he provided (minus perhaps the sales tax collection explanation) is still relevant in today's photographic market, shedding much insight into the marketing strategies local stores use and the very slim profit margins, set and enforced by the various Mfgs. and how this affects store profitability, or lack thereof. Here is a link to the Peta Pixel article that explains why they closed.
https://petapixel.com/2017/03/02/another-big-camera-store-fails-many-closing/
In the fall of 2020, the Fed Gov't ruled that out of state shipments could be taxed by the states where the products were being shipped to, somewhat leveling the playing field advantage out of state on line vendors had enjoyed for years. For stores like Showcase, it was too little, too late.
Update: Thx to all my fellow CR members, who took the time to give their input and insight into this thread. Much appreciated. Congratulations to those who still have a local camera store they can visit. They are a dying breed in this era of on line shopping. Sadly, the moral here is that price trumps service. It appears we always want the lowest price and are prepared to go wherever we can find it, the exception being when we just have to have it, supply is limited and we are willing to pay whatever to have it right now.
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