Buying equipment? Buy locally!

When I decided to buy a second 5D Mark II camera body, I did not once consider buying it online. I called my local camera store, Glazer's Camera, asked them to hold one for me, and went down the next day to pick it up. I have no interest in knowing how much I might have saved. I know the savings would have cost me more than I wanted to pay.

I have been loyally buying almost all my camera gear from this store for 25 years. When I was a lowly assistant, just starting out, they gave me a credit account. When I was setting up my darkroom, they let me take home a box full of enlarger lenses so I could test which had the least falloff. I've exchanged items, for which I threw out the packaging, with no argument. They've guided my lens choices and helped me figure out obscure settings on my latest generation cameras.

One of the three 16gb cards that I bought with the camera seemed to be acting funny. On the download, there were gaps in the image number sequence. Shots I remembered taking weren't there. I kept using it, trying to make it fail again so I could puzzle out if it was the card, the camera, or the card-camera combo. Finally, I shot a series of 50 shots in my garden. 40 of them failed to record on the card. Then the card failed to format.

I'd never known a card to fail before. Neither had they. But I knew the exchange for a good card would be instant, without question. And it was.  

Comments

[Paul Butzi]

Good to know you're getting good service from Glazers. I had great service there for years, and then suddenly it seemed I'd become persona non grata. I'd stand at the counter and be in invisible person for 15 minutes... 20 minutes... half an hour. I can live without driving 60 minutes to get there for that.

I've had excellent service from Kenmore Camera - great to deal with on the phone or by email, friendly in the store, no waiting around.

Be aware, too, that great service can be had online. I did years of large format business with Badger Graphic in Kaukana, WI. Again, on the phone or by email, service could not be beat. Good prices, honest dealings, and more than once they saved me when I could find no film locally; "Gee, Paul, I've got a truckload. If you need it Friday, I'll ship it 2nd day, no extra charge." Service like that made me a loyal customer. If I was still using large format I'd still be doing business with them.

[Doug Plummer]

You're right that specialty online stores can have equally great customer service. I think that's the great thing about capitalism at the grass roots--it's the relationship. There has been major staff turnover at Glazers main store in the last few years (the old guard are in Lighting or Rentals), and the sense of community has vanished (we no longer stop in twice a week to buy film, and hobnob), so I am waxing a tad nostalgic. And they don't know from video, which is really a problem for me (and for them).

[Bruce Nall]

The loss of the sense of community does seem to be another result of the transition from film to digital. I remember catching up with the state of the industry and what other photographers were doing while we all waited for the first Monday morning E-6 run from the weekend shoots. We do have the local FAC (Friday artist club) meetings but it is not the same.

[Dixon Hamby]

Agree. Want to keep small local business going. Also bookstores and record stores.