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D200 waiting lists and full payment in advance

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So, does your local dealer pay you interest for holding your money while you wait and wait for the camera to be delivered? In essense, since a dealer can easily sell a D200 if you don't show up to buy it within 24 hours of notification, they aren't losing anything by not taking a deposit. In fact, they're ripping you off because they're earning interest on your money while you are not. Let me tell you--if your dealer really cared about you as a customer, they wouldn't try to extort a position on the waiting list by having you drop some money on them.

Anthony
LeeLove said:
I buy a lot of my gear from my local dealer. I am one who believes
in supporting my local dealer when ever possible because otherwise
they won't be there the next time I want to get my hands on a live
product.

When I bought the D70 I could put my name on a list, or put down a
deposit or pay for the camera in full. Depending on what I did
would put me higher on the list for the first unit in the store.

I for one had no problem with this. There is no loyality now days
as evident from the stories of guys on this forum who's camera
breaks and goes and buys a new one then takes it back after his
shoot.

So I don't blame any dealer who ask for a deposit. This is the only
way they can tell you are serious and not just kicking the tires.
Especially with the release of a new product like the D200 where
they can sell everyone they get.

Granted every dealer is different but most people never bother to
build a relationship. I have worked at making sure I know the owner
and just about everyone that works there. I give them as much
business as I can and I send everyone who ask to them. When I have
a question I get honest informed information. Also when I need some
thing in a hurry they are there to help.

So may be some of you don't like your local dealer but I also would
suggest that if you take time to build a relationship in the long
run both of you will win.

Lee
Click to expand...
 
The last time I bought local was 7 years ago and it was not a good experience. I have bought my last 5 digital SLR's via the net with 0 problems and paid 0 in taxes. : )))))))))))
 
LeeLove said:
I buy a lot of my gear from my local dealer. I am one who believes
in supporting my local dealer when ever possible because otherwise
they won't be there the next time I want to get my hands on a live
product.

When I bought the D70 I could put my name on a list, or put down a
deposit or pay for the camera in full. Depending on what I did
would put me higher on the list for the first unit in the store.

I for one had no problem with this. There is no loyality now days
as evident from the stories of guys on this forum who's camera
breaks and goes and buys a new one then takes it back after his
shoot.

So I don't blame any dealer who ask for a deposit. This is the only
way they can tell you are serious and not just kicking the tires.
Especially with the release of a new product like the D200 where
they can sell everyone they get.

Granted every dealer is different but most people never bother to
build a relationship. I have worked at making sure I know the owner
and just about everyone that works there. I give them as much
business as I can and I send everyone who ask to them. When I have
a question I get honest informed information. Also when I need some
thing in a hurry they are there to help.

So may be some of you don't like your local dealer but I also would
suggest that if you take time to build a relationship in the long
run both of you will win.

Lee
Click to expand...
--
Canon gear donated to goodwill buying Nikon!
 
I might be wrong, but demanding payment in full sounds a tad illegal. That's why you usually only get billed once something you order actually ships. I'd avoid that store like the plague or make sure you pay with a Visa card so you can dispute the charge if they start messing you around.

Even a deposit IMO is asking too much. It's not like it costs stores anything to keep a rolling list of potential buyers.
 
I called my local shop to ask about the D200 and waiting lists. They told me they didn't know anything about the D200 (this was November 1st, about 12 hours after the world announcement) and that they wouldn't hear anything from Nikon until mid-December and they didn't have a waiting list for me to be on. So, here I was, trying to give them my business and they hadn't even been keeping up with what the manufacturers had been leaking onto the web.

A minute later, I pre-ordered my D200 from ritzcamera.com. Can't blame ritz camera for the failure of a local shop to recognize a customer willing to pay!

Anthony
Octane said:
everyone says we should support our local dealer. In reality they
are often very arrogant and this example shows exactly why I have
no desire to support bad service.

Just because a shop is local doesn't make it good. I support good
service and products, nothing else.

--
-------David-------
http://www.pbase.com/david_hofmann/root
Click to expand...
 
Whether you feel that you get good support or not, (there are still good pro stores out there, with good service and competitive pricing) brick and mortar stores are not showrooms for the internet! I purchase items from the internet all of the time, but coming from a small business owner, the worst thing is a customer that comes in and handles gear and takes sales peoples time with only the intention to buy online. Taxes or not, camera stores are in business to sell equipment, and the more people use them and not buy, the quicker they will disapear, leaving no option to touch.

Just my .02.
--
--
Jeff
http://www.digitalprecisionimaging.com
::Digital Prints on new Fuji Crystal Archive Super Type C Paper::
 
Hi,

It depends on your relationship with your dealer. I buy almost all my equipment at a small local dealer. He knows me and so it´s no problem to try out things, ....

All I needed to do to get on the list was to give him a call. He will call me when the camera is there. That´s all.

I guess the point is that if you buy 1 piece there and the next piece there because this place sells it $10 cheaper you never build up a relation with a dealer and therefore you can´t expect any kind of special service.

--
Joachim
http://www.joachimgerstl.com
 
If all people would act like this there will no local stores available in the near future. So you can0t check items out.
I think it is simply unfair to use local shops for that.

When I bought my 70-200VR it stopped working the second day. ( no AF )I went back to my shop and returned it and got a new one immediately. I didn´t have to send it elsewhere or wait for the repair.

That´s service and it should be worth a dollar or two.

--
Joachim
http://www.joachimgerstl.com
 
That is a very good point.

I'd love to support local camera shops if they had
some kind of Norman Rockwell happy service,
but yeah, that's not always the case.

I've had much more friendly dealings
with places like onecall.com or normancamera.com
than with one particular local shop up in N. Cali I will not name,
and at a savings of hundreds of dollars
in reduced prices and hundreds more in avoided sales taxes, too!
 
Usually about one third of all pre-orders fall through so we usually count the other two-thirds as firm (with or without deposits taken because legally if you can't supply within a reasonable time you have to return the money).

Most stores start to insist on deposits to avoid people placing multiple orders with four local camera stores.
 
My dealer simply supplies them to people in the order that they placed their orders. No deposit, not bits of paper to sign - nothing.

He KNOWS that he'll sell all of the first few shipments the moment they arrive - if someone doesn't want theirs, he just rings the next Guy and knocks them off the list. So there isn't really any pressure to buy either.

I do understand why some dealers might want to charge a deposit to stop people placing multiple orders, but the idea of putting people further up the list because they paid a bigger deposit seems really peculiar!

kind regards
--
Jono Slack
http://www.slack.co.uk
 
Joachim Gerstl said:
I guess the point is that if you buy 1 piece there and the next
piece there because this place sells it $10 cheaper you never build
up a relation with a dealer and therefore you can´t expect any kind
of special service.
Click to expand...
You make a rather good point. At my local shop, the salesperson knows me by name. And the other employees at least recognize me. When I order online from my dealer, I ge to specify my salesperson as part of the checkout process. And my salesperson knows I placed the order.

So instead of trying to get ahold of my sales person, I placed my D200 order online. He still gets credit for making the sale, I get on the waiting list without any fuss. And my credit card won't be charged until it ships.
--
-----Bear
 
Jeffrey Lazo said:
Whether you feel that you get good support or not, (there are still
good pro stores out there, with good service and competitive
pricing) brick and mortar stores are not showrooms for the
internet! I purchase items from the internet all of the time, but
coming from a small business owner, the worst thing is a customer
that comes in and handles gear and takes sales peoples time with
only the intention to buy online. Taxes or not, camera stores are
in business to sell equipment, and the more people use them and not
buy, the quicker they will disapear, leaving no option to touch.

Just my .02.
--
--
Jeff
http://www.digitalprecisionimaging.com
::Digital Prints on new Fuji Crystal Archive Super Type C Paper::
Click to expand...
--
Canon gear donated to goodwill buying Nikon!
 
Spectramax said:
You might want to try calumet in cambridge... I called around to
the usual suspects in Boston (Hunts, Zeff, etc...) and I liked what
I heard best at Calumet.
Click to expand...
Stopped by Calumet yesteday, now I'm 12th on their waiting list (with no deposit). They expect to get 10-20 in the first shipment, so I may be in luck.

Thanks again for the suggestion!

--
Jim Kaye
PBase supporter
 
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