The downfall of local camera stores

[FreddyB1]

So other than one of the larger Best Buy's in my area that has the digital photography shop within their store, there are no local camera stores in my area. No where (other than BB) to try out new gear, no where local that supports 35mm (Incidentally, I was talking to the clerk at Walgreens and she told me if they get 35mm to develop they have to ship it out of state.

It's just interesting to see how times are changing.

 

[digitallollygag]

Photo finishing was probably the last profitable part of camera stores and few people print from digital cameras anymore. The EPA has regulated so much of our society, including processing film (you know, the chemicals involved) that that is no longer viable since few people shoot film. Yes, it is a changing world!

 

[noggin2k1]

14 years ago when I spent my weekends developing and printing on my trusty Frontier 570, digital was only just coming to the market - at this point, the 'on site' photo labs were still propped up for a few years, for a few simple reasons;

• A consumer 1.3MP camera was roughly £300, or £6 for a disposable camera including 6x4 prints. Normal consumers didn't want to spend that sort of money to simply take some holiday snaps.
• There was nowhere to 'share' pictures - Facebook was only just coming to the market. The only way you could 'share' your pictures with friends was to print them out.

Within a matter of a couple of years, you could purchase a half decent P&S camera for £100-£150 that would take good enough pictures. At this point, my 570 was chucking out more prints than ever before - instead of being limited to 24 naff pictures on a disposable, people were coming in printing 200 pictures from their holidays, and doing 3x copies of each (if you remember the film days, we used to charge a fortune for a second set of prints). At about 6p per print, it was peanuts to get a second copy for the grandparents.

It wasn't digital that killed the labs, it was social media. As soon as Facebook became popular, people didn't bother getting the images printed - they'd just throw them online for all to see. That's what really crippled the labs.

As far as high street goes for kit sales - it's just not commercially viable. Photography, more than any industry, probably has a greater requirement of cost of stock than anything else. Think how much it'd cost in stock to have a decent selection of bodies & lenses from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Fuji, and so on... Then multiply it by how many stores they'd need nationally, then the staff, then the premises - it's frightening.

The truth is, I can be on Amazon at midnight, get my new lens delivered tomorrow, with a no quibble returns policy, at a 30% saving compared to the high street.

It's a no brainer!

 

[Mike -]

Out of three in my area, only one still exists. And I'm not sure how well they are doing. When I'm there, I hardly see anyone else in the shop.

Mike

 

[Dennis]

It's just interesting to see how times are changing.

It is. Now, in areas where there are few to no camera stores, you can sometimes find record stores ! (No telling how long they'll last, but still ...)

• Dennis
  --
  Gallery at http://kingofthebeasts.smugmug.com

 

[Zone8]

FreddyB1 wrote: So other than one of the larger Best Buy's in my area that has the digital photography shop within their store, there are no local camera stores in my area. No where (other than BB) to try out new gear, no where local that supports 35mm (Incidentally, I was talking to the clerk at Walgreens and she told me if they get 35mm to develop they have to ship it out of state. It's just interesting to see how times are changing.

Simple really. So many in the past used their local photo outlet to handle models in which they were interested, then bought them a little cheaper online or via, in past, mail order. As is said about local shops. Use them or lose them. Local photo shops disappear because they have much higher overheads - so having to pay staff to display products and demonstrate them to customers (NOT) who take up their time and then disappear with their dosh mean, inevitably, closure of the shop. This has been going on for many, many years.

Fundamentally, although slightly more expensive initially to buy from a local shop, should anything go wrong, see what after sales service you get from elsewhere compared to the service given by local shop owners and staff. ;-)

--
Zone8: Although I am a handsome genius, when I stand in front of a mirror, I vaguely recognise the ugly idjit standing on the other side!
LINK: For B+W with Epson 1400 (and other 6-ink models) using black ink only PLUS other useful tips including update covering nozzle clearing:
http://www.photosnowdonia.co.uk/ZPS/epson1400-B&W.htm
Cleaning DSLR Sensors, including Kodak DSLR Factory Cleaning method:
http://www.photosnowdonia.co.uk/ZPS/KodakDCS-sensorcleaning.htm (Includes links to "bassotto's" images)
Solving back/front focus problems on Sigma and most other DSLRs
http://www.photosnowdonia.co.uk/ZPS/backfocus.htm
PDF format list of lenses you can print or download - covers Italian Flag YES/NO for DCS 14n but applies to others. http://www.photosnowdonia.co.uk/ZPS/ItiFlagLensList.pdf

 

[mkstr7]

So other than one of the larger Best Buy's in my area that has the digital photography shop within their store, there are no local camera stores in my area. No where (other than BB) to try out new gear, no where local that supports 35mm (Incidentally, I was talking to the clerk at Walgreens and she told me if they get 35mm to develop they have to ship it out of state.

It's just interesting to see how times are changing.

Because there is no reason for me to buy it at the store when I can buy it from Amazon for 10% cheaper.

 

[T3]

So other than one of the larger Best Buy's in my area that has the digital photography shop within their store, there are no local camera stores in my area. No where (other than BB) to try out new gear, no where local that supports 35mm (Incidentally, I was talking to the clerk at Walgreens and she told me if they get 35mm to develop they have to ship it out of state.

It's just interesting to see how times are changing.

Yes, times have certainly changed. Frankly, I never enjoyed going into local camera stores even when they were flourishing. I remember there were plenty of times when I had to wait to talk to a clerk just to take a look at a camera. And I had to wait for quite some time. Other times, the clerk was kind of a jerk, with very clear brand biases, and was spewing total mis-information. More often than not, I had either unpleasant or aggravating experiences when going into a camera store.

Too bad camera stores didn't do brick-and-mortar like Apple did their stores: no pushy sales people, no waiting to speak to a clerk, nice open design and layout that encourages people to handle the equipment.

Another gripe I had with camera stores is that they wouldn't deliver equipment. You can have a $10 pizza delivered to your door in under 30 minutes, but not a $1000 lens. I think if camera stores had embraced on-line ordering and immediate delivery, they could have had an advantage over online stores. I remember I had an argument with some people here on dpreview regarding the topic of delivery. Many were defending the fact that local camera stores don't deliver by saying that camera equipment was too fragile for delivery. Uh?!?! Amazon, B&H and Adorama can deliver camera equipment to my door from across the country, but my local camera store can't deliver camera equipment to my door from across town?

 

[Mackiesback]

So other than one of the larger Best Buy's in my area that has the digital photography shop within their store, there are no local camera stores in my area. No where (other than BB) to try out new gear, no where local that supports 35mm (Incidentally, I was talking to the clerk at Walgreens and she told me if they get 35mm to develop they have to ship it out of state.

It's just interesting to see how times are changing.

Yes, times have certainly changed. Frankly, I never enjoyed going into local camera stores even when they were flourishing. I remember there were plenty of times when I had to wait to talk to a clerk just to take a look at a camera. And I had to wait for quite some time. Other times, the clerk was kind of a jerk, with very clear brand biases, and was spewing total mis-information. More often than not, I had either unpleasant or aggravating experiences when going into a camera store.

Too bad camera stores didn't do brick-and-mortar like Apple did their stores: no pushy sales people, no waiting to speak to a clerk, nice open design and layout that encourages people to handle the equipment.

Another gripe I had with camera stores is that they wouldn't deliver equipment. You can have a $10 pizza delivered to your door in under 30 minutes, but not a $1000 lens. I think if camera stores had embraced on-line ordering and immediate delivery, they could have had an advantage over online stores. I remember I had an argument with some people here on dpreview regarding the topic of delivery. Many were defending the fact that local camera stores don't deliver by saying that camera equipment was too fragile for delivery. Uh?!?! Amazon, B&H and Adorama can deliver camera equipment to my door from across the country, but my local camera store can't deliver camera equipment to my door from across town?

Do you apply this delivery requirement to other consumer goods that you buy? It seems like a slightly unconventional requirement.

 

[Mackiesback]

So other than one of the larger Best Buy's in my area that has the digital photography shop within their store, there are no local camera stores in my area. No where (other than BB) to try out new gear, no where local that supports 35mm (Incidentally, I was talking to the clerk at Walgreens and she told me if they get 35mm to develop they have to ship it out of state.

It's just interesting to see how times are changing.

Because there is no reason for me to buy it at the store when I can buy it from Amazon for 10% cheaper.

Thats a valid reason, but a virtual guarantee that all the local shops will shut down eventually if people abandon local over 10%. It turns all this into a commodity.

Personally, I have a local chain of 4 stores that price matches B&H, so I have moved all my business to them. It costs me sales tax more, so near the 10% extra that you mentioned. It is worth it to be able to handle the product, check lenses for focus, etc, and they have a great return policy. It took me three copies of a Sigma 35 Art to get a good one, buying local saved me three weeks of screwing around with RA and shipping. I am happy to support them to keep them around.

Different strokes for different folks (or as they say pretty much only on photography forums....horses for courses), they is no right way to buy gear. I am glad enough people locally buy like I do. I would hate to have mail order as my only option.

 

[Tommi K1]

Too bad camera stores didn't do brick-and-mortar like Apple did their stores: no pushy sales people, no waiting to speak to a clerk, nice open design and layout that encourages people to handle the equipment.

Sorry but many stores has the way to get handle the equipment. The devices are attached with a electronical alarm cable that now and then will give a false alarm, but still lets people to get a fairly good experience (while cable usually pulling back to stage).

Another gripe I had with camera stores is that they wouldn't deliver equipment. You can have a $10 pizza delivered to your door in under 30 minutes, but not a $1000 lens.

$10 dollar pizza is done with $3 dollar parts and in a 10-15 minutes. Delivered by a guy who works for free to the cousin/grandfather etc.

Sure... If store has one dedicated worker to move products, then it could be added. But would you be ready to pay extra $20 for delivery in 1-2 hours if you are 15-20min distance from the store?

I think if camera stores had embraced on-line ordering and immediate delivery, they could have had an advantage over online stores.

Really?

You can find pizza or any other quickfood store near by you very easily. People need to eat, no need to take photos.

People like to order the pizza and it is cheap to order when usually local pizzeria will get multiple orders to same area.

How do you think the camera store would do it? Start delivering the gear to 100-200km distance?

How about you would walk to the nearby camera store when you are just 15min distance from it?

I remember I had an argument with some people here on dpreview regarding the topic of delivery. Many were defending the fact that local camera stores don't deliver by saying that camera equipment was too fragile for delivery. Uh?!?! Amazon, B&H and Adorama can deliver camera equipment to my door from across the country, but my local camera store can't deliver camera equipment to my door from across town?

Yeah... Not about fragility but simply shipping. They have the deals with post offices etc and it costs more if they would start delivering products to home when customer is so lazy not going for store byself if it is so fast need.

Lets put it this way.

Why you don't hire someone to do the pickup for you and then deliver it to you?

You know the bike messengers?

In Helsinki there was few years only left a single bike messenger. Before that there were few dozens but in 10 years all the need was lost. When the last competitor of Pave (messenger person itself) stopped, they gave their business to him. Now he has a few extra messengers hired.

And can you guess what is the clear majority of the products he is transporting? Dentures.... From technicians to dentists.

So what if you would make a order in store, pay it online and call the store and say that you organize a messenger to pick it up? Then you call to the messenger and put out the request and get him to transmit it to you?

See...

Even the local stores could of course always market these messengers to customers "Buy now, get delivery today in area of XYZ for a XX€ extra!".

Ie. Pave takes from a 40x40x40cm packet a 8€ + super quick deliver is 25€ (slowest is 4h delivery that is 9€) and then if weight is less than 5kg it is 3€ and waiting time costs are 6-10min 4€.

So lets say you take a typical lens box. It would be 3+9+3+4=19€ in 4 hour delivery in 8-17 clock time.

And how about you would do this recommendation to the local store? Do they have so much customers that are ready to pay for that quick delivery so that store could hire a one or two messengers?

I don't think so.

 

[BigBen08]

In Southern California there is a chain of Samy's Camera stores. They have several walk-in stores and recently opened 2 more.

They let customers handle camera & lenses without sales pressure. They also do a thriving rental business. At times they sell cameras sales tax free - I just bought a Canon 80D tax free from Samy's. Several stores offer photography classes.

https://www.samys.com/stores

 

[T3]

Do you apply this delivery requirement to other consumer goods that you buy? It seems like a slightly unconventional requirement.

Time to join the modern era, where practically everything can be ordered online and delivered to your door!

The problem with camera stores is that they didn't think they needed to adapt to changing times, or adapt to compete with their competition (online retailers). If online retailers are allowing me to buy online (no need to waste my time going to the camera store and waiting to speak to a sales clerk), then have the product shipped to my house...wouldn't it make sense to also offer that service? Unfortunately, camera stores didn't want to adapt, and now they are dead. As I said, adapt or die.

 

[Mackiesback]

Do you apply this delivery requirement to other consumer goods that you buy? It seems like a slightly unconventional requirement.

Time to join the modern era, where practically everything can be ordered online and delivered to your door!

The problem with camera stores is that they didn't think they needed to adapt to changing times, or adapt to compete with their competition (online retailers). If online retailers are allowing me to buy online (no need to waste my time going to the camera store and waiting to speak to a sales clerk), then have the product shipped to my house...wouldn't it make sense to also offer that service? Unfortunately, camera stores didn't want to adapt, and now they are dead. As I said, adapt or die.

I am firmly entrenched in the modern era, Amazon is my biggest customer. I am in Vendor Central every day. Not everybody wants to buy groceries online, shop for everything at Target online, go to the farmers market online, buy furniture online, adopt a pet online, find a wife online....you starting to get my drift?

Some people look at going to a camera store and checking out the new gear as a desirable thing. Some people like to get out into society and interact.

My local has adapted, well, at least enough to cater to people who are willing to interact with them. If you definition of adapting means selling at Amazon prices while buying at Mom n Pop wholesale prices, you cant really accuse the shops of not adapting.

 

[T3]

Too bad camera stores didn't do brick-and-mortar like Apple did their stores: no pushy sales people, no waiting to speak to a clerk, nice open design and layout that encourages people to handle the equipment.

Sorry but many stores has the way to get handle the equipment. The devices are attached with a electronical alarm cable that now and then will give a false alarm, but still lets people to get a fairly good experience (while cable usually pulling back to stage).

Another gripe I had with camera stores is that they wouldn't deliver equipment. You can have a $10 pizza delivered to your door in under 30 minutes, but not a $1000 lens.

$10 dollar pizza is done with $3 dollar parts and in a 10-15 minutes. Delivered by a guy who works for free to the cousin/grandfather etc.

Sure... If store has one dedicated worker to move products, then it could be added. But would you be ready to pay extra $20 for delivery in 1-2 hours if you are 15-20min distance from the store?

I think if camera stores had embraced on-line ordering and immediate delivery, they could have had an advantage over online stores.

Really?

You can find pizza or any other quickfood store near by you very easily. People need to eat, no need to take photos.

People like to order the pizza and it is cheap to order when usually local pizzeria will get multiple orders to same area.

How do you think the camera store would do it? Start delivering the gear to 100-200km distance?

How about you would walk to the nearby camera store when you are just 15min distance from it?

I remember I had an argument with some people here on dpreview regarding the topic of delivery. Many were defending the fact that local camera stores don't deliver by saying that camera equipment was too fragile for delivery. Uh?!?! Amazon, B&H and Adorama can deliver camera equipment to my door from across the country, but my local camera store can't deliver camera equipment to my door from across town?

Yeah... Not about fragility but simply shipping. They have the deals with post offices etc and it costs more if they would start delivering products to home when customer is so lazy not going for store byself if it is so fast need.

Lets put it this way.

Why you don't hire someone to do the pickup for you and then deliver it to you?

You know the bike messengers?

In Helsinki there was few years only left a single bike messenger. Before that there were few dozens but in 10 years all the need was lost. When the last competitor of Pave (messenger person itself) stopped, they gave their business to him. Now he has a few extra messengers hired.

And can you guess what is the clear majority of the products he is transporting? Dentures.... From technicians to dentists.

So what if you would make a order in store, pay it online and call the store and say that you organize a messenger to pick it up? Then you call to the messenger and put out the request and get him to transmit it to you?

See...

Even the local stores could of course always market these messengers to customers "Buy now, get delivery today in area of XYZ for a XX€ extra!".

Ie. Pave takes from a 40x40x40cm packet a 8€ + super quick deliver is 25€ (slowest is 4h delivery that is 9€) and then if weight is less than 5kg it is 3€ and waiting time costs are 6-10min 4€.

So lets say you take a typical lens box. It would be 3+9+3+4=19€ in 4 hour delivery in 8-17 clock time.

And how about you would do this recommendation to the local store? Do they have so much customers that are ready to pay for that quick delivery so that store could hire a one or two messengers?

I don't think so.

This is why brick-and-mortar camera stores are dead! They refused to adapt. Now they are dead. In a day and age where I can have just about anything ordered online, either for in-store pick-up, or home delivery, it was really stupid for camera stores to simply refuse to offer any of these options. I would have even been willing to pay for delivery. One of the major reasons why online purchasing is so popular is because it saves us TIME. For many of us, time is a more valuable commodity than money.

This is a classic case of adapt or die. Camera stores refused to adapt, and now they are dead. I'm sure they hid behind all kinds of excuses. But companies that don't cower behind excuses are typically the ones that succeed. Look at Amazon, for example. Amazon started off exclusively selling books online. That, alone, was ridiculed by the book industry because the "experts" said that people want to browse through a book before purchasing it. Everyone predicted that it would fail. It didn't! Then, Jeff Bezos decided he wanted to expand Amazon to selling well beyond books. Again, the experts advised against it because they said it would be a logistical nightmare, it would be far more complicated than selling books, etc, etc, etc.

Look at Amazon, for example. Amazon started off exclusively selling books online. That, alone, was ridiculed by the book industry because the "experts" said that people want to browse through a book before purchasing it. Everyone predicted that it would fail. It didn't! Then, Jeff Bezos decided he wanted to expand Amazon to selling things beyond books. Again, the experts advised against it because they said it would be a logistical nightmare, it would be far more complicated than selling books, delivery costs would be too high, etc, etc, etc. As we now know, brick-and-mortar bookstores are mostly dead, and brick-and-mortar camera stores are mostly dead...because Amazon took all their business!

I have a friend who has a small flower shop. She does home deliveries, and a lot of her business comes from that. She's doing great! She couldn't imagine being in business without delivery. I mentioned the fact that the local camera stores that used to be in our area refused to offer delivery. She thought that it was an incredibly stupid choice not to offer delivery. I remember her saying, "If I can do it, I don't see why a camera store can't do it. People will just go elsewhere, like online, where they can get delivery. You'll lose those customers." And yes, our local camera stores did lose those customers. And now those camera stores are gone.

 

[T3]

Do you apply this delivery requirement to other consumer goods that you buy? It seems like a slightly unconventional requirement.

Time to join the modern era, where practically everything can be ordered online and delivered to your door!

The problem with camera stores is that they didn't think they needed to adapt to changing times, or adapt to compete with their competition (online retailers). If online retailers are allowing me to buy online (no need to waste my time going to the camera store and waiting to speak to a sales clerk), then have the product shipped to my house...wouldn't it make sense to also offer that service? Unfortunately, camera stores didn't want to adapt, and now they are dead. As I said, adapt or die.

I am firmly entrenched in the modern era, Amazon is my biggest customer. I am in Vendor Central every day. Not everybody wants to buy groceries online, shop for everything at Target online, go to the farmers market online, buy furniture online, adopt a pet online, find a wife online....you starting to get my drift?

Some people look at going to a camera store and checking out the new gear as a desirable thing. Some people like to get out into society and interact.

Hahaha, it's not an either-or proposition! Camera stores can still get the customers who like to walk in and check out gear. But by offering online ordering and delivery, they ALSO can get the customers who don't want to waste their time going into the store! No one is saying that brick-and-mortar stores have to go exclusively online!

As for your statement "Some people like to get out into society and interact"...the way I see it, any time I save by not having to go to a camera store and speak to some annoying camera store clerk, the more time I can spend with family and friends, and doing stuff out in the real world that I truly enjoy. At the very least, allow me to order online and go an in-store pick-up. That, alone, would be a big time saver.

 

[T3]

In Southern California there is a chain of Samy's Camera stores. They have several walk-in stores and recently opened 2 more.

They let customers handle camera & lenses without sales pressure. They also do a thriving rental business. At times they sell cameras sales tax free - I just bought a Canon 80D tax free from Samy's. Several stores offer photography classes.

https://www.samys.com/stores

The smart thing about Samy's is that they have online ordering. So they get the in-store customers, and they get the online customers. Some days, you feel like buying in-store, other days you just want to buy from the convenience of your home computer. Samy's lets you do it both ways...which is probably one reason why they are still alive, while other brick and mortar stores are dead.

 

[Vernon D Rainwater]

So other than one of the larger Best Buy's in my area that has the digital photography shop within their store, there are no local camera stores in my area. No where (other than BB) to try out new gear, no where local that supports 35mm (Incidentally, I was talking to the clerk at Walgreens and she told me if they get 35mm to develop they have to ship it out of state.

It's just interesting to see how times are changing.

Is the main reason that most people used the original Local Camera Stores to "try out the Camera Equipment" then go on line to buy the equipment. Evidently, based on your comments; ("No where (other than BB) to try out new gear") that is what you do.

 

[Mackiesback]

Too bad camera stores didn't do brick-and-mortar like Apple did their stores: no pushy sales people, no waiting to speak to a clerk, nice open design and layout that encourages people to handle the equipment.

Sorry but many stores has the way to get handle the equipment. The devices are attached with a electronical alarm cable that now and then will give a false alarm, but still lets people to get a fairly good experience (while cable usually pulling back to stage).

Another gripe I had with camera stores is that they wouldn't deliver equipment. You can have a $10 pizza delivered to your door in under 30 minutes, but not a $1000 lens.

$10 dollar pizza is done with $3 dollar parts and in a 10-15 minutes. Delivered by a guy who works for free to the cousin/grandfather etc.

Sure... If store has one dedicated worker to move products, then it could be added. But would you be ready to pay extra $20 for delivery in 1-2 hours if you are 15-20min distance from the store?

I think if camera stores had embraced on-line ordering and immediate delivery, they could have had an advantage over online stores.

Really?

You can find pizza or any other quickfood store near by you very easily. People need to eat, no need to take photos.

People like to order the pizza and it is cheap to order when usually local pizzeria will get multiple orders to same area.

How do you think the camera store would do it? Start delivering the gear to 100-200km distance?

How about you would walk to the nearby camera store when you are just 15min distance from it?

I remember I had an argument with some people here on dpreview regarding the topic of delivery. Many were defending the fact that local camera stores don't deliver by saying that camera equipment was too fragile for delivery. Uh?!?! Amazon, B&H and Adorama can deliver camera equipment to my door from across the country, but my local camera store can't deliver camera equipment to my door from across town?

Yeah... Not about fragility but simply shipping. They have the deals with post offices etc and it costs more if they would start delivering products to home when customer is so lazy not going for store byself if it is so fast need.

Lets put it this way.

Why you don't hire someone to do the pickup for you and then deliver it to you?

You know the bike messengers?

In Helsinki there was few years only left a single bike messenger. Before that there were few dozens but in 10 years all the need was lost. When the last competitor of Pave (messenger person itself) stopped, they gave their business to him. Now he has a few extra messengers hired.

And can you guess what is the clear majority of the products he is transporting? Dentures.... From technicians to dentists.

So what if you would make a order in store, pay it online and call the store and say that you organize a messenger to pick it up? Then you call to the messenger and put out the request and get him to transmit it to you?

See...

Even the local stores could of course always market these messengers to customers "Buy now, get delivery today in area of XYZ for a XX€ extra!".

Ie. Pave takes from a 40x40x40cm packet a 8€ + super quick deliver is 25€ (slowest is 4h delivery that is 9€) and then if weight is less than 5kg it is 3€ and waiting time costs are 6-10min 4€.

So lets say you take a typical lens box. It would be 3+9+3+4=19€ in 4 hour delivery in 8-17 clock time.

And how about you would do this recommendation to the local store? Do they have so much customers that are ready to pay for that quick delivery so that store could hire a one or two messengers?

I don't think so.

This is why brick-and-mortar camera stores are dead! They refused to adapt. Now they are dead. In a day and age where I can have just about anything ordered online, either for in-store pick-up, or home delivery, it was really stupid for camera stores to simply refuse to offer any of these options. I would have even been willing to pay for delivery. One of the major reasons why online purchasing is so popular is because it saves us TIME. For many of us, time is a more valuable commodity than money.

This is a classic case of adapt or die. Camera stores refused to adapt, and now they are dead. I'm sure they hid behind all kinds of excuses. But companies that don't cower behind excuses are typically the ones that succeed. Look at Amazon, for example. Amazon started off exclusively selling books online. That, alone, was ridiculed by the book industry because the "experts" said that people want to browse through a book before purchasing it. Everyone predicted that it would fail. It didn't! Then, Jeff Bezos decided he wanted to expand Amazon to selling well beyond books. Again, the experts advised against it because they said it would be a logistical nightmare, it would be far more complicated than selling books, etc, etc, etc.

Look at Amazon, for example. Amazon started off exclusively selling books online. That, alone, was ridiculed by the book industry because the "experts" said that people want to browse through a book before purchasing it. Everyone predicted that it would fail. It didn't! Then, Jeff Bezos decided he wanted to expand Amazon to selling things beyond books. Again, the experts advised against it because they said it would be a logistical nightmare, it would be far more complicated than selling books, delivery costs would be too high, etc, etc, etc. As we now know, brick-and-mortar bookstores are mostly dead, and brick-and-mortar camera stores are mostly dead...because Amazon took all their business!

I have a friend who has a small flower shop. She does home deliveries, and a lot of her business comes from that. She's doing great! She couldn't imagine being in business without delivery. I mentioned the fact that the local camera stores that used to be in our area refused to offer delivery. She thought that it was an incredibly stupid choice not to offer delivery. I remember her saying, "If I can do it, I don't see why a camera store can't do it. People will just go elsewhere, like online, where they can get delivery. You'll lose those customers." And yes, our local camera stores did lose those customers. And now those camera stores are gone.

I am guessing from the repeated middle paragraphs that you cut and pasted this from somewhere you are saving it. Thats fine.

I have been in the publishing industry longer than Amazon has been selling books. I am not sure what book industry experts you are referring to, but none I know of thought that Amazon would fail because that people would unwilling to buy books withought flipping through them. Here is a hint....about 80% books that sold at that time were not illustrated. What exactly do you think people would have gained buy looking at page after page?

The concern within the publishing industry was that Amazon was fueled by stockholder exuberance, before and during a .com market crash (remember that?) and as you also must know, being expert in this, books sell into the bootrade on a returnable basis. This exposed the publishers to considerable risk. Another reason publishers had concerns was that they know, rightly so in hindsight, that Amazon would negatively effect certain distribution channels, museums, gift shops, independent bookstores, and every manufacturer wants a diverse distribution network. Amazon clearly does not foster that environment. As a manufacturer, you dont want all your eggs in one basket. True in any industry.

People like you "adapt or die" generalists were the same ones screaming "print is dead" ten years ago. For a while it was pretty dodgy for publishers, as Amazon devalued content to ludicrously low values for electonic books, and limted the number of people that could effectively compete with them. They sold below cost for years to assure this, before the agency model took effect. Fast forward to today, ebooks are declining, print is actually growing slightly, the independent bookstore segment is actually growing, so maybe customers dont buy into all this breathless hyperbole.

So no, publishers werent scared of Amazon becuse they thought people wouldnt buy books sight unseen. Not even close, regardless of revisionist history fiction on the internet. And if we are in a place where people dont buy lenses because they are not delivered? Man, not sure what to say about that.

 

[Tom_N]

The EPA has regulated so much of our society, including processing film (you know, the chemicals involved) that that is no longer viable since few people shoot film.

Blaming the EPA is a cop-out.

When there were a lot of customers who brought in film for developing and printing, the discount stores and drug stores of the world were more than happy to deal with the environmental regulations associated with doing developing and printing on site.