Cameta Camera closed

[ggeinec]

I guess I'm late to the game in finding out that Cameta Camera is closed. Kind of sad. Among other things they extended Nikon's 30-day warranty on refurbished bodies to one full year.

Reddit has more information:

https://www.reddit.com/r/longisland/comments/f6wtfm/cameta_camera_in_amityville_closed

 

[Mackiesback]

Well, that's a bummer. I bought my first DSLR there.

 

[Pete Stavrakoglou]

Sorry to hear this. I bought my first SLR from them, a Minolta X700. Bought a couple of others after AF arrived on cameras and then bought my first DSLR from them. A class operation. They did a huge amount of sales on eBay to the point that Bill Cameta didn't even need the retail store but he kept it open for all those years.

 

[Teila Day]

I'm sad to hear that the business is done or in flux. If I recall correctly, I purchased a Nikon D100 through them via eBay many years ago. They were one of the few NY (camera) stores that I would do business with.

We did business with them several times (large purchases) and had nothing but positive experiences.

I hope all works out well for everyone involved in the new and former business.

 

[TDL2024]

That sucks, they used to have great Nikon refurb deals.

 

[Bobthearch]

I'm sorry to hear that. Can't recall ever shopping there myself, but they were well-regarded by reputation.

 

[Albert Valentino]

Sad news indeed. I purchased a few Nikon refurb lenses from them, as well as a demo Nikon D300. Experience and prices were always excellent. They worked hard to build a great reputation and will be missed

 

[vyoufinder]

I got a few exceptional deals from them over the years. Namely my favorite carbon fiber Vanguard tripod for $69. I can't remember the other deals but unheard of prices on some items.

 

[Morris0]

I visited last year. It was me and 4 sales people for an hour. How did they hang on this long? Sad

Morris

 

[Pete Stavrakoglou]

I visited last year. It was me and 4 sales people for an hour. How did they hang on this long? Sad

Morris

Their eBay business was huge, that probably kept them going at the retail store. Their warehouse wasn't far from there. It was used for all the eBay business and it was a busy place. BTW, you and I know someone, G. Chin. We worked together for a number of years before I retired and moved away from Long Island.

 

[Morris0]

I visited last year. It was me and 4 sales people for an hour. How did they hang on this long? Sad

Morris

Their eBay business was huge, that probably kept them going at the retail store. Their warehouse wasn't far from there. It was used for all the eBay business and it was a busy place. BTW, you and I know someone, G. Chin. We worked together for a number of years before I retired and moved away from Long Island.

It's a small world Peter. I have not seen him in a while. A lot of are hiding.

Morris

 

[Marty4650]

I bought lots of cameras and lenses from them. They always had decent prices, knowledgeable salespeople, and good service. I believe they were also an outlet for refurbished Olympus goods too. It really was a great place to do business.

Cameta was a pretty small store, with a HUGE ebay presence.

Test shot I took inside the Cameta store with an Olympus 9-18mm lens in 2009. I ended up buying that lens. It was one of my favorite lenses , until I bought an Olympus 11-22mm lens, which has to be one of the very best lenses I have ever owned.

And while it is true that they did most of their business through their ebay store, I noticed their ebay store is ALSO closed. So you can forget the theory that they simply closed their store to focus on their more lucrative ebay business.

So perhaps the owner decided to retire, or had to close down for other personal reasons? The last time I visited their ebay store they had over 740,000 feedback comments with a 99.2% positive rating. That means they probably shipped over 1 million items from their online store!



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[Mackiesback]

I bought lots of cameras and lenses from them. They always had decent prices, knowledgeable salespeople, and good service. I believe they were also an outlet for refurbished Olympus goods too. It really was a great place to do business.

Cameta was a pretty small store, with a HUGE ebay presence.

Test shot I took inside the Cameta store with an Olympus 9-18mm lens in 2009. I ended up buying that lens. It was one of my favorite lenses , until I bought an Olympus 11-22mm lens, which has to be one of the very best lenses I have ever owned.

And while it is true that they did most of their business through their ebay store, I noticed their ebay store is ALSO closed. So you can forget the theory that they simply closed their store to focus on their more lucrative ebay business.

So perhaps the owner decided to retire, or had to close down for other personal reasons? The last time I visited their ebay store they had over 740,000 feedback comments with a 99.2% positive rating. That means they probably shipped over 1 million items from their online store!

The reason for closing is covered in the link in the OP.

 

[MHshooter]

They were quite big on Ebay back when. Like a lot of others, (Henry's for example) they bailed when they found out Ebay HATES sellers.

 

[Albert Valentino]

Test shot I took inside the Cameta store with an Olympus 9-18mm lens in 2009. I ended up buying that lens. It was one of my favorite lenses , until I bought an Olympus 11-22mm lens, which has to be one of the very best lenses I have ever owned.



So perhaps the owner decided to retire, or had to close down for other personal reasons? The last time I visited their ebay store they had over 740,000 feedback comments with a 99.2% positive rating. That means they probably shipped over 1 million items from their online store!

That is an impressive amount of business. Probably 3 or 4 for of those Positive feedbacks were from me. Just looking at this picture and those numbers, really shows how the internet significantly helped this small neighborhood store. I contrast this with BH superstore with their conveyer belt systems, two story showrooms, and separate entrances around the corner for trade-ins, and returns.

--
If you don't get older and wiser, than you just get older.

 

[Kevin Omura]

Test shot I took inside the Cameta store with an Olympus 9-18mm lens in 2009. I ended up buying that lens. It was one of my favorite lenses , until I bought an Olympus 11-22mm lens, which has to be one of the very best lenses I have ever owned.

So perhaps the owner decided to retire, or had to close down for other personal reasons? The last time I visited their ebay store they had over 740,000 feedback comments with a 99.2% positive rating. That means they probably shipped over 1 million items from their online store!

That is an impressive amount of business. Probably 3 or 4 for of those Positive feedbacks were from me. Just looking at this picture and those numbers, really shows how the internet significantly helped this small neighborhood store. I contrast this with BH superstore with their conveyer belt systems, two story showrooms, and separate entrances around the corner for trade-ins, and returns.

Speaking of B&H, how many of you remember the store prior to the one they are in now. I used to enjoy checking it out. It was a lot smaller than the new one and had a lot more character. Wish I had taken some pix back then, best part was I understood the insults they were hurling at each other over their walkie talkies.....

 

[Kevin Omura]

I worked in photo retail in the 70's and then again in the 80's. Today I think many brick and mortar shops are clinging to life unless they have a strong online presence.

Up here our biggest chain, Henry's has been on life support for a while. They downsized their flagship store a while back selling off the side that was once Queen Street Camera (who I worked for via Toronto Camera). Last time I was in that store I was shocked to see how minimal their stock levels were. Their Clearance Centre store is probably not long for this world either sadly.

Downtown Camera seems to be doing ok, granted I think Covid has really slam dunked them as well. Vistek I also think is in trouble based on their inventory or lack thereof. But then that is a wild card with all retailers. Having $$$ tied up in dead inventory is never great.

 

[Mackiesback]

I worked in photo retail in the 70's and then again in the 80's. Today I think many brick and mortar shops are clinging to life unless they have a strong online presence.

Up here our biggest chain, Henry's has been on life support for a while. They downsized their flagship store a while back selling off the side that was once Queen Street Camera (who I worked for via Toronto Camera). Last time I was in that store I was shocked to see how minimal their stock levels were. Their Clearance Centre store is probably not long for this world either sadly.

Downtown Camera seems to be doing ok, granted I think Covid has really slam dunked them as well. Vistek I also think is in trouble based on their inventory or lack thereof. But then that is a wild card with all retailers. Having $$$ tied up in dead inventory is never great.

I have a good chain here, although I probably can't call it a chain, as they have gone from 4 stores down to two.

While it would be easy to suggest that declining camera sales, big box retailers and the internet has been the culprit, many stores started struggling when the conversion to digital took away their vital revenue stream from film processing. And with people visiting the store so often for film, they probably got additional hardware sales from people simply being there a lot.

As it is now, I go into my local once a year.

 

[ImageAmateur]

I worked in photo retail in the 70's and then again in the 80's. Today I think many brick and mortar shops are clinging to life unless they have a strong online presence.

Up here our biggest chain, Henry's has been on life support for a while. They downsized their flagship store a while back selling off the side that was once Queen Street Camera (who I worked for via Toronto Camera). Last time I was in that store I was shocked to see how minimal their stock levels were. Their Clearance Centre store is probably not long for this world either sadly.

Downtown Camera seems to be doing ok, granted I think Covid has really slam dunked them as well. Vistek I also think is in trouble based on their inventory or lack thereof. But then that is a wild card with all retailers. Having $$$ tied up in dead inventory is never great.

That is not limited to photographic retailers.

In the UK, two main department stores, John Lewis and Marks & Spencer, have a sizeable online presence with various of their many brick and mortar high street stores being shut down.

The pandemic has made it worse. John Lewis now attributes 70 percent of revenues to online sales.

If a company is not online, it is dead, to be blunt.

The high street store is an inroad, market header is whatever, but the online store is essential.

Amazon has shown that is where the money is.

I do see the use if the high street store for branding and the touchy feely, but not the three or four branches per city that used to exist.

Marks also has food halls, so that lends to multi branches, to an extent, but online is still necessary.

--
Wishing You Good Light.

 

[pdqgp]

We used to have a lot of independent stores and films places around. I loved going and picking up new gear or accessories. Sadly now in 2020 we only have 3 independent stores left in a city of 2M people.

I supported one of the larger main ones with my recent Canon R6 purchase.