Originally Posted by rormeister
Unfortuantely, Glazer's doesn't do Pentax. Kenmore Camera has a pretty fair selection of Pentax cameras and lenses, but pricing is "street". I've gone the Amazon, Beach and B&H route, and they're great for accessories, but if it's cameras and lenses, online is a crap shoot. You need to examine and test lenses and bodies to make sure they're up to your expectations. For that, paying "retail" makes senses if only for the peace of mind.
The tax situation here in Washington State has also changed recently to eliminate the "sales tax break" on Internet sales from out-of-state sites such as B&H, Adorama, and Beach:
Washington Online Sales Tax Now Law | WebProNews
Web sales to customers in Washington are now taxed based on shipping destination rather than shipping origin. On a really big camera/lens purchase, the sort of thing that used to entice many Washingtonians to buy on-line rather than at local brick-and-mortar camera stores, saving the state sales tax now means driving to Oregon, which makes sense only if the tax break outweighs the cost of the trip!
As Frank Zappa used to say, "the torture never stops."
