Originally Posted by jamesm007 
Same here in the Metro Detroit area. 1/3 of the camera stores have gone out of business in my area. This leaves two dedicated mom and pop shops, one appliance shop that is also a major camera shop (Adrays Dearborn) and a couple Ritz camera stores, not bad, but there is a problem. As you guys have stated all the stores are dropping or really lowering the quantity of Pentax gear.
What really disappoints me is when I go in Best-Buy or Micro Center or Circuit City and they have tons of Oly, Sony Nikon and Canon gear, nothing Pentax. And it seems just months ago my mom and pop stores had lots of Pentax stuff and even Samsung, like my GX10 I bought local, its almost like Pentax is going out of business if you just shopped at the stores and not the Internet, and many people do just that. They are Doctors, Lawyers and other well paid professionals or busy business people who just want a dSLR have deep wallets and dont want to do all the research and spending time on the Internet, they go into these mom and pop stores knowing they will get the best and buy Canon/Nikon, as do the pros. The other typical consumer is starting to buy Sony and Oly at Best-Buy along with Canon and Nikon. What and where does Pentax sell to in my area I dont know. There are a few of us Pentax guys in my area, thats what one of my sales man said at one of my stores and some Pentax Pros but nothing like C/N.
But there is another side to the story and that's the mom and pop stores always recommended N/C. When I went in to try the A100, E510 and GX10 out, the sales man was pushing me Canon first Nikon second, he even showed me a used D80 Nikon for $500 and said this is the camera I should get the others are not good. So I kinda dont blame Pentax for putting a stop to that type of marketing where the stores pushes Pentax down for others. So I think the Pentax logic is make them sell a certain amount and the stores wont do that anymore because they have to sell some Pentax and not let them sit there and collect dust. I think I see the logic, but its not working out. I think Pentax needed better and just more advertising, they had a great couple years and to me a typical consumer where looking like the top dog in the under $1000 dSLRs or low-mid cost dSLRs.
Another Metro Detroiter here who shares the sentiment. It seems like the only choice we have these days as far as Pentax goes is Ritz camera or a roadtrip up to camera mart up in Pontiac. I can't stand Ritz anyhow, and the other place is friendly, but it's also almost an hour away. So what does that leave me with when I'm out looking to try out something new, or a new lens? Ritz...
This is an issue, especially when I've begun to notice that all of the salespeople don't have a clue what they're talking about. For example, I was recently at a Ritz looking at the 50-125mm f2.8 on my K20D, and the salesperson actually started trying to persuade me that my shutter button was broken, alleging that it was because I bought it online and he went on to suggest that it was grey market. The best part? He began to compare and contrast the shutter feel on the K110D (his only Pentax) in stock, and the shutter feel on the sealed button on my K20D... I've brought in my K20D and K100D on different occasions and it seems like every sales associate there has owned each one some time or another. Hell, it seems like they've owned just about every camera out there at some time or another, haven't they? Sorry for the rant but, it's a reason why I don't buy from Ritz.
As far as Metro Detroit goes, it seems like Pentaxians are a pretty limited bunch, but to be honest, I really don't mind buying online in comparison to the barrage of BS that might be fed to me by a local salesperson.