[baltochef920]

Blue

I am only going to address a couple of the points in your rebuttal to my post..

Other than singling you out for your views on MSRP my entire post was to illustrate the general attitudes of our society as a whole, not the specific views and purchasing practices of individual members of this forum..Indeed, I even took the trouble to put a disclaimer at the top of the post telling people not to get their knickers into too much of a wad over what I wrote..

Why are the MSRP values in every industry that publishes them inflated??..Because, virtually every single customer that walks into those businesses expects, nay most people are practically demanding a great deal..And, they are not shy about letting the salespeople in these businesses know right up front that a good deal is a must if the business expects to get their trade..

MSRP values are inflated to take into account the war that has been raging for the past 50 years between consumers and retailers..All businesses have to show a profit if they expect to remain viable..If the MSRP values were not inflated then these businesses would be selling their products at near cost, or at a loss..I am positive that the MSRP values could be adjusted downwards to more realistic levels if the average customer stopped walking into every business selling high ticket items EXPECTING a killer deal..

As far as the issues in my first paragraph are concerned, convenience is at the very heart of many peoples issues with brick and mortar stores..The average consumer today not only is demanding an incredible deal, they do not want to be inconvenienced in ANY way while procuring that deal..

The average brick and mortar store simply does not have the financial wherewithal to stock the amount of merchandise that B&H or Adorama can in their stores..Putting the high ticket items aside for a moment, there is no way, for example, that my local store here in Baltimore can possibly keep in stock more than a hundred, or so, filters..B&H, on the other hand, has tens of thousands of filters in their warehouse..As does Adorama..The same thing applies to virtually every other possible kind of photographic gear..As a general rule, B&H will carry a better selection, and have in stock those selections in far greater numbers than my local store will..

When the customer walks into the average brick and mortar camera store they should not expect these stores to have in stock the same amount of goods that B&H does..It is simply an unrealistic expectation..Yet in the short time that I have been reacquainted with photography I have read hundreds of times where a person has refused to wait for their local store to order in for them what they want..Or was pissed because the local store wanted to charge them a restocking fee for returning or simply not purchasing an item that was special ordered for them..

B&H and Adorama can afford to have such generous return policies because of their world-wide customer base..They know that they can almost always sell a returned product to another customer for close to new money due to the overwhelmingly huge volume of business that they do..

Comparing B&H, Adorama, and other huge US camera stores that have a brick and mortar, as well as internet presence, is like comparing a mole to a blue whale..Both are mammals, but they differ greatly..You could fit a large number of local brick and mortar camera stores into the combined retail and warehouse square footage that B&H alone occupies..Apples and oranges..Not the same at all..

Back to the convenience angle..The average photographer wants a deal, expects the local store to have a comparable selection to B&H, and wants the local store to meet B&H's prices..When they cannot get these things RIGHT AWAY, they bitch and moan about the local store to any that will listen; and turn to the internet for the purchase..

95% of ALL photographers are not earning their living from photography..We have other jobs for our income..Photography is a hobby, an avocation..Why are so many photographers absolutely, positively UNWILLING to wait for the local store to order in for them what they want??..Because we want instant gratification, that's why..We cram so damn much into our everyday lives that the mere thought of waiting two weeks for a special order photographic item to show up is anathema to us..In addition, we DO NOT want to have to pay any financial penalty for such customer service when we choose not to purchase what was special ordered specifically for us..We want our cake, we want to eat it too, we want someone to hand feed it to us, and we want that person to wipe our mouths for us with a napkin when we are are finished eating..

I am sure that there are some brick and mortar camera stores that deserve to go out of business..Not all of them can be great at what they do..OTOH, most brick and mortar stores are failing because photographers are more concerned with rock bottom price than they are with service..They are more than willing to turn to the Big Box chain retail stores and the internet to get the best prices..