I skipped over most of the flame threads before posting something of my own here. I have lived in a number of small towns in the Northwest corner of the US in the 40 years or so that I have been taking pictures. Almost all of them had some sort of camera shop and almost all of those shops were excellent. They usually had pretty good stock of even small stuff (like the flash shoe for a Spotmatic) and what they did not have, they could order.
For me, I appreciated the complete stock of films and darkroom supplies. I also used them for film processing with the knowledge that the work would be done right and that the negatives/slides would be returned clean and free of scratches. In the last several years, all of these shops in the smaller towns have quit business.
I suppose that the demise of these businesses are due to a number of factors. It is easy to blame the Internet, but to be honest, most cost-conscious buyers were dealing mail-order with B&H, Adorama, Ritz, Spiratone, and others long before anyone on this forum even owned their first 14.4 modem. I personally think that the following factors all played a part:
- The shift in products to inexpensive, low-margin electronics
- Short product marketing life-span. How can you make money in a small market when your stock is obsolete six months after it hits the shelves?
- The advent of digital cutting into film and processing sales
- Competition from local "big box" stores
- Several deep economic recessions within a three decade span
I now live just north of Portland, Oregon USA. In the last 10 years, we have seen several top-notch camera stores quit business. The deepest loss was probably Tymer's in Vancouver. They supported both professional photography and high quality reprographics on a regional level and were always a pleasure to work with.
Portland now has three stores that cater to professionals and serious amateurs, a couple of Mom-and-Pop operations in the 'burbs, a vintage equipment shop, various Ritz outlets, another small chain, and a scattering of small camera repair places. I am glad for the resources we have. One of the stores has an extensive inventory of odd parts and accessories. That place is also the only "real" Pentax dealer in town. The clerks are a bit surly, their location sucks (no parking) as do their hours, but I still do business with them when I can.
When I am shopping for new gear, I like to give the local shops a chance to counter the Internet price + shipping. Sometimes they are willing, sometimes they aren't. If they come close, it will be my privilege to buy from them.
Steve