Buying Pentax in Portland, OR!

[dugrant153]

Hey folks,

I'm visiting Portland and probably Seattle/Bellingham. I'm looking to see if I can find a decent camera store with good Pentax pricing... but my search so far has turned up nothing.

Can anyone please point me to a good Portland store, and possibly some Seattle/Bellingham stores? I'll be heading out on Monday towards Bellis Fair in Bellingham.

Thanks!

[stevebrot]

Originally Posted by dugrant153

Hey folks,

I'm visiting Portland and probably Seattle/Bellingham. I'm looking to see if I can find a decent camera store with good Pentax pricing... but my search so far has turned up nothing.

Can anyone please point me to a good Portland store, and possibly some Seattle/Bellingham stores? I'll be heading out on Monday towards Bellis Fair in Bellingham.

Thanks!

In Portland:

Citizen Photo

Pro Camera Supply

Both are Pentax dealers and both cater to serious/pro customers. As for pricing...can't say. I have bought most of my stuff online.

Also to consider, but from more of a consumer level (competitive pricing here, but less selection):

Shutterbug
Camera World/Ritz

[kenyee]

biggest in Seattle is Glazer's.
The problem is in WA state, you have 9% sales tax (possibly 9.5% next year) since they have no income tax.
In OR state, there's no sales/meals tax but income tax is between 5-9%, so you're better off buying there.
Both are going to be cheaper than buying in Vancouver w/ your ridiculous gst/pst of 20% or whatever it is now :-)

[OrenMc]

As a U.S buyer you will save a bundle buying on line.

I'm not sure if there are any extra fees and such in B.C.

Here in Seattle though you have Glazers and Ritz as mentioned above. Tall's is another one, but I like Kenmore Camera. They have an on line store and a used department also.

[navcom]

Originally Posted by kenyee

biggest in Seattle is Glazer's.
The problem is in WA state, you have 9% sales tax (possibly 9.5% next year) since they have no income tax.
In OR state, there's no sales/meals tax but income tax is between 5-9%, so you're better off buying there.
Both are going to be cheaper than buying in Vancouver w/ your ridiculous gst/pst of 20% or whatever it is now :-)

Here in Minnesota, we pay between 6.5-8% sales tax and also between 7-8% income tax. Wow! I guess we have the best of both worlds!

[rormeister]

Originally Posted by kenyee

biggest in Seattle is Glazer's.

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.

[ll_coffee_lP]

You guys are killing me...5-9% sales tax and no income tax??? WTH!

Ontario, Canada
8% sales tax on everything you buy
5% GS Tax on almost everything you buy (a few exceptions...i.e. children's clothes, food purchase under $4.00, etc.)

Income tax of 30% - 40% or better on every cent you make. That's right...30-40%.

Ordering a lens from the U.S. for shipping to Canada - add between 20-30% of cost to import into Canada.

Finally we are beginning to see prices of lenses on par with our US friends...as we should - our dollars are essentially equal now.

c[_]

[navcom]

Originally Posted by ll_coffee_lP

You guys are killing me...5-9% sales tax and no income tax??? WTH!

Ontario, Canada
8% sales tax on everything you buy
5% GS Tax on almost everything you buy (a few exceptions...i.e. children's clothes, food purchase under $4.00, etc.)

Income tax of 30% - 40% or better on every cent you make. That's right...30-40%.

Ordering a lens from the U.S. for shipping to Canada - add between 20-30% of cost to import into Canada.

Finally we are beginning to see prices of lenses on par with our US friends...as we should - our dollars are essentially equal now.

c[_]

Keep in mind that these are STATE taxes referred to. The FEDERAL taxes are much more! The last figures I heard this spring were that the average American pays over 65% of their income annually in taxes of one shape or another:

State taxes: (sales, income, property, tolls, license fees, etc.)

Federal taxes: (income, social security, medicare, medicaid, tax on interest earned, capital gains (not just for the "rich" anymore!), phone usage taxes, internet tax/fee, gift tax, marraige penalty, death tax, etc.).

I think I remember a CPA-friend of mine tell me sometime back that the feds have over 15,000 different taxes and fees!

....almost as many taxes as there are Pentax lenses made that fit on my K10D!

...I feel a tea party coming on!

[kenyee]

Originally Posted by navcom

...I feel a tea party coming on!

The people will never rise up and fight back. We're still in the "let's vote for the lesser of two lizards" rut and the lizards are trying to change the electoral voting system to a populist vote so they only have to win the 11 most populated states to win the election.

Yep, fed income tax is nuts but doesn't hurt as much as Canada's...GST/PST, etc...they still end up paying a good 10-20% more than we do

[navcom]

Originally Posted by kenyee

The people will never rise up and fight back. We're still in the "let's vote for the lesser of two lizards" rut and the lizards are trying to change the electoral voting system to a populist vote so they only have to win the 11 most populated states to win the election.

Yep, fed income tax is nuts but doesn't hurt as much as Canada's...GST/PST, etc...they still end up paying a good 10-20% more than we do

Very true! On top of that, it's become a race between the two "lizards" as to who can give away the most from the public treasury to "buy" votes!

Since we are not a true democracy but a federalist republic (thus the electoral college like you point out), many want us to become a true democracy by making it a populist vote, which as Alexander Tytler so eloquently stated "is doomed to be short-lived as soon as the populace realizes it can vote themselves monetary payouts from the public coffers".

...and you are right about our Canadia brethren. They have a burden!

Ah, but photography takes us away from the worries of politics and taxes!

[ll_coffee_lP]

Yep taxes suck. Pentax doesn't though!

c[_]

P.S. Didn't know that about our US friends. You learn something new everyday...and sometimes it isn't even photography related.

[dugrant153]

The extra benefit of not having to pay sales tax in Portland sometimes makes the deal for me.

I looked around a bit and there were some decent prices but didn't get a chance to really shop and buy a lens... still, if I had more time here I'd consider seriously shopping here... also, there's only so much one is allowed to bring back across the border.

[christinelandon]

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."