[severalsnakes]

It could be more of a case where they've sold someone a wet kit in the past and the idiot completely destroyed the camera, and they had to then go through the hassle of dealing with getting blamed for wrecking someone's gear by selling them the tools of their own destruction.

Charging $60 is most likely easier than eating the cost of the customer bringing their gear back in for a warrantee claim and/or shipping back to Pentax because they borked their gear up past the point of rescue.

A good rule of thumb in life: If someone seems to have a strange, wacky and utterly arbitrary rule in place, in all probability its because someone at some point was a moron and caused that rule to be put in place to begin with.

See also: Coffee cups with the words "CONTENTS MAY BE HOT" and plastic bags stamped "DO NOT ALLOW SMALL CHILDREN TO PLAY WITH THIS."

(All of this.)

[rangercarp]

$60 seems pretty high. Was any other service included with the $60?

$60 is around what I paid last time at my local shop.

---------- Post added 05-26-15 at 10:04 AM ----------

t could be more of a case where they've sold someone a wet kit in the past and the idiot completely destroyed the camera, and they had to then go through the hassle of dealing with getting blamed for wrecking someone's gear by selling them the tools of their own destruction.

Possible. However it could be more of not wanting to sell a product that directly competes with (and undercuts) a service they offer.

[Sagitta]

$60 is around what I paid last time at my local shop.

---------- Post added 05-26-15 at 10:04 AM ----------



Possible. However it could be more of not wanting to sell a product that directly competes with (and undercuts) a service they offer.

If that was the case auto parts stores with repair bays attached wouldn't exist.

Its much more likely that they went through at least one "You need to fix this!" scenario after someone wet cleaned their stuff improperly. Hell, I ruined my K-30 because I wasn't aware that wet cleaning could destroy a camera if you have the wrong kind of dirt hanging out on the sensor. In today's digital age, a decision not to sell something is far more likely a case of "I don't want to deal with this" over "I don't want to compete with my own service." Its not like cheap cleaning kits aren't available online for next to nothing.

If a customer comes in and asks "Can you sell me a cleaning kit?" they obviously know what it is, and in all likelihood knows they can just order one online. There is no self competition involved since there is no secret involved with it. $60 also wouldn't be too high of a profit margin once you factor in the time involved and the risk factor of something going wrong. They only reason we see it as expensive is because we know the cost of the materials and most consumers mistakenly value their own time and effort in any home repair job as 'free'.

Look at it this way. How much does it REALLY cost to do a good, deep clean on your gear? If you figure a half an hour for the cleaning (this includes time to charge the batteries fully, set aside a work space, organize your equipment, etc), plus the cost of the cleaning kit itself, you'll be pushing at least half that amount. ($5 for equipment, $10-20 for your time and labor, $X for the inherent risk involved of doing Something Stupid and making your DIY job a disaster) and you can see where that cost starts coming into play.

In a camera shop, you have to figure a camera cleaning will pull an employee off the floor for a half hour, eat up a bit of stock, and runs the risk of a screwup that could cost the shop anywhere from $500 to $2000 or more depending on the camera and you see where the costs can come into play. Think of it this way - if you safely clean 50 cameras at $60 a shot then screw up and wreck ONE $2500 camera, your profit is now less than $0 because you just ate those 50 repairs in replacing the guy's gear, PLUS have to now deal with damage control in explaining to that guy who needs his camera for the wedding that weekend why his camera was ruined. Camera shops are a dying breed as it is, you really don't need an angry ex-customer posting "BOB'S PHOTO-VIDEO DESTROYED MY CAMERA" on Yelp.

[anemone]

Cleaning sensor isn't all you have to do. You have to remove every single bit of dust everywhere so it wont get on the sensor later and then you again have the angry customer. And wiping fingerprints outside is also important. So when cleaning is done as a service you have to provide over quality to prevent complications.

[stevebrot]

I went to our local high-end camera store, which has been in business for decades, and is well regarded. I asked about purchasing a wet cleaning kit. They said that no, they wouldn't sell them to consumers but would be happy to charge me $60+ for their service people to clean the sensor.

The price is in line with what my local techs charge (actually a bit lower) and their refusal to sell you a kit is in line with their interest in assisting people in not damaging their cameras. I am not saying you are a klutz, but there are multiple accounts on this site and others of people scrubbing their sensors and inflicting permanent scratches.


Steve

[mulveyr]

The price is in line with what my local techs charge (actually a bit lower) and their refusal to sell you a kit is in line with their interest in assisting people in not damaging their cameras. I am not saying you are a klutz, but there are multiple accounts on this site and others of people scrubbing their sensors and inflicting permanent scratches.


Steve

I'm sure that's the primary reason--as others mentioned above, they've probably had to deal with previous annoying customers who broke their own cameras and then came in to blame the store.

It;s just strange to me though--it's the exact equivalent of a hardware store refusing to sell tools because someone might ( and probably have, many times ) used them inappropriately and damaged their latest home improvement project. :-)

[Sagitta]

I'm sure that's the primary reason--as others mentioned above, they've probably had to deal with previous annoying customers who broke their own cameras and then came in to blame the store.

It;s just strange to me though--it's the exact equivalent of a hardware store refusing to sell tools because someone might ( and probably have, many times ) used them inappropriately and damaged their latest home improvement project. :-)

I think the difference is if you accidentally strip the siding off your house because you were a dumbass and used turpentine instead of paint, you can't bring your house in to the store and demand they DO SOMETHING! NOW!

With a camera, they'll screw the works up and come in and blame the store, or will screw the works up, come in, and request a repair that probably can't be done.

Never, ever underestimate the capabilities of people to be idiots. I've worked in retail my entire career, and hoo boy you wouldn't believe how ordinarily intelligent people can act like complete morons when the conditions are right.

[Aaron28]

Never, ever underestimate the capabilities of people to be idiots.

and I am their leader!