[Racer X 69]

Must be your state then.

Amazon is headquartered in my state.

[RonHendriks1966]

One of the few shops that still supports Pentax new and used, ordered in 10 K-1s and sold them all, in the initial rush to buy, but 10 cameras doesn't keep a camera store afloat very long.

I was thinking about that too. How do stores recover their money and keep the shop open.

Say you are a not to big B&M camera shop in 2009. Pentax is not your best seller, but you have some loyal customers that hop in and out from time to time. You know them for years. Maybe you organise a few times a year a photo walk and some of them attend. Sales in the Pentax corner are like 25.000 USD a year and then some on a Metz flash and a memorycard or bag.

So this 25.0000 USD are moving some K20D and some nice lenses like da* at a time. Also some K-2000 (K-m) and some kit lenses. Occasionally a 100mm Macro or one of the DA Ltd lenses. All in all things move around in your shop. Nothing stays there for a year.

Now in 2019 you could manage to sell for 20.000 USD in Pentax gear. Not even to bad. It's only 20 % down on sales. Some brands even do worse then that. But sales are different, because Pentax changed to a whole different portfolio. You sell some K-1ii and a few of those fancy new fullframe D-FA lenses. Even sold two FA Ltd lenses........ Then someone came for a K-70 with kitlens (you stocked 4 of those, because you could get a discount) with 18-50 and 55-300 lens. And someone took a KP, but didn't need any lenses. You still have stock from DA* lenses that didn't move for some time now (was it really 2016 you sold the last da*16-50?).

And then there is a new photo walk. And that long time customer comes along. He just last year bought a nice strap in your shop. Around his neck a new K-1ii.......Wich he didn't bought from you, because you know all 5 customers who bought it.

And then it starts to itch. ...how much investment does a brand like Pentax bring to your local business to make a profit and how much profit does it bring.

Shops don't have an easy time the last years.....

[monochrome]

Until recently Amazon charged if they had a physical presence in a Star. Not sure what’s driving B&H.

Well for some online stores they do, Amazon collects sales tax. With Amazon, I think it depends on whether the item you buy is shipping from within the state I live though.

For every purchase I have made through Amazon, there have been charges for sales tax, no matter where it ships from, for several years now.

Must be your state then.

[Racer X 69]

Until recently Amazon charged if they had a physical presence in a Star. Not sure what’s driving B&H.

When I bought the K-1 last year B&H told me they are now required by my state to collect sales taxes.

I checked with Adorama, and they were not collecting sales taxes for my state.

So I bought the K-1 at Adorama.

[Not a Number]

The subject of sales tax has been discussed before. I'm surprised that people that participated in these threads seem uninformed on the topic

Buying tax free photo gear in the US could be over after Supreme Court decision - PentaxForums.com
Only B&H and KEH Are Charging Sales Tax On My Gear Orders - PentaxForums.com

For more info on the decision:
Dissecting Supreme Court's Internet Sales Tax Decision

So I bought the K-1 at Adorama.

One of the reasons brick and mortar stores are going under is they couldn't compete with online retailers because of the sales tax difference.

Refer to the video and discussion in this thread:
B&M retail camera business dying off - excellent overview - PentaxForums.com

It is up to the individual states whether they will require out of state sellers to collect taxes and to setup programs to do so. Even before this decision I was required on my State of California income tax to state how much I spent on out of state purchases and to pay CA sales tax on those purchases.

Compliance is also up to the sellers. Some companies believe they can fight city hall. One company I consulted for got nailed multiple times for not paying sales tax to the state. They thought it was cheaper to pay the penalties than to make normal payments.

[tvdtvdtvd]

The biggest camera store in Austin, Precision Camera, always maintained a Pentax presence. Last time I was in there
the display of new Pentax gear was quite small, fewer items than I had remembered from before, but still there in the glass.
Popped in today and nothing. Pentax completely gone from the display case. Didn't notice whether the GR was in
stock. Counter was busy and I didn't wait to ask.

Curiously, both Nikon and Canon shelf space looked decidedly reduced. Lumix had a BIG presence, as big if not bigger
than CaNikon. Also a surprisingly large selection of Olympus. Like really surprising.

[photolady95]

Amazon is headquartered in my state.

Everything I order from Amazon either comes from NJ or from my own state.

[Racer X 69]

Everything I order from Amazon either comes from NJ or from my own state.

Of course.

Amazon has "fulfillment centers" (warehouses) all over the world.

That's how they can get stuff to people so fast.

[photolady95]

Of course.

Amazon has "fulfillment centers" (warehouses) all over the world.

That's how they can get stuff to people so fast.

I knew that!!! LOL

[stevebrot]

At present, 42 states and the District of Columbia are requiring online retailers to collect sales taxes for purchases in their jurisdictions.

Washington State requires it, but provides online vendors with the option of snitching on non-taxed purchases rather than going through the trouble and expense of keeping up with the constantly changing patchwork of tax rates in our fair state. A certain major camera and electronics vendor did just that with my purchase total for 2018.

As for Amazon, that is another matter entirely, they being headquartered in Seattle and all.


Steve

[Larrymc]

Hard to compete when the tax rates depend where the shop is and where the customer buys it.

Would be better to have national tax rates distributed to the various levels of government in fixed proportions.

Maybe a better business model would be to acknowledge that B&M shops showcase for online suppliers and to pay the local seller a small margin when a customer in their district buys the thing.

Oh please......you UK folks can keep the national sales taxes over there.

[Larrymc]

Washington State requires it, but provides online vendors with the option of snitching on non-taxed purchases rather than going through the trouble and expense of keeping up with the constantly changing patchwork of tax rates in our fair state. A certain major camera and electronics vendor did just that with my purchase total for 2018.

As for Amazon, that is another matter entirely, they being headquartered in Seattle and all.


Steve

Still got your "hackles" up Eh???

[stevebrot]

Still got your "hackles" up Eh???

Not really. Racer and I both live in Washington and the new law only took effect recently.


Steve

[VSTAR]

The St. Louis SMSA has a population of 2.5MM people. There are two Apple Stores here, both in lively malls in HNW Zip Codes.

I literally cannot walk in an Apple Store and receive immediate service in the late afternoon to store closing or Saturday or Sunday, the times that I (and everyone else, it seems) want to shop for Apple products. There’s an associate stationed at the door who tells me how long the wait is for an associate ‘visit’. You can’t just walk to the counter in the back and say, “I want an iPhone.” An associate has to take you back there with his/her iPad order entered - thus, “Come back in an hour,” is not an exaggeration.

I have learned from experience...it is called the "Apple Experience". Sorry, I just do not understand it. Walk into A Toronto Apple store, tell them you want an apple accessory, you know which one you want, the stock is on the wall, and all I want to do is take it to cash and pay. Nope. Have to sign in with an "associate" and they will add my name to their phone or ipad list, then my name will eventually show up on the display monitor up front, and then I have to wait until my name is at the top of the list. That's why I call it the Apple Experience!

Now the Pentax experience...go to the 3 largest photo stores in Toronto, ask to hold a Pentax K1...told sorry not in stock in the store...need to order one...have to put a deposit on one before ordered. Unless you are a Pentaxian you would likely move on to Canon/Nikon. I think the only store I could walk in and touch one was in NYC's B&H.

[Wasp]

Out here in South Africa the retail situation is equally grim. Ricoh SA can't even be bothered to put up a list of authorized dealers, for a start.

According to the interwebs there are only two dealers near me who stock Pentax, both about an hour's drive away. I have only been to one of them and the selection was small. They sold off some Pentax gear at fire sale prices just before Christmas. I grabbed a Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 for a good price. There was a KP body at a big discount but even so it was still way more thI have probably gotten my money's worth now. an my budget allows.

Both dealers still list Pentax on their websites but prices are really, really steep. A KP body is about the same price as a Canon EOS 6D or RP. A K1 II is slightly more than an EOS 5DS. That hurts!