Encouraging you to Buy Locally!

If I get 550D/T2i in Melbourne, Australia, the cheapest one costs me $1100; I got my one in B&H from the State for $700 + P&H;
If I get my 135L in Melbourne, it costs me $1600; but I got my one in B&H for $980.
...

I don't have too much money to burn.

I always try to support my local stores when practical. However, large ticket items often just do not make sense. Also, remember that profit margins on big tickets items are often small and it is the accessories that your local store make more money when you purchase.

No Keyframe - Paid $1,499 for the 7D less another $250 for the XTI. Total was $1,249. I also has a previous credit of $150 with the store so it was even less!.

I was in a Ritz store a couple weeks ago... For all of 2 minutes. They don't even carry Canon anymore.

Mark1 wrote in post #11888146
Only some of them. There are still a lot of them arround.

I get most of my stuff from Bennetts camera in Metairie, LA afew only an hour away.

adamwright wrote in post #11888717
No Keyframe - Paid $1,499 for the 7D less another $250 for the XTI. Total was $1,249. I also has a previous credit of $150 with the store so it was even less!.

This sound like a deal then, but without a credit that you previously have and a camera to trade in, is hard to make such a deal. Your case is somehow special.

Rarely support local shops as Chicago taxes are close to 15% and the prices are already significantly higher than web. In addition, due to costs of overhead most have little to no inventory and will always order something, which I can do myself. As far as 7D, got mine new from Cameta Camera for $1319 (after cashback which is no longer available) almost a year ago. Still have a hard time beating that price to this day. Occasionally I will go to Calumet, but I hardly call them a local store. I would love to support local business, but when it is hundreds of dollars in difference, I love to support my mortgage more.

adamwright wrote in post #11888717
No Keyframe - Paid $1,499 for the 7D less another $250 for the XTI. Total was $1,249. I also has a previous credit of $150 with the store so it was even less!.

7D is easily found new online for less than $1400, and you could have easily sold the XTi here or on ebay for at least $50-$100 more than you sold it to them for to them (On avg $300-$350 depending on condition). Bringing your net to less than $1100. Again, would love to support more local shops, but there has to be a line when weighing personal fiscal responsibility and supporting the local community.

Besides all of that since we are only talking a couple hundred dollars, you will love this camera it is absolutely great. Congrats on the purchase.

ImCBParker wrote in post #11889212
Again, would love to support more local shops, but there has to be a line when weighing personal fiscal responsibility and supporting the local community.

Until it's you who becomes jobless because your company or customers can no longer afford to pay you that $100 a day. And this ideology is exactly why most of the world is bankrupt while China is bankrolling.

While it may help you pay down the mortgage quicker it will also add to the millage rate on your property in due time. And if that don't suck it out of you the added sales tax on food, gas and other things you do by local will ensure you pay in the end. Meanwhile the money you never actually saved goes to some wealthy government bureaucrat and his friends instead of helping those who are jobless.

Least if you should ever become homeless Walmart and Amazon will always have low prices on tents.

Id love to shop locally but as most everyone else has stated... the prices are just too far off.

My local camera shop prices are typically a couple hundred higher for the higher end gear, then you add on tax and it just gets ridiculous.

Mom and Pop camera shop? Where do you live? Winchestertonfieldvill​e, Iowa

How is Ritz considered mom and pop shop? They're a chain.

Wow isoMorphic that got political for no reason. First of all I am not sure how versed in economics you are, but your sentiment is skewed and has no merit or economic data to back it up. I will not even get into the global economic argument.

Whether one buys locally or not, you are supporting US business. If kept in the US, the tax situation is the same. The only difference is the municipality you do not chose does not collect taxes (if it does) and the local business does not get the sale.

Every company starts off as a small company somewhere. Some choose to grow and the economies of scale benefits them (B&H, Adorama, Cameta, Amazaon, Starbucks, etc). Some choose to grow and fail to innovate (Ritz, Borders, Blockbuster, etc), and some simply choose not to grow and do their best with the status quo (most local mom and pop stores).

You cannot fault a company that grows and succeeds and as a result of their scale can offer lower rates. Companies with larger scale can sell it cheaper because they sell more inventory. The initial purchase of the product by the vendor is generally the same from vendor to vendor, or sometimes discounted to the larger purchaser. That will always be the case. You take care of the people who take care of you. Happens from vendor to distributor and happens from distributor to customer. The customers that are more loyal and do more business get more perks. This same principal applies to local shops. The local shops that do not grow and stick to a brick and mortal presence opting not to innovate largely understands the consequences and offer great service and a competitive offering. The camera industry and other high overhead industries are going to and are starting to adapt as time will show certain business models are not sustainable and opening a store with huge overhead costs and little to no inventory as a result cannot work in the present age. Should Blockbuster be upset because they chose not innovate, get online fast enough, or handcuff their distributors, and open monstrous stores with unsustainable square footage? Certain businesses will fail with innovation. This has been happening for thousands of years and mom and pop camera shops are certainly at that cross roads now.

That is how the business side now let's talk about the individual impact.

The person willing to buy a product has a home, bills, cars, etc. If they save $200 on a purchase, that same person, will either save that money, reduce their debt, or more likely spend it, contributing further to the GDP as more products will be sold than had they overspent on one. Either way the person who chose to save will generally have more money, buy more inventory, and help more businesses than the person who does no research and buys a product that costs x% higher than they could have got elsewhere.

Example, Chrysler sells CarX at various dealers. Invoice price is the same per dealer. Consumer opts to go the the dealer 50 miles away because they save 2k off MSRP over their local dealer. We can all agree this transaction happens hundreds, if not thousands of times a day in the US. Chrysler counts that sale as one unit sold, regardless, grosses up into the consumer spending index and consumption portion of GDP. That same person either could not have afforded to spend the 2K locally to the local dealer was not going to get the sale either way, or they are going to choose to do something else with the 2K, pay down mortgage, invest/save, or spend it on a 7D, then repeat cycle.

Assuming local population growth is positive in the neighborhoods, capitalism takes care of the rest. The business that can compete will, those that can't or refuse to will close shop and something else will take it's place and the business that replaces will be something that hopefully will be better adapted to the business environment it is entering,

myoungok wrote in post #11889685
Mom and Pop camera shop? Where do you live? Winchestertonfieldvill​e, Iowa

I actually Googled Winchestertonfieldvill​e, Iowa to check if the place really exists/

On the poliical side comments - Don't forget that the majority of the profits of a 7D sale leave the country since that is where the camera is made. So I guess you would have to purchase a camera made in the US if you really are worried about the economic and policical fall out. Good luck with that!!