Calumet files Chapter 7

In article , PAS
wrote:

We have two
within a short walking distance of each other that we can go to: Cameta
Camera and Berger Bros. I do like Cameta a lot and bought my first
camera
from them about 30 years ago. I'm not a fan of Berger Bros.
Fortunately,
Cameta is doing so well as an eBay business that they'll be around for
quite
a long time.

they might close their store and be just an online seller.

They certainly can. If the store closed down, Bill Cameta will still do
very, very well with his eBay business. He does a lot of business in used
gear also. If it ever closes, I'll miss the place.

that's the point. many stores are no longer needed when it's easier to
get products online.

for a store to survive, it needs to offer something you *can't* get
online.

"nospam" wrote in message
...
In article , PAS
wrote:

We have two
within a short walking distance of each other that we can go to:
Cameta
Camera and Berger Bros. I do like Cameta a lot and bought my first
camera
from them about 30 years ago. I'm not a fan of Berger Bros.
Fortunately,
Cameta is doing so well as an eBay business that they'll be around for
quite
a long time.

they might close their store and be just an online seller.

They certainly can. If the store closed down, Bill Cameta will still do
very, very well with his eBay business. He does a lot of business in
used
gear also. If it ever closes, I'll miss the place.

that's the point. many stores are no longer needed when it's easier to
get products online.

for a store to survive, it needs to offer something you *can't* get
online.

That would be personalized expert service and the ability to handle the
goods before buying. That's something the brick & mortar store still
offers.

In article , PAS
wrote:

they might close their store and be just an online seller.

They certainly can. If the store closed down, Bill Cameta will still do
very, very well with his eBay business. He does a lot of business in
used gear also. If it ever closes, I'll miss the place.

that's the point. many stores are no longer needed when it's easier to
get products online.

for a store to survive, it needs to offer something you *can't* get
online.

That would be personalized expert service and the ability to handle the
goods before buying. That's something the brick & mortar store still
offers.

but not necessarily at a competitive price. stores have an overhead
that an online seller does not have and almost always have higher
prices, sometimes by quite a bit.

what ends up happening is people might go to a store to check out the
camera or other product and then go order it online for much less. the
store not only doesn't get the sale but they spent time helping someone
buy elsewhere.

On 14/03/2014 11:48 AM, PAS wrote:
"nospam" wrote in message


that's the point. many stores are no longer needed when it's easier to
get products online.

for a store to survive, it needs to offer something you *can't* get
online.

That would be personalized expert service and the ability to handle the
goods before buying. That's something the brick & mortar store still
offers.


That's one issue that brick & mortar shops have faced for sometime now.
People try out the product(s) in store tie up the sales person's time,
then they go home and (1970-90's) mail order, or now, buy online.


--
Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they
do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under
circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past.

In article , Usenet Account
wrote:

that's the point. many stores are no longer needed when it's easier to
get products online.

for a store to survive, it needs to offer something you *can't* get
online.

That would be personalized expert service and the ability to handle the
goods before buying. That's something the brick & mortar store still
offers.

That's one issue that brick & mortar shops have faced for sometime now.
People try out the product(s) in store tie up the sales person's time,
then they go home and (1970-90's) mail order, or now, buy online.

the difference is that people can now get all of the information they
need without going to a store, including watching online videos of
someone using the camera, examine sample images taken in a variety of
situations and much more. plus, many online sellers have generous
return policies.

a store needs to offer something to justify their existence, or they go
away, as many of them have, with more to follow.

for instance, a camera store could offer free loaner equipment, or
maybe discounted lens rentals or something that a customer might
actually want to utilize at some point. they used to make their money
on film processing but that's all but gone now.

otherwise, it's a far more pleasant experience to buy online and have
it show up in a couple of days, or even the next day if needed, without
any idiot salespeople trying to upsell you overpriced filters or other
garbage.

In article , Tony Cooper
wrote:

otherwise, it's a far more pleasant experience to buy online and have
it show up in a couple of days, or even the next day if needed, without
any idiot salespeople trying to upsell you overpriced filters or other
garbage.

Yes, and we know that no online retailer has *ever* tried to upsell
over-priced filters.

not reputable ones.

there are sleazy stores too. big ****ing deal.

On 3/14/2014 8:54 AM, PAS wrote:
"PeterN" wrote in message
On 3/13/2014 1:56 PM, Scott Schuckert wrote:
In article , Usenet Account
wrote:


http://petapixel.com/2014/03/13/calu...tcy-gave-emplo
yees-zero-notice/

The negative comments about the company following the linked
article. Sad for everyone involved, but it's not uncommon. Publicly
talking about a possible closing guarantees you'll go over the edge; I
can only assume the owners (perhaps foolishly, but optimistically) held
out hope to the end.

If anyone remembers the Camera Craft chain in NY/NJ in the middle 70's,
that's what happened there. I was a store manager at the time, and
wound up being chased out the door by the sheriff, who chained it shut.

A couple of the managers who got wind of it the day before, basically
brought vans and stole the stores empty. Far as I know, it was never
even noticed.


You hit the nail on the head. There is no way a company in poor financial
condition would let the public know, unless it was forced to. Suppliers
would stop extending terms; the good employees would look elsewhere; and
customer attitudes would change. I was litigating a case in Bankruptcy
Court and ran into the owner of a local restaurant. The man was grateful
when I told him that I never saw him. Later in the week we had a fight. I
told him that I would never eat in his place again if he didn't let me pay
for my food. I did let him buy me a drink.


--
PeterN

The classic camera store is a thing of the past for most folks. We have two
within a short walking distance of each other that we can go to: Cameta
Camera and Berger Bros. I do like Cameta a lot and bought my first camera
from them about 30 years ago. I'm not a fan of Berger Bros. Fortunately,
Cameta is doing so well as an eBay business that they'll be around for quite
a long time.




Gotta put in another plug for Jimmy Koh. I deal with him as much as
possible, and he has always been friendly, helpful, and honorable.



--
PeterN

On 3/14/2014 11:07 AM, nospam wrote:
In article , PAS
wrote:

The classic camera store is a thing of the past for most folks.

exactly why it's no surprise calumet closed. those that claim to be
surprised are blind to what's happening. certainly the workers there
must have noticed there weren't very many customers anymore.

it's rare that a camera store can offer services to where they can stay
in business.

We have two
within a short walking distance of each other that we can go to: Cameta
Camera and Berger Bros. I do like Cameta a lot and bought my first camera
from them about 30 years ago. I'm not a fan of Berger Bros. Fortunately,
Cameta is doing so well as an eBay business that they'll be around for quite
a long time.

they might close their store and be just an online seller.


they get a lot of local support, and they match Internet prices.

--
PeterN

On 3/14/2014 11:36 AM, nospam wrote:
In article , PAS
wrote:

We have two
within a short walking distance of each other that we can go to: Cameta
Camera and Berger Bros. I do like Cameta a lot and bought my first
camera
from them about 30 years ago. I'm not a fan of Berger Bros.
Fortunately,
Cameta is doing so well as an eBay business that they'll be around for
quite
a long time.

they might close their store and be just an online seller.

They certainly can. If the store closed down, Bill Cameta will still do
very, very well with his eBay business. He does a lot of business in used
gear also. If it ever closes, I'll miss the place.

that's the point. many stores are no longer needed when it's easier to
get products online.

for a store to survive, it needs to offer something you *can't* get
online.


It's called personal service.

--
PeterN

In article , PeterN
wrote:

for a store to survive, it needs to offer something you *can't* get
online.

It's called personal service.

most stores don't offer that, and of the ones that do, not that many
people are willing to pay for it.