In article , Scott Schuckert
wrote:

competitive doesn't mean below cost.

however, it does mean not charging as much as twice the price as
available elsewhere, for the same item.

offer products and services to make customers want to buy from you,
otherwise they aren't going to. it's really that simple.

either adapt to the changing landscape of online shopping or be gone.
that's harsh but that's just how it is.

You really don't want to be swayed from your agenda, do you?

there's no agenda.

You seem to want "competitive pricing." Would you care to define that
for me? Granted, I've been out of the business a long time, but things
don't seem to have changed - only difference is, customers order from a
web page, not over the phone.

online is not only replacing phone orders, but also replacing visiting
stores.

And, to be honest, some of the very worst
mail order scum have been put out of business.

as well they should.

unfortunately, the scum online sellers can easily create a new name and
a nice looking web site within hours. their addresses are mail drops or
someone's house. users can't tell it's just a front for the same scam
site that was shut down days before unless they do some research.

Now, when I left the business, I had three stores, so I wasn't the
tiniest of the tiny. Keeping the doors open, paying and training staff,
incoming shipping, all the little things that put a camera on the
counter for you to look at, cost about 12-15% over the cost of goods.
In other words, if the invoice for a camera read $100, I was selling at
a loss if the price didn't exceed $112. Then, there's that troublesome
little "profit" thing, so add another 5-7%. So, the selling price goes
to at least $117.

Now, the mail order/internet seller, with his lower costs and much,
much larger volume is selling the same item for $99. It probably cost
him $92. Who's in the wrong here? Customers vote with their wallet;
they've voted that all the services I offered like demonstration, free
training, rental darkroom, contests, photo gallery, equipment rentals,
etc. were not worth eighteen dollars to them. I get that, I'm not in
that business anymore. Nor are a lot of other people.

you can't compete and lost.

someone else did a better job than you did of offering what the public
wanted at a price they were willing to pay.

harsh, but that's how it works.

Now, here's a challenge for you: SHOW US a camera (not a lens cap or a
battery) that sells for twice at much in a retail store as through a
mail order house. Exact same, current model and brand, that is, say,
$200 at Cardinal Camera in Lansdale Pa. and $100 at B&H in New York. Or
any other comparable vendors.

i never said cameras cost twice as much. i said some stuff does, which
is true.

in particular, a couple of years ago i was looking for a lens case for
my 80-200 so i went to the local store to see what they had and what
fit. their prices were about double that of b&h (something like $17
versus $30 but i don't remember exactly). as much as i like that store,
i was not paying double.

when i bought my nikon d50 long ago, it was $400 online and in the $600
range in a store. a store is going to have to offer a *lot* of services
to justify that.

In the meantime, stop making out like small resellers are doing
anything "wrong" - other than trying to best serve their customers, and
the customers want "cheap" over "full service."

the problem is that the stores aren't serving their customers, which is
why their customers are going elsewhere.

if the stores were actually serving their customers, they would still
have customers and they would not go out of business.

this isn't just camera stores either. bookstores are going away because
people are now buying ebooks. many other types of stores are downsizing
or going away. stores need to adapt to the changes or they won't be
around for very long.