In article , Tony Cooper
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?

nospam goes into every discussion thinking that his position is the
only right position.

everyone does that. that's what drives discussions. who goes into a
discussion thinking that they're wrong??

He makes much of the fact that in some retail stores the sales help is
either not informative enough or that they push accessories to
increase the sale.

it's true. it's the rare exception that sales staff knows a lot about
products. those that do can make more money outside of retail.

What he ignores is that in *all* purchases online, there is no sales
help available. Any help the customer gets at a retail store is more
than what any online seller offers. If nothing else, the buyer at a
retail store gets to handle the camera before purchase.

false. some online sellers have a *lot* of sales help on their site,
including extensive faqs, video demos, wizards that ask questions to
narrow down the choices, phone support and even online chat for
questions, user reviews and links to other information.

some sellers have very generous return policies so you can buy and
handle the product with no risk, other than having to ship it back if
you don't like it, which is nothing more than a quick trip to the post
office.

It's always the buyer's responsibility to do their own homework.
There's no reason the in-store buyer can't check the reviews and
customer ratings of something before they make the purchase.

nobody said they can't do that, but most people don't.

I may be a bit prejudiced in favor of the retail store because the two
camera stores in Orlando are both staffed by knowledgeable and helpful
staff. But, if I go to a big box store and deal with a sales person
that doesn't know the difference between a interchangeable lens body
and a fixed lens body, that's my fault.

what if the only choices are big box stores? what if the customer
doesn't know enough about the product to know that the salesperson
hasn't any clue?

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.

He won't be able to. That's typical hyperbole from nospam.

i am *always* able to back up what i say. as i said in another post, i
was looking for a lens case and a local store had one for around $30
and b&h had it for $17 or so (i don't remember exact prices). that's
about double.

i didn't say cameras were twice the price, but way back when i bought
my nikon d50, the difference was $200 from online versus store, which
was about 1/3rd the price of the camera ($400 v. $600).