Anyone buy from Hunts Photo and Video (in MA)?

I checked reseller ratings, and there's only one entry.
This place does have a decently brick & mortar shop, but I haven't found
much in terms of reviews.

Any experience out there?
Thanks,
Mark²

--
Images (Plus Snaps & Grabs) by Mark² at:
www.pbase.com/markuson

"Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even number writes:
I checked reseller ratings, and there's only one entry.
This place does have a decently brick & mortar shop, but I haven't found
much in terms of reviews.

The brick and mortar shop has been around forever and is very good.
I'd have a positive predisposition to the mail order operation. They
used to be called Hunt's Drug and are still sometimes referred to that
way. Seems that the MA town they were originally in had a blue law;
retail businesses except for drugstores had to stay closed on Sundays.
So they put up a drugstore storefront, with one of those yellow signs
(familiar form the era) that said "We sell Kodak cameras and film".
When you sent inside, sure enough, they had Kodak cameras and film, as
well as Fuji, Nikon, Canon, Leica, Linhof, Sinar, Hasselblad, Metz,
Norman, Gitzo, you get the idea. A huge store full of pro photo
equipment including studio lighting and tripods and the whole works.
Somewhere in one corner there was a section that had stuff like aspirin
and toothpaste, that they needed in order to call themselves a drugstore.
Quite amusing.

Paul Rubin wrote:
"Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even number writes:
I checked reseller ratings, and there's only one entry.
This place does have a decently brick & mortar shop, but I haven't
found much in terms of reviews.

The brick and mortar shop has been around forever and is very good.
I'd have a positive predisposition to the mail order operation. They
used to be called Hunt's Drug and are still sometimes referred to that
way. Seems that the MA town they were originally in had a blue law;
retail businesses except for drugstores had to stay closed on Sundays.
So they put up a drugstore storefront, with one of those yellow signs
(familiar form the era) that said "We sell Kodak cameras and film".
When you sent inside, sure enough, they had Kodak cameras and film, as
well as Fuji, Nikon, Canon, Leica, Linhof, Sinar, Hasselblad, Metz,
Norman, Gitzo, you get the idea. A huge store full of pro photo
equipment including studio lighting and tripods and the whole works.
Somewhere in one corner there was a section that had stuff like
aspirin and toothpaste, that they needed in order to call themselves
a drugstore. Quite amusing.

Thanks, Paul!

Just the info I was looking for...
I had a good sense about them, but it's always good to ask, short of other
confirmations...

Mark²

--
Images (Plus Snaps & Grabs) by Mark² at:
www.pbase.com/markuson

Paul Rubin wrote:
"Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even number writes:
I checked reseller ratings, and there's only one entry.
This place does have a decently brick & mortar shop, but I haven't
found much in terms of reviews.

The brick and mortar shop has been around forever and is very good.
I'd have a positive predisposition to the mail order operation. They
used to be called Hunt's Drug and are still sometimes referred to that
way. Seems that the MA town they were originally in had a blue law;
retail businesses except for drugstores had to stay closed on Sundays.
So they put up a drugstore storefront, with one of those yellow signs
(familiar form the era) that said "We sell Kodak cameras and film".
When you sent inside, sure enough, they had Kodak cameras and film, as
well as Fuji, Nikon, Canon, Leica, Linhof, Sinar, Hasselblad, Metz,
Norman, Gitzo, you get the idea. A huge store full of pro photo
equipment including studio lighting and tripods and the whole works.
Somewhere in one corner there was a section that had stuff like
aspirin and toothpaste, that they needed in order to call themselves
a drugstore. Quite amusing.

BTW... As a result of your info, I just placed a pre-order with them for a
1DmIII at $3999. Considering that Calumet has it listed already for
$4499...I think this may have been a good move.

As for Hunts...I talked to a real person in teh real story...a gal named
Robin...who was very pleasant and helpful. She also called me back to
answer a question she didn't know the answer to at first... They seem to be
good folks.

Mark²

--
Images (Plus Snaps & Grabs) by Mark² at:
www.pbase.com/markuson

"Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even number writes:
As for Hunts...I talked to a real person in the real story...

You mean the story about the drugstore? I'd be interested to know how
much of it I actually got right ;-).

Paul Rubin wrote:
"Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even number writes:
As for Hunts...I talked to a real person in the real story...

You mean the story about the drugstore? I'd be interested to know how
much of it I actually got right ;-).

Typo. That should have read "real store" (as opposed to a web-site phone
person only).


--
Images (Plus Snaps & Grabs) by Mark² at:
www.pbase.com/markuson

In article ,
Paul Rubin wrote:

"Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even number writes:
I checked reseller ratings, and there's only one entry.
This place does have a decently brick & mortar shop, but I haven't found
much in terms of reviews.

The brick and mortar shop has been around forever and is very good.
I'd have a positive predisposition to the mail order operation. They
used to be called Hunt's Drug and are still sometimes referred to that
way. Seems that the MA town they were originally in had a blue law;
retail businesses except for drugstores had to stay closed on Sundays.
So they put up a drugstore storefront,

Not quite. They were a drug store with, later on, a photo counter. Later
on they became a camera store with a pharmacy department. Now they no
long have the pharmacy.

--
To reply no_ HPMarketing Corp.

Bob Salomon writes:
Not quite. They were a drug store with, later on, a photo counter. Later
on they became a camera store with a pharmacy department. Now they no
long have the pharmacy.

Yes, that sounds right, the drugstore came first, and the huge photo
store didn't spring into existence all at once. I mis-remembered.
But I visited the place in the 1990's when the drugstore section was
still operating, and it was quite entertaining.

"Paul Rubin" wrote:

You mean the story about the drugstore? I'd be interested to know how
much of it I actually got right ;-).

Pretty close. The drugstore was their previous location in Malden,
not the current location a few miles north. They had a little
more than aspirin -- if I remember correctly they had an actual
prescription counter as well. But most of the business came
from the photography department. It was actually a state-wide
blue law, not just the town.

I've purchased various items from them over the years, including
film, filters, lenses, batteries and other miscellany. But the
only actual camera I purchased from them was my Pentax 110 SLR.
I've had a few minor problems with them in the past, such as
losing orders, selling me the wrong remote control, and claiming
equipment I wanted to sell them was faulty when it wasn't. But
in general they are a reputable outfit.

One oddity -- Hunt's mail order prices are frequently less than
the in-store prices.

--
Michael Benveniste --
Spam and UCE professionally evaluated for $419. Use this email
address only to submit mail for evaluation.

One oddity -- Hunt's mail order prices are frequently less than
the in-store prices.

I've seen this before, too, and when I've inquired about the difference,
I've been told that it's done to offset the cost of shipping.