Michael
I disagree in the respect that without these importers you would not have individual camera shops handling warranty work. there is no such thing as a free lunch. That work is paid for through your importer. Buy from Robert White, or buy from others. Thats fine. But when the thing breaks see what happens. Or when you need an obscure part just run down to your local camera store and see if he/she has it in stock.
Kevin
Thanks for all the input...Guess grey market is a topic everyone feels strongly about...
Kevin,
I am not sure I understand your first sentence, but I think I get the gist of what you are saying. However, Robert White is an official authorized importer of the goods they sell. They are also the retailer. They also handle warranty service. Marketing of individual brands is done via the Internet (including recommendations of equipment made in this forum). This eliminates the middleman. The fact that they are in the UK is irrelevant to this discussion.
I have found it much more convenient, and much more productive, to do business on the Internet with specialists and companies that have virtually unlimited inventories. The local shop can rarely afford to stock every item or part, and the time and cost of traveling around town is not trivial.
Eliminating the middleman (distributor) is not limited to import situations. In a free society, the consumer chooses whether they want superior service and support, or whether they want lower prices. Invariably consumers want lower prices, but obviously there will always be some exceptions. The companies that prosper in the 21st century will figure out a way to provide both excellent service and low prices.
There are companies such as Amazon.com that buy directly from manufacturers (eliminating the distributor) and have outstanding customer support. From everything I have heard, Robert White, B&H Photo, Badger Graphics, and a few others fall into that same category.
This thread seems to make RW out to be some kind of a knight in shining armour. The fact is: RW isn't. RW is simply capitalising on the recalcitrance of American distributors to price their equipment in line with international pricing. The more recalcitrant they are, the more RW gains as his prices look low in comparison. The funny thing is they are really helping to make RW rich by being intransigent. RW did the right thing by jumping in on e-commerce early and had the wits about him to offer good service to boot. He doesn't have to lift a finger as Americans do not even try to drive a bargain.
Americans get gouged, RW wins by not even trying. www.teamphoto.co.uk also has similar 'very good' prices and service but hardly anybody mentions them.
Levity about potholes aside, I am bothered by one aspect of this problem. Price differentials maintained by many US distributors are killing local camera stores in most US cities. Large stores in NYC, LA and other centers of extensive professional photography may survive, but even in a large city like Houston, there isn't much left.
I would LOVE to buy products from my local dealer. I do buy many things there, and gladly pay a premium to do so. I could save 10% or more, plus our 8.5% tax by buying film by mail. But I will spend that money to keep them going. I would also buy LF equipment there, if they could come within 10-20% of prices from Badger or RW. But they cannot, because of the pricing structure of many US distributors or US subsidiaries of the manufacturers.
The problem is exacerbated in the US by the inability to enact a uniform sales tax structure. This is hurting many local businesses and tax bases, and really must be solved soon.
So I am willing to pay a resonable premium to support both my local dealer and US distribution. What is reasonable. Clearly I would pay 10% more, probably as much as 20%. But the current premiums are 50-75- 100% in many cases. Market economics says such price differentials CANNOT be maintained. The internet has opened a closed market. And the US distributors cannot bury their heads in the sand and try to protect their former ways.
Clearly this is doable. Check gray market Canon vs US Canon at B&H. The difference is minimal, even with a very large advertising budget from Canon USA. Maybe they bury losses in copier sales... but Nikon differentials aren't large for most products either.
Some of that is volume. Maybe we don't need advertising for LF equipment. Has anybody here bought a lens or camera based on advertising? Anybody seen an Ebony Camera ad lately. My point is that the business model of many US LF distributors is in trouble, and the quicker that changes, the better for everybody, me, the distributor, my local dealer, and the potholes.
well, I don't have experience with Robert White so I guess I have to shut up about that situation and just say that it should be justified on a case by case basis. So maybe everyone here should write down their hourly wage or yearly salary, and then we can all decide whether we thing that person should be paid that or whether it might be better to bring somebody in from another country who will work at that job for less money and less benefits. I think the clothing industry has gong through this before, and so has the automobile industry. Anyway . . . . . hurray for capitalism. Kevin
As a spin-off of Ed's question who is the official U.S. distributor of Arca products? In other words who in the U.S. offers a USA warranty on Arca? And if you do buy gray market Arca and need it repaired or it is defective upon purchase what then?
If I were particularly gung ho about "buying American," I would not approach it by purchasing products made in Germany, Japan, and Switzerland, even if they came by way of a U.S. distributor. Seriously, if this is an important motivation (it isn't for me), then at least stick to the fine products made by Wisner, Canham, Galvin, Gowland, AWB, Ries, Wimberley, Kirk, Norman, and such. Call me sentimental, but I feel much more sympathy for people who actually innovate and make fine products by hand than for the distributors.
Even living in New York City, I send most of my repair work out of state these days. If I have to ship to the UK or Europe, that's not really a big deal in the age of FedEx and UPS.
Arca-Swiss Inc., 442 W Belden, Chicago, IL 60614, (773) 248-2513, fax: (773) 248-2774
Kevin: Supporting the tactics of greedy firms that use the subterfuge of trademarks and exclusive distributorships to gouge the citizenry is unpatriotic because it undermines the country's productivity. Such firms may pay taxes but otherwise their contribution to the economy is sub-optimal in as much as in their hands your money is worth less. In a free society citizens can drive the gougers out business by not to giving them their money. It is he citizens patriotic duty to do so.
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