Support Your Local Camera Store

Today’s Post by Mark Toal

A couple of weeks ago one of the largest camera stores in Portland closed its doors after a slow holiday season. Besides the slowdown, Camera World was also in a high rent location in downtown Portland. Their parent company continues to run other camera stores around the country.

I think that we will look back at 2015 as the year that shopping online became the preferred way to shop and that brick and mortar stores will permanently be changed. I have watched it happen in Seattle, the home of Amazon. Large areas of the area south of downtown are being torn down to make way for condos and apartments. The retail on the street level is more frequently restaurants and coffee shops, not retail stores.

This is more than likely the future of consumer purchasing, but I want to try and preserve the specialty retail store where you can go in and handle and try the camera that you are thinking about buying. Along with classes and rentals these stores provide a valuable resource for photographers.

As a camera rep who frequently works in camera stores one of my pet peeves is the person who comes in to gather information so they can buy a camera or lens online for less as if the store is just their showroom.

I’m not naïve enough to expect that local retail will be the same in 10 years, but look at the local stores that serve a purpose in your life and support them.