With the recent Ritz Camera closings, I've been thinking more about the future for local camera stores. For the past 6-7 years, my typical practice was to buy online from B&H, Adorama, Norman Camera, or Amazon. Earlier this year, however, I was looking to rent some compacts for review, specifically the Canon G10 and Leica D-LUX 4. I tried at B&H and Adorama but no luck. To my surprise, one of the responses on this blog came from someone who worked in a photography store in my city. The store is called Service Photo and has been serving photographers in Baltimore for over 50 years! I'm embarrassed to admit this, but until that comment on the blog, I never realized that they existed.

Service Photo agreed to rent me those two cameras for a very reasonable price, and I headed on over. Until that day, my local photography experience was with Ritz/Wolf. I don't want to say anything bad about the customer service at those places because I'm sure it varies, but their prices were simply not competitive with online pricing, and the inventory was extremely limited.

The experience at Service Photo was a revelation. The selection of bags, cameras, lenses, tripods, film, and accessories at Service photo was excellent. Few if any brick and mortar store can match the vast inventory of an online store, but a real store makes up for that by allowing one to try the gear, ask questions about it, and bring it home the same day. The five or six workers who greeted me were very courteous and knowledgeable. However, the real shock came when I asked about prices. Specifically, the prices for new gear were extremely competitive with online pricing, and the used gear prices were overall better than what I was seeing in the usual places (KEH, Ebay, Fred Miranda).

Since that time late last year, I've purchased two new Nikon lenses, one used lens, two bags, and a lot of film at Service Photo. I returned the used lens today after it didn't live up to expectations, and they took it back for a full refund with zero hassle. I tried out a Nikon D60 kit, discussed the features, and then asked about price. They beat the Amazon price even taking into account Maryland tax, which I wouldn't have to pay at Amazon. I now know better than to be surprised by that.

Still, how can they do it? Specifically, how can they have several available, helpful, knowledgeable workers, pay overhead, charge tax, and still beat the Amazon price? I have no idea. Sure, they don't always beat the best online price, but they always come close, and I'm certainly willing to pay a bit extra for the great customer service. In the long run, I just don't know whether such a business can last with sales increasingly going to the online sellers. However, I'm glad there's a store like Service Photo in my city and would love to hear from others who have a similar store in theirs.