Cutting The Pie

Who gets the largest slice of the retail photographic pie? The retail shop? The wholesale agency? The manufacturer? I've asked and no-one will tell me...so I've had to make my own observations at the trade shows. And I have come to the conclusion that, oddly enough, it is the paying customer.

The reasoning behind this is simple - the percentages that come back to the retail shop are small these days. The burgeoning internet trade plus the sense of nervousness that pervades the consumer base mean that there are very slim profit margins. These in turn also mean reduced earnings for wholesale firms. There are various finagles tried at times to increase these profits but they all work out about the same in the end. The camera maker has the most investment of all, and it doesn't even need a tsunami  to devastate a plant - it can happen with a change of fashion in sensors or lenses.

But at the end of it all, the consumer gets an actual product - a thing to hold in the hand rather than just sit on a balance sheet. They get a camera and lens and get to use it every day. Their money might deflate as time goes on but the actual hardware stands a chance of keeping a decent utility for half a decade, if they let it. If it is Leica equipment it also stands a chance of going UP in price.

Does anyone else get some pie? The publishers of photo magazines? Probably not all that much these days. Schools and universities? Yes, some...

Governments? Well, there is the GST and other taxes to be considered, and if they bring in a GST on internet imports, well that will readjust the scales.

And then there is the overseas internet sale...For years I have been hearing how easy and convenient it is to purchase goods from New York. How they arrive in the twinkling of an eye and at a fraction of the cost and how the sellers reach out over the net and massage your feet and sing " Kumbaya" as they do it...

Watch this space. I was forced to order a material from New York that no-one, even us, wants to carry in Australia. I have been charged the price and assured that it is on the way, but my eyes have long since ceased to twinkle and my feet have been hurting for weeks now. We shall see if it is all true... I don't begrudge pie, but not in the face.

Note for Thursday - it did arrive yesterday...six weeks after placing the order...Hmmmmm...

Uncle Dick

The Daily Dredge

I trawl the bottom of the camera trade harbour every day looking for items that can be turned into weblog posts in this column. Amongst the discarded boots and old tuna tins, I find snippets of news from manufacturers and their wholesalers, American review sites, the rumour and geek sites, and our local competitor's advertisements. Some of it is distinctly suspicious, while other items are so blatantly bland as to suggest a trainee intern is clocking up time on the press-agent's computer.

The rumours you can all get for yourselves, and you can involve yourselves as deeply as you wish with the fan-boy fights on the various forums. They are a good way to keep up your level of rage in between camera club meetings. And they have the advantage over club meetings in that while you cannot actually strangle anyone when engaged in an internet argument, you do get a better class of coffee and biscuit at home.

The manufacturers can sometimes be cagy in their announcements but are often candid about what is really happening back at the factory. You can expect some delays in new cameras because of this latest Japanese earthquake - one factory has frankly admitted this today as some of their subcontractors are located in the affected areas. Our sympathy to them and people would do well to wait patiently rather than pester retail and wholesale outlets every week to see when something will arrive. Delayed items will get to Australia eventually, and in the meantime there is nothing to stop people from either continuing to use what they have or buy the items that are in the shops right now. The wise buyer does not delay lest the delay be extended by further bad fortune...

The American DP Review site is a good one and is pretty well organised to analyse new cameras and lenses. They'll do a preliminary report on something when it first hits the trade show circuit, then a hands-on, and finally an in-depth review. These latter exercises are detailed enough to let any sensible person make a clear decision about the equipment...but they cannot tell you whether you will like it, or succeed with it, any more than they can tell you what your breakfast oatmeal will taste like or whether you will stick the spoon in your eye.

Some trade snippets that come through are genuinely helpful - like a note a few days ago telling us that there is to be a new repair agent for Epson printers down in Rockingham - a boon for the Southrons.

Looking at adverts from other places can be annoying if they have offered something just pennies under our shop price and you know that the number is all that prospective clients will look at. It becomes interesting, however, when the offerings are either way, way above the normal CE price, or way, way below it. The first suggests that somebody wants to keep their hand in the game but don't have stock to sell - the second that they have just had a container-load of something delivered and are stacking the cartons in the toilet - they will sell low to gain some room. I ponder on this stuff but leave the major financial thoughts to the management.

Then there is the gossip about prominent Perth photographers...about the one who...ah, but you now that already...

Pre-Ordering - Your Key To Getting The Jump On Your Competitors

Not gonna sell any equipment with this column - gonna sell a thought...

It will be available on a strictly first-come pre-order discount cashback bargain 3-for-1 quote this advertisement online in-store summer/winter/spring/autumn clearance. Unless otherwise notified.

Aww, heck. You can have it free.

When you see a marvellous new camera, lens, or accessory on the net - DP Review or Ken Rockwell or Somebody's Rumors or wherever - it can be in a number of conditions; a mock-up at a trade show, a projected device, under manufacture, boxed and in the containers in the aircraft hold, sitting on the wholesaler's shelves, or hanging on a peg in the retail shop. Sometimes the internet reports are unclear as to which stage the thing is at.

In the past there have been products promised that took longer than anticipated to arrive. Natural disasters, factory construction hold-ups, and manufacturing glitches have all delated the deliveries - and more than one manufacturer has been embarrassed by it. Nowadays most of them try to have a firm idea of manufacture and delivery dates before they let the advertising department loose with the rainbow unicorns and golden trumpets.

Thus they generally predict the arrival of the actual goods pretty accurately - extremely so in the case of makers who have been burned before. Still - for the eager triers and buyers there is always a hiatus between the announcement and the devices in hand. In this period of time the wholesalers sometimes conduct display evenings and launches to keep up the interest and give some encouragement. Those who eagerly seek the new stuff are well advised to make use of these beanfests. They get a play, a beer, and a couple of bits of cheese on a stick, and nearly always there is a company expert there to extoll the virtues.

Even more wiser, if you don't mind the tortured English, is the idea of pre-ordering the new gear. Because sometimes it arrives in dribs and drabs and the first units disappear into the void before you get a chance to come down and ponder. If you want to take advantage of the new facilities before your professional or enthusiast rivals do, you need to be at the front of the queue.

The key to this is not elbows or arrogance - it is a credit card. Ring up, email up, or show up and sign up for the new gear right now. Put a deposit down and don't grumble while you are doing it - you may well be doing yourself a very good thing...particularly if your tardy competitor prefers to leave it to chance and next month. A lot of contracts and club prizes can disappear in that month.

A case in point. People anticipating the new Fujifilm X-Pro2 or the Canon 1DX Mk II can come in and speak financially to the staff for pre-ordering and be very politely received. Those who wish to attend the Fujifilm X-Pro2 circus at the shop on the 10th of this month will do well to mention it now - it promises to be quite a show.