I stupidly forgot to order a UV filter for the 55mm f/1.4 Nikon lens I got yesterday, so I set out to some of the camera stores in the neighborhood to see if I could find one that would do the job. Discount Camera is 2 blocks from here, so even though the Yelp reviews are almost universally - and usefully - negative, I check it out anyway. It's a filter, not a lens or a memory card or a camera, how bad could it be?
I walk in, say I need a 52mm filter, and a half-second later I'm looking at a bill of sale. Umm, how much is it? "$19.99, I can get you into a high-end brand for $5 more." I squint at the packaging. I'm no photography expert, but filters I saw online started at about $9. And those were Tiffen or Hoya, not Sunpak. Why the price discrepancy? "These are glass. No cheap plastic ones here. We only sell high-quality." What about this $9 Tiffen one I see advertised everywhere? "Tiffen makes some glass filters, some plastic filters." Nice dodge. Introduce uncertainty into what it was I got the price quote on, exactly, without actually lying about anything. I have to think about it a little more... and like the Yelp reviewers say, the guy literally snatches the thing out of my hand, and makes a big show of ripping up the bill of sale and tossing it away.
I guess he already knew I won't come back after I do my homework.
Needless to say, on Amazon, the $19.99 and $24.99 filters comes in at $9.99 at Adorama, the Hoya $11.99. Over 100% markup. Like the Yelp reviewers, I'm happy to support local business. I pay a premium to do it, and in SF a premium is a premium. But the choice isn't between buying cheap online or buying expensive from rude jerks - that isn't a choice at all. It's between buying cheap online or buying expensive from people that are genuinely passionate about what they do and provide quality goods, or at least will be honest when you're sacrificing quality for cost.
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