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I was tempted to go to centre.net.au to pick up a Sandisk Ex III 4gb card, but saw that their cheapest shipping option (as listed on their checkout) was $13.37, which, when included with the inc GST price for the card of $107, brought the total price up to $120.

With this in mind, Camera House in Warringah Mall matched the price with immediate delivery (ie, over the counter ). So, bit of a plug for them. Although, can't say much about their film processing

if you are close i guess its good, for me petrol and tolls would blow it out

yeah, I like that camera house - they've always got some nice lenses and they're really happy to put them onto cameras and let me play. Plus, they really encourage you to clean your own sensor - they even have a few sensors removed from the cameras to show how tough the protective cover on them is. And the staff like chatting about photography, which is fun.

If I'm not mistaken, they also sell some .... Hoffman (???) .... tripods, which have some unusual design features (centre post becomes a monopod), and they're rather good value for money.

I'm pretty sure that that's where Sandy Feet bought his.

Matty, what you're saying is very good to hear .... so often that sort of attitide is absent from camera sellers today.

I live very close to this shop and don't mind it. The manager/owner doesn't impress me one bit but his staff all seem pretty passionate and into their jobs which is refreshing. Their prices are pretty high on their lenses but we are spoilt by Mr Poon's ability to get our lenses for us at amazing prices. It's a good shop to look in but that's about it. Glad you got a good deal on your CF card though Patrick. Nice one.

gstark wrote:If I'm not mistaken, they also sell some .... Hoffman (???) .... tripods, which have some unusual design features (centre post becomes a monopod), and they're rather good value for money.

They do - but for whatever reason, supply or knowledge about them in most of the SE Qld stores seems to be non existent. I think the popular model is the Hoffman GRM-670 - from what I was told - as it's very similar to Manfrotto's 055C legs and 222 ballhead - for about ~$230.

And don't forget to check HK Supplies on Ebay! I have 2 Ridata 150x 4gb cards on order and due soon.

Geoff wrote:Their prices are pretty high on their lenses

A bit off topic (my experience was with purchasing a bodY), but it kind of sucks the way that Nikon distribute their products.

It used to be through MAxwell, who were a third party, and out to make a cut off of the gear. So Nikon sell to Maxwell, Maxwell mark up and then sell to camera store.

I think Nikon actually own the distribution now, but I am guessing that the part of Nikon that handles the distro needs to make a profit off of the gear and is probably a subsidery of the Nikon corporation.

And because of the way this works, we often get stuff from HK and the US cheaper than the camera stores actually get their gear.

Obviously some of this markup comes due to the availibility of warentee, but a lot of it is just so that the distro company makes a profit.

In a recent experience I was trying to twist a Diamond's salesmans arm around to bring the price down on a d200 i was getting from an insurance claim. I work for the insurance company, so i was twisting pretty hard, and got him down to cost without knowing it.

He quoted me a price, and i said how about $2xxx even, teds are doing it for about that much (yes, it was over 2k, and i was bluffing about the teds price).... he then replied that he had no idea how teds were doing it for that low as they pay similar prices to Teds.

I don't think camera shops make much money off selling bodies (or if they do its by selling large volumes), from my calcs they are only making a few hundred off a d200.

It's a similar type of kenundrum in a few other industries, where companies do not handle their distribution internally... they outsource within different countries.

The bicycle industry reminds me of what goes on in the camera industry, i ran a distribution for a few years and still have a close relationship with a number of shop owners. People are able to now easily obtain once expensive bike parts from the US for peanuts... well not peanuts... but i know that some stuff you can get for below wholesale.

... one word sums up this whole post... ARBITRAGE

with very little haggerling i got the same card for 110 at jbs george street.
had i pushed harder i'm sure the chick i spoke to would have gone lower.

gstark wrote:Matty, what you're saying is very good to hear .... so often that sort of attitide is absent from camera sellers today.

The Warringah Mall store is a huge contrast to another camera house (are we allowed to name and shame here?) in another part of sydney - whenever I've gone in there, I've gotten the distinct impression that customers are the bane of their existence, unless you walk in with the credit card ready to swipe.

mattyjacobs wrote:

gstark wrote:Matty, what you're saying is very good to hear .... so often that sort of attitide is absent from camera sellers today.

The Warringah Mall store is a huge contrast to another camera house (are we allowed to name and shame here?)

If you're careful about what you say, yes. Poor service and attitudes needs to be openly discussed.

Id better not tell you what the staff discount of this item is at Harvey Norman then

jdear wrote:Id better not tell you what the staff discount of this item is at Harvey Norman then

Please share!!

Any time I tried to get price matches, they'd say "we can't compete with internet prices"
Also I don't like buying from the rude people.

lol which one is it mattyjacobs?
i work at 2 of them..
put it this way - poon can ship his goodies over here cheaper than what the store can get them in for.

-j