Yours regards, Alan Chan http://www.pbase.com/wlachan
The issue of availability is a bit of a sore point with me. People who buy mail-order for high-end items to avoid a waiting period contribute to a vicious circle. Customers buy mail-order because they can't get it locally, but the local stores don't see the point in carrying it if no one ever orders it from them.
Sure, in an idea world your small, local, family-owned camera store would have the money to be able to keep high-end products from every manufacturer in stock at all times, but the unfortunate reality is that this is horrendously expensive. Also, items that sit unsold will cost the owner money, as dealer net cost (and the resulting street value) drops over time. You can't really blame a dealer for only being able to stock the products that actually sell. If people began ordering high-end items through them, they'd see that such a market exists, and might begin stocking similar items. If people only buy mail-order for the big stuff, then the local dealer will just assume that there's no local market for it, and that it's not worth bringing in.
Price is a different issue, of course, and you'll have to decide how much extra it's worth to you to support local businesses. If yours charges significantly more than mail-order and isn't flexible with their pricing (always give them the chance to make you an offer), then mail order makes sense. Otherwise, if the price is fair, you may find it worth the three week wait to show your local store that there is a market for upper-end Pentax gear. A few more purchases like that, and you might be surprised how much easier it gets for the owner to justify stocking lenses like that on a regular basis.
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