# Retail Markup. How much do stores really pay for the equipment they sell us?



## Jettatore (Nov 22, 2011)

I'm wondering if anyone has any specific details, estimate/figures or generalized standards for figuring out the retail markup that stores put on lenses, bodies and equipment.

I'm being told by a salesmen that they basically make little to no money selling new lenses and that they only make money on used equipment and accessories. I am certain that this is what most salesmen of cameras and lenses say and have always said. But I don't necessarily believe them, and that is what I'm after,-how accurate is this common line, or is it a total line that many just learned to accept but is far from reality?

In most retail, electronics and computer components included, etc. etc., there is a significant markup. Any detail, or hard evidence on how camera retail works and what the actual/estimable margins are. Thank you very much.


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## neuroanatomist (Nov 22, 2011)

No idea, except to state that generally, retailers don't sell items on which they cannot make a profit. 

There are a couple of camera store owners who participare here, maybe they will chime in.


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## Maui5150 (Nov 22, 2011)

Looking at Canon, both bodies and lenses, the prices seem to be fairly static across resources. This to me either indicates a vindictive/controlled market (i.e. you publish discounted prices, you loose the distribution) or that the margins are tight. When I look at say eBay as an example, while I see hundreds of say 7Ds sold a month, they tend to gravitate to a general defined range. When I look at published prices, they too stay in a general range, with not much deviation except for new models and the cannibalism that causes. Most drops in prices come over time, or via the rebate it seems from Canon. There are some retailer who seem generally higher consistently, but over time, in take the US market, you would see a much more aggressive and consistently aggressive seller if the prices margins were greater. There always seems to be someone happy to deal in volume


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## jimmy156 (Nov 22, 2011)

I manage a Photolab that is part of a franchise in the UK, some franchises sell camera's, we dont. This is because we cant make any money on them and still be competitive.

By the time we have bought them from our suppliers and paid the VAT on them, we have already paid more then you can buy them for from the big online retailers (amazon etc.)

So i would say the chap you were talking to is prety spot on!


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## Jettatore (Nov 22, 2011)

Jimmy, that may well be the case if you're supplier's prices are too high, but the guys I was talking to couldn't be "spot on" in at least all they say because I caught them in too many lies and contradictions in the course of a 2 minute phone call. That's what made me question more and come here to post.

Two of the major names I called are trying to sell me a used lens for the same price a third major player is currently selling the lens brand new for. I wanted to trade, higher value for lesser value.

If I sell it used and then go buy the lens I want instead brand new I can make $200 or slightly better on the deal myself without breaking a sweat, I know this without question. All 3 offered to pay me $700 for a lens I can easily sell for $1,000 to $1,100 on any equipment sale/trade forum. And I didn't even want cash, I wanted a trade for another used lens. And based on the crap price they offered me, they obviously already paid less for the used lens I would want to pick up in exchange, so overall there is probably at least $400-$500 profit in it for them, and I just handed them the deal and they wouldn't take it. I was laughing, because they walked away from that, insisting that they would make more like an $800 or so profit instead if I played it their way, come on, lol...

I am leaning towards neuroanatomist on this one, I buy a lot of computer parts, HDD's, CPU's, motherboards, etc., and I know the retailers I buy the stuff from make good money on each sale they make. The same places sell camera bodies and lenses, high end stuff, and they barely sell any accessories compared to others, and they don't sell or deal in used at all. This idea that camera retailers who actually bother to stock the product don't profit - I think is a well oiled and perpetuated myth. I'm just looking for the detailed facts to explode it with. I mean, just look at Best Buy as well (not the computer retailer I use btw), but I doubt they make exceptions on selling EF-S equipment just so they can have a rack of tri-pods and bags to sell. These people make money.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 22, 2011)

Jettatore said:


> I'm wondering if anyone has any specific details, estimate/figures or generalized standards for figuring out the retail markup that stores put on lenses, bodies and equipment.
> 
> I'm being told by a salesmen that they basically make little to no money selling new lenses and that they only make money on used equipment and accessories. I am certain that this is what most salesmen of cameras and lenses say and have always said. But I don't necessarily believe them, and that is what I'm after,-how accurate is this common line, or is it a total line that many just learned to accept but is far from reality?
> 
> In most retail, electronics and computer components included, etc. etc., there is a significant markup. Any detail, or hard evidence on how camera retail works and what the actual/estimable margins are. Thank you very much.



Its true, cameras and electronics have at most, a 15% markup. When you consider the cost of rent, heat, lights, labor, and advertising, there is little profit. Bigger businesses may get a incentive payment for meeting or exceeding sales targets, but thats not guaranteed income, they have to sell a lot.

Internet sellers have less overhead, so they can get by on a lower markup, but they must have a lot of volume, and sell lots of accessories.

However, the accessories like memory cards, filters, cases, etc have big markups. Thats why they try to sell you the add-ons.


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## Jettatore (Nov 22, 2011)

Now that I can start to buy, thanks Mt. Spokane.

15% is still pretty good. Certainly not the same as saying (we make no money) 15% is $150 profit on every $1,000 moved. Customer pays the sales tax, every expense is a write-off, and they more than cover the overhead on the accessories and then some.

I wouldn't be surprised to hear even slightly larger % margins from some sellers, not including those bonuses you mentioned.

What about things like price changes in the MSRP? Aren't they guaranteed by Canon when the MSRP lowers? I could have sworn they were.


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## TexPhoto (Nov 22, 2011)

Profits on cameras and lenses are pretty low, and there is very little room to make deals. Camera stores will generally make most of their money on accessories: filters, bags, cleaning supplies etc. 

Don't get me wrong, that sucks, I wish I could find that one store with 50% off on the lens I'm lusting after, but it's the reality of the situation.


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## unfocused (Nov 22, 2011)

I'm confused. Are you asking a question because you want an answer or because you want to "prove" some preconceived notion?

Frankly, the fact that a retailer offered you $700 for a lens that you think you can sell for $1,000 doesn't sound like a bad deal to me. It all comes down to the cost of money for the retailer. Every day they are in business they have cash coming in and going out the door. The cash going out the door is pretty well fixed: rent, wages, benefits, taxes, utilities, etc. etc. The money coming in the door is highly variable and they have to hope that at the end of the year, more money came in the door than went out.

You walk in with a lens and ask them to send money out of the door in the hopes that they'll be able to bring $1,000 in the door at *some* point in the future. But, there is no guarantee that *will happen* and no guarantee *when* it will happen. The retailer looks at your lens and calculates the risk, based on the demand for that lens among his customers (which the retailer knows far better than anyone). He decides it's worth risking $700 to possibly get $1,000. That's not an unreasonable calculation.

You decide you'd rather sell it yourself. You don't have any overhead and you are under no pressure to turn it around quickly (other than a desire to get the cash). That's why ebay has been successful â€“ because there are a lot of people out there who want to absorb the risk themselves in exchange for getting the full profit.

Let's turn this around: what kind of a markup do most wedding photographers have on the prints they sell customers? How many of the studio and wedding photographers on this site would be willing to sell their products for 15-30% *before* figuring in the cost of labor, equipment, taxes, rent or any other overhead. (Which is what you seem to be wanting the retailer to do for you.)

Not fair? Of course not. But it's every bit as fair as your question. 

You are selectively choosing the factors to take into consideration, while ignoring the big picture. It's unfair and more than a little pointless.


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## Jettatore (Nov 22, 2011)

I don't think I can sell it for $1,000, I know I can, they sell for more than that in worse shape without the box every day, my copy is flawless with every slip of paper and and bit of plastic and packaging Styrofoam it came with, I was just being conservative. But I do see you're point. Still like I said, I didn't want cash, I wanted a trade in, and the lens I wanted it for, they obviously raked someone else over the coals for so the net value of the trade for them was huge. If we were talking cash alone, I would fully agree, but that wasn't the case so don't selectively re-write to be the case. No cash was leaving the door for them in this scenario, zero, zip, nada.


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## thepancakeman (Nov 22, 2011)

You're never going to get "fair market value" even on a trade. Watch one of the pawn shows on History channel: guy says "this is worth $2000" and the pawn owner then turns to the customer (who heard the $2000) and says "I'll give you $1200 for it." 

If you want the $1000, then sell it yourself and you're all good. The very reason you don't want to go thru the effort is the reason that you can't get that price from them--they have to "go thru the effort" of selling it; they're not going to do that for you for free.


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## danski0224 (Nov 22, 2011)

I know someone that works at one of the electronics box stores.

I know someone else that bought an entry level Canon DSLR.

The competitor price match adjustment was less than the "friends and family" discount.


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## Viggo (Nov 22, 2011)

I've been workin at photo-electronics stores for over ten years and here's a short an simple example of how much the stores make.

If I sell a 600d kit with 18-55 and a Kenko Pro1 UV-filter in addition, I make the same amount, dollar for dollar, profit on those two items. The mark up of a kit like that with competetive price is about 7-9%. Filters are around 50-60%. That's it!


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## japhoto (Nov 22, 2011)

Maui5150 said:


> Looking at Canon, both bodies and lenses, the prices seem to be fairly static across resources. This to me either indicates a vindictive/controlled market (i.e. you publish discounted prices, you loose the distribution) or that the margins are tight.



This seemed to be the case when I was working in a computer store a while back. For clarification, we did sell also cameras, televisions etc. electronics. I had access to wholesale prices via our intra network, so this is what I'm basing this on.

Not only that though, but the discount percent varied so that I got a pretty good deal on a 50mm 1.4 (same would have gone with all the non L-lenses), but all L-glass was controlled much tighter. We even tried to get a "personnel" discount from the wholesale trader just for me, but it wasn't possible for the 70-200mm 2.8 L II.

All in all the markup for retailers isn't that great for new lenses etc. because Canon (and other manufacturers) are keeping the prices "artificially" higher than their "real value" is. Of course the more you move say Canon products, the better your prices will be and that's why a business that sells camera stuff "on the side" rarely does well.

For selling old lenses, I believe the retailers "poke the ice with a stick" and offer significantly less than the real value of the lens is. Sometimes it works and they get a good deal where they can make much more profit than with new lenses. The bottom line is that they really don't "need" used lenses (since they can be a pita to sell again), so they go way under the real price so that they can make a profit. This also depends on who you are dealing with, since the "regular" seller probably doesn't have the authority to offer more than a predefined price for a lens regardless of the condition of the item where a store manager can go much higher, so that's something to keep in mind.

I also think (know actually) that it doesn't matter to them if you have the receipts, boxes and plastic bags with the lens. All they do is take up more shelve space and to them it brings little to none added value. When you are selling the lens yourself it makes a big deal and of course when buying a used lens it's an added value to the customer, but again, minimal to none to the retailer.


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## iaind (Nov 22, 2011)

Another problem in the UK is the VAT rule. If your friendly neighbourhood camera shop bought your lens for Â£750 he would have to sell for Â£ 900 to cover VAT alone , then add cost of servicing, the obligatory 90 day warranty and resale margin and the cost will rise to well over Â£1000.


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## Canon Rumors Guy (Nov 22, 2011)

Jettatore said:


> I'm wondering if anyone has any specific details, estimate/figures or generalized standards for figuring out the retail markup that stores put on lenses, bodies and equipment.
> 
> I'm being told by a salesmen that they basically make little to no money selling new lenses and that they only make money on used equipment and accessories. I am certain that this is what most salesmen of cameras and lenses say and have always said. But I don't necessarily believe them, and that is what I'm after,-how accurate is this common line, or is it a total line that many just learned to accept but is far from reality?
> 
> In most retail, electronics and computer components included, etc. etc., there is a significant markup. Any detail, or hard evidence on how camera retail works and what the actual/estimable margins are. Thank you very much.



Retailers make next to nothing on camera lenses and camera bodies. He's not lying. I worked a long while in retail, and there was rarely a double digit margin. That usually only happened at launch, and when things were hard to come by.

Here's a few true story examples. (Canada)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christmas Situation
Canon G9
Dealer cost $464
Sale price: $449 (Price Match on say Staples)
Visa @ 1.2%: $6.09 (after tax)
Total Cost: 470.09

Canon Provides 2% volume discount from a large Christmas order.
+ Another $15 sell through rebate claim.

$24.28 Back to the retailer.

Dealer sees both of these credits 6 months down the road.

Total raw profit on the G9 sale: $3.20

100% factual true story. This isn't an anomaly. This is why your local camera retailer spends most of the Christmas season crying over loss leader flyers from Wal-Mart and Staples.

So when they say, "no you can't have a free bag or memory card"... there's a reason.

There's a reason the local camera store is a dying breed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Canon EF 800 f/5.6L IS 

Dealer Cost: $10,480
Merchant Account Cost: $149
Sale Price: $10,999

Raw Profit: $370

You get the idea.......

These examples were at various different times, prices have changed since then.

CR


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## Jettatore (Nov 22, 2011)

You guys are all awesome, thank you for you're posts. I love this bag of worms.

I'm going to devil's advocate. But why would someone who works for a store, especially in this day in age, have the real access to what the owner paid for it... I wouldn't be surprised if one has to sign an NDA that they will never mention "inside information" even to long-time employees.

If I was a store owner, I would have 2 books, one for me, and one for my trusted employees. Just because if he knew how much I was making, it would be harder for me to deny him a raise. Lol.


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## canonwhore (Nov 22, 2011)

Canon Rumors said:


> Jettatore said:
> 
> 
> > There's a reason the local camera store is a dying breed.
> ...


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## awinphoto (Nov 22, 2011)

I'm worked at a camera shop back in the day and applied at others... What I know is 1), camera stores make profit, sort of, on used gear... Many of times I've tried to trade my used gear in stores and reps told me in whisper "sell it on ebay/craigslist"... The camera store I worked at over a decade ago had a blue book type book to rate prices on used gear... they offered lowball prices and went off the suggested retail based on the book. 2) one store i applied at once told me as an employee, they are eligible for 20% off all gear... that tells me there MUST be some padding in the price to be able to absorb that rate... and lastly 3), another store I applied at said I would make 30% commission on all warranties and accessories I could sell... When you buy from stores and they push warranties/filters/etc... that's why... there's commission. That one store in particular said the base pay was near minimum wage but with commissions, it was possible to make double/tripple that in commission (i turned that job down). Frankly my local stores near where I live cannot compete with the likes of Adorama/BH Photovideo so I would garner their prices are probably a hair over cost because they move so many units, all the profits as little as they may be rake up...


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## jcns (Nov 22, 2011)

Jettatore said:


> Now that I can start to buy, thanks Mt. Spokane.
> 
> 15% is still pretty good. Certainly not the same as saying (we make no money) 15% is $150 profit on every $1,000 moved. Customer pays the sales tax, every expense is a write-off, and they more than cover the overhead on the accessories and then some.
> 
> ...



expenses are not write-offs. Expenses are deductions.
both write-offs and deductions will be paid from the gross margin.
15% margin (any margin) on the item needs to pay for all other expenses. Which means, if you have a profit of $150 from a $1000 camera, you still need to pay rent, taxes, fees, employees, advertisement, etc, etc.


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## Jettatore (Nov 22, 2011)

Fair enough jcns, but if anyone expects me to believe these major superstores can run in a building 1/3 the size of one of the larger style blocks in one of the most expensive cities in the world, and they run the whole profit end of the business off the back of filters and camera bags, and that they aren't making money on the actual expensive products they sell, I'm just going to nod and smile. They must sell a massive amount of filters and fanny packs, lol.


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## Hillsilly (Nov 23, 2011)

To find the cost of a product, look for the lowest possible price on eBay. No matter what the item is, there will be someone out there trying to sell for only a small fraction over cost (hoping, usually erroneously, that increased volume will lead to increased profits). You can then use that cost to work out the margin from the retail store. For fun, compare HDMI cables on eBay vs retail shops.

Jettatore asked why a store owner would give their employees access to the cost of the item. Smart retailers and wholesalers run stock systems that list the retail price, the purchase price and their lowest possible sale price (which factors in overheads and a nominal profit). This allows the sales staff flexibility when dealing with customers who are shopping around and tells the staff member how low they can drop their prices without incurring a loss. Good retailers arm their staff with as much information as possible.

It also allows them to upsell customers more effectively. For example, they might bundle a memory card, extra battery and a filter and "drop" $50 off the overall price to secure the sale. Good retail people can think on their feet and come up with solutions quickly that allows them to appear price competitive.

Of course, the sales people are also accountable. They would have their own performance and profit targets to meet. If they gave everyone a discount, they probably wouldn't have a job for much longer.

Sadly, good retailing is a dying art. I doubt there will be too many retailers selling high end camera gear in future years. Most of the good camera shops I know are already located in industrial areas and you choose your items over the internet before turning up to collect it. Nowhere near as much fun. Plus no haggling.


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## Zuuyi (Nov 23, 2011)

Jettatore said:


> Fair enough jcns, but if anyone expects me to believe these major superstores can run in a building 1/3 the size of one of the larger style blocks in one of the most expensive cities in the world, and they run the whole profit end of the business off the back of filters and camera bags, and that they aren't making money on the actual expensive products they sell, I'm just going to nod and smile. They must sell a massive amount of filters and fanny packs, lol.



Best Buy makes little money on most major electronics. Or even video games. But they make tons of money on accessories. I remember when I got certain popular accessories at 90% off and video games were at best a couple dollars off.

They carry the popular electronics so that you buy the accessories. Go to Best Buy and look at the price of cd/dvd holder and then look at similar one on eBay, you will see where their profits come from.


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## J. McCabe (Nov 23, 2011)

awinphoto said:


> another store I applied at said I would make 30% commission on all warranties and accessories I could sell... When you buy from stores and they push warranties/filters/etc... that's why... there's commission.



Reminds me the time I bought a 1.4x EF extender, and the guy asks me whether I want a filter to protect it's front element from scratches.

Told him no thanks, I have a whole lens to protect the extender's front element.


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## JackSw1ss (Nov 23, 2011)

This is an interesting thread.

I'd like to share how is the situation where I live (Switzerland) and perhaps get some feedbacks from you guys

Ok, let start saying that suisse is not as other countries, we have free traffic of materials, meaning that we don't have banned items or stuff.
Though since we are "closed" everything is applied to the Swiss Franc value, so everything imported must be converted to our value and it seems that sometimes people make a real big crest (markup) at this step.
The big thing chopping our leg is that all is value converted so if Euro goes S*** we gain as consumer (but as export country we are in deep S) and vice versa.
Example. With the crisis of euro (and consequential reinforcement of the franc) all the prices of imported stuff had to be re-made and re-valued.

5DII back in may/june still was at about 2740 Dollars...today is 2045 circa. (I'm pulling the trigger btw LOL)
this because the leveling of the prices to the change of the value is approx on a 6 month period basis (when the dealer bought the 5D and how long stayed in stock...if he bought it back in january he bought it from importer at a higher price)

though the biggest problem here is that, those prices above are from a website called toppreise (top prices) which is a website that shows the best prices for a specific item from the cheapest to the more exp from all the online/fisical shops of the Switzerland. this is great
but if I go to a local shop, curious how much a 5D is? today is about 3100 dollars BODY ONLY....yes you read it correctly.
That is a completely different story....local shops are crazy, really and cant understand why.
on the website i find a 50 1.4 canon for 330 dollars....local shops sell it for aroun 480 dollars.

how do you explain that???
there are some market flows that I really don't understand...

But the king of the examples is....you know elinchrom is suisse right?
well I bought a set for about 1400 dollars....buying it from BH, same set would have been about 900 dollars, saaaame set...ok this is related to different condition of life in different country but geez, it's made in CH stuff LOOOL.

Cheers


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## scottsdaleriots (Nov 23, 2011)

I think it also depends on the retailer; if they're a franchise or not/well-known store or a bunch of family members starting up a business and buying imports then reselling you them. I thin obviously the more well-known stores have a high mark up price. For example two camera stores here selling the 7-200 2.8 IS II have a signigicant gap (IMO anyway, always trying to get a good/cheaper price for any camera gear I buy) between their retail price. Up to $250 difference.

But yeah stores won't sell you something that they wouldn't see getting them a profit (if that makes sense, busy day today for me, I'm tired).


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## mreco99 (Nov 23, 2011)

just for info, i recently traded in 3 canon lenses to our local UK camera store.

Â£200 70-300mm non L
Â£150 60mm macro EF-s
Â£150 Tokina 11-16mm

Sure i probably didnt get top dollar, but i got a no hassle instant sale, supporting my local camera store.
Im happy, and i guess they are else they wouldnt have traded.


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## JackSw1ss (Nov 23, 2011)

mreco99 said:


> Sure i probably didnt get top dollar, but i got a no hassle instant sale, supporting my local camera store.
> Im happy, and i guess they are else they wouldnt have traded.



I would love to support local shops myself, too. But hey, if you read my above post look at the price difference.
I mean, I'm about to purchase a 5DII at about 2000 dollars only body, but at local shop they want almost 3000!!!
I mean seriously, I get the fact that they have a different flow of money and of business but this is almost like robbing, geez.
The only thing I bought from them was a used 24-105. I was on the market for a used one, seeing prices of about 800-900 dollars exactly one year ago. I entered their shop (as always to try to sneak for some good affairs, lol how i deceived I am) knowing it was not a good economical period for them (wonder why LOL). I saw it and ask the price...they told me about 1300 dollar used...LOOOL...I told them "guys I can buy it new for around 1200 (on the website mentioned in the prvious post), c'moooon". after some debates they were firm on their decision, makin some discount but not enough...I ended up leaving with angry and saying well ok, I prefer spending 1200 on a new one than 1100 (their max discount on the used one after hours of dealing LOL), goodbye.
as I was at the entrance, opening the door, they was like "ok ok ok...c'mon let's deal more"
Long story short, I ended up paying about 920 dollars for it, with 1 year shop guarantee. but c'mon, it's crazy.
this shows you that at least for where I leave the local shops are ridicolous and they try everytime to make the crest on prices, not markup, real huuuge markups.
because if it was because of their money flow the dude would have never dropped the price to 920 dollars. that shows the bad attitude.

I tried month ago to fight for a 5DII in the same shop...but as said above, they want about 3000 $, and with new equipment they are firm on their prices...I told them, sorry I will buy online, I won't support the local shop that's 10 mins away from me, spare about 950$ and have the same exact product...bye bye

that's really ridicolous.


other locals are same as far as prices go, i dunno really why, maybe it's because of their smaller economic/money flow.
And when we speak of our lovely big whity lenses the things start to get crazy.
Listen up, if you are able to find a lets say 400mm 2.8 (talking version I, not the mark II) that in US is about 8100, $ here they go nuts.
they charge, listen up, about 11500 $ for it....I'm speaking of local shops...LOOOOOOL
on the website where I buy it's inline with your prices of US and rest of the world.
No comment


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## mreco99 (Nov 23, 2011)

Jacksw1ss i understand your position totally, and im the same, i wont (cant justify) paying over the odds when i can get it cheaper.
I was fortunate that my local store supplied me with my 5dII +3 lenses+bag a few weeks ago for a good price (and i am a keen/skilled internet shopper)
The 5DII+24-105lens was about Â£200 over the cheapest i could find online, but to make me happy he gave me a spare canon battery and a 16gb 400x compact flash. Yes i paid a few pounds over the cheapest ever deal online, but i got personal service and a face i can take stuff back to if i need to. I agree though i wouldnt pay the difference you are talking about just for a personal service, we all have our limits.
In my experience smaller independant stores are more likely to offer you a good deal. A well known store here in the UK beginning with J wouldnt budge an inch and when i mentioned online prices he got decidedly annoyed at me. I wont be going back to the J shop.


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## MK5GTI (Nov 23, 2011)

I used to believe all these sample posted above, but not anymore after i read a deal thread from a Canadian forum:

this is thru pricematch, easily 18% off






shock? wait till you see this:
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cost + 10% for eomployee's friend, employee pay only cost +5%





so yeah, cost is $1350, but thats obvious is without overhead cost


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## DavidM (Nov 23, 2011)

probably between 1 and 15 %


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## leGreve (Nov 23, 2011)

Canon Rumors said:


> Jettatore said:
> 
> 
> > I'm wondering if anyone has any specific details, estimate/figures or generalized standards for figuring out the retail markup that stores put on lenses, bodies and equipment.
> ...



I can confirm this in Denmark as well... I currently work with a guy who used to work as a retailer in one of the two main stores. They hardly make anything on a sale, but the way they scrape in some change is by receiving quarterly bonuses based on how much the store has sold of a particular brand. Also the reason many danish retailers only keep one brand of the big guys.


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## unfocused (Nov 23, 2011)

DavidM said:


> probably between 1 and 15 %



I nominate DavidM for the prize for the most succinct answer. 

MK5GTI: A little more explanation please. It looks like the store/stores gives employees a 25% discount. I don't see anything that says what the actual cost of the 5D II is to the store. Maybe I'm misreading this. Some retailers who offer employee discounts offer those discounts across the board (giving their employees the discount even on sale items). Where are you seeing the store's cost? Can you explain in more detail what this is showing?

jacksw1ss, mreco99, leGreve, and others: I think I've concluded from these and many other posts on this site that it really sucks to live in Europe when it comes to buying things.  On the other hand, you do get to live in Europe while we Americans have to pay an arm and a leg just to come visit for 10 days.


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