Clinton Lum wrote:
I feel sorry for those who have rented gear because per Calumet's rental policies, their credit cards have holds on them for the value of the gear. 


"A deposit for the full replacement value of all rented equipment
is required. A hold will be placed on your credit/debit card for
the total value of the equipment. We accept Visa, MasterCard,
American Express and Discover cards. We cannot accept
overseas credit cards drawn on non-USA banks. Please be aware
that the funds will be withdrawn from the account and refunded
upon return of all equipment and accessories."

Call CC company up and tell them the company tanked.. CC chargesback and all is good.  Plus if you rent under 6k, its only 20% of the cost of the item as a deposit.

Clinton Lum wrote:
I feel sorry for those who have rented gear because per Calumet's rental policies, their credit cards have holds on them for the value of the gear. 


"A deposit for the full replacement value of all rented equipment
is required. A hold will be placed on your credit/debit card for
the total value of the equipment. We accept Visa, MasterCard,
American Express and Discover cards. We cannot accept
overseas credit cards drawn on non-USA banks. Please be aware
that the funds will be withdrawn from the account and refunded
upon return of all equipment and accessories."

DAVfoto wrote:
Call CC company up and tell them the company tanked.. CC chargesback and all is good.  Plus if you rent under 6k, its only 20% of the cost of the item as a deposit.

Not necessary.  The hold only lasts for seven days and then it is released automatically.  They normally authorize the full value of the equipment to make sure you have enough open credit to cover it if it is stolen or a total loss.  If no charge is actually processed within seven days the authorization expires.

GPS Studio Services wrote:

A Tip - Photo Supply on Bryant Street is going out of business in two weeks.  They still have some seamless paper left and it is deeply discounted.  The selection is waning quickly, but if you want some, they still have a few rolls in stock cheap.

Damn. I went past that place last weekend. FUCK! Actually, I was surprised that they are still around. That was the spot to go to for us Academy of Art students. Plenty of film and better deals. I still have some 4x5 negative and chrome film from them.

GPS Studio Services wrote:
A Tip - Photo Supply on Bryant Street is going out of business in two weeks.  They still have some seamless paper left and it is deeply discounted.  The selection is waning quickly, but if you want some, they still have a few rolls in stock cheap.

Legacys 7 wrote:
Damn. I went past that place last weekend. FUCK! Actually, I was surprised that they are still around. That was the spot to go to for us Academy of Art students. Plenty of film and better deals. I still have some 4x5 negative and chrome film from them.

They scaled back, over the years, as people retired.  They used to be the largest grip and rental house in the city but the managers moved on as they got older.  The store was doing just fine in its smaller form.  The owner died a few months ago, and that is the reason it is closing.  It isn't because they couldn't survive.  They were still the go to place for archival supplies, film and darkroom chemicals.  They did a good business.  The family just doesn't want to keep the store running.

There are some great bargains there.  You might want to stop by while there is still something to be had.  There are only two weeks left.

GPS Studio Services wrote:

GPS Studio Services wrote:
A Tip - Photo Supply on Bryant Street is going out of business in two weeks.  They still have some seamless paper left and it is deeply discounted.  The selection is waning quickly, but if you want some, they still have a few rolls in stock cheap.

They scaled back, over the years, as people retired.  They used to be the largest grip and rental house in the city but the managers moved on as they got older.  The store was doing just fine in its smaller form.  The owner died a few months ago, and that is the reason it is closing.  It isn't because they couldn't survive.  They were still the go to place for archival supplies, film and darkroom chemicals.  They did a good business.  The family just doesn't want to keep the store running.

There are some great bargains there.  You might want to stop by while there is still something to be had.  There are only two weeks left.

I wasn't aware that the owner passed away. Yeah, I will go tomorrow. That's where I use to go for my mat and supplies for my pictures for midterm and finals. I'm going to miss that place. They had all of the materials.

big house imaging wrote:
Wow, I almost went to the one that was in Tysons Corner (VA) to rent a lens today...They bought out Penn Camera a year or two ago...

I was kind of surprised when they maintained the high-rent mainstream rental spaces like the Tyson's store. I just bought some 120 film at the DC/Chinatown location, it looked like a ghost town even a few weeks back.

The two most successful camera stores in the DC/Balt area are Service Photo in Baltimore, and Ace Photo in Leesburg VA. Both moved into low-rent retail locations years ago. They don't get walk-in traffic, but if you go there you are a serious buyer, not someone who wants to look and then go to best buy to save $5.

Mike Kirwan Photography wrote:
Update from Calumet UK and some details on why Calumet US did what they did. Looks like a financing deal fell through. But according to the article they are planning to open again.

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/ph … ket-update

MK

Well, if the Ritz guys are in charge - they can look forward to 2 more bankruptcies after they "Return"

I JUST got a camera back from their repair - and I feel like the luckiest SOB alive

Andrew Somers wrote:
Wow, so a company that OVERCHARGED for everything actually went out of business? Shocker! lol.

Pretty much.

GPS Studio Services wrote:

They scaled back, over the years, as people retired.  They used to be the largest grip and rental house in the city but the managers moved on as they got older.  The store was doing just fine in its smaller form.  The owner died a few months ago, and that is the reason it is closing.  It isn't because they couldn't survive.  They were still the go to place for archival supplies, film and darkroom chemicals.  They did a good business.  The family just doesn't want to keep the store running.

There are some great bargains there.  You might want to stop by while there is still something to be had.  There are only two weeks left.

If the business was viable, then there was a market value to the store, they could have found a buyer.  A family just doesn't  walk away from a valuable asset.  I find your explanation illogical.

Giacomo Cirrincioni wrote:

Actually, not too long ago.  They were about the only place in NYC you could go to on a Saturday if you needed something. 

Also had great repair and rental service.

That's all I used them for recently here in DC. I understand why Penn Camera went under, the local chain they bought out, I don't understand why they bought Penn if their business was already on the decline. Penn made a lot of stupid decisions over the years, I worked there when I was in school and watched it wither away after I left.

I just don't understand why a brick and mortar franchise would expand when business was declining for that overall industry. Didn't they learn anything from they way too big Ritz chain? Meh.

No longer having a local rental place in the District is going to suck. There is only one camera shop left that isn't a Ritz and they suck.

This BTW we're closed overnight shit they pulled on their employees is pretty much what happened to the locals here when Penn closed, some of them reapplied and worked for Calumet. I'd hate to be through that process twice.

Robb Mann wrote:

big house imaging wrote:
Ace Photo in Leesburg VA. Both moved into low-rent retail locations years ago. They don't get walk-in traffic, but if you go there you are a serious buyer, not someone who wants to look and then go to best buy to save $5.

ACE reminds me a lot of what Industrial Photo was like in Silver Spring during the 90's.

Robb Mann wrote:
I was kind of surprised when they maintained the high-rent mainstream rental spaces like the Tyson's store. I just bought some 120 film at the DC/Chinatown location, it looked like a ghost town even a few weeks back.

I'm also kind of convinced that the development of E Street killed the "Chinatown store" as an entity that location built the empire. It was originally on Penn Avenue in the "camera district" along with the pawn shops and burlesque clubs. When they decided to build the FBI building on top of all that Penn relocated across from FBI next to where the McDonald's used to be. That whole stip was sketchy in the 90's sometimes even though FBI HQ was right there.

Penn was paid handsomely to move to make way for FBI, then move to the 9th and E location to make room for the new restaurants, etc. The irony to me is that the Leica store is not far from where Penn was in the 90's and that store has practically been doomed to fail since they opened the doors there.

GPS Studio Services wrote:
They scaled back, over the years, as people retired.  They used to be the largest grip and rental house in the city but the managers moved on as they got older.  The store was doing just fine in its smaller form.  The owner died a few months ago, and that is the reason it is closing.  It isn't because they couldn't survive.  They were still the go to place for archival supplies, film and darkroom chemicals.  They did a good business.  The family just doesn't want to keep the store running.

There are some great bargains there.  You might want to stop by while there is still something to be had.  There are only two weeks left.

the lonely photographer wrote:
If the business was viable, then there was a market value to the store, they could have found a buyer.  A family just doesn't  walk away from a valuable asset.  I find your explanation illogical.

The value of the real estate was worth far more than the business.  They own the buildings and they are in prime SF locations.  It made a lot more sense to close down and convert to cash than it would to sell the business.   

If you had more knowledge of the actual situation you'd understand their reasons for choosing to close down.

GPS Studio Services wrote:

GPS Studio Services wrote:
They scaled back, over the years, as people retired.  They used to be the largest grip and rental house in the city but the managers moved on as they got older.  The store was doing just fine in its smaller form.  The owner died a few months ago, and that is the reason it is closing.  It isn't because they couldn't survive.  They were still the go to place for archival supplies, film and darkroom chemicals.  They did a good business.  The family just doesn't want to keep the store running.

There are some great bargains there.  You might want to stop by while there is still something to be had.  There are only two weeks left.

The value of the real estate was worth far more than the business.  They own the buildings and they are in prime SF locations.  It made a lot more sense to close down and convert to cash than it would to sell the business.   

If you had more knowledge of the actual situation you'd understand their reasons for choosing to close down.

and why would'nt they sell the business and lease back the locations to the new owners? They'd get rental income and depreciate the property. They'd get a cash flow and not have worry about the business as you say.  I would suspect if what is being said is true, 

The value of the business and assets far exceeds their ability to pay the death tax.  Essentially 50 0/0  of the market value of the business and property holdings. If no death tax insurance is owned. Then the heirs would have come up with 50 0/0  of the value.  As determined by UNCLE SAM.. 

They would have to liquidate to pay the taxes...

GPS Studio Services wrote:
and why would'nt they sell the business and lease back the locations to the new owners? They'd get rental income and depreciate the property. They'd get a cash flow and not have worry about the business as you say.  I would suspect if what is being said is true, 

The value of the business and assets far exceeds their ability to pay the death tax.  Essentially 50 0/0  of the market value of the business and property holdings. If no death tax insurance is owned. Then the heirs would have come up with 50 0/0  of the value.  As determined by UNCLE SAM.. 

They would have to liquidate to pay the taxes...

You are being silly.  The land and buildings are worth millions the business is worth thousands.  Just because it turned a profit doesn't mean that someone would pay any kind of big bucks for it. A business like that is typically worth the value of its inventory and hard assets plus a year or two of profits.

Inheritance taxes don't kick in until you meet a threshold and their are multiple heirs.  I'm not even sure, the way the trust was set up that inheritance taxes even apply.  The owner did estate planning in advance, plus they brought in consultants to evaluate the situation and provide recommendations from which they made a very informed decision.  It would be better if you spoke with a knowledge of the facts rather than simply speculating.

GPS Studio Services wrote:

You are being silly.  The land and buildings are worth millions the business is worth thousands.  Just because it turned a profit doesn't mean that someone would pay any kind of big bucks for it. A business like that is typically worth the value of its inventory and hard assets plus a year or two of profits.

Inheritance taxes don't kick in until you meet a threshold and their are multiple heirs.  I'm not even sure, the way the trust was set up that inheritance taxes even apply.  The owner did estate planning in advance, plus they brought in consultants to evaluate the situation and provide recommendations from which they made a very informed decision.  It would be better if you spoke with a knowledge of the facts rather than simply speculating.

He doesn't know San Francisco. Ditto on the land/property value. San Francisco is pretty much like NYC. Valuable. PLUS, with the major construction going on not too far from the area, (Transit Bay), they'll make a ton of money off of that property.

GPS Studio Services wrote:

You are being silly.  The land and buildings are worth millions the business is worth thousands.  Just because it turned a profit doesn't mean that someone would pay any kind of big bucks for it. A business like that is typically worth the value of its inventory and hard assets plus a year or two of profits.

Inheritance taxes don't kick in until you meet a threshold and their are multiple heirs.  I'm not even sure, the way the trust was set up that inheritance taxes even apply.  The owner did estate planning in advance, plus they brought in consultants to evaluate the situation and provide recommendations from which they made a very informed decision.  It would be better if you spoke with a knowledge of the facts rather than simply speculating.

really.  Does that apply to Google stock as well? Google virtually has no tangible assets other than stock value propping it up, so what if I am speculating?  The land and property may have been leveraged over the years for cash, and they could be underwater now. One does not simply close the doors and declare bk  .its a legal maneuver to avoid paying creditors. Including the IRS

Legacys 7 wrote:

He doesn't know San Francisco. Ditto on the land/property value. San Francisco is pretty much like NYC. Valuable. PLUS, with the major construction going on not too far from the area, (Transit Bay), they'll make a ton of money off of that property.

. Valuable if enough people are willing to pay for it,  and if there are enough people have the means to pay for it. The more valuable. The higher the tax burden.  somebody has to foot the bill  enough people are leaving California for other states, you may think there is plenty of people coming in to fill in the displaced, that's not by choice  commuting used to be an option in Los Angeles till gasoline hit 4bucks plus and the systematic dismantling of the freeways to put in toll roads, got very expensive. The housing got to not much choice in high rents, high costs, high utilities high every damn thing. Part of the game to extract high real estate taxes from high property values which city benefits from sparse housing. And competition to get "affordable" housing,   But then San Francisco,  is it's own country. I think it's all going downhill...

Ken Marcus Studios wrote:
For those of you in Los Angeles, and particularly the Hollywood area, you should know about Simons Camera which is just a block north of where Calumet was.

I've been doing business with them for years and much preferred them over Calumet for most things.

Sammy's is a pain to deal with, but they do have a huge stock and also a large rental department.

If you haven't been to Simons . . . try them

KM

(no . . . I don't have a deal with Simons, but I feel it's important to support the smaller camera stores before they all disappear)

I've known Simon when he was on Vermont near LACC. They got some decent stuff. Not huge. But I get a lot of my paper. And other stuff from them.    That area has a lot of photo rent yard for lighting. And other PRO  stuff.

the lonely photographer wrote:
One does not simply close the doors and declare bk  .

Burger King?

the lonely photographer wrote:
. Valuable if enough people are willing to pay for it,  and if there are enough people have the means to pay for it. The more valuable. The higher the tax burden.  somebody has to foot the bill  enough people are leaving California for other states, you may think there is plenty of people coming in to fill in the displaced, that's not by choice  commuting used to be an option in Los Angeles till gasoline hit 4bucks plus and the systematic dismantling of the freeways to put in toll roads, got very expensive. The housing got to not much choice in high rents, high costs, high utilities high every damn thing. Part of the game to extract high real estate taxes from high property values which city benefits from sparse housing. And competition to get "affordable" housing,   But then San Francisco,  is it's own country. I think it's all going downhill...

Like I'd said. You don't know San Francisco. The city's property value is like NYC. That "somebody", excuse me, those somebodies are the tech industry moving in from San Jose. And like I'd said, with the Transit Bay project near the area, the property is valuable. It's not hard to to sale property in the city. Especially with the tech. industry moving in. Instead of trying to start shit with the person who was pointing out what was told to him, you should try keeping up with what is going on around the Bay area. Food for thought. Google is now here,(and several others) and people are fearing that the rent will go sky high due to the tech industry moving in. Shit, Google has it's own bus here for their employees.

http://www.latimes.com/business/technol … 5141.story

Legacys 7 wrote:

Like I'd said. You don't know San Francisco. The city's property value is like NYC. That "somebody", excuse me, those somebodies are the tech industry moving in from San Jose. And like I'd said, with the Transit Bay project near the area, the property is valuable. It's not hard to to sale property in the city. Especially with the tech. industry moving in. Instead of trying to start shit with the person who was pointing out what was told to him, you should try keeping up with what is going on around the Bay area. Food for thought. Google is now here,(and several others) and people are fearing that the rent will go sky high due to the tech industry moving in. Shit, Google has it's own bus here for their employees.

http://www.latimes.com/business/technol … 5141.story

We'll see how long that lasts

GPS Studio Services wrote:
You are being silly.  The land and buildings are worth millions the business is worth thousands.  Just because it turned a profit doesn't mean that someone would pay any kind of big bucks for it. A business like that is typically worth the value of its inventory and hard assets plus a year or two of profits.

Inheritance taxes don't kick in until you meet a threshold and their are multiple heirs.  I'm not even sure, the way the trust was set up that inheritance taxes even apply.  The owner did estate planning in advance, plus they brought in consultants to evaluate the situation and provide recommendations from which they made a very informed decision.  It would be better if you spoke with a knowledge of the facts rather than simply speculating.

the lonely photographer wrote:
really.  Does that apply to Google stock as well? Google virtually has no tangible assets other than stock value propping it up, so what if I am speculating?  The land and property may have been leveraged over the years for cash, and they could be underwater now. One does not simply close the doors and declare bk  .its a legal maneuver to avoid paying creditors. Including the IRS

Who said anything about them going bankrupt?    I told you, they were solvent.  The buildings were paid for years ago.  They are simply selling the inventory and moving on.  Legacy 7 already explained it to you.  They are far better off selling the buildings than running the business.  Nobody is getting stiffed here.

Why are you making something so simple and so obvious, so sinister

Legacys 7 wrote:
Like I'd said. You don't know San Francisco. The city's property value is like NYC. That "somebody", excuse me, those somebodies are the tech industry moving in from San Jose. And like I'd said, with the Transit Bay project near the area, the property is valuable. It's not hard to to sale property in the city. Especially with the tech. industry moving in. Instead of trying to start shit with the person who was pointing out what was told to him, you should try keeping up with what is going on around the Bay area. Food for thought. Google is now here,(and several others) and people are fearing that the rent will go sky high due to the tech industry moving in. Shit, Google has it's own bus here for their employees.

http://www.latimes.com/business/technol … 5141.story

the lonely photographer wrote:
We'll see how long that lasts

I'll give you a good example.  I just had to move out of the city because the building I was in was sold.  We were in a prime, downtown location in SOMA/South Beach.  It too was a situation where the owner had died and the heirs were dealing with it.

The building was purchased in 1962 for $23,000.   It sold for $8,000,000 to a developer.  The developer is spending another $8,000,000 to rehab it and turn it into upscale offices.

The family could have kept the building and made a couple hundred thousand dollars a year in rents or they could have put $8,000,000 in their pocket.  There were several other buildings in the estate so they'd already sold one and paid all the taxes.  The point was they opted for $8m now rather than the rental profits.

Things are selling like that in SF right now because they prices are obscenely high.

the lonely photographer wrote:
We'll see how long that lasts

So instead of admitting that you both jumped to conclusions and you're wrong, you let your ego say, my pride is the issue now.

The cost of living is nothing new in San Francisco. When the most of expensive cities come up in the States, San Francisco and NYC are the most common two that come up. Even through hard times, they find a way to keep those prices high because they know that people will buy it. The only time that San Francisco had to humble itself was after the Dot.com bubble bust. Rent control came and prevented people from loosing out. But the only reason why that helped was because after the tech com bust, there weren't anymore of those double figure people to pay for those homes and properties anymore. We're still coming out of the recession, but you can see the signs of the economy and real estate picking up. Zyga, Google, Twitter and several other companies are here. And if those aren't proof that you're wrong. Here's one that really stands out. On the south side of San Francisco, one of the few places that is away from the downtown area, was a run down, drug infested place where runaways, hookers, drug dealers etc ruled. This area imo, looked like some of the east coast and Midwest cities ghettos. This was back in 2002/03. If you head over there now, you'd never known that this area was the same place. The entire area is upscale office buildings. some are part of UFSC college, technology buildings, apartments, DSL delivery services, transit system build tracks on those once pot holes street etc. A totally different demographics.

San Francisco is the second most dense city in the country, second to NYC. You can't compare L.A. to it. L.A. is a giant suburb with no real downtown. Most of the activities are in the suburbs, and it's spread out. San Francisco is more like Midwest and east coast cities. The heart of downtown is where business is at. Transit system, more urban with surrounding bay cities that are crazy busy. Transit here is so good, people don't have to drive. Right now, San Francisco is in the midst of building several sky scrapers. This is one project. Point? As small as this place is in size, they always find ways to build here. And the Transit Bay project is no small feet. It's huge!

Ken Marcus Studios wrote:
(no . . . I don't have a deal with Simons, but I feel it's important to support the smaller camera stores before they all disappear)

But then they can whine about the high prices and poor service and why they never bought anything there.

Local stores are pretty much a dying breed. Years ago there were at least 6 local chains in Phila area and a lot of smaller one or two store companies, now there are none and only a few (two that I can think of) good stores, all outside the city limits. Add in high taxes and Real Estate and they are all on a death watch. When I was in the camera business (20 years ago) 50% of the photo business sales went to FIVE companies, and a couple of those are gone now too.

Sablesword wrote:

About 10 days ago: I got a new camera/laptop bag from the Oak Brook store

The Oak Brook store was always my "go to" source for seamless paper and vinyl.

This is one more reason I'm glad I bought White Lightnings and not Calumet's Travellights.