Re: New York Camera Stores for Buying Optics

David (dstrother@pop.dn.net)
Wed, 20 Jan 1999 20:51:04 -0500


Cbarnard52@aol.com wrote:
> 
> I am seriously contemplating buying a field scope from one of the discount
> houses in NYC and I wanted to know if anyone had any thoughts good or bad on
> the following stores. I got these names out of a recent issue of Popular
> Photography:

Dear Cbarnard52:  Since you don't indicate where you live, it's a little
difficult to direct you to good MD merchants near you, which gets us to
the real question....which is.... why try to save a few pennies when
there are good local merchants who will give fair prices, and to whom
you can turn for learning, support, and back-up if/when something goes
wrong?

Case in point:  I got the best possible deal around for my Swarovski
scope at the local Wild Bird Center, and.....are you ready for
this?....when it was delivered from Swarovski with a large white hair
between the front lenses, WBC was there to give me an on-the-spot
exchange (....and no doubt some QC person in Austria was severely
reprimanded.)

If everybody buys from NYC, Walmart, etc, pretty soon there won't be
anyone in business locally from whom we can learn, compare, and be
assured of knowledgable support and follow-up.

IMNSHO, buy shade-grown, and support your local birdingmonger.

Yours for better birding,
David Strother
Bethesda, Maryland
dstrother@pop.dn.net