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site updated 1/18/08
We have examined some of the
online dealers who specialize in cameras and electronics,
looking behind the ads and websites to find out who they are and how they
do business. We chose some of the most visible companies -- the ones with heavy
national advertising and prominent ranking on internet search engines. Many
of them have sprung up in the last
few years, while some have been around online and in traditional stores
for decades.
Judging from customer surveys, newsgroup discussions
and published articles, some of them are held in high regard while
others are despised.
There were some surprises. The biggest one is that many apparently
separate and competing dealers are actually jointly owned and run. This is
no secret to followers of the many online photography and video forums, but
we believe the intertwining is unsuspected by most consumers. On
this site we've grouped many of the dealers into "families" to clarify their
identities. They form a truly tangled web, with many overlapping corporate
connections, addresses and telephones.
Another surprise was that some dealers act mainly as brokers,
with little or no inventory of their own and no "real stores." In our opinion
this should not disqualify a business from consideration, but it does contribute
to frequent misunderstandings about what is "in stock".
The biggest obstacle to any research is that some dealers
go to great lengths to conceal their locations and management. Sadly, this
disguising seems to be the norm for many newer, web-only merchants.
We believe that open information benefits both consumers and dealers.
We have included the names of individuals where we could
find them, so that consumers know whom to contact with compliments or questions
or complaints about a specific
transaction.
We believe that a businessperson who is proud
of the way his or her business is conducted will be proud to be publicly
associated with it.
Some of our information may be out of date, as some companies
may change location, telephone numbers or personnel. We welcome updates
or corrections via email here.
Sources Cited
Much of the information on these pages is attributed to
these sources:
• Domain: the Internet's domain
name
registry information -- who created the domains and when
• NYS: corporate registration information available
online from New York State
• NJS: the same, from New Jersey
• CAS: the same, from California
• BBB: records maintained by the Better Business Bureau
• Alexa Internet: the largest website statistics tracking and data service
Although no ratings-site's dealer reviews are entirely reliable (as shown on this
page and this one),
we have linked to some on Reselerratings.com, which appears to be one of the best.
We recommend the first-hand accounts of Photo.Net members on
their Camera Shops page.
We neither encourage nor discourage purchases from any company mentioned here.
Website and all contents ©2008 by sheddingsomelight.com. All Rights Reserved.
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