Dealer representative at the LuLa

[M.Piq]

I have a question about dealer representative from Phase One at the LuLa.
How about dealer from Hasselblad or Pentax, or Nikon and Canon at the LuLa?

I can imagine that  Nikon dealer would  say otherwise that Nikon camera are better than Canon at the same way that dealer from Phase One say that they are better dan Pentax?
Bias? or yust deal between LuLa and Phase One?

[michael]

Boy we live in suspicious times. What can't things just be perceived for what they are? (Shaking his head sadly).

There are a few dealers who frequent this forum because they want to. Whether they are here or not is not something that we have arranged. There is absolutely no commercial relationship between us and any dealer or manufacturer that isn't obvious.

For example. We are a B&H affiliate. They pay us a small commission when someone buys something after visiting this site. It doesn't matter what – just something.

Capture Integration and Digital Transitions are dealers who buy ad space from us. See them at the top of the page? That is the beginning and end of our commercial relationship with them. The fact that they have reps who chat here is completely of their choosing. Any dealer, whether they advertise with us or not is also free to join the conversation.

And by way of full disclosure... Kevin used to be a Vice President at Phase One. He resigned more than a year ago to join LuLa, and is now our publisher. I used to own several Phase One backs, and for that matter cameras. I now choose to shoot with Pentax 645 as my medium format system.

Dealers say what they want about the products that they sell. The only thing that we ask is that they keep their "commercial" promotions within bounds.

In other words... no black helicopters, no hidden deals, no under-the-table handshakes. At LuLa, what you see is what you get.

Michael

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

I find it amazing that a poster who has 10 posts in the last 4-5 years comes out swinging the accusations of bias or what not!?

[M.Piq]

I find it amazing that a poster who has 10 posts in the last 4-5 years comes out swinging the accusations of bias or what not!?

OK Slobodan.
I dont have credibility because I have yust 10 post and Phase One has credibility because he has 5000 post?

You dont mind that you see Phase dealer at every page?

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

I find it amazing that a poster who has 10 posts in the last 4-5 years comes out swinging the accusations of bias or what not!?

+100.

[M.Piq]

Boy we live in suspicious times. What can't things just be perceived for what they are? (Shaking his head sadly).

There are a few dealers who frequent this forum because they want to. Whether they are here or not is not something that we have arranged. There is absolutely no commercial relationship between us and any dealer or manufacturer that isn't obvious.

For example. We are a B&H affiliate. They pay us a small commission when someone buys something after visiting this site. It doesn't matter what – just something.

Capture Integration and Digital Transitions are dealers who buy ad space from us. See them at the top of the page? That is the beginning and end of our commercial relationship with them. The fact that they have reps who chat here is completely of their choosing. Any dealer, whether they advertise with us or not is also free to join the conversation.

And by way of full disclosure... Kevin used to be a Vice President at Phase One. He resigned more than a year ago to join LuLa, and is now our publisher. I used to own several Phase One backs, and for that matter cameras. I now choose to shoot with Pentax 645 as my medium format system.

Dealers say what they want about the products that they sell. The only thing that we ask is that they keep their "commercial" promotions within bounds.

In other words... no black helicopters, no hidden deals, no under-the-table handshakes. At LuLa, what you see is what you get.

Michael

Thank you for your answer. I understand. I dont only understand "boy" because in Europe nobody say again 56 old man BOY. Maybe is this a part of the America traditions.

[M.Piq]

+100.

Wow. 8315 post for +100. Very clever.

[Paul Gessler]

I dont only understand "boy" because in Europa nobody say again 56 old man BOY.

I don't think Michael was calling you "boy", he was using the word as an idiom: (Oh) boy

[M.Piq]

I don't think Michael was calling you "boy", he was using the word as an idiom: (Oh) boy

I am not familiar with America culture and I yust say that in Europe nobody say this. Actually this is internationally forum, I  guess.

[M.Piq]

I find it amazing that a poster who has 10 posts in the last 4-5 years comes out swinging the accusations of bias or what not!?

I didnt mention LuLa about bias.
Michael has that very good understand.
I am talking about bias from dealer. Is this now clear for you?
Actually I asked that Michael and I didnt ask you anything as I know.. O yes you get one more post. I see.
You get more cerdibility.

[Chairman Bill]

I am not familiar with America culture and I yust say that in Europe nobody say this. Actually this is internationally forum, I  guess.

Whilst it might be something of an Americanism, you'll find that it's a phrase in common usage in parts of Europe, such as England, Scotland, Wales & Ireland

[M.Piq]

Whilst it might be something of an Americanism, you'll find that it's a phrase in common usage in parts of Europe, such as England, Scotland, Wales & Ireland

In other side of Europe (Germany,France, Netherlands) is another story.....

[dchew]

I didnt mention LuLa about bias.
Michael has that very good understand.
I am talking about bias from dealer. Is this now clear for you?
Actually I asked that Michael and I didnt ask you anything as I know.. O yes you get one more post. I see.
You get more cerdibility.

Check your original post; you did not ask Michael directly, you posted an open question on an open forum. It seems to me it would make more sense for you to go to those Nikon, Canon, Hasselblad and Pentax dealers and ask them why they are not involved here, vs asking at Lula. There doesn't appear to be anything stopping them other than their own effort. I wish there was more presence by industry folks, but that rarely remains civil unfortunately.

My speculation is the value of a potential customer that can be harvested from Lula by Digital Transitions and Capture Integration is significant. Sure they post here because they are knowledgable and offer value to us Lost Struggling Photographers, but I bet they evaluate how much time they put into monitoring and responding to these forums vs. how many customers they bring in from these forums. Salespeople spend time where they will get the most value.

Probably not so much with Canon or Nikon because of normal market dynamics and segmentation. The higher-end equipment requires a higher level of customer support vs. Walmart or Costco selling a Nikon/Canon D710000000xtiRebellish-EOS.

As Michael said, no black helicopters or secret dealings in the back of the restaurant.

Maybe that's another Americanism...

Dave

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

In other side of Europe (Germany,France, Netherlands) is another story.....

You must have noticed that the language of the site is English, so no surprise idioms will be English too.  The site might be international by readership, but it is clearly North American by ownership (the founder is Canadian and publisher American). A few obscure idioms will be quickly explained by members, if asked. No need to feel offended.

[michael]

Definition C —used interjectionally to express intensity of feeling <boy, what a game>"

It's similar to saying "wow", but with a negative connotation in this instance.

Michael

[dreed]

...
I used to own several Phase One backs, and for that matter cameras. I now choose to shoot with Pentax 645 as my medium format system.
...

This has me curious. What do you see as being the benefit of the 645 system over Phase One?
Were you able to keep any of your lenses or bodies?

[michael]

It is part of what I do to constantly explore what is new and interesting in the industry so that I can write about it. (Kevin does as well now, obviously). Since funds aren't unlimited this means that we sell older gear to purchase new cameras and lenses that interest us.

So, the fact that I had a piece of gear and now no longer do should not be interpreted as a lack of interest in it or as a criticism. It just is the reality of how we operate this site and our review process. We do accept the loan of review samples of new gear, but we do not accept any free equipment. We therefore buy everything at retail that we use long-term.

Michael
 

[ErikKaffehr]

Well explained…

Erik

Definition C —used interjectionally to express intensity of feeling <boy, what a game>"

It's similar to saying "wow", but with a negative connotation in this instance.

Michael

[dchew]

Erik,
I can't help but think there might have been something else you wanted to say...


Dave

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

It seems I posted an empty message. Just pushed the wrong button, sorry.

I don't really have issues with dealers posting on this forums. It is normally quite clear which poster are coming from dealers.

Some dealers, like Steve Hendrix, are posting really good info.

Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Sony et. al. have a different business model and don't rely on dealers. If you want to assemble a good kit of MFD/technical camera stuff, I guess that you need a good dealer. With lesser systems I would say the needs are much lower. There is an awesome amount of information available on test sites like DxO-mark, Photozone or SLRGear, but you need to evaluate that information on your own.

Best regards
Erik

Erik,
I can't help but think there might have been something else you wanted to say...


Dave