Costco closes all in store photo centers.

[powderman]

   
Costco closes all in store photo centers.
« on: Today at 02:50:13 PM »

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/costco-closes-all-in-store-photo-centers#&_intcmp=hp1s1_business,hp1s

Costco closes all in-store photo departments
Costco customers can still access various photo center services online

By Lucas ManfrediFOXBusiness
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Fox Business Flash top headlines for February 12
Costco bid farewell to one of the signature staples of its business: in-store photo centers.

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COST   COSTCO WHOLESALE CORPORATION   352.75   +0.55   +0.16%

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The service closed over the weekend, and as a result, customers will no longer be able to get ink refills, passport photos, photo restoration and the YesVideo Home Movie Transfer Service.

AMAZON, HOME DEPOT, COSTCO WAREHOUSES HIT BY CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAKS, LA COUNTY SAYS

However, customers will still able to access various services online at the Costco Photo Center website for delivery to home or business, including photo prints, enlargements and posters, stationery, photo greeting cards, canvas, metal and acrylic prints, photo books, calendars, photo blankets and other gifts, and business printing.

Costco declined to comment to FOX Business on the closures. However, according to an email to customers obtained by PetaPixel, the company cited "the continued decline of prints" as the reason due to the evolution of camera phones and social media.


The retailer is urging customers with any remaining orders to pick them up at their local photo center by March 28

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News of the closings left Costco customers devastated on Twitter.

"Costco is closing down their photo center I’m DEVASTATED," one user tweeted. "They had the best prices for developing film."

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Despite the permanent closure of its in-store photo centers, Costco's business has been booming during the coronavirus pandemic.

Costco reported $42.35 billion in net sales for its fiscal first-quarter last month.

Comparable sales, excluding changes in gasoline prices and adjustments for currency fluctuations, were up 17.1% year over year. When including those adjustments, comparable sales were up 17% in the U.S., 16.8% in Canada and 17.7% in other international markets. Meanwhile, e-commerce sales were up 86% year-over-year.

In the four-week period that ended Nov. 29, after Thanksgiving, comparable sales were up 14.6% to $15.67 billion.

This story, originally published on Jan. 13, 2021, has been updated.

[Ranger99]

I'm surprised there's a photo center
open anywhere anymore.
I haven't seen any film for sale anywhere
in years.
I don't even know at the dollars I have
tied up in Nikon 35mm cameras and
lenses and filters and such.
All junk by obsolescence

[Bob Riebe]

I'm surprised there's a photo center
open anywhere anymore.
I haven't seen any film for sale anywhere
in years.
I don't even know at the dollars I have
tied up in Nikon 35mm cameras and
lenses and filters and such.
All junk by obsolescence

Low to middle level stuff is not junk but if you sell it you get pennies on a dollar.
Nikon did not kill the F system, unlike Canon and others that used a totally different lens mount in the last years so top line F mount lenses still command top line prices.
Same for top line 35 mm camera, EOS, Nikon F6 and even Leica, who really crapped on the SLR people, are selling for an average of 800 dollars

There is plenty new film out there, including smaller varieties of pro stuff; Pros who froze their now desirable but out of production low ISA film are listing AND SELLING it on Ebay for three times what they paid for it.

[Ranger99]

Yeah.  Always someone somewhere
ready to cash in.  Just like the 22lr
hustlers.  I would surely imagine they'd
be right tickled to sell their old film
for a premium.  Then turn around and
offer to develop it for a big price.
Shame so many things like that have
gone away and some have been
legislated out of existence

[BUGEYE]

I'm surprised there's a photo center
open anywhere anymore.
I haven't seen any film for sale anywhere
in years.
I don't even know at the dollars I have
tied up in Nikon 35mm cameras and
lenses and filters and such.
All junk by obsolescence

I have a pile of Pentax cameras and lenses.
But my little Nikon digital and my iPhone 11 do a better job.
That said, I kinda sorta miss the old days.