The landscape of tech has changed a lot over the past 15 years. With “Tech” I mean photography as well as electronics, such as computers, printers, or even audio gear.
Back when I had just arrived in Winnipeg, there was a great store called Future Shop in Polo Park.
It was one of my favourite stores to visit, mainly because they had the gear I was interested in, except for the photography stuff. Cameras and such were available in the nearby BestBuy, but were not in the range I was looking for. I had no idea at the time that Future Shop was owned by BestBuy.
Rented luxury
I am not a market analyst of any kind; I merely write down my own experiences here. Let’s be clear about that 
. So when I was shopping in Future Shop, everything looked great, I could get all the computer stuff I needed to be fully employed, using my own gear. BestBuy, on the other hand, was more for in audio/stereo stuff and games.
Heavy breathing
Now I work in IT and tech, have done so since 1985, and when I am done with my day, I do not relish more time in front of any type of screen. That makes me a full-fledged curmudgeon in many people’s eyes. So be it . Not exactly a BestBuy customer, in other words.
Clear water
Fast forward to today… I hadn’t set a foot in BestBuy in years, so I decided to have a look to see what and if anything, had changed. To my surprise, a lot has changed. The store I visited was transformed into a place where the top-of-the-line cellphone cases were on display. In the back, some laptops and a few PCs were on sale, but the bulk of all that was there was televisions and computer gaming accessories.
The end (of the day) is near!
In other words, plastic gimmicks that had nothing to do with me. So I left for a different store. A camera store this time.
Dried up
In Winnipeg, I quite often went to the different camera stores in town. They were all slightly different, with different levels of service and gear. I loved them all. This time, I went into a well-known store in Halifax to look for a camera bag for an upcoming trip. Something a little smaller and lighter, something that didn’t require an extra camel to carry my gear.
Working class
Of course, I already reduced my “required” gear to the minimum, so that I wouldn’t have to carry it around. Last time I brought my 150-600mm to the Dominican Republic, 3 kg of glass that never saw the daylight during the trip. Not doing that again. So, the camera bag… Once I had found them in the store, I thought that a plane ticket must be included in the price of those bags!
Luxury of another kind
At the same time, the real camera gear was behind the counter, understandably, but everything else was just like in BestBuy, plastic gimmicks that wouldn’t improve anything for my photography. Ok, the carbon fibre tripods were nice, but then the budget for my trip would be annihilated by that purchase. I left the store without buying or even touching anything.
Luxury at its best
I wonder if it is me who has changed so much over the past 15-20 years, or if the market for good gear has changed in favour of gimmicky plastic accessories.
The old-fashioned way
Call me a curmudgeon all you like, but the “return to retail” was kind of a weird experience. I’m not sure if I want to do that again in the near future.
Until next time…