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Yahoo!Tony Rose Camera—located on 1253 Coast Village Road in Montecito—will close at the end of July, said owner Steve Boyajian, who credited the decision with doubled rent and competition from online photography stores. “The way people buy cameras has completely changed,” he said. “A lot of times, people will come in and get the kind of customer service only a place like this can give. They get expertise on what camera to buy, and then they leave and go on the Internet and buy a camera for the cheapest price possible.”
The store will be holding a sale offering merchandise at a 50-75 percent discount during its final days.
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THIS IS A BUMMER! I did all my business in there, those guys always helped, replaced batteries, cleaned lenses, were encouraging to everyone, you bought cameras and lenses there and they would help all the way through. Sad, sad sad!
HiAll (anonymous profile)
July 31, 2008 at 11:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
So true! Steve and his crew are knowledgeable, helpful, and very pleasant to do business with - Tony Rose Camera is another casualty of the ridiculous real estate situation here in Santa Barbara which is shutting down local businesses left and right. More and more corporate stores are moving into the area because they are the only ones who can afford to pay the inflated rents. It is sad to see our local culture slowly erode.
nonni (anonymous profile)
August 1, 2008 at 9:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Ditto previous comments. The Indies' article is a bit late. The store closed yesterday. Best of luck to Steve. Thanks for the great service and good memories!
1wahine (anonymous profile)
August 1, 2008 at 9:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
FYI 1wahine, the story was posted yesterday, when the store closed.
Matt (Matt Kettmann)
August 1, 2008 at 10:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes ditto - very sad - Tony Rose has been here over thirty years - once had a store in Goleta and some very funny radio ads. People who actually knew cameras before digital and now everyone thinks they know cameras. I guess the remodeling in that shopping center was what finally did them in. Wish the article was sooner before they actually closed, would have been nice to drop by one last time. Steve if you read this, how about posting your future plans if any? Thanks for all the help through the years.
RForsyth (anonymous profile)
August 1, 2008 at 8:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah; it's pretty sad that a community won't support their local stores. Those same people who yell and scream about not wanting a Walmart or other big box retailers in their midst will be the first in line to price shop the local stores.
I overheard a classic line just the other day in a local store. It went like this:
"Well; I **REALLY** want to support you guys. I've bought all my stuff here for years...and I'll buy here again....just match this internet price that I found last night....."
What that sort of shopper doesn't realize is that by doing business that way....he is not supporting the store; rather the store is supporting **HIM**. He's getting all the service and local store "fuzziness" but he's not willing to pay for it.
Sad.
Anyway Steve.....have a great life! You've earned it. Meanwhile; life will go on...on "Clothes Village Road.
<<Horsenrider>>
Horsenrider (anonymous profile)
August 10, 2008 at 8:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
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