End of an era in Colorado Springs

Shewmakers Camera to go out of business after 71 years:
http://www.gazette.com/articles/shop_46374___article.html/krumanocker_last.html?orderby=TimeStampDescending

I saw that on the crawl on KOAA this morning. They had recently shuttered their downtown location, so I had hopes they'd survive by consolidating into one location, but not to be. I think the Internet is just too hard to compete with.
http://www.gazette.com/articles/shop_46374___article.html/krumanocker_last.html?orderby=TimeStampDescending

Aww... that is too sad... so long friends! Bye Johnny. Bye Christa... Thanks for taking care of us all these years!

As an alternative, there are two other great camera stores in Colorado Springs. Godec's and Cameraworks.

FYI, Johnnie probably saw the handwriting on the wall and has been working for Cameraworks for some time now. I'm sure the Internet has had some impact, but I also believe much is to do with the new owners and the lack of their ability to hire (and maintain) a knowledgeable staff and the fact they got rid of their excellent used camera section. I started getting complaints from my students for years and finally, had to stop recommending them. I recently stopped in at their last store on North Academy and was dismayed at the disorganization.

Godec's is sort of an "average" camera store, but they and I never really "clicked" business-wise. Cameraworks, on the other hand, has a great staff that have been there for years and they know their stuff. They also sell used gear and are able to do most repairs on-site. They do pretty well supporting pro-photographers, but could probably continue to improve their stock of pro-level gear. Maybe there's a better chance of that now that Shewmaker's is out of the picture.

Ken

I also highly recommend Cameraworks