Would Adorama lie to you?


Addendum: One more "one" camera that earns a raspberry for one of my favorite photo merchants.

Adorama, where I've bought my share of digital and film camera bits, sent me an email hyping a deal on, among other items, the Polaroid One 600 Classic Ultra Instant Camera.

Huh?

"Classic" is only partly right. In a few weeks, it'll be a relic. Polaroid's discontinuing its line of instant film for these beasts. What would I do with this camera in, say, 8 months? Make a hood ornament for my wife's SUV?

C'mon, Adorama. I trust you guys, usually.

But selling this photographic equivalent of the AMC Pacer isn't playing straight. Unless you're going to be carrying Polaroid 600 instant film well into 2010, you should have a disclaimer somewhere that tells would-be buyers that the One 600-Classic is destined to be as useful as my Kodak Six-Sixteen Junior camera is today.

Admission o' Guilt Dept.: I've always had pricey habits; my first film camera was a Polaroid Colorpack II, and you had to apply lacquer to your B/W prints as soon as they developed. When my Dad gave me his original SX-70 instant camera in the early '80s, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I was a big Polaroo for a long time, then the digital revolution steamrolled the company. The guys who own it now have all but lost their shirts in the investment bank disaster, and they're threatening to dismantle what's left of Polaroid today. Sad, sad conclusion.

Comments

Helen Oster said…
Dr Dave

I was concerned to read your blog, and really not sure what issue you are raising.

The name "Classic Camera" is the name given by Polaroid, not by Adorama - so we can hardly advertise it without using the manufacturer's given name!

As you noted in your blog, you are aware that Polaroid is planning to discontinue film for these cameras - as no doubt Polaroid enthusiasts would be.

In fact, we are aware that Polaroid enthusiasts have been snapping up these cameras, as iconic memorabilia - with no intention of removing them from the box, let alone actually shooting film with them.

You will have seen that Adorama is currently selling the Polaroid 600 instant film for this camera, but as retailers, it would not be feasible to guarantee how long stocks of this film will last, as that is, of course, dependant upon how much we sell…….

Isn't your suggestion that selling this item "isn't playing it straight" unless we provide a guarantee that we will be able to supply film "well into 2010", the same as insisting that the Ford Motor company shouldn't sell any more automobiles without a guarantee relating to the long-term availability of gas?

I am pleased to read that, nevertheless, Adorama continues to be "one of my favorite photo merchants"
December 29, 2008 at 11:26 PM
davek57 said…
Helen: Adorama's web page for the Polaroid One 600 camera says: "The commonly available polaroid 600 type film works with the Ultra as well." That film won't be "commonly available" very long. It's not the same as your Ford anaslogy, because Exxon Mobil hasn't publicly said they'll discontinue making gasoline in 2009. Polaroid however says: no more instant film as of 12/31/08. That means the One-600 Classic is destined to be little more than a curio after the current supply of instant film is exhausted.
December 30, 2008 at 6:57 AM
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