Who owns all those shady camera stores in Brooklyn?

[hippieki11er]

You know the ones that advertise ridiculously low prices on high-end goods and then pull the bait-and-switch on you with gray market models? The ones with the gaudy neon signs in front of the stores with awful, loud music playing?

Well I noticed that they're all closed on Saturdays, which happens to be the Jewish sabbath day. Just a coincidence? I always thought the Arabs owned these places, but the majority of them (Muslims) celebrate their sabbath on Fridays.

 

[ParanoidAndroid]

Interesting post. I'd like to know who's behind them too so that I can return my genuine SUNY stereo

 

[Biggamer3]

I live in Brooklyn and i have no idea which stores you are talking about?

which area in brooklyn?

 

[NES]

Somebody just watched Zohan it seems.

 

[hippieki11er]

I live in Brooklyn and i have no idea which stores you are talking about?

You've got to be kidding me, they're all over the place. Someone's put together a nice little project about this...

http://donwiss.com/pictures/brooklynstores/


I'm going to call some of these places and see if the Jews are behind them afterall. That would be very disappointing, but not entirely surprising, to find out.

 

[Fishhead]

My guess is that they are owned by JJGOLD

 

[Vietbet]

Back in the day, they were all owned by Syrian Jews. I remember once when the guy who owned Camera Barn came to the casino I was dealing at in Las Vegas, he looked around and said "Fuck, Canon AE-1 $199, we deliver!" Of course back then Las Vegas actually had great deals on food and rooms.

 

[hippieki11er]

Back in the day, they were all owned by Syrian Jews. I remember once when the guy who owned Camera Barn came to the casino I was dealing at in Las Vegas, he looked around and said "Fuck, Canon AE-1 $199, we deliver!" Of course back then Las Vegas actually had great deals on food and rooms.

That makes perfect sense then. They look like Arabs but are Jewish. The dead give away is that they're all closed on Saturdays! I mean, come on, who would close their retail store on a Saturday (the biggest shopping day of the week), unless they absolutely had to? And I'm not sure about the Syrian Jews, but I know for a fact that Iranian Jews are some of the most strict. You can see all of them walking around L.A., Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, in their Orthodox outfits immediately after sun down on Fridays and all day Saturday walking back and forth from their synagogues. I doubt I'm going to get any kind of straight answer though from these characters when I call to simply ask why they're closed on Saturdays!

 

[hippieki11er]

So this is what I found out, I've been on the phone since. After getting hung-up on by both Broadway Photo and Prestige Camera (the two biggest Brooklyn retailers) when I tried asking more about why they're closed on Saturdays, I finally got a straight answer from a salesman named "Bruce William" (800.849.0887 ext. 389) at Camera Addict on E. 89th street in Brooklyn. This guy was extremely helpful. Note how I never directly asked about Jews, and he was the one to bring it up first.


Here's how the conversation went:

Me: "Yeah, I'm interested in the 52" Samsung 8 series that I keep seeing advertised during NFL games."

Bruce: "Sure, those are going like water. What price did you see?"

Me: "I didn't see one, I just Google'd the TV on PriceRunner and you guys came up as the cheapest, so I'd like a quote from you."

Bruce: "OK, those are going for $2,326."

Me: "WOW, that's $1,000 under MSRP!"

Bruce: "Yeah, that's why they're going like water."

Me: "OK, now what's your name?"

Bruce: "Bruce."

Me: "Now, you're not gonna pull the 'ol bait-and-switch routine on me are you Bruce? You actually carry this model and have it in stock?"

Bruce: "No, we've got it. We've got it for sure!"

Me: "Well let me ask you something Bruce, because I've been doing a lot of research online and reading lots of reviews about your kind of stores, and I have to be honest, some of the things I've read haven't been positive and I really want to be comfortable with who I'm purchasing from before placing an order... Can you tell me why you're closed on Saturdays?"

Bruce: "Because it's the weekend, no one likes to work on the weekend in New York".

Me: "Are you open on Sundays?"

Bruce: "Actually yes. It's our heaviest call day."

Me: "Well Sunday is part of the weekend too, so why not Saturday as well? Do you happen to know if this is some sort of holiday for the owners?"

Bruce: "It might be, we've got four Jewish guys who answer phones here."

Me: "What does that have to do with you being closed on Saturdays?"

Bruce: "Well Saturday's a day off for Jewish people, you live in New York, right?"

Me: "Oh right, that's their Sabbath, good point."

Bruce: "Yeah, Shabbat, they're always talking about it here."

Me: "Uh huh. So let me ask you this Bruce, and I really appreciate all the time and info you're giving me here... Are your owners Jews too?"

Bruce: "Yeah, I think so."

Me: "Are they Arabs?"

Bruce: (Laughing) "Well, they're dark skinned but they don't wear the special costume."

Me: "Do they own other camera shops in NY?"

Bruce: "Yeah, I think three others."

Me: "Are you Jewish Bruce?"

Bruce: "Oh me? No way."

Me: "What's that mean?"

Bruce: (Laughing again) "Oh, you know."

Me: "Not sure I do, but I really appreciate all the info here Bruce. I'm going to need to think about this purchase a little bit more and get back to you."

Bruce: "OK, well call me on Monday at my direct extension (389) and I'll be able to tell you if we have this in stock for sure. And if you have any friends who need TV's give them my number."

Me: "Great, I'll do that. And what's your last name Bruce?"

Bruce: (Long pause) "William."

Me: "Your last name is William?"

Bruce: "Yeah. Bruce William."

Me: "Great. And you're not Jewish, right?"

Bruce: "No, no, I'm not Jewish."

Me: "It's fine if you are, I just wanted to understand why you're closed on Saturdays."

Bruce: "Yeah, I swear I'm not Jewish but there's lots of 'em around here."

Me: "OK great, thanks for all your help."


On the whole, I feel accomplished having gotten this information, especially after getting stonewalled from the other shops I called first. At the same time, it confirms my worst fears. Outside of him stalling on his last name, this Bruce William guy is innocent-sounding enough where you didn't get the idea that he would lie about ownership or cheat you out. I suppose if they don't try the bait-and-switch on you, it might be safe to buy through a place like this, but one should understand the risks of gray market before doing so.

 

[krk1030]

I don't know if this is in anyway related.

My dad bought a camera online from new york and I guess he could tell it was from jewish people as well.

It was sold for well under regular price, but a day after he bought it they called trying to sell overpriced acesories. Apparently if you dont buy them they cancel the order. He bought them, but later tried to return them but was told he would have to send back the camera as well because it was a package. It clearly was not a package as they were bought totally separate so he sent back just the accesories and said if they dont refund him he will challenge the charge with the credit card company.

 

[BruceOcean]

Syrians

 

[queposkid]

Rent Zohan And You Will See Who Owns Those Camera Stores..

 

[jonchan312]

What about Sleepy's Mattresses?

There's a million of those. How many of those does NY need? Dam.

 

[EveryGamblersDream]

Most of these stores provide great deals on the same exact cameras which your big name stores will rape you on price wise. They are all run by Jews so they will not be open on Saturdays. The biggest well known store in NYC is probably B&H as people from all over the world shop there & they are overrun with Jews.