I've been in the D.C. area for about five years now, and I've noticed the largest local camera store has actually started to come close to matching the NY houses for prices on bags, small accessories, and film (about the difference in shipping). L lenses are routinely $100 more. They also are offering classes for newbies and sell scanners and printers, which they didn't a few years ago. Return policy is good. Rental department for pro stuff is average but won't break the bank.
I can understand Canon and Nikon giving a little bit of a price break to the big guys, but it is ridiculous when you see a place like B&H selling items for LESS than Canon charges the small shops for the same thing. On certain items, small shops might as well purchase the items for resale from B&H. We see it all the time... A person comes by the shop with an internet price from B&H or similar stores and asks if the price can be matched. I look up cost on the item, and sure enough, they are selling it for significantly below the cost of a small dealer.
