View Full Version : Wally World to discontinue film processing at some stores ...
I just got this note from a friend and co-worker, who knows somebody employed at Wally World in photo.
The word is that two area Wally World Supercenters will discontinue film processing one week from today. These are not the only ones, the order apparently affects quite a few nationwide. Film from these stores will then be shipped to some central site for processing.
The threshold for stopping film processing was an average of less than 10 rolls per day over the last so many months.
I very seldom shop at Wally World, and the two mentioned are waaaayyyy out of the way for me (I might speculate that the demographics of those two areas, recently built suburban sprawl, would indicate a concentration of digicams) but I don't see this as a good thing at all.
Ray Nalley
08-31-2008, 06:21
Better watch it, they'll start accusing you of being Sitesnipper or whatever the name is.
Better watch it, they'll start accusing you of being Sitesnipper or whatever the name is.
Huh????? ...
Ray Nalley
08-31-2008, 06:37
Sorry. Any suggestion I've made that film sales are anything but great have people calling me "Jim" or site somebody.
More on topic, the Wal-Marts in my area have also either already stopped processing film on site or have announced they will stop doing so within the next couple of months. Not surprising since they don't have any film cameras for sale.
Take heart dmr, you can always process it in your own sink. :-)
Beemermark
08-31-2008, 07:12
Up until a few months ago all the -marts still carried a somewhat large amount of amateur film, Kodak and Fuji, even C-41 B&W. However this month I noticed the film selection is way, way down. No fuji, just some Kodak 400. Bigger selection of disposable cameras.
Film is dead, I need to stock up.
Photography has always been fueled by the masses. People who want a (A) memento quickly and (B) people fascinated by the newest piece of equipment and are trying to keep up with the Jones. The (A) people are the people that kept the mass film developers like wally world going. (B) people never actual shot that much to begin with. (A) & (B) People have gone digital, it's only logical. Professionals have gone digital because to remain competitive it makes economical sense in every way.
And that leaves us. Advanced, passionate amateur photographers that rarely, if ever, used Wally World for processing, or buying film, anyway. Economics don't matter because we have a passion fueled by just getting the best imagine completely made and controlled by our talent. We love mechanical, metal cameras made by people who cared about making the best. Cameras that retain their value after half a century and aren't disposable after 6 months. Cameras and processes that are unique. While we don't number the same as the masses (A) or Professionals (B) I think we still number enough that film is not dead.
charjohncarter
08-31-2008, 07:13
I wonder if the less than ten rolls per day is going to affect other large stores (Costco, Walgreens, etc). I would hate to loose my Costco film processing and scanning.
Ray Nalley
08-31-2008, 07:16
Exactly. We are not price sensitive like the general consumer.
Ray Nalley
08-31-2008, 07:19
I think it has already effected Walgreens. The last time I was in there, there was only a tiny three or four foot square of pegged film on the wall, mostly Kodak 400 and 800.
Any suggestion I've made that film sales are anything but great have people calling me "Jim" or site somebody.
Oh, for Pete's sake, now we have to play along with this?! :rolleyes:
You keep repeating the mistake that made the previous user-ID's disappear: the constant, droning repetition of the same subjects - film is really, really dead; my Canon 5D is the best camera in the world; Leica's going out of business.
A suggestion: next user-ID, try adopting a slightly different writing voice. And don't mention living in Texas and owning a '69 Mach I Mustang.
Ray Nalley
08-31-2008, 08:15
What the heck are you talking about? This forum has been struck by some kind of paranoia. Never seen anything like this.
photomoof
08-31-2008, 08:21
My CVS has just reduced film to a small area in checkout, my guess is they are going to stop sales and processing very soon.
I was just buying there to mess around a bit with film (just thinking of returning a bit to film), but it was very convenient to buy and process only a few blocks from my home.
Of course I do not expect B&H Photo, or Pro Labs in midtown, to stop anytime soon, but it is a much longer subway ride to them.
photomoof
08-31-2008, 08:25
What the heck are you talking about? This forum has been struck by some kind of paranoia. Never seen anything like this.
Oh Jimmy Ray, you all do carry on so... ;)
I was in Wally World yesterday picking up three rolls of slide film, including two Kodachrome, that came back within a week for approx. $4.80 per roll, so no complaints from me there. Hadn't been in the store in many months, and that's when I noticed the new all-digital printing film department. I only go in there to send stuff out anyway, but it is an ominous change. Not long ago, the manager at Walgreen's referred to slide film as a "dinosaur" after I asked if they would be getting any more in, ever. Guess not. This is unfortunate but not tragic; the debate has never been will the big box stores keep selling film, but rather whether our niche will be large enough to support it as such. My guess is still yes.
So the mainstream has ditched film. Does this come as a surprise to anyone here?
The sooner film disappears completely from Walmart shelves and the popular conscious, the sooner I can start charging more for offering an "exotic" service. :D
bean_counter
08-31-2008, 08:59
the closest wallyworld stopped months ago; the Fuji machine broke down, and they chose not to have it fixed/replaced. this is a larger "super wallyworld" store that does a LOT of digital printing
I would expect film to be 100% outsourced soon
So I may have to send it off. No big deal. Just a much larger incentive to get that film scanner & shoot triditional B&W & do my own developing. I think I'll put that order in to Freestyle next week.
charjohncarter
08-31-2008, 17:40
I like kevin m's reponse. There is something different about film. I've tried and tried to make digital look like film, I've used 50 year old lenses on my DSLRs and software stuff. It just isn't the same. Exotics like Polaroid, color negative film though an old folder, even a Holga, purpose processed B&W (push-pull-or goof up), using totally poor lenses, or just grain are going to live, maybe not widely but we will always like what we see, even if it is different from the normal. My First Six Folder at its best or maybe its worst, who is to say: (kevin, I hope you can charge 'bastante' for your exotic work, let's see some.)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3210/2704504266_5cec4a0540.jpg?v=1217096206
Up until a few months ago all the -marts still carried a somewhat large amount of amateur film, Kodak and Fuji, even C-41 B&W. However this month I noticed the film selection is way, way down. No fuji, just some Kodak 400.
Actually, around here, anyway, Wally World lately has been the best for off the shelf selection of film. They usually have Fuji in 200-400-800, and that has been hit and miss at Target' lately. I don't go there very often, but I do seem to recall the Kodak B&W C41 and the various Kodak Max stuff there too.
Take heart dmr, you can always process it in your own sink. :-)
I really don't want to do that, but I may have to.
Film availability in big stores seems to have a lot of regional variance. I never use the Wal-Mart, but I checked it last week based on a thread here last winter that said ALL Wal-Marts were dropping film this past January. Didn't happen here. Still lots available.
Sure were a lot of film cameras at the last 2 events I shot.
Al Patterson
09-01-2008, 08:01
Up until a few months ago all the -marts still carried a somewhat large amount of amateur film, Kodak and Fuji, even C-41 B&W. However this month I noticed the film selection is way, way down. No fuji, just some Kodak 400. Bigger selection of disposable cameras.
Film is dead, I need to stock up.
Photography has always been fueled by the masses. People who want a (A) memento quickly and (B) people fascinated by the newest piece of equipment and are trying to keep up with the Jones. The (A) people are the people that kept the mass film developers like wally world going. (B) people never actual shot that much to begin with. (A) & (B) People have gone digital, it's only logical. Professionals have gone digital because to remain competitive it makes economical sense in every way.
And that leaves us. Advanced, passionate amateur photographers that rarely, if ever, used Wally World for processing, or buying film, anyway. Economics don't matter because we have a passion fueled by just getting the best imagine completely made and controlled by our talent. We love mechanical, metal cameras made by people who cared about making the best. Cameras that retain their value after half a century and aren't disposable after 6 months. Cameras and processes that are unique. While we don't number the same as the masses (A) or Professionals (B) I think we still number enough that film is not dead.
I never found that WalMart carried anything I was interested in, as I shoot slide film or B&W. Back in 2004 I went looking for a roll of slide film and found it in a Rite Aid of all places.
Now back when I was growing up, the local photo store sent ALL the film away to Kodak or some centrally located processing center. What does appear to be happening is that digital has now made enough inroads to make those one hour photo machines no longer profitable enough to be everywhere. We knew it was comming, and now it is happening. Plan to wait a while longer for your prints and keep shooting...
David Murphy
09-01-2008, 08:21
I just had a roll of 120 Agfa processed at my local Walmart. Price: $1.55 plus tax, prints and negatives, perfect results. Recommended to all.
pesphoto
09-01-2008, 08:26
Has anyone seen the doucmentary on WalMart?
I refuse to even step foot in a place like that, even if it was the last place on earth to process or buy film!
amateriat
09-01-2008, 10:04
My CVS has just reduced film to a small area in checkout, my guess is they are going to stop sales and processing very soon.
Fred: I recently dropped off some film at the CVS on 9th Street. Is that the one you mean? (The Rite-Aid near me on 7th Avenue is switching to Fuji chemicals, and has been "down" for a few weeks.)
Hate to drag m'self into Manhattan for this (that's been the case with E6 film for years now), but if I have to, I have to.
- Barrett
I was shocked to find the local CVS had C41 B&W and Tri X with a 2011 expiration.
OTOH, They have a one hour, with a trained technician, but the machine is badly dated, so the day I was trying to get test rolls, everything was blue, including the XP2, Smurf city.
Not likely to replace the machine, she also told me they toss lots of paper as it expires.
It becomes Catch 22, they let the processing go to the dogs, and then wonder why the volume is down, and toss materials. They used to have rather good C41, changed the rollers and chemistry on a regular basis.
My real photo store is 40 miles, and is shutting down E6, and I better get that roll of 828 to them soon. I think I will soon be scanning everything to have it printed RA4.
They seem to wonder if Kodak will honor mailers for E6, any news on that front? Is Fuji doing processing by post? My Agfa mailers are for the museum of photographic oddities.
John
I just had a roll of 120 Agfa processed at my local Walmart. Price: $1.55 plus tax, prints and negatives, perfect results. Recommended to all.
David,
Is this the mail out service?
Such a low price is awesome if the negatives don't come back to you scratched. With "perfect results", you have a super deal here.
David Murphy
09-01-2008, 11:53
Raid, yes they send this out.
My local WalMart's technician was a darkroom lab technician for a furniture manufacture for 38 years. He retired then got bored so took a job at WalMart. I just dropped off a negative strip of T Max 400 I developed last night to be scanned. I do hate the day when I lose this relationship.
Taipei-metro
09-01-2008, 14:40
I just had a roll of 120 Agfa processed at my local Walmart. Price: $1.55 plus tax, prints and negatives, perfect results. Recommended to all.
Hi,
May I ask which Wal*Mart did you go to?
There's no W-Mart in Pasadena but a Samy's Camera that may take 120s,
The nearest Duarte or Rosemead W-Mart both are at least 10 miles(16 km) away from Pasadena. $1.55!!?? prints and negs?
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