“Bruce is more than a boss. He’s a friend, and you don’t let friends down.” Twenty-year-old Vince Lohman started at Roberts Camera in Indianapolis, Indiana, 39 years ago. At the time, he worked for Bruce Pallman’s parents—Roberts’ founders, Bob and Rose Pallman. Now warehouse manager, Vince—as well as his wife and daughter—work for third-generation owner Meredith Reinker.
At Roberts, the importance of leadership cannot be understated. The current principals are Bruce Pallman, managing partner; Meredith Reinker, general partner/president; and Corey Reinker, director of Operations and UsedPhotoPro. Since 1957, the Pallman family leadership has attracted hardworking, passionate employees who care about each other, the products and the camera retailer’s customers.
Further, leadership clearly understands they don’t just sell cameras, and they infuse that into their team. Staff members are passionate photographers who shoot gear from all points in history and across brands. They love photography and want their customers to love it, too. The retailer’s overriding mission is to make sure its customers have the right equipment to help them accomplish their vision.
For example, in the warehouse, Vince and his energetic team take pride in every box they ship. “The customer sees our delivery like a present they’re excited to open.
“We pack each box with care and precision. Damaged or short shipments are very rare. Bruce—and now Meredith—keep us at our best with their high expectations and leadership.” Many nights, one of the warehouse team will even take a package to UPS or FedEx because the customer, who badly needs the order, called after regular carrier pickup.
“We know the box could be tumbled, crushed and rolled over. We pack product like Indy 500 drivers safely tucked in their cars,” explained Vince.
It works the other way, too. The warehouse alerts the buying team when a vendor has a high percentage of errors or damaged, poorly packaged products. Vendors who can’t provide optimum products see their business with Roberts decline.
Profitable Ventures Expand Roberts Camera
Roberts’ 35,000-square-foot building is a Midwest showplace in terms of size, inventory and smart, friendly salespeople. The staff loves to engage with other photographers, whether amateur, professional or in-between.
Further, the store is full-service, including a Noritsu printer for the photo lab installed in June. The lab offers C41 and E6 color services, B/W services as well as a suite of digital printing, including posters, canvases and photo books. What’s more, each area has a department manager working to make their department more impactful.
While a one brick-and-mortar location, Roberts has expanded its presence dramatically via e-commerce. A significant amount of the camera retailer’s current revenue comes from two relatively new ventures: UsedPhotoPro and Roberts Amazon Marketplace. Further, the focus on e-commerce growth through both robertscamera.com and usedphotopro.com is a top priority for the entire team.
Both the new ventures were started when Bruce became a friend to his sales reps. In separate confidential discussions, Nelson Coppedge was looking at opportunities outside of KEH; Josh Steele was looking to leave Wynit Distribution. Separately, they asked their friend Bruce Pallman for advice.
They each had a vision of how to use their talents to dramatically grow Roberts. Would Bruce be interested? In both cases, Bruce expressed interest, but with conditions. The ventures had to show positive results within the first 12 months. (Bruce doesn’t stick his toe in the water. He plays to win.)
In addition, Bruce committed resources to give both ventures a good chance to succeed. He didn’t assign tasks to existing people saying, “Spend a few hours a day on this.”
Instead, he hired teams whose job was to fully support the ventures or move on if they didn’t work out. He was committed as were the people he hired to support the new ideas.
UsedPhotoPro (UPP)
What is today known as UsedPhotoPro (UPP) was launched when Nelson met with Bruce as well as Corey Reinker in 2012 at CES. Bruce asked Corey, Nelson and eBay expert Phil Winget one question: “Can you make this self-sustaining in a year?” Their resounding “Yes!” caused Bruce to green-light the project.
Corey and the UPP team operated in Indianapolis, while Nelson remained in Georgia as head buyer. He acquired as many used goods as he could for the new company. In the process, Nelson became a “remote employee” long before most of us understood that term.
UPP Problem Solver
As director of UPP, Corey is a hands-on leader and avid listener. Employees come to him with ideas that are new to them. Sometimes Corey explains “the rest of the story,” things the employee didn’t know that might render the idea unworkable. Often, he will implement the idea, knowing the payback won’t be as significant as projected. However, the payoff is employees know they are heard.
Other times, the idea may need a champion. Then Corey asks, “What do you need from me to make this work?” That sends the clear signal that the idea isn’t on Corey’s “to-do list,” but the employee is responsible for implementation.
One such idea was “Gribble Grabble.” That’s the internal buzzwords for all the miscellaneous stuff and junk that accumulates with trade-ins. Things like old lens caps, weird filters, cases, etc.
The warehouse had pallets heaped high. It wasn’t a priority for the UPP buyers because the unit prices were generally small.
Nonetheless, Nelson Coppedge indicated he could build a team in Georgia to sift through these piles, photograph every item and quickly list them on eBay. With new software, the team incorporate the items into kits, so old lens hoods are sold with the used lenses they fit. Moreover, the longer Gribble Grabble item sit in the warehouse, the less they’re worth. Outstanding sales have reduced the piles; product is sold and reused rather than sent to the landfill.
Corey also oversees Wednesday manager’s meetings. His frequent questions: “What can we change? What can we upgrade?” Further, each January, all employees of UPP gather for a big brainstorming session with a focus on improving processes, while the department continues its growth.
NEO Custom Software
Undeniably, Corey’s skills and focus have made UPP a major player in the global used camera market. In fact, business was too good. A few years back, they would go to retail stores and buy used gear. Retailers wanted events in the last quarter of the year as the events free up photographers’ dollars to buy new gear. Customers who traded in with these retailers got higher value than those requesting cash, thus boosting retailers’ year-end sales.
Pallets of purchased gear were shipped to UPP’s warehouse. Because of this volume, the buyers had to come off the road in January to work in the warehouse, helping process the increased inventory. 
Subsequently, Corey studied the problem, analyzing each touch point (“pain point” is probably more accurate).
Investing in what has now become a mid-six-figure system, he devised a total revamp of their information technology. His process flow through a custom-built software system is internally referred to as NEO.
NEO monitors inventory levels of each used product with a serial number, margin, current market pricing, possible accessory sales attachments as well as myriad other attributes. There’s an indicator if it’s been too long since a price was reviewed against market conditions.
In UPP’s frequent e-mail blasts, a quick look at the NEO dashboard alerts the marketing team of the highest value SKUs with the slowest turnover. These items are headlined in the “on sale” section of their website or e-mails.
A recently added attribute for NEO is also detecting stolen items. Well received by retailers, it keeps UPP from buying stolen goods. Retailers who’ve had serial numbered items stolen are encouraged to add their stolen equipment to the list by e-mailing the info to creinker@robertscamera.com.
NEO Always Evolving
Furthermore, when a buyer attends an event on the road and purchases gear, the sale is instantly entered into the database. This helps identify inventory availability to salespeople. It also keeps other buyers aware of what’s in and out of stock. They adjust their buying offers accordingly. 
Each step of the receiving, cleaning, checking as well as repair (when necessary) is tracked. As a result, NEO has helped to reduce UPP’s inventory significantly, while boosting products available for purchase and catapulting sales. It’s increased the speed of product availability by more than 50x. Products are online more quickly. It’s even possible to sell the product the same day UPP acquires it—impossible under the old system.
In addition, Corey constantly writes down ideas to upgrade NEO. Quarterly he prioritizes these changes and gives the programming company a list of the requested upgrades. By doing this quarterly, he dispassionately weeds out what’s “nice to have,” contrasted with what’s really needed. It also makes the project a bigger order for the programmers, thus getting more attention and support from them. 
UPP is very end-user focused. “We understand it’s scary for many people to buy used gear,” Corey says. That’s why every item has its own photographs. This adds to UPP’s costs; however, other sites post the manufacturer’s image from when the product was introduced.
UPP will give token trade amounts as a goodwill gesture. To get some value from these cameras, they go into the “Last Chance” area to sell as is.
“Our site is full disclosure. You see exactly what you’ll get, not what it used to look like. It’s also why we offer a 180-day warranty, one of the longest in the used camera business. We want to make it easy to do business with us and ensure our customers are comfortable buying from us.”
Roberts Amazon Marketplace
In 2010, when Josh Steele wanted to professionally move from Wynit, he realized he had a solid understanding of the Amazon marketplace potential. After talks with Bruce Pallman, Josh worked remotely from Upstate New York to launch Roberts Amazon venture. However, shipping was handled out of Indianapolis.
Josh says, “Bruce always loves to do deals. He’s a man of his word and of the highest integrity. He appreciates working with good people who bring value. Our contract was a handshake, not formal paperwork. We decided what we wanted to accomplish, and he told me to go do it.”
Insights into Amazon
Josh has brilliant insights into Amazon’s history, but more important, its likely future. Here are his summations of the past and potential future.
- Originally, there were few legitimate authorized retailers in the marketplace, making Roberts unique and likely to be trusted over New York retailers.
- Since then, consumer trust of Amazon has dramatically grown.
- Customers value a true photographic specialist as a source of their purchases.
- Amazon studies product trends and directly sells most products with sales velocity.
- The only way to currently get sales volume on Amazon is to pay Amazon to keep your inventory in Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). It’s a money loser. You’re just waiting for Amazon Direct to run out of stock and your price to be lowest. Amazon today manages their “out of stocks” better, narrowing the potential for profitable sales by third-party marketplaces.
- If we can buy a significant “end of life” product with continued sales velocity, we can give the manufacturer instant cash and warehouse space, while making a few dollars for Roberts. These buys are still viable but less frequent than they once were. We can close out products, usually cheaper than the manufacturer.
- Amazon says they still have employees dedicated to working with third-party marketplace vendors. However, it isn’t what it was.
- You must be realistic when dealing with Amazon. The rules are stacked against the independent reseller. It’s not a neutral marketplace.
- Amazon offers solutions to the problems they create, many times charging for them.
- There’s no long-term stability for independents in Amazon’s marketplace. We keep a presence there in case the antitrust issues settle out in favor of small retailers. We’re positioned for the eventual opening of the marketplaces to fair competition.
A New Partner
Shortly after Josh began working with Roberts, Wynit went under. Josh had great relationships with past Wynit employees, as well as with the British team at Harman Technology. Their flagship line is the UK’s Ilford Photo. The Roberts team pitched them on becoming the exclusive U.S. distributor of their products.
The benefits of Harman working with Roberts included the retailer’s understanding of the various markets, both resellers and end users. Benefits also comprised a goal-focused strategy, including slow, measured, consistent growth. There was also an insistence on the right margin for manufacturer, distributor and reseller. Notably, Roberts could bring analog and black/white products to users who want to buy them. 
The relationship became a win-win for everyone involved. With Harman Technology/Ilford Photo as the flagship brand, Roberts Distributors has grown their business in the category. It now includes Kodak film, Cinestill, Reto and other specialty films, as well as low-priced analog cameras.
Roberts Camera: Online
Scott Crone, director of Purchasing, practiced accounting with Ernst & Young. He left to become a freelance professional photographer. One day Scott was in Roberts as a customer. Meredith asked if he’d like to join the team. He wasn’t sure he could sell, but he’d try. Scott instantly became a top salesperson. When a buying position opened, it was a natural fit for his skillset.
Scott has brought in more brands that allow direct shipment to customers under “white label” or dropship programs. The customer doesn’t know it came directly from the manufacturer/distributor. This new process allows Roberts’ customers to have a wider selection online, while manufacturers enjoy broader product distribution. 
Furthermore, some of these brands became so popular they’re also stocked in the store. The broader offerings help improve the product range and availability on the website. They also improve organic search results.
Being in-stock with products online is extremely important. It not only helps generate web sales, but it also increases retail store traffic. That’s because customers check the website to see if something is in stock before coming into the store.
Roberts Camera: Professional & Commercial
In addition, Roberts has a dedicated team that focuses on business-to-business sales. Its scope also includes working with tax-exempt, students, professional, educational and government organizations.
John Scott, director of the Professional & Commercial Sales department, says while the phone volume has remained steady over the last decade, electronic inquiries have skyrocketed. “Adaptability and versatility are the keywords for the future. We must be where the customer wants us, whenever they’re ready to communicate with us.”
John and his team are “emotionally intertwined” with what their customers are doing. This makes it easier to build and maintain growing relationships. Moreover, numerous private Facebook groups have invited Roberts’ personnel to join. This gives them insight into customers’ needs, as well as sometimes positioning them as reliable sources for accurate and timely information.
Customer Service: An Accurate Phrase at Roberts
“Press one for . . . ” doesn’t greet callers at Roberts or UsedPhotoPro. There are times when a phone call hits the third ring that Bruce or Meredith will answer to provide a quick, personal response.
Christina Asselin, director of Online Customer Service, manages phone service, e-mails, eBay messages as well as online chat. She has four full-time employees staffing the phones and answering customer inquiries between calls. The team supports all of Roberts’ customers.
They’re doing a great job. The firm has more than 22,000 five-star reviews on Shopper Approved. If they do receive a poor rating, they attempt to reach the customer and do everything in their power to fix the problem.
Some people can make customer service work intense and frustrating, but Christina and her team have thrived over the last decade. She says, “Don’t take it personally. It’s business. It’s hard when someone yells at you. But suck it up and realize their bad day doesn’t have to be your bad day. They aren’t angry at you or even at your company—they’re just angry. Keep your professionalism and help them as best you can. We treat people like people and not like a number or an order.”
To keep the department spirits high and build a cohesive team, Christina has a monthly Team Happiness Budget to use at her discretion. It could be for a night of bowling, pizza or maybe just an ice cream or coffee break during a stressful afternoon. It’s a small investment to keep the team’s spirit high, despite how some customers treat them.
The Store Tour
Meredith Reinker routinely takes visitors on a serious store tour. The visitor soon learns Meredith not only knows the names of all 70 employees, but she asks personal questions about their studies, family and hobbies. She truly cares about people. As one employee said, “When Meredith asks, ‘How is your day?’ she really wants to know.” 
The store tour for this article was 90+ minutes. Another employee said Meredith makes that walk-around to every employee daily, whether or not she’s showing anyone around. She usually times it for between 9 and 10:30 a.m. She’s been working 2–4 hours by then and needs the break.
Meredith explains: “I can’t afford not to meet everyone daily. If there’s an issue, I should know about it. If there’s a question or problem they have, we can casually discuss it. It’s not like a formal event where they see me in my office. By being available to the entire team, we try to head off any frustration before it builds. I can also hear what’s going right, which is sometimes more valuable than what’s wrong.”
The Roberts Personality
Like so many other things at Roberts and UsedPhotoPro, the personality is by design, not by default. They work hard to focus on:
- Ability
- Authenticity
- Positivity
- Community
Furthermore, the company’s unofficial website mascot is a lemur. Why? It makes people smile. It’s hard to hate a lemur. And when promoting its social media, the company says, “We’re everywhere you are (but not in a creepy way).” Humor, having fun and enjoying what you’re doing is paramount.
Interesting Things Roberts Does
Roberts originally joined PRO solely to get better pricing on some camera deals. Soon they expanded their purchasing to many PRO vendors and PRO-sourced products. Meredith was elected and annually reelected to the PRO board of directors.
At a PRO convention, Meredith listened to David Parkinson (Wilkinson Cameras, a UK PRO member) discuss how he uses a shredder to recycle cardboard. Meredith thought it was an incredible idea and bought a shredder. It has allowed Roberts to recycle their cardboard, save a lot of money on packing materials, as well as reduce storage and disposal costs of old cardboard.
In addition, Rob Collins, the company’s chief financial officer, and his accounting team are always looking for ways to maximize cashflow and reduce risks. All checks written by UPP and Roberts are “positive pay.” That means the data is electronically transmitted to the bank and isn’t paid if the bank hasn’t previously received the particulars. This prevents stolen or boosted checks from being cashed.
What’s more, retention is more important than recruitment. New employees are largely walk-ins or recruited by existing employees. While the company doesn’t encourage nepotism, several successful employees come from the same families.
Furthermore, Roberts is data driven. Analysis of web activities by consistently looking at Google Analytics and other data sources for these metrics on both UPP and Roberts Camera help to drive strategy and changes.
They consistently look at:
- New e-mail subscribers and unsubscribers (ditto followers on social media channels)
- Users per period
- Unique visitors per period
- Page views: how many and which pages
- Did customers gain access to the site by URL, search engine, link, etc.
- What items visitors enter into the site’s search
The Future Is Bright!
Finally, we would be remiss not to mention how amazingly well Meredith and Corey work together. That’s in large part because they know their individual boundaries. Above all, they mutually respect each other. They also know, no matter what action the other took, it was because they believed it was best for the company.
The future of Roberts is in great hands. We congratulate the Pallman and Reinker family and the entire Roberts team for their continued growth and success. And, of course, for being named Digital Imaging Reporter’s E-tailer of the Year!
The Team at Roberts Camera
