Lowell Moderator Username: Lowell
Post Number: 2216 Registered: 09-2003
| Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2009 - 11:31 pm: | |
Been there since the fifties and one of the most respected camera and photography shops in the D. Sad. Between the web and the crash it was too much. I will always remember them for supporting the Adray Baseball League from whence a lot of major league players emerged. |
Gannon Member Username: Gannon
Post Number: 9026 Registered: 12-2003
| Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2009 - 11:53 pm: | |
Whoa, did this happen today? A friend just showed me a few pictures he took there...and I thought it was days ago...if not yesterday. Funny, they went from local favorite to competition villans after I hired into Tech Hifi after High School in Dearborn. The guy was almost single-handedly Mr. Sports in Dearborn...whatever the season. Hockey or baseball...I cannot remember if he sponsored any other sport, though. But that logo was EVERYWHERE, and branded a bunch of youth into loyal customers for life. I don't remember anyone buying cameras or luggage anywhere else... |
Huggybear Member Username: Huggybear
Post Number: 279 Registered: 08-2005
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 12:51 am: | |
Ditto on the "when was this?" |
Kova Member Username: Kova
Post Number: 223 Registered: 12-2003
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 1:10 am: | |
www.deepsaidwhat.com |
Gsgeorge Member Username: Gsgeorge
Post Number: 725 Registered: 08-2006
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 1:38 am: | |
Really sad, but I am happy to see that they are thinking of moving to a smaller space. That means they'll still be able to order for us if they don't have things in stock, and best of all their staff will still be around in some capacity (right?). As a photographer, I would make the drive to Adray even though other stores were closer because of their incredibly knowledgeable and attentive staff. I promised myself it would be the only camera/photo store I would go to after years of terrible experiences at the mediocre Woodward Camera in Birmingham and after dealing with high prices & rude staff at Camera Mart in Pontiac. Adray will be missed. |
Reddog289 Member Username: Reddog289
Post Number: 931 Registered: 08-2007
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 2:24 am: | |
Also sad to see it go. When I was a younger Adrays was the place to go.They seemed to have it all. |
Softailrider Member Username: Softailrider
Post Number: 279 Registered: 02-2007
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 5:30 am: | |
Too many folks out to save a few bucks by purchasing on the internet or at China Mart. Try getting some good camera advice from the clerk at Wallmart. Say you need some fishing gear, you can go to an actual sporting goods store and get waited on by someone who knows and enjoys fishing, or, you can go to Wallmart save a buck or two and get help from some clerk who doesn't know a fish hook from a box of condoms. |
Beech_cricker Member Username: Beech_cricker
Post Number: 58 Registered: 10-2008
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 10:48 am: | |
Gsgeorge, I must admit I have only dealt with Camera Mart on a limit basis but I had no issue with their service and their pricing, at least for enlargements, was far more competitive than Adray (this was about a year ago). I've long thought Adray's photo department was pricey. Having said that I find it sad they have to close (and I'm not buying this retirement thing).--Jeff |
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd
Post Number: 3546 Registered: 07-2004
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 10:52 am: | |
I used to buy all my old Super 8 film at Adray. Bummer. |
Big_baby_jebus Member Username: Big_baby_jebus
Post Number: 70 Registered: 09-2008
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 10:56 am: | |
just got back from picking up a new camera 20min. ago. Got me a Fuji S100, its so nice. There was a huge line of people waiting like vultures. The old lady behind the counter said they are NOT really closing, they are currently looking at moving to a smaller store location. I sure hope she's right! |
Birdie Member Username: Birdie
Post Number: 119 Registered: 04-2007
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 11:02 am: | |
NONONONONONONONONO!!!!!! i love adray. i just bought my new camera there last summer. i hope they move...maybe downtown? |
Crystal Member Username: Crystal
Post Number: 380 Registered: 05-2007
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 1:09 pm: | |
We heard the news this morning on WJR. Our whole family totes (in some cases, lugs) binoculars, cameras big and small, tripods, and lenses around, all from Adray. My brother bought some nice - and I do mean nice - Leica binoculars from Adray fiftenn years ago, and to this day Duncan says a kind word about Adray's Jerry Sadowski whenever he bird watches. |
East_detroit Member Username: East_detroit
Post Number: 1965 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 1:22 pm: | |
Great, now where will I get my medium format 120 film developed? |
Gsgeorge Member Username: Gsgeorge
Post Number: 726 Registered: 08-2006
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 6:08 pm: | |
East_Detroit, try Titan Professional Printing in Troy. They have a very knowledgeable and attentive staff & will meet all your development & printing needs without having to send your film out. |
Brownfieldguy Member Username: Brownfieldguy
Post Number: 34 Registered: 02-2009
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 6:21 pm: | |
I am glad to hear that they are not closing. This economy would make it hard for a specialty provider such as Adray to stay in business. I tried to frequent their former location in Troy, but unfortunately found their staff to be elitist and arrogant. It really turned me off. |
Huggybear Member Username: Huggybear
Post Number: 280 Registered: 08-2005
| Posted on Saturday, February 21, 2009 - 10:31 am: | |
I'm sad it's closing, but it's mostly sentimental. Some of it was a lack of price competitiveness in consumer goods - but their photography business (what became the core of Adrays) was fantastically mismanaged. |
Zephyrprocess Member Username: Zephyrprocess
Post Number: 644 Registered: 08-2006
| Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2009 - 1:59 am: | |
Whether it was mismanaged or not, their photography business is what will persist in whatever future form Adray's assumes. They just can't support a store the size of the current footprint on the camera business alone. |
Beech_cricker Member Username: Beech_cricker
Post Number: 60 Registered: 10-2008
| Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2009 - 10:13 am: | |
Other than an employee or two stating that Adray's is not closing but simply going to move g into a smaller location, has there been any official word on this from ownership? Their ad in Friday's Freep simply says "the Adray Family has decided to retire and close their store in Dearborn." If this "retirement" is to believed, that certainly does not sound like they may be moving into a smaller store. Instead, it indicates they are going out of business. Interestingly, Adray's website says nothing about these current events--it implies business as usual. What a strange way to run a business. |
Reddog289 Member Username: Reddog289
Post Number: 939 Registered: 08-2007
| Posted on Monday, February 23, 2009 - 1:29 am: | |
I had onetime heard that Adray's was going to move to that big chain shopping center just down Outer Dr. I drove past Adrays while going to the Lowes store. I felt kinda sad knowing that Adrays would not be at their original location.That being said I got talked into finally buying a digital camera, Should see what they got at Adrays. (Message edited by reddog289 on February 23, 2009) |
Gsgeorge Member Username: Gsgeorge
Post Number: 727 Registered: 08-2006
| Posted on Monday, February 23, 2009 - 1:36 am: | |
quote:Interestingly, Adray's website says nothing about these current events--it implies business as usual. What a strange way to run a business. Quite the contrary. They have said they want to keep the online store running, and anyway why would they bother saying they're retiring to their online customers, many of whom are out-of-state and know nothing about the history of Adrays in Dearborn (the magic of the Internet)? They could potentially turn away wary online shoppers with such an announcement on the website. |
Beech_cricker Member Username: Beech_cricker
Post Number: 64 Registered: 10-2008
| Posted on Monday, February 23, 2009 - 12:29 pm: | |
Gsgeorge, good point, I think. I understand what you're saying about out of staters or those that shop their only on line. But what about those looking for info on their store? They DO mention their store in the upper right corner with their address. It just seemed odd that they wouldn't say anything about their store closing and sales as a result.--Jeff |
Mallory Member Username: Mallory
Post Number: 324 Registered: 05-2006
| Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - 9:19 am: | |
Super 8, projector lamps, stereos, I bought it all at Adray's. Went to Highland once because they had a reel-to-reel priced where I could afford it over the Adray one (I was 16, what did I know), but everything else was purchased at Adray. It was like going to a hardware store. You could truly talk shop there. Great place, great staff, and very representative of what is missing at the big boxes these days. No community service, just big BIG savings!!! GMAB. I will definitely miss Adray's. |
Island Member Username: Island
Post Number: 60 Registered: 01-2005
| Posted on Wednesday, February 25, 2009 - 12:33 pm: | |
Adray sponsored my Dearborn softball team for 14 years, '72-'86. You couldn't go to one of Dearborn's dozen ballfields without seeing Adray advertised on someone's jersey. A new/less talented team would get silkscreened T-shirts. The more you won, the more you got. We would sit down late winter with an Adray guy and get our new 'budget', which was all on account only at Big Bill's sporting goods on Ford Rd. After many years we had accumulated a LOT of stuff...multiple uniforms/shorts/bats/bags/jack ets etc. After winning Men's B one year, made the jump to Men's A and a way bigger budget...2 complete uniforms (lights/darks, pants/shorts) embroidered sewn team logos. There was also an order to the Adray team name you received, which I think was Adray Appliance, then Photo, Camera, Sound ...of course, we bought eveything at Adray (player discount if you knew who to talk to). Mention "Never on Sunday's" to the local boomers, they'll know what what your talking about. |