We here at TechGarage would like to wish all our readers, customers and suppliers a very blessed Chinese New Year! Amidst many happenings in Malaysia including price hikes and the upcoming by-election, we like to say that the year of the Horse will definitely be a year of significance for Malaysia. We believe many business will flourish even as the horse runs through open doors.
We have worked hard on performance tuning our site recently, while adding features on our e-commerce side. It has not been easy, as we were almost compromised recently as someone tried uploading a remote control file into one of our folders. Thankfully, our security scanner got a sniff of it and told us which file was compromised, resulting in a quick removal and an auditing of the various files used on TechGarage.
New Beginnings this Chinese New Year
If you have noticed, we here at TechGarage have started uploading Battery Packs, or better known as Power Banks locally. (we still prefer Battery Packs though) This is as we have readjusted our focus to sell more on iPhone and iPad accessories, the very main aim TechGarage was started.
However, we needed a way for us to sell camera accessories as well back then, as we had ample stocks at Hambone, many which were new brands back then, like Kelly Moore and Incase. And because they were new brands, our set of retailers for Hambone either did not want to sell them or pushed the price low, and at times lower than our cost. So yes, that was why TechGarage started off by selling camera accessories, though it was not our main aim.
This year, 2014, will see us selling more of the products we are passionate about. We have always been geeks and fascinated by technology. If you have read our previous articles, you would have noticed that we have been excited about the stirrings in terms of wearables and modular smart phones. How long it would take for the technology to mature is another matter though.
In comparison, on the camera scene, the most innovative thing that came out ever since Polaroid and their instant photos were the Sony Wifi Lenses. Other camera makers have floundered and got themselves into the same rut that computer makers have been doing for many years, which is to slowly roll out cameras with bigger megapixels and a larger range of ISO.
At an ISO of 100k for the Canon 5D Mark III, which is considered crazy amounts, how much more ISO do we need before we actually stop upgrading? Just like computers, it comes to a stage where we don’t really need to upgrade anymore as the technology has matured. And just like the computer industry, because of the lack of upgrades and a rapidly diminishing price, most Windows personal computer makers ended up losing money. That might just happen to the camera industry.
The problem with the camera industry is that, it is driven by comfort. After so many years running a camera shop, asking the owner to switch to something else is an anathema. After all, the camera shop had provided for his family for many years. Even asking them to augment their business with something else is not easily accepted, as most rather not thread on unfamiliar grounds.
Thus yes, if you have been around Malaysia you might have seen casualties in the camera industry when the digital camera wave struck Malaysia. Many camera shops who still have their “Kedai Kamera” signboard have now switched to selling mobile phone reloads, watches, photostat services and some even convert to something else. In Taipan, USJ, Selangor, there is even a shop with a Kedai Kamera signboard selling clothes. Would our current set of shops be hit with the same issues if they refuse to change?
Also, being a distributor ourselves (with Hambone) we understand that sales men will tend to tell the shop owner that things will pick up. Would it really pickup? Though we have sounded the alarm bells for 3 years in a row, it is only recently that camera shop owners have started to agree with us, but yet unwilling to change.
However, here at TechGarage, we have never been change averse. Being driven by our passion for iPhone and Apple, you will find more and more accessories here within the next few months. You would also find more camera accessories being listed here as we tie up deals with our local distributors to sell on TechGarage.
How I can help this Chinese New Year and beyond?
If you, our reader found something worthy that you feel needs to be listed on TechGarage for sale, or as news, please contact us. We would truly appreciate your help. After all, we want to be the shop you can trust. And yes, in time, the shop you can hang out with as well 🙂
Blessed Chinese New Year!