So what makes a HFD?  Well here's what doesn't:  Dealers who deal in volume, government contracts, one's who move a lot of product.  So how do you know...you don't.  Any dealer will sell retail normally and you will not get a price deal.  Most expect you to know what you want, provide a part number, charge you list and shipping and tax.  The big dealers get the best wholesale pricing but are the least likely to pass it along to you.  I paint this severely bleak, as not all are heartless, but few are happy to have hams for customers.

So tell them you are a ham and you want the ham discount.  Uh huh, well that can be an ugly or dirty word with some dealers and there is plenty of foundation for their reaction.  Hams can be painful to deal with and have an expectation of entitlement.  Keep in mind that there are two sides of any fence as you search for your dealer.  So how do you know....again, you don't.  If you go in wanting the deep price cuts (don't we all), you are likely to be disappointed and that is assuming you know what the retail (easy) and then, the dealer's cost (hard) are on your stuff.

So for many reasons, here's the bottom line: DO NOT Haggle!.  If you contact our HFD's, ask for a quote but don't be a jerk if you don't like the pricing.  Hams are notoriously "cheap" but please be kind and considerate of our HFD's.

If you have no idea what you want and you need your hand held in the process, try the company's listed above.  They know hams, are hams and know you want a "good" price and they will almost certainly beat the prices of any random dealer you are likely to find.  They will also help you get what you need and likely go to some effort to help you.  They are not the B&H of the photo world, their prices could be beat if you know what you are doing.  But if you did, you'd not be here reading up on the HFD's would you?

Most dealers, including those above, will not normally price all their stuff publically, it just depends on the dealer.  You must call to get a quote or pricing.  Most dealers operate this way.  Many want to know ahead how much you have been quoted elsewhere so they can try to beat that price but they don't want to beat it by any more than needed to make a sale.  Please don't play those games with our recommended dealers because they don't.  Again, don't be a jerk either.  We will pull any of our recommendations on request by those HFD's.  We do not wish this to happen because we buy from them also.  While we wish to help you, we don't wish to lose a HFD because hams are using this page to beat up on our HFD's.

So if you need help, want a good deal and are not quite sure what you need or want, try our HFD's.  Please let let us know how your experience turned out.  We certainly will modify our list as appropriate.  We get nothing from providing this list, no special deals, not even a Christmas card.  We simply are trying to hook you up with a known source of DMR equipment vendors who are known to be straight-shooters and who are willing work with hams.  Lastly, this list is not meant as a swipe at all the dealers out there generally nor is there any effort to exclude any dealer from this list unless it is at their insistence.