While the website looks business as usual, Kambara albums has sent a letter to all its customers saying that as of March 26, 2010, the company was closing shop. And if you were hoping to get a last minute album done, you’re too late, as they are no longer accepting new orders. (Deadline was March 15).
Kambara is a popular option with many DWFers, as they offer some of the nicest looking albums out there at a lower price than many high end companies.
Which, of course, could be part of the reason why they’re closing. However, photographers who have relied on Kambara heavily or even exclusively are now left scrambling to find another option.
One company that uses the albums is Tropical Imaging, home to our very own Chris and Krys Mann. This change has left the company scrambling for a new option to replace Kambara:
“We redid all of our sample albums with Kambarra, six months ago (more than six albums) which was a large amount out of the marketing budget, so that is frustrating to say the least and the fact that we now can’t show what we sell,” says Krys. ” Looking for a new album company right before our busy season is not optimal for sure, but we’ve started the process now and hope somehow to get some samples done quickly. I am confident that we’ll find some great new options for our clients and we will make sure they thrilled with their albums!”
Here’s a copy of the letter:
6 Comments at "Fare Thee Well, Kambara"
That’s too bad — I really feel for their customers. I learned years ago (specifically with Waterhouse Books) not to rely on one supplier. I was also an early Pictage customer, and I got burned when they were changing their offerings on what seemed like a monthly basis, dropping services and adding fees (while they were in transition from simply an online hosting/sales service to a full-blown lab). It is especially difficult in our industry, since we often have a gap of several months or more between the time we book an event and when the products or services are needed. We promise things (sometimes even in our contracts) to clients that may or may not exist by the time the wedding happens. I’ve now moved back to offering a dollar amount to be applied to any of the albums I offer, rather than a specific size or type of album.
There are so many album suppliers now than their were just 10 years ago, it makes you wonder just how many options our industry can continue to support. I would not be surprised to hear more announcements like this.
Try Azura Albums in Atlanta. Great product, customer service and value.
Lek Etwara is the owner. They made quite an impression at WPPI
Check out Midwest Photographic Resource Center. They offer a three day turnaround on flush albums and one day turnaround on their new Summit Album. We have used them for over 8 years and are very happy with their service and product. There website is http://www.midwestphotographic.com Good luck!
You may find http://www.jdalbums.com to be a good alternative. Their albums are custom-made for any size and any number of pages. You can ask them to create the same kind of albums that you were ordering from Kambara.
Try http://www.bonmatch.com
Custom self mount and flush mount are available at Bon Match Albums!
I have been working with FineArt Albums for over 4 years. They are AMAZING PEOPLE. One think I can assure is this company is not going anywhere. Every time I go there its like another family. My kids love going there along with me as well.
Great Service, Great Product what else can you ask for.
http://fineartalbums.com/
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