Australian Camera store charging windowshoppers

Flash In The Pan

Flash In The Pan

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Sydney-based retailer Camera House are now charging a $30 "explanation" fee to people who come into their shop simply for advice and to try out cameras before purchasing elsewhere online.

Could you imagine being charged for advice in Jessops? :lol:
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Sydney-based retailer Camera House are now charging a $30 "explanation" fee to people who come into their shop simply for advice and to try out cameras before purchasing elsewhere online.

Could you imagine being charged for advice in Jessops? :lol:
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Most of the time, talking to people in Jessops is like trying to get blood out of a stone :lol:

To be fair, I can see their point. Go in, ask for advice, test out gear, wasting the time of the assistant, and then walking out and buying their gear off ebay :lol:
 
I wouldnt be wasting their time, if they tried that with me I'd just walk out.

Whilst I agree with the sentiment, I have gone back to Jessops purely because I've had good treatment. I went into Manchesters branch and when I told them the bag they had in the shop was £20 cheaper on the net the assistant went to his computer, asked me my email addy and ordered an online in shop pickup and sold it me for the reduced price.

Whilst the likes of Jessops vary in quality charging just for a chat is a mickytake.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Sydney-based retailer Camera House are now charging a $30 "explanation" fee to people who come into their shop simply for advice and to try out cameras before purchasing elsewhere online.

Could you imagine being charged for advice in Jessops? :lol:
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last 2 times I've been in I've had to explain the camera to their staff - I should charge them!:nuts:
 
... and from my experience you would be lucky to get any advice once you had paid the $30!

... I am on a 2 month tour of Australia and my 40d has had enough, producing an error code 99 and refusing to take any pictures. Tried the internet advice of remove battery ... but no luck so went into the Cairns branch. Their advice was to send to Canon Sydney (who incidentally don't respond to any emails sent) or better still buy a new camera from them for $600 (about £400). Looked on the net again at my next stop - Alice Springs, same group of shops (Camerahouse) so I emailed them and asked about a repair (it says on their web page they service / repair). No reply, so I call in today, they don't service or repair, but will sell me a 550d for $899 (about £600)!

In both cases I am not entirely sure that the advice on the camera was correct (the Alice Springs branch swore the Optical Viewfinder was a true optical one not LCD even though the appearance is like a TV and Nikon's website says it is an LCD?!?!?) so what are you paying for?
 
I can understand the reasoning, but still think that company will either go down the tubes or quickly drop the charge.
 
$30 is a bit much, but you can see their point.

The advice given to anyone buying a camera is to and try it out, and still internet purchases rise. :bang:

Jessops, and some other store have started to have the cameras on display to 'play' with, rather than having them on a shelf behind the counter, in the hope that the customer either doesn't know the item 'may' be available cheaper online, or feels obliged/has the urge to buy there and then. :shrug:


The brief time I worked in retail there was nothing worse than explaining (lengthily) about an item and then at the end of it you suspected/expected customer would be probably be buying online. Even worse when they told you with a smug satisfaction that they could get the item £x's cheaper elsewhere. No need to rub ones face in it. :nono:


They could charge people for advice, but then refund it if people actually bought from them. ;) :lol:
 
Bet he would make a great car salesman.

Realspeed
 
We do have to remember that using brick and mortar stores for our tests and research, then failing to support them with purchases will ultimately result in their closure. A case of use it or lose it, much the same as village stores.
 
artyman said:
We do have to remember that using brick and mortar stores for our tests and research, then failing to support them with purchases will ultimately result in their closure. A case of use it or lose it, much the same as village stores.
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I would agree with you, and would use the High St stores if the price was only slightly more, but when they take the P and are charging significantly more (100's of £'s in some cases) then they leave no option but to go online.
 
It's interesting and no surprise it's in Australia in some ways....there retailers are light years behind what we have over here because there is so little competition. I have a god daughter who lives in Australia, I think it was less than five years ago that I went to use Amazon to buy her a birthday present....guess what they didn't have an Amazon Australia. So I went to Davjd Jones website (the Aussie John Lewis)...no online offering...couldn't even buy gift vouchers online. I ended up having to ring David Jones anteas peak to someone directly in the toy department to buy her something.

So basically I guess these guys have had it very easy until quite recently...and are probably struggling as it sounds like they're customer service is pretty poor.
 
Dave1 said:
I would agree with you, and would use the High St stores if the price was only slightly more, but when they take the P and are charging significantly more (100's of £'s in some cases) then they leave no option but to go online.
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+1
 
Dave1 said:
I would agree with you, and would use the High St stores if the price was only slightly more, but when they take the P and are charging significantly more (100's of £'s in some cases) then they leave no option but to go online.
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To be fair to those with bricks-and-mortar high st sores, those cost considerably more to run than a warehouse on an industrial estate in the back of beyond. The retailer's complaint in the article isn't that people are buying from his online competition, but rather that they are using his store and demo equipment to make their purchase decision, before buying elsewhere, and that's not really on.
 
Court Jester said:
... and from my experience you would be lucky to get any advice once you had paid the $30!

... I am on a 2 month tour of Australia and my 40d has had enough, producing an error code 99 and refusing to take any pictures. Tried the internet advice of remove battery ... but no luck so went into the Cairns branch. Their advice was to send to Canon Sydney (who incidentally don't respond to any emails sent) or better still buy a new camera from them for $600 (about £400). Looked on the net again at my next stop - Alice Springs, same group of shops (Camerahouse) so I emailed them and asked about a repair (it says on their web page they service / repair). No reply, so I call in today, they don't service or repair, but will sell me a 550d for $899 (about £600)!

In both cases I am not entirely sure that the advice on the camera was correct (the Alice Springs branch swore the Optical Viewfinder was a true optical one not LCD even though the appearance is like a TV and Nikon's website says it is an LCD?!?!?) so what are you paying for?
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Your viewfinder is optical and the display panel is an LCD!!
Why would Nikon's web site have anything in their specs about a Canon 40d? :cuckoo:
 
Flash In The Pan said:
To be fair to those with bricks-and-mortar high st sores, those cost considerably more to run than a warehouse on an industrial estate in the back of beyond. The retailer's complaint in the article isn't that people are buying from his online competition, but rather that they are using his store and demo equipment to make their purchase decision, before buying elsewhere, and that's not really on.
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That is a bit of a cop out, some online retailers have a brick and mortar presence and manage to be competitive (WEX, SRS, Park etc), there is no reason why Jessops and Jacobs have to be totally uncompetitive, price wise (other than a mistaken idea by their management that they have a monopolistic presence on many High Streets that lets them charge 30% or 40% above the competitive retailers :shake:).
 
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Dave1 said:
That is a bit of a cop out, some online retailers have a brick and mortar presence and manage to be competitive (WEX, SRS, Park etc), there is no reason why Jessops and Jacobs have to be totally uncompetitive, price wise (other than a mistaken idea by their management that they have a monopolistic presence on many High Streets that lets them charge 30% or 40% above the competitive retailers :shake:).
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I think comparing WEX, SRS, Park and the like which have one or two stores with national chains and the number of stores they have and talking about running costs is like comparing apples and oranges imho. Yes, I think Jessops and Jacobs do over charge, some of the Jessops prices I've seen have been laughable, but they have to pay for the many buildings, running costs and staff.

WEX could improve the running of there online business by saying to a member of staff, 'it's a bit quiet, there's no one in the shop, go an help pack some orders in the back'. ;)
 
Dave1 said:
That is a bit of a cop out, some online retailers have a brick and mortar presence and manage to be competitive (WEX, SRS, Park etc), there is no reason why Jessops and Jacobs have to be totally uncompetitive, price wise (other than a mistaken idea by their management that they have a monopolistic presence on many High Streets that lets them charge 30% or 40% above the competitive retailers :shake:).
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A quick look at CPB


Canon 60D

WEX £749
Jacobs £760
Jessops £760

Nikon D700

WEX £1779
Jacobs £1779.40
Jessops £1779.40

Are you sure you meant 40 per cent and not 40 pence? :D
 
Beardy said:
So basically I guess these guys have had it very easy until quite recently...and are probably struggling as it sounds like they're customer service is pretty poor.
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they are all getting hammered by people buying from the US & HK.
Iirc you can import anything upto $1000AUD with no import taxes etc. & official Australian prices are often 30-40% dearer.
I fact 1 chain has recently openly started selling "grey imports" alongside official Australian stock to compete (& Canon Aus & Nikon Aus are not amused).
 
Flash In The Pan said:
A quick look at CPB


Canon 60D

WEX £749
Jacobs £760
Jessops £760

Nikon D700

WEX £1779
Jacobs £1779.40
Jessops £1779.40

Are you sure you meant 40 per cent and not 40 pence? :D
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Jessops store prices do tend to be around £20 or so above the web price - and there are notices online saying that web prices will not be matched in store.

EDT: In response to the original post, maybe they should market it as a camera clinic type of thing - I can see the logic but I can't see it working. Maybe they could offer to refund the $30 should the customer then go on to make a purchase with them
 
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Flash In The Pan said:
To be fair to those with bricks-and-mortar high st sores, those cost considerably more to run than a warehouse on an industrial estate in the back of beyond. The retailer's complaint in the article isn't that people are buying from his online competition, but rather that they are using his store and demo equipment to make their purchase decision, before buying elsewhere, and that's not really on.
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Thats not the way to keep or attract customers, thats the way to go out of business.........

There are a lot of shops that make a good living even though you can buy the same goods online cheaper. We have a local camera shop and their prices are usually higher than online, but I use them a lot because they generally have the goods in stock to take away, customer service is top notch, they know what they are talking about and they know how to sell stuff.

After what Court Jester says about his experiences of Camera House, I'm not surprised they have to charge window-shoppers to make a living, I wouldn't want to buy from them.

Allan
 
no real difference from going to more than one shop to get the better deal.

Flash In The Pan said:
To be fair to those with bricks-and-mortar high st sores, those cost considerably more to run than a warehouse on an industrial estate in the back of beyond. The retailer's complaint in the article isn't that people are buying from his online competition, but rather that they are using his store and demo equipment to make their purchase decision, before buying elsewhere, and that's not really on.
Click to expand...
 
allanm said:
There are a lot of shops that make a good living even though you can buy the same goods online cheaper.
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No, there are lots of shops that are surviving even though you can buy the same goods online cheaper. Still being in business and making a good living are not the same thing.
 
EOS 7D Lens Kit (EF-S 15-85mm IS USM)

Wex £1595
jessops £1728.95




Flash In The Pan said:
A quick look at CPB


Canon 60D

WEX £749
Jacobs £760
Jessops £760

Nikon D700

WEX £1779
Jacobs £1779.40
Jessops £1779.40

Are you sure you meant 40 per cent and not 40 pence? :D
Click to expand...
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Yes there is, if both are bricks and mortar retailers then they are more likely to have similar overheads.
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well it is. you go to one shop have a look then go to another and buy it there. advice is sgiven and the product is not bought from the original store.

the person that gives the advice still looses out on a sale
 
POAH said:
EOS 7D Lens Kit (EF-S 15-85mm IS USM)

Wex £1595
jessops £1728.95
Click to expand...


EOS 7D Lens Kit 2 (EF-S 18-135mm IS)

Wex £1394.00
Jacobs £1394.99
Jessops £1394.99

Similar price differences with most other high-end stuff...
 
Flash In The Pan said:
EOS 7D Lens Kit 2 (EF-S 18-135mm IS)

Wex £1394.00
Jacobs £1394.99
Jessops £1394.99

Similar price differences with most other high-end stuff...
Click to expand...

7d with 15-85 high end then lol
 
My expereince with Jessops has been that bodies are pretty competitive in store while lenses are often very uncompetitive, the canon 70-300 IS non L for example is £430 compaired to £355 on Amazon.
 
In my experience of my 3 most local Jessops stores the advice has been poor and often inaccurate. I have even had the staff just reading the packaging to me when asked for more detail.

However, when I have purchased from Jessops I have never yet paid the marked price. Ask for the manager, explain you would like the item but x is selling for less.... There is always room for negotiation!
 
Jessops and alot of other retailers have online stores aswell.

I bought my 50mm 1.4 from jesssops online, it was very competatively priced and no delivery charge.

I've mostly heard negative things about jessops, mainly about the prices, so how do they manage to still have high street stores.
They must make most of their money through the self service printing machines.
I think most of the cameras are just for show and jessops no this, even the range of lenses they carry are very limited, in my experience.
 
Nick_1981 said:
I have even had the staff just reading the packaging to me when asked for more detail.
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Well they can't be expected to know everything about every product they sell now can they?
 
redhed17 said:
They could charge people for advice, but then refund it if people actually bought from them. ;) :lol:
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Actually, that's not a bad idea really. In my retailing years, we used to get quite a number of people claiming they had their equipment stolen and required some prices written down on letter-headed paper for insurance purposes. At first, we never charged them but they very rarely ever came back to us as, being a small independent camera shop, we could never compete with the likes of Jessops and some of the other photographic shops that were around in Manchester at the time.

Our manager came up with the idea of charging £5 for this service (quite a lot back in the 80's), and customers were told this would be deducted if they returned to us to make the purchase. Some of them were perfectly happy with this arrangement, and others just walked back out - I'm guessing these were the ones who would have shopped elsewhere.
 
Out of interest, is that the shop round the corner from the Apple store? (not Georges?). If so, they fixed my wifes' camera last year and wouldn't charge her for doing so. Found them really helpful.
 
RichardtheSane said:
Well they can't be expected to know everything about every product they sell now can they?
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I absolutely agree, but some basic knowledge over and above what the box says wouldn't hurt. I'm sure it's not all staff in all stores, just my experience.
 
RichardtheSane said:
Well they can't be expected to know everything about every product they sell now can they?
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That's actually a pet hate of mine, sales people that don't even have a basic knowledge of what they are selling. Somewhere like Jessops, where, in general, there is only a small range of cameras on offer it really doesn't require a huge effort to learn the basics about each different range and then top it up with extra knowledge as new models are introduced.
 
RichardtheSane said:
Well they can't be expected to know everything about every product they sell now can they?
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You should expect detailed product knowledge; they are charging a premium price and they should provide a premium service Don't forget that many shops open slightly later one morning a week to allow for staff training.
 
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Ploddles said:
Your viewfinder is optical and the display panel is an LCD!!
Why would Nikon's web site have anything in their specs about a Canon 40d? :cuckoo:
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Sorry my post was perhaps unclear. When they advised they could not repair they said that the best bet was to buy a new Nikon Coolpix P500 from them as a replacement until I can get the 40d fixed. That was the camera I was referring to as having an LCD viewfinder not the Canon.

Went for a s3300 from Target in the end, total cost including new 16gb memory card and rechargeable batteries is less than £200. Not ideal as would prefer the SLR but as others have said there is no competition and I need something to use on the remainder of the trip. Having looked on Flikr there are guys getting better pictures out of this than I ever will so hopefully it will do the trick.
 
I haven't heard anything about this over here. I don't know the Sydney store, but their Melbourne city shop is a nasty place. Very aggressive, rude staff every time I've been in, coupled with a complete lack of knowledge.

They do sell high end gear, but it's generally perceived as an amateur shop, with it's two main competitors 20 meters down the road regarded as more informed and better able to help out anyone who wants more than a point and shoot.

That said, they used to have an affiliate store in the city, CameraHouseAction or something like that. I bought my 1D from there and the staff were great. They closed down earlier this year though.
 
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