Bleak news from Jessops

My 1D MKIII from calumet was an emergency purchase.....I paid (June 2007) £3000 at Calumet (same price at jessops) .. my online store had it listed for £2600. That's £400 of real money m8.....As I buy 2 -3 pieces of equipment a year ......and I am not rich,
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Wish I wasn't rich ;)
 
POAH said:
nope, the fact that >90% of people get lung cancer from smoke suggests to me a pretty high risk of getting it if you smoke.
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Doctor as well are we? You speak complete rubbish with your brash statements. If you even bothered to look into something before you open your mouth then you would realise that is ignorance of the highest order.

Read this and stop being so stupid!

http://www.joanslegacy.org/news_msnbc.html
 
I asked Currys to match an online price (think it was comet online) and they admitted they couldn't match online prices. Now if you are not asking for any kind of 'service', how on earth can it be worth watching me walk out of the store, rather than match any price. I assume they would still be not selling at a loss if you remove all the 'store' expenses.

So, the fact that we are here proves we do our research online. I would not be asking Jessops for advice! Really as an advanced hobbyist with more time than money, why would I.

They hope to snag the unwary or lazy. Fair enough if that's your business model, but slowly you will get a reputation. They can be competitive, but need to keep the profit figures looking rosy.

The distance selling regs and a credit card give huge protection now. The manufacturer covers the first twelve months in any case. You don't even have to look abroad to find significant savings.

I assume those who value the 'advice', need the 'service' or love the 'security' of a high street presence will be flocking there with their cash donations to ensure their favourite retailer keeps meeting their sales targets and remains in business.

I would be sad to lose a 'showroom' though as that's all high street stores are these days.

Graham
 
specialman said:
Wish I wasn't rich ;)
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M8 If I was rich I will be talking Hasselblad H3DII language...:notworthy: Now, that's rich territory. As it is I am but a humble 35mm digital user. :'(
 
less of the insults please, this thread is dangerously close to being locked.

In defence of Jessops, they were the cheapest place to buy when i got my 50d, anyone who knows me will know i dont spend unless i really need to, same with my sigma 10-20..
 
Jessops are like most chain stores, some good and bad staff.

Good experiences when I bought my old Nikon many years ago and recently when I bought a reasonably priced battery grip.Even believed me without checking what the online price was when the grip scanned at a fiver more

Not so good when I asked if they would price match Amazon when I bought my daughters Canon (did when I bought the Nikon)
Didn't need an angry sermon about how it nearly finished them etc etc. Fair enough, but wasn't too chuffed with the stroppy youth chucking his toys out

Mind you not much use to me being a Pentaxian, but think we have enough empty shops on our high streets , so hope they ride out the storm
 
I personally would be very sad to see Jessops close, in Edinburgh anyway there just isn't anywhere else that has such a range of stuff.
Also the staff have always been really helpful, there in a older gent in the Shandwick Place store that really knows his stuff, even talked me out of buying Jessops branded stuff to buy a Manfrotto instead, but was always helpful.
Same last week when I went into buy my A700, nothing but courteous.

I hope that something can be worked out with the banks, it would probably be a good idea for Jessops to split their retail shops and online divisions, enabling them to compete online with the likes of Warehouse Express, etc by offering low prices, a bit like Dixons within DSG Ltd.
 
dinorock said:
jessops goodbye:lol:
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It's not just Goodbye Jessops, it's all the smaller independant stores that they bought up that will now never appear again :shake:

Jessops closing price today: 2.20p. -12% :thumbsdown:
 
IGADIZ said:
Search harder m8.. I've moved away from high street retail ages ago and never looked back.
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Oh, I always do my research before making a purchase and Jessops tend to be if not the cheapest then pretty close on a lot of things. Of course for some things like lenses they can be very expensive, but then I usually don't buy glass from them, just the bodies.
 
sad to see that jessops are doing badly, sadder if they actually close (better cash in all those "£10 off lab services" cards quick...:D

I DONT! want to scaremonger at this point, but I was in the jessops on New Oxford St in Central London today, collecting some velvia slide films from processing and dev'ing:), and the door to the stoor room was wide open...

I didn't go in (that would have been:bonk:) BUT! I couldn't resist a peek! I peered in and I saw a pile in a corner of those window placards saying "everything must go" EEK!

It IS worrying to see them, but remember, it doesn't mean that they are actually closing, might just be for a sale that will be happening (hopefully!)

Also, the stock room was compleatly full up, as if they had recently just been sent new stock (ALL THOSE BOXES OF 1Ds!!!!!!!) so perhaps it was just coincidence:shrug:
 
Flash In The Pan said:
That's because cheap stuff is what sells - shelves full of £3000 lenses might look great but if most of the punters you get through the door have £200 to spend then stocking them is a waste of time.

There's no simple answer to Jessops' woes, the supermarkets have encroached on the lower end of the market and online retailers are stealing market share on dslrs and the more specialised stuff.

Staff are seemingly to be given the option to go part time or be made redundant, as part of a cost-cutting drive, but even that isn't going to make a great deal of difference.

The company will continue losing money, just like many other high street retailers, until the economy picks up.


Hopefully they can hang on that long......
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Excellent post and the most sensible yet. Well done.
 
ding76uk said:
Doctor as well are we? You speak complete rubbish with your brash statements. If you even bothered to look into something before you open your mouth then you would realise that is ignorance of the highest order.

Read this and stop being so stupid!

http://www.joanslegacy.org/news_msnbc.html
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actually I am a doctor lol but note I said most are directly related to smoke. just like men can get breast cancer but the overall majority are woman. people breath in secondary smoke all the time not just people actually smoking. Good example is Mr Roy Castle above.
 
i used to work in my local jessops store (started 2 years ago left 5 months ago for full time work) and in my shop out of the 8 staff that were there at my time only 3 i would actually trust their knowledge and learnt from, *** saying that from my new job at an independent two people there just talk complete rubbish. where ever you go its worth chatting to one or two people to find out what they are like. to the best of my knowledge my old store hasn't been allowed to hire full time staff for almost a year now (hence why i left, i want more money for lenses).
but, things like the guy who was brought into replace me (32 hour contract to 8 hour contract) who had worked for jessops for 3 years (in a different store) asked me on my last day if EF lenses from the film era worked on the canon dslrs.... erm.... but asked me to repeat it to the customer and buggered off so that he didn't learn anything whilst i was in the middle of something.

i would love a job just chatting to the peeps into photography, who cares if they are buying but no one seems to want to employ someone to chat to people to help with what they want... my boss was not please not selling a sigma 8mm fisheye because i asked why he wanted one, instead of selling the box.
 
Lensflare said:
It doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Many people are short sighted and look for the cheapest deal, which isn't necessarily the BEST deal.

I won't touch on line shops with a barge pole. Many are outside UK law and if you have a problem you have a problem. A few quid extra for a product from a reputable, UK, dealer is actually far better value, just a little dearer.
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And that was a large part of the reasoning behind my purchase of a Canon 100-400mm lens and a Sigma 10-20mm lens just after x***.

Camerapricebuster had Jessops as the cheapest (with an online code) for the Canon at £965, I ordered it online, and used their collect at store facility. Following morning, I walked into town, and collected an excellent lens, with a full UK warranty, and served quickly by helpful and friendly staff.

Did the same thing 2 days later with the Sigma, I have read many negative things on this site about Jessops, but I have had nothing but good service in the 2 times I have bought from them.
 
48thEagle said:
And that was a large part of the reasoning behind my purchase of a Canon 100-400mm lens and a Sigma 10-20mm lens just after x***.

Camerapricebuster had Jessops as the cheapest (with an online code) for the Canon at £965, I ordered it online, and used their collect at store facility. Following morning, I walked into town, and collected an excellent lens, with a full UK warranty, and served quickly by helpful and friendly staff.
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That pretty much mirrors my experience with the Canon 24-105mm. The cheapest I could find anywhere at the time (June 2008).

The only trouble is they're so inconsistent... sometimes by far the cheapest and best deal out there, at other times they're so expensive that it's just plain ridiculous. The staff are usually quite pleasant but unfortunately some of then are pretty clueless too. That's not necessarily their fault though, it's got to be down to lack of training and management.

I really don't want to see them go, but it's not looking good. As usual it's the workers who'll suffer most.
 
It is fair to say that jessops gets a bit more support than other firms here on TP.

I have seen many companies mentioned, but only jessops is linked automatically by the TP site when you type the name in. (if there are other sites linked, please correct me).
 
Even the shopping model of using large, scattered stores can fail.

Soundcontrol, the UK's largest musical instrument retailer, folded last year with exactly that business model. Musical instrument retail isn't as competitive as photographic, and less synths/guitars are bought online - musicians like to test their gear even more than photographers before committing to buy. SC also went through a recent phase of buying and rebranding smaller independents just a few years before they perished.

There are myriad problems contributing to Jessops woes- the nternet, the economy and 'luxury items', the economies of scale when it comes to higher-end equipment...

I'd love to buy more from my local Jessops [and in fact my last major new purchases have been from them] but the'yre locked in a vicious circle of ever-increasing overheads, ever-dwindling stock and ever-present competition.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
That's because cheap stuff is what sells - shelves full of £3000 lenses might look great but if most of the punters you get through the door have £200 to spend then stocking them is a waste of time.

There's no simple answer to Jessops' woes, the supermarkets have encroached on the lower end of the market and online retailers are stealing market share on dslrs and the more specialised stuff.

Staff are seemingly to be given the option to go part time or be made redundant, as part of a cost-cutting drive, but even that isn't going to make a great deal of difference.

The company will continue losing money, just like many other high street retailers, until the economy picks up.


Hopefully they can hang on that long......
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Why exactly are they going to do well at that point? If their market is what everyone else is selling there's no reason to use them unless they're the cheapest and they can't possibly match an online place due to high street overheads.

I don't personally see the problem though, I've generally found them to be a bit crap. I didn't mind Jessops when they stocked 2nd hand gear and a couple of the smaller shops which had staff who actually seemed vaguely interested but it feels much like going into Dixons and that ain't no fun at all.
 
If only all Jessops stores were like that London store. :) And have knowledgeable staff to go with it of course. ;)

I've never felt comfortable in Jessops shops (especially the Liverpool store), and have had bad service in the past. The redesign of the Liverpool store went from having some stock, to having virtually none. A wall of computers to print pictures from. That seems to be where the money is. A small independent store in Liverpool stated that he was only making money from printing, not from selling camera equipment, and even he seems to have gone out of business. The Jacobs store in Liverpool has lots of stock, and that is where I go to buy some stuff from.

Some of the prices Jessops were/are charging for memory cards and card readers has to be seen to be believed. :eek: They are there to snare the uninformed. And that is getting more difficult to do with more people having access to internet. Not necessarily to buy, but to compare prices.

They aggressively forced small independent stores out of business by undercutting and having more stock. Now the internet is doing it to them. :shrug: They look like they are going the way of the companies they forced out of business.

I feel sorry for the staff who may lose their jobs ( s I do for anyone losing their job in these hard times through no fault of their own), but they have been cut off at the knees from management through lack of foresight. Seemingly inadequate training, and changes to available working hours forcing experienced staff to seek other work, does not lead to quality staff in all stores imho.

For those that work for Jessops, Good Luck.
For those who have had good service, Lucky You. :thumbs:
For those that got a good deal in-store, Very Lucky You. ;) :lol:
 
POAH said:
actually I am a doctor lol but note I said most are directly related to smoke. just like men can get breast cancer but the overall majority are woman. people breath in secondary smoke all the time not just people actually smoking. Good example is Mr Roy Castle above.
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I thought you were a bio chemist? :shrug:
 
I have bought from Jessops on many occasions and as with all organisations found that there are knowledgeable staff and those who haven’t a clue.
There are many things to consider when making a purchase, price, stock availability, ability to resolve problems should they arise. However in general we only tend to think about price. Not only on major purchases costing hundreds or thousands of £’s but also on every day purchases, petrol, food etc. How many of us drive straight past the local independent petrol station to go to the supermarket to fill up with petrol because it is a few pence per litre cheaper? I can remember when I was young my father always using the same filling station as he always had his car serviced there, and on several occasions when filling up went in to speak with one of the mechanics at the garage who would come out to look at or fix a minor problem. Try doing that at Sainsbury’s when you fill up. I am sure the person who is at the till taking your money wouldn’t have a clue.

The same can be said with the corner shop, they were unable to compete with the supermarkets and most have now gone, does the person at the tills or filling the shelves have the same knowledge as the old shopkeeper? No, but we all go there due to the price and selection available.

When I am in the position to make a major purchase, like most on this forum I would suggest, I use the internet or forums like this to research the product so when you go into Jessops or similar store are probably more knowledgeable than the assistant in any case.

I think what I am trying to say is that we only have ourselves to blame, we all want things as cheap as possible, but are quick to blame stores like jessops for the prices they charge. They have overheads that internet stores don’t, so are unable to pay for knowledgeable staff. How many of you on here would work for them for the minimum wage? (not saying that the pay the minimum wage), but online stores can get away with employing order processors who don’t have to know a thing about cameras.

Perhaps we should be directing some of this anger towards the manufacturers for the inflated prices they charge in the first place. They are the ones making millions in profits not the outlets. For example if/when the £ recovers will they reduce the prices to those before the recent increases, I doubt it as customers are ‘happy’ to pay the current prices, so why would they.

If you think how quickly internet shopping has grown, I don’t think that it will be too long in the future until the majority of purchases will have to be made this way as shops as we know them will no longer exist.
 
48thEagle said:
It is fair to say that jessops gets a bit more support than other firms here on TP.

I have seen many companies mentioned, but only jessops is linked automatically by the TP site when you type the name in. (if there are other sites linked, please correct me).
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its an affiliate scheme, some companies like tesco are also covered, depends who is in the scheme.
 
I love it when people think the price of camera gear is over inflated and fail to realise the true worth of an object and the costs involved in R&D, manufacturing, trnsportation, sales, accounting............................

Just because you can't afford it doesn't mean it's over inflated.
 
My local Jessops has a few knowledgeable staff members. My experience in there, however, is that they tend not to have what I want in stock, even smaller things like filters. I once checked the stock online for a manfrottot 323 ballhead, 1 in stock, then went into the store to purchase it. The staff could'nt find it. Eventually I overheard "oh yeah thats the one that got nicked a few weeks ago and we didn't update the stock".
Thanks a bunch guys :thumbsdown:.

LCE and Camera Solutions in Chester have always been great though.
 
I Take it you are referring to my post when you say

"I love it when people think the price of camera gear is over inflated and fail to realise the true worth of an object and the costs involved in R&D, manufacturing, trnsportation, sales, accounting............................

Just because you can't afford it doesn't mean it's over inflated. "
__________________

I didn't say I couldn't afford it and have not mentioned what camera I own. I know that there are associated costs with the final price of a product, but using your argument are costs more for transportation, sales, accounting of a D40 compared with a D3x. as the D3x shares most of its features with the D3 then R&D costs for everything apart from the sensor would be small. So why the big difference in the final sales price? because people are prepared to pay the asking price for the 'newest and best' equipment. If we all wern't so keen to jump on the band waggon and have the latest equipment, then the theory of supply and demand would kick in, there would be little demand hence no sales, and prices would fall.

As for the 'true worth' of an object, anything is only worth as much as someone is prepared to pay for it. As someone said earlier about some works of art, they go for millions at auction, but I bet the majority of the population would walk staright past them if they were for sale at a local market with a £50 price tag on.
 
As fro prices overinflated - well they kinda are at the moment.
I'd like the 70-200 f2.8 IS, but I can't quite get over they were £950 a few months back and now are £1100 second hand. So I can do without it.

Lets face it - the 30% price hike didn't help the market
 
Byker28i said:
I'm appalled at this Jessops store employee's lack of ambition.

5d Mk2 surely :D
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Actually, it's laziness that us Jessops staff suffer from!
I meant 5Dmk2, but just wrote 5d!

Bill Roberts said:
Not at all... it's perfectly understandable

they wouldn't have the mk2 in stock :razz:
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I'd have to order it in if I got a sniff of closure :p
 
Kev M said:
I love it when people think the price of camera gear is over inflated and fail to realise the true worth of an object and the costs involved in R&D, manufacturing, trnsportation, sales, accounting............................

Just because you can't afford it doesn't mean it's over inflated.
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Good call. I hear you loud and clear....:thumbs:
 
Sorry, just woke up and saw this:


Quote:
Originally Posted by foodpoison
If we go under, I'm shotgunning a 5d
I'm appalled at this Jessops store employee's lack of ambition.



5d Mk2 surely
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Didn't I read somewhere [AP, I think] recently that the Mk 2 is carp compared to the Mk 1? Or should I just go back to sleep?
 
Norseman said:
Didn't I read somewhere [AP, I think] recently that the Mk 2 is carp compared to the Mk 1? Or should I just go back to sleep?
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yeah, I heard that theres something fishy about the Mk 2 as well:lol::lol::lol:
 
:coat:
 
Flash In The Pan said:
That's where the Sauchiehall St store in Glasgow is good,
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POAH said:
seriously, I've found the sauchiehall street jessops to be full of idiots :lol:
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Are you talking about the same Jessops in Sauchiehall Street? I've never quite understood the point of having two of them on the same street, a few minutes' walk from each other. The one near Buchanan Street could surely be closed down or, to safeguard jobs, relocated to a different part of the city, near Glasgow Central or, even, to the West End.

As for Jessops, and as a beginner to photography, I had no problems with going to another retailer - via the online route - to save myself a bit of cash. I could have bought my Canon 70-300mm from Jessops for £469, but instead got it online from Jacob's Digital for just under £380. Ninety quid was quite a difference, and given the product is the exact same, I'd be a fool to stump up all that extra cash when it could be put to much better use.
 
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