Jessops on the verge of administration

Nothing but praise for the guys in the Huddersfield store. They're friendly and they know their stuff. I hope they (and all jessops employees) continue to be employed in some way.
 
ding76uk said:
Not right away, no, but with time the high street will fill up one way or another and with no chains as much what will take there place? HMV killed off a lot of independents, but places such as Rough Trade or Piccadilly in Manchester are still doing well.

People will pay for an experience. When in a city with a good independent record store I will shop there. I may be able to get it cheaper online, but it is possible. I will seek the independent coffee shop as it serves better than the mass produced swill. People will pay for quality, not only of goods, but of experience, which is what the high street is sorely lacking. There are demands out there and they need filling. Rents will fall and some places will offer silly rent deals which give these people a start.

I may well be wrong, but I hope I am not.
Click to expand...

I don't think there are enough of those people about personally.
 
Tirpitz said:
i've only used Jessops a few times but i've put some reasonable money through them the last year as they had what i wanted in stock & actually beat WEX & a couple of other UK sellers on price. :thumbs:
sad for the people that work there as its not a good time to lose your job (mind you when is there a good time) :shake:
my most recent purchase (14-24) they beat WEX by £50!

best of luck to the people effected
Click to expand...

Well said Alan, I bought my A700 kit there and they more than matched prices with extras thrown in. They were always helpful, and I do wonder how many people will simply buy kit online without getting their grubby hands on it in a shop which they never intended to buy from.
We in our own little way are part of this problem.
Good luck to the staff.

Oh yes, I do not believe that this economic situation is cyclical, because there are too many jobs being lost in too many areas, and the population is increasing and the technology to do away with jobs is improving.

This is one, big dirty snowball, and it is gathering pace, and nobody knows where the bottom of the hill is.
 
When I saw the Jessops Groupon sd card thing yesterday I sort of wondered if Jessops were in trouble as I have seen a few companies have Groupon offers and then go bust soon afterwards. [Groupon can sometimes be a last ditch attempt to drum up some business].

Also the deal did not make much sense as Groupon take 40 to 50% so SD card at £10, Jessops gets maybe 6% of that (£6) less postage costs, staff costs for packing and dispatch etc leaves them say £5 for the card. I doubt very much (if any) of that would be profit, given the cheapest the card is anywhere else is amazon at around £11.50 delivered. Even if (big if) they were making 2 quid a card that would be less than 12 grand profit which is nothing to a big company like Jessops - hardly seems worth the effort? Plus the claimed 60% to 85% off only draws attention to how absolutely ridiculous their usual selling prices were (£50 for the 16gb sd card!).
 
Remember going to Jessops in Solihull with my Grandad at the age of 9-10, looking at the second hand gear in the window. All film stuff back then. Think at one stage they had three shops in Solihull.

I found the staff quite helpful when looking to buy a S100, tried it out and found it £140 cheaper online.
 
indiabravo said:
Yep, they never were the cheapest!
Click to expand...

Not entirely true - eg a 35mm 1.8 lens I wanted was cheaper than anywhere else apart from Castle Cameras which was the same price. The Sony A57 was also cheapest at Jessops when I was looking at that, although the price did then either go back up or dropped somewhere else and they were no longer cheapest, I can't remember which. Plus they along with Wex and Currys were one of the few places you could get a few more % off (albeit only 1 or 2% but a saving is a saving) via topcashback.
 
My first SLR came from Jessops, a second hand Minolta 7000i, along with a couple of second hand lenses following a chat with one of the assistants in the store. That was the Whiteladies road branch, which has long since vanished - used to be a Jacobs just down the road and an independent across the street too. All gone. First DSLR (A300) came from Jessops too, Cribbs Causeway branch and I've had other things from them as well.

Sorry to see them go.
 
Now I come to think of it, my first DSLR was from Jessops too; mid-2008, I bought a 450D from the Brent Cross branch (which closed a while back). I remember I couldn't wait to get it home! :)
 
you couldn't order online with jessops.com !!!!!

It says "
Please note that the Jessops website will not currently process orders however you are able to read product descriptions, customer reviews and watch videos."
 
Also it seems Camerapricebuster.co.uk aren't listing Jessops at the moment - cant find a single price from them in there
 
I bought a new cooker from Comet and within 2 weeks it went bankrupt and I bought
D5100 camera from Jessops only last week. I bought a new laptop 2 days ago from PC World, so I wonder when PC World is going into adminstration lol
 
GatoAzul1968 said:
I bought a new cooker from Comet and within 2 weeks it went bankrupt and I bought
D5100 camera from Jessops only last week. I bought a new laptop 2 days ago from PC World, so I wonder when PC World is going into adminstration lol
Click to expand...

Store people are going to start running when they see you approaching :)
 
The Greek said:
Take aways won't be around for long either if greedy landlords keep putting up the rent, Monday morning a letter from my landlord saying my rent will be going up in March.

3 shops in a row next to my have been
empty for 16 months, 2 empty oppersit, one shutting just before Christmas,

And my rents going up .... Go Figure!
Click to expand...


I cannot agree more Mr Greek. However t's not just the greed of the landlords but that of the agents as well. Much of our high streets, indeed almost any street on which there is trading are at their mercy. I gather from a now-retired banker friend that in France, each area must by ( presumably local ) law, have a complement of independent traders. Such a shame we do not have similar legislation here. :(

And over here too commercial rents are such that taking the matter to the courts invariably results in the rents going up because the court will rule ( upon evidence submitted by the other side ) that other similar establishments have had rent increases and as such, that should be the on-going rate of rent. It's scandalous!!! :annoyed:
 
Dave1 said:
No they did, I still think when they stopped trade ins and second hand gear half their problems started, a lot of enthusiasts went elsewhere. I remember making special trips to Jessops just to check their second hand window.
Click to expand...


Agree. That was a useful feature of Jessops which hail from a long time back. Now of course, it's sales forums ;) and specialists which offer pre-loved gear...
 
hsuffyan said:
I ordered an EOS M from them prior to release but I cancelled it as I found that the release price elsewhere had dropped. Jessops still paid me £35 cashback via Quidco. I did try and return the money a few weeks ago but couldn't find a way to do it. I might exchange it for Jessops vouchers on here if anyone is unemployed/low income, its not a lot but that way the money will be off my hands and might help someone a little.
Click to expand...



May glad tidings come your way friend. :)
 
Thank you for the kind words, its my humble duty to be honest. Please feel free to PM me if you have a Jessops voucher and could do with some cash instead. I'll need proof that you have a genuine voucher and whilst its only a small gesture (£35) I would request that you make sure you really need the cash as someone else may need it more. All comms will remain discreet :)
 
One more good reason to go into your local town center or high street gone.

Very sad day.
 
Our jessops was the size of a corner shop.

I'd say the best camera they ever had on show (to date) before closing last year was a 50D and as far as lenses go - forget it.

Just a joke up here at the best of times.

You guys sound like you're going to miss out in some way. I just wish I'd ever had something to begin with.
 
JulesP said:
Also it seems Camerapricebuster.co.uk aren't listing Jessops at the moment - cant find a single price from them in there
Click to expand...

It's an online price comparison tool, and Jessops don't sell stuff online as of yesterday afternoon, so that makes sense.
 
mrgas said:
Call me old fashioned but there's no substitute for getting out there and seeing the goods in the flesh in my opinion, we may pay a little more but I think the benefits are there such as a point of contact if things go wrong, specialist advice and ultimately more customer satisfaction.
Click to expand...

I think you are in the minority there. Yes people want to see goods in the flesh but no people don't want to pay more and you can't have one without the other.

And to get real specialist advice and great customer service means a shop owner who really understands that and is willing to pay over the odds to get the best staff with the expertise and customer service but if the customers still buy online after going to his shop then he can't win.

The wise shop owner wouldn't even bother and would open a shop where online competition simply cannot exist. If I was opening a shop it would be along the lines of something like a hairdressers.
 
ernesto said:
I think you are in the minority there. Yes people want to see goods in the flesh but no people don't want to pay more and you can't have one without the other.
Click to expand...

I don't think that he is in a minority, many people want to see and touch goods before they buy them, whether it be cameras, computers, cars, clothing - particularly shoes.
If you take away this stage of purchasing, then you are essentially "buying blind", and I know many people who are not happy to do that.
I remember years ago, one of my mates who works for Ocado, trying to get a couple of us to order our groceries online, and he got really frustrated when I said that I wanted to see produce that I was buying, rather than leave it up to someone else.
I don't want to see my local High street full of hairdressers, nail bars and 99p shops, because if that happens, then those shops will go as well.
Every single business which goes under, and every single person who is unemployed makes a difference to those around them.
 
When I was starting out last year and the inevitable Nikon versus Canon model debates were cropping up. The one piece of advice that came time and time again was go to go to your local Jessops and handle several models and buy the one that feels right for you. Handling the camera was above all the most important factor i was told when buying and this is where Jessops traditionally found their niche as the "go to" place for trying/handling kit. Not many people will try in jessops then walk away if they ate interested in a product. They are likely to buy there and then and accept a premium for that service. The problem was that over the past year Jessops had been running on skeleton stock so even this was no longer a possibility for anything other than very basic products. If you wanted something then you generally had to order it into store for collection 3-4 days later and that's where i guess their business model fell flat as if you have to do that then people are likely to order online from a cheaper vendor or even if they do go via Jessops they would order to their homes direct. I guess they lost the ability to attract those snap sales and its prob long since been inevitable that this would be the sad ending.
 
the_local_jacko said:
When I was starting out last year and the inevitable Nikon versus Canon model debates were cropping up. The one piece of advice that came time and time again was go to go to your local Jessops and handle several models and buy the one that feels right for you. Handling the camera was above all the most important factor i was told when buying and this is where Jessops traditionally found their niche as the "go to" place for trying/handling kit. Not many people will try in jessops then walk away if they ate interested in a product. They are likely to buy there and then and accept a premium for that service. The problem was that over the past year Jessops had been running on skeleton stock so even this was no longer a possibility for anything other than very basic products. If you wanted something then you generally had to order it into store for collection 3-4 days later and that's where i guess their business model fell flat as if you have to do that then people are likely to order online from a cheaper vendor or even if they do go via Jessops they would order to their homes direct. I guess they lost the ability to attract those snap sales and its prob long since been inevitable that this would be the sad ending.
Click to expand...

Completely agree with that.
 
This is true as my local store never has anything in stock. I ordered a ball head to be delivered there. I ordered it earlier in the week for collection on Saturday. Will be interesting to see if they still transfer it to the store although its slightly irrelevant now as I was going to pay for it with Christmas gift vouchers! Hopefully the administrators will start accepting gift cards again otherwise I won't be bothering going to pay for it.
 
@andy700: Regarding your Ocado analogy, there's a difference between picking grapefruit, where each one can be of different quality and ripeness, and picking a camera body, where, for the given model you're after, each copy is more or less identical. And with more and more online retailers offering free delivery and returns, you have two weeks to to 'have a go' and test run a product before returning it.

@jacko: The reason why a lot (not all) Jessops stores were running on skeleton stock was precisely because people weren't buying (they had been in a crisis state for the last four years after all). As for people paying a premium for the service of being able to walk into a shop and handle something, I don't think so. Like many people have said here, Jessops was just a showroom for the internet. It's sad, but the majority of people will prioritise savings over service every time if the end result is the same.
 
Last edited:
I seem to be in the minority amongst posters in that I've purchased a fair bit of kit from my local Jessops (items I found them reasonably competitive on). My Nikon 1 series twin kit just last month was the last thing I bought from them, an EP-L2 and 500D twin kit before that.

I had a really good branch (Metro Centre) and a diabolical branch (Newcastle) near me, so can see the good and bad of Jessops as well.
 
How horrible for all Jessops staff....there are so few jobs to go into at the moment :( I wish them all good luck x

I have £100 Jessops card :( friends gave it to me for photographing their wedding in December.....I'm sort of hoping they don't see the news and/or ask me what I've bought....even worse is that I was going to buy a set of ND filters because I knew the groom would like to have a play with them as well.....oh poo...
 
A sad situation.. I do feel sorry for the lower level staff and creditors, and it saddens me to see another nail in the coffin of high street retail. Conversely the staff knowledge and integrity varied greatly in my experience (after all, that's what you should be paying a premium for over web sales), I wonder how well the whole chain was managed and some of their peripheral prices were excessive to the point of being offensive.

Has anyone been into their local store today to see what the crack is? I'm tempted to ask for an extended lunch break and go bargain hunting..

Not sure what the process is with administration - on the BBC website the administrators are quoted as saying "there will be store closures" so it sounds like they're not yet ready to flog everything off cheap and lay off all the staff.

I suppose the administrators will try and par the company down to claw back some money to appease debtors for the time being, while trying to keep the chain as a going concern.

I wonder if a lot of the higher end stock will go back to suppliers.. on the one hand it's in Jessops' interest to keep it and sell it at a discount rate (providing they're not making a loss). On the other hand the suppliers might rather see their products returned since, while losing their margin they've at least recovered something tangible, rather than waiting in line with all the other debtors for their share of the liquified assets (which may be less than the value of the stock they're owed for).
 
Ok - just been to my local Jessops and they are NOT ACCEPTING gift cards:(
Not happy as its cash they already have and won't give goods for.
Verges on theft in my eyes.
 
Well cancelled the finance and luckily looks like Jessops didn't take the deposit.Will be peed off if they try and take it now though.
 
Don't buy anything on line to collect in store!!

Not that I'd expect anyone would, but people are. Just been into the store in Meadowhall Sheffield and there's a guy arguing with staff at the till that he's ordered a camera to collect in store, had the email etc to say its in store, gone to get it and they won't hand it over.

Store staff have just called security in to take the guy away too, shocking imo and must come pretty close to theft, if the cameras in stock why not give it to the guy, he'd paid for it after all just the same as someone walking in and buying in person.

No bargains there either, everything I saw was still grossly over priced.

£2K for a 24-70 Mk2. £65 for a BR7 strap.

Bought it on themselves imo and if they're treating people like this guy I just witnessed then good riddance and make it quick!!!!
 
The collect at store option hasn't work since they suspended all trading on their website yesterday.

As for the guy arguing the toss over his collect at store purchase, he would've paid by credit or debit card, so all he has to do is contact his bank and they will issue a chargback request to Jessops through their merchant services and he will get is money back. Simple as.
 
Last edited:
Nifkin said:
The collect at store option hasn't work since they suspended al trading on their website yesterday.

As for the guy arguing the toss over his collect at store purchase, he would've paid by credit or debit card, so all he has to do is contact his bank and they will issue a chargback request to Jessops through their merchant services and he will get is money back. Simple as.
Click to expand...

He must've done it before they suspended it then, pretty bad treatment all the same, and I don't think Jessops have any say on their merchant services any more, and i dont believe banks can do it for debit cards can they, just credit cards.
 
Last edited:
Wonder if its worth trying to get one of their photobooks processed?

Got one I have been meaning to sort out for ages, lost cause now I reckon
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top