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happyfish said:
I think you do understand it, you are maybe uncomfortable with it.
I am uncomfortable with it myself, ( i think its an english thing) But it is a normal way of life in other countries.

After all, the items you purchase are all bartered for in the first place by the buyers for say jessops.

My Partner is a Buyer and she is very good at it, so I normally ask her to ask for me, but when you get a result that could mean a lot more money left in your pocket for other stuff, its a good feeling.
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I think you've hit the nail on the head there.

I do not feel comfortable with it at all, but I suppose everything has been bartered for.

Normally the way I get a good feeling and leaving money in my pocket is by scowering the internet/high street for the best price and simply buying from there. If it's a high street shop, bonus.
 
I stopped shopping at Jessops when they scoffed at me trying to do a deal when paying cash. This was back when the 300D first came out.

I was paying cash for the body + kit lens and a few other bits and bobs. £700. The guy in the store said they didn't usually take that amount of cash and prefer to deal with cards.

WTF??

So they would rather take a credit card and pay the card provider to use the service. Handling cash is FREE.

I have a Jessops within 4 miles of me. But i would rather travel 30 miles to my nearest LCE where there is staff with knowledge and interest in photography.

There are plenty of things wrong with Jessops. But to me they are more interested in trying to get new, one off, customers through the doors than capturing a customer and keeping them for life. Its a simple concept, most hobby toggers will buy at least one bit of kit every year. Someone with no interest in photography will buy an everyday camera once every, what, 2-3 years?? And usually its a fraction of the price of a hobby toggers kit.

Repeat custom is what every business model needs, unless you are an undertaker obviously!!
 
MG TF 135 said:
I was paying cash for the body + kit lens and a few other bits and bobs. £700. The guy in the store said they didn't usually take that amount of cash and prefer to deal with cards.

WTF??

So they would rather take a credit card and pay the card provider to use the service. Handling cash is FREE.
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In short, yes. Oh and banks charge to handle cash too ;)
 
After all, the items you purchase are all bartered for in the first place by the buyers for say jessops.
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You mean "haggled", "bargained" or "negotiated" rather than "bartered", don't you?

Mind you, your word conjures up some interesting scenarios [which I shall leave for others to describe ... ;)]
 
You mean "haggled", "bargained" or "negotiated" rather than "bartered", don't you?
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No I meant bartered, I am just not that bothered or should I say that my English grammar is not as good as others, but most people that are not nit pickers would understand just phine.

And for those that are interested:
Bartering is a medium in which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods and/or services without a common unit of exchange (without the use of money)

edd:bonk::bonk::bonk:
 
happyfish said:
No I meant bartered, I am just not that bothered or should I say that my English grammar is not as good as others, but most people that are not nit pickers would understand just phine.

And for those that are interested:
Bartering is a medium in which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods and/or services without a common unit of exchange (without the use of money)

edd:bonk::bonk::bonk:
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I'm pretty sure Jessops work with money, rather than bartering.....:shrug:
 
foodpoison said:
I asked if Tesco would reduce the price of one of their bottles of coke by 10p to match Sainsbury's price, but they wouldn't. They didn't even care that I was buying a Sandwich at the same time :shrug:
I totally agree. No one wants to do a deal.
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The trouble is with this is that for far too long the average British buying public are more than happy to pay the listed price for camera's etc when walking into a shop,however now the internet has expanded it has created more savvy shoppers which now seek out cheaper prices online....something they might not normally have done so, and it's something they should of been doing years ago when walking on foot into shops that sell camera's etc. You go to places abroad and see that people often barter over the prices of things, Things like RRP are always overlooked and never taken as a set price for electrical goods etc. I think's it's a good thing to have competition and deals, thing's like bottles of coke from tesco's I wouldn't bother with...although when it comes to more expensive items I'll always try and strike up a deal as that way I'll often go back to the same place :D

I think half of it is that people are too **** scared to barter, just because something is brand new dosen't mean that you shouldn't have the same right's to haggle over the price compared to something which is second hand.





Michael.
 
I think half of it is that people are too **** scared to barter, just because something is brand new dosen't mean that you shouldn't have the same right's to haggle over the price compared to something which is second hand.
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Haggle

That was the word I was looking for :help:
 
In terms of bargaining, it never crosses my mind when it comes to big high street chains, as they usually aren't able to bargain.....but when I'm buying hifi/av equipment from an independent store, I'll always negotiate a discount.....and when I'm buying car insurance I'll negotiate a discount....and buying a mobile phone....

It's not such an alien concept to consumers and retailers in this country....it's just we've got used to the big chains just being inflexible.
 
OTOH, I have no problem paying list price - even if it's not that competitive - as long as I see benefit in kind. In other words, if a shop sees me right in troubled times because I'm valued [or at least I feel I'm valued] then I'll see them alright too.
 
mid_gen said:
In terms of bargaining, it never crosses my mind when it comes to big high street chains, as they usually aren't able to bargain.....but when I'm buying hifi/av equipment from an independent store, I'll always negotiate a discount.....and when I'm buying car insurance I'll negotiate a discount....and buying a mobile phone....

It's not such an alien concept to consumers and retailers in this country....it's just we've got used to the big chains just being inflexible.
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i used to work for:
Moss Bros we had a 10% - 20% discount zone
Hackett 10% - 100% discount zone
Honda up to 10% on new cars up to £1000 on second hand and amazing flexibility if you took the finance toys.

as a Market trader you had to put away you geezer attitude bruv innit and make me laugh instead to get discount.
as an Estate agent I just worked both sides to get the most commission as quickly as possible.

i have never sold double glazing but i have had the saleman in my sofa give an instant 20% discount followed by numerous phone calls to his sales manager eventually getting the price down to 40% of the original quote and a similar story with kitchen fitters.

The discounts are out there you just have to ask nicely.

the main problem is that we are seeing the decline of actual shops where you can go in and handle the product.
 
andrew748 said:
i used to work for:
Moss Bros we had a 10% - 20% discount zone
Hackett 10% - 100% discount zone
Honda 10% on new cars up to £1000 on second hand and amazing flexibility if you took the finance toys.

as a Market trader you had to put away you geezer attitude bruv innit and make me laugh instead to get discount.
as an Estate agent I just worked both sides to get the most commission as quickly as possible.

i have never sold double glazing but i have had the saleman in my sofa give an instant 20% discount followed by numerous phone calls to his sales manager eventually getting the price down to 40% of the original quote and a similar story with kitchen fitters.

The discounts are out there you just have to ask nicely.
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One thing I hate is a salesman who gives discounts at the drop of a hat had a double glazing one round a while back and he dropped his price by 50% (in 10% increments) in the space of 5 minutes, without once being asked for a discount :bang:

How do you give a 100% discount and remain in profit, btw? :shrug:
 
Flash In The Pan said:
One thing I hate is a salesman who gives discounts at the drop of a hat a double glazing one round and he dropped his price by 50% (in 10% increments) in the space of 5 minutes, without once being asked for a discount :bang:
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they ain't salesmen, they are order takers
 
andrew748 said:
they ain't salesmen, they are order takers
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He didn't take an order from me :lol:

On the subject of salesmen.....:D


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I would not like to see Jessops go, and not all the staff are the same in each branch. The guys in the Bolton branch always seem OK to to me.

Yes they are not the cheapest around, but they can be very handy. Where are you going to go to get 2 or 3 small prints done. Not on-line with the postage costs, not Tesco or Asda because they not the best printers, but I've been very happy with Jessops Bolton for the odd print or two.

It's a while ago now but they were the cheapest place when I got my 30D.


As for PC World being a camera shop, don't make me laugh, they used to be a computer store but now they are a television store, and will dump camera in a flash if they think there not make enough money out of them
 
Flash In The Pan said:
He didn't take an order from me :lol:

On the subject of salesmen.....:D


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:D "2 week mot :lol:
 
Flash In The Pan said:
One thing I hate is a salesman who gives discounts at the drop of a hat had a double glazing one round a while back and he dropped his price by 50% (in 10% increments) in the space of 5 minutes, without once being asked for a discount :bang:
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He wouldn't work for me, that's for sure...

By the way, my idea of negotiation is "you do something for me, I do something for you" or "change the price, change the deal" So, if you want to knock £50 off, you have to take something else (maybe at £35) to make the deal sweeter. That's negotiation, just knocking the price down is "haggling"....

Steve
 
On the subject of haggling ..... I have a shopping list for expanding my business this month. It's a l-o-n-g shopping list. Several tens of thousands of £££s. Lots of nice glass. So I gave it to the manager of my local Jessops along with a target price for each lens, based on what I can see available on Camera Price Buster. And I told him that if he could hit any of those prices, the sales were his.

He had to consult with the head office (or regional office, or something) sales team, and I'm expecting to hear the results of their deliberations tomorrow. It will be interesting to see the outcome. Are they up for it? We'll see. And the way they approach it might tell us something about Jessops future.....
 
StewartR said:
On the subject of haggling ..... I have a shopping list for expanding my business this month. It's a l-o-n-g shopping list. Several tens of thousands of £££s. Lots of nice glass. So I gave it to the manager of my local Jessops along with a target price for each lens, based on what I can see available on Camera Price Buster. And I told him that if he could hit any of those prices, the sales were his.

He had to consult with the head office (or regional office, or something) sales team, and I'm expecting to hear the results of their deliberations tomorrow. It will be interesting to see the outcome. Are they up for it? We'll see. And the way they approach it might tell us something about Jessops future.....
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Look forward to this outcome :thumbs:
 
How many people here actually work for jessops? Im part time, ive known the news for a couple of weeks. It wont really effect me, just means I need to be more flexible in terms of when I work.

Jessops have been in the **** for so long, last time we had the company stats on paper they had recorded losses of over 50 million, surprised HSBC are still supporting them to be honest. With that in mind there really is no room for discounts. I have the freedom to move around a bit on prices, but when someone comes up to me and goes, 'so can you throw a memory card in', I never feel inclined, unless a customer has been particularly friendly or shown some respect for my position as a sales advisor. We get some unbelieveable rude customers, so I tend to be conservative with discounts.
 
andrew748 said:
that caught my eye, as one of the obvious fools that was taken in and bought the insurance.

er...

i think it was money well spent, i have 18 months left and have claimed 3 times.

a little more enthusiasm for your job and your products would help imo.
in my experience (35 jobs so far), all the big bosses are *****ers, i was one of them, i should know:bang:
it if stops being fun look for something else.
and when every i'm in my local very good jessops, it amazes me that they don't push memory cards and spare batteries to the new camera buyers.
i can't be the only camera owner that went click mad when i got my first digital.

Any way good luck to all you jessop's employees, i would hate to see you gone from the high street
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Amen to that, photo plus doesnt sell well but customers regret it. Its well worth it in my opinion, with my old 400 I was lucky enough to be able to buy it when my camera actually broke. When i got my new camera I knew it made sense and ive felt more confident informing customers since. Most of them are far too quick to dismiss it though.

I push extras on the basis I understand the needs or first time buyers, im not commited to my job in the sense im looking to squeeze out every penny from customers but try to be as honest as possible. If customers only want a camera, its not a problem, if they want to spend more, il try and get them the best deal. Funnily enough ive had the best sales in the company for like the past 3 months running at least.

The problem ive always felt with the company is its formal approach to the more mature professional photographers which unfortunately is a minority, they are slowly realising the niche for first time buyers and taking a lighter hearted approach to sales. They have never done well to initally attract new customers. As a company it can work, but I can never see them digging themselves out of 50 million+ debts with HSBC.
 
Changing from full time staff to part time looks like a very good plan to me. It will save money, and increase cover at busy times, raising sales.

How many other options have they got? Without radical change the business will simply go bust, and there will be no jobs for anyone, not even a part time option. And as customers, we will lose the opportunity to try before we buy, from a high street local store. I don't like that prospect.

Jessops know where they have gone wrong in the past, under a previous regime. That's history. And the current management knows as well as anybody how to run a successful retail business in today's internet led environment - and that bsuiness model looks very like Warehouse Express, which is actually a copy of how Jessops operated in the 1980s.

Unfortunately, Jessops is unique in being locked into a massive property portfolio that it cannot get rid of. Their fixed overheads are huge, and the market will not allow them to put up prices, rather the opposite, so they have to reduce costs in the only area they can.

It's not rocket science is it. Jessops management is trying to save the business and as many jobs as possible with it. It's not pleasant, not at all, and it might not work, but the current plan doesn't work for sure. If it enables Jessops to survive, I'll be pleased.
 
Butler said:
How many people here actually work for jessops? Im part time, ive known the news for a couple of weeks. It wont really effect me, just means I need to be more flexible in terms of when I work.

Jessops have been in the **** for so long, last time we had the company stats on paper they had recorded losses of over 50 million, surprised HSBC are still supporting them to be honest. With that in mind there really is no room for discounts. I have the freedom to move around a bit on prices, but when someone comes up to me and goes, 'so can you throw a memory card in', I never feel inclined, unless a customer has been particularly friendly or shown some respect for my position as a sales advisor. We get some unbelieveable rude customers, so I tend to be conservative with discounts.
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I'll get you Butler :p :thumbs:

where's me flash stands, you swine :naughty::lol:
 
MG TF 135 said:
WTF??

So they would rather take a credit card and pay the card provider to use the service. Handling cash is FREE.
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This is soo far from the truth in business, firstly you have to pay to have the cash collected, or pay an employee to take it to the bank, which very few businesses now do due to safety, and secondly the banks also hate dealing in cash nowadays and charge businesses a nice little percentage of the cash to pay it in.
Unfortunately cash is no longer king.
It's good to haggle on stuff, a lot of places will drop the price if you are gonna walk out of the shop, although my girlfriend hates it when I do it :D

StewartR said:
On the subject of haggling ..... I have a shopping list for expanding my business this month. It's a l-o-n-g shopping list. Several tens of thousands of £££s. Lots of nice glass. So I gave it to the manager of my local Jessops along with a target price for each lens, based on what I can see available on Camera Price Buster. And I told him that if he could hit any of those prices, the sales were his.

He had to consult with the head office (or regional office, or something) sales team, and I'm expecting to hear the results of their deliberations tomorrow. It will be interesting to see the outcome. Are they up for it? We'll see. And the way they approach it might tell us something about Jessops future.....
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Before the prices went up sky high I was going to switch from Canon to Nikon, I won't say the total ammount it was going to cost to get the kit I needed to replace the Canon stuff but it was a considerable ammount, I went to the local Jessops and some of the stuff was cheaper, but on the some of the glass they were dearer so I asked them to beat the cheapest on pricebuster, and I got the same statement they said to you from the manager he also added "oh yes we can do that but I will check with head office to get the best we can because of the ammount I was spending" the outcome of it was they never even had the decency to phone me back.
For me it's not really suprising to hear they are always in trouble, but for the sake of all the staff would hate to see them go under.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
had a double glazing one round a while back and he dropped his price by 50% (in 10% increments) in the space of 5 minutes, without once being asked for a discount
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They also tell you that the offer is only good until midnight to try to get you to sign up. You know that they will make the same offer tomorrow to other people.

I had one who had to be physically pushed out of the door as he was being far too insistant that we sign up.

In the end I got a friend to do the whole house for the price this company wanted for just two bay windows.


Steve.
 
Steve Smith said:
They also tell you that the offer is only good until midnight to try to get you to sign up. You know that they will make the same offer tomorrow to other people.

I had one who had to be physically pushed out of the door as he was being far too insistant that we sign up.

In the end I got a friend to do the whole house for the price this company wanted for just two bay windows.


Steve.
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At work often if our figures are low we are given more leeway in terms of discounts, if one day we desperately need more add-on sales we can allow more discount where as if the next day out figures are on target we cant.
 
Steve Smith said:
They also tell you that the offer is only good until midnight to try to get you to sign up. You know that they will make the same offer tomorrow to other people.

I had one who had to be physically pushed out of the door as he was being far too insistant that we sign up.

In the end I got a friend to do the whole house for the price this company wanted for just two bay windows.


Steve.
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The last guy came out with the gem "our windows are the best for security as they can't be cut out the frame easily - that's the way burglars break in"

Me: " so, let me get this straight....rather than kicking in the back door, you're saying they'll cut round the frame and remove a 10ft long double glazed window at the front of the house, in full view of the street?"

Salesman: "I hate this job....."


:thumbs:
 
StewartR said:
On the subject of haggling ..... I have a shopping list for expanding my business this month. It's a l-o-n-g shopping list. Several tens of thousands of £££s. Lots of nice glass. So I gave it to the manager of my local Jessops along with a target price for each lens, based on what I can see available on Camera Price Buster. And I told him that if he could hit any of those prices, the sales were his.

He had to consult with the head office (or regional office, or something) sales team, and I'm expecting to hear the results of their deliberations tomorrow. It will be interesting to see the outcome. Are they up for it? We'll see. And the way they approach it might tell us something about Jessops future.....
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i am assuming you have some leeway in the prices that you are prepared to accept, otherwise it isnt haggling, merely an attempt to browbeat them,
 
I've been off work with stress, for a while.
I was working for a national double glazing company. The reason I'm stressed is that I can't sit in somebody's lounge and take the ****** out of them.
To be fair to the guys that stick it, it's not their fault, you have to work that way and it's a pretty baffling way of dropping the price, too much to go into now.
To be honest about the guys that stick it, lets just say I felt it was immoral. You deliver the list price hoping to get it and fill your pockets.
I have been earning up to £100 an hour in some houses, but the dishonesty of it all did me in. If I earned good money in a house I felt like an aHOLE.

Oh, if you don't manage to make the sit last 3 hours you get a roasting for not doing your job properly. Now I'm sat here with no income, scared to go to work, my last sick note was for 4 weeks.
 
lazaroonie said:
i am assuming you have some leeway in the prices that you are prepared to accept, otherwise it isnt haggling, merely an attempt to browbeat them,
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Hmmm... interesting point.

From Chambers online dictionary:
haggle - to bargain over or argue about (a price, etc).
browbeat - to frighten or intimidate someone by speaking angrily or sternly, or by looking fierce

I think it's haggling. I've given them some target prices; we'll see what they say. If I've suggested a target price of £1000 for a lens and they say the best they can do is £1025 or £1050, I might accept that or I might not. Or I might try to find a compromise between my opening shot and theirs. Of course I have leeway in what I will accept. It's very rare indeed for someone to be in a situatiion where they can pay £1000 but not £1001.

Of course, lurking behind all this is the clear implication that if they can't get close enough to the target prices then I will look to buy elsewhere. But is that really intimidation? I prefer to look at it more constructively. If retailer XXX is prepared to sell the lens for £1000, then I'm simply offering my local Jessops store a chance to have the business instead.
 
Forget about haggling........ All of the staff at jessops have now been told that they have to take £30 each profit, every day as a target or they face the leather chair, and continued failing of this target will mean disciplinary action being taken.
So, spare a thought for the poor staff.
As if they have'nt got enough to worry about already.
 
Have they never had targets before? :eek:
Gives them a good reason to do a deal IMHO.
I always sold more profit by doing a high volume of discounts.
 
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