Simply Electronics D700: For £178 saving, would you? (Update £1567 @ onestop-digital)

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Yes
Google products shows them as the cheapest supplier for the D700 - £1599 delivered - and reviews have suddenly shot up for them (now consistently high ratings). http://www.google.co.uk/products/reviews?cid=f2088ed370bcb170&sort=1&cat=merchants&fq=nikon+d700

But what are your thoughts. Would you buy from them or not? They might be the cheapest supplier atm, but what are the potential pitfalls of using them ? And any recent personal experiences to report?

I've phoned them and they have confirmed that they have the item in stock in their UK facility (Reading) and that it will be delivered within 3-5 days from there. Re warranty: they say that it is a 2-year warranty with Nikon but held through them, and that any issues would mean that the camera has to be returned to their Isle of White facility rather than to Nikon as they work as "middle men." Clearly, this is because they are imports. But then again, aren't all Nikon's technically imports, so does having a 'grey' camera really make a difference?
 
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I assume you mean simply electronics?
I have just purchased a tokina 11-16 lens from them.
At first i was a little sceptical about them due to things i had read, but then heard positive things from a few people on here so decided to give them a go. I did use a credit card though just for a bit of security.

The delivery time was a bit slow, but admittedly i did order between Christmas and new year, then of course there was the snow to contend with.
But it arrived as promised and i have no complaints. :)
 
No, but that's just me. Have you tried Digital depot, contact Stuart and see if he can do a TP price.
 
Yes, I meant Simply Electronics Dave. Thanks, fixed that now! Good to hear your positive experience too.

Scott, any reason why you wouldn't though, or just a general fear/suspicion that you'd end up regretting it? Thanks for the tip. If Stuart matched the price, I'd take it of course. Although I doubt he will. (edit: and his site is showing no stock at present).
 
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No -As there a offshore company masquerading as UK based, supplying grey market goods - i did order a lens which didn't turn up for 4 weeks and ended with a credit card charge back.
 
Have seen more bad than good comments. Plus I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong, any warrenty issues will have to go through them and their customer support is :'(.

Would still try Stuart first, there are plenty of members here that have bought D700's from him.
 
Dogfish_magnet said:
No -As there a offshore company masquerading as UK based, supplying grey market goods - i did order a lens which didn't turn up for 4 weeks and ended with a credit card charge back.
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So it would be the warranty issue on grey market goods that would most concern you then?
 
foggy4ever said:
Have seen more bad than good comments. Plus I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong, any warrenty issues will have to go through them and their customer support is :'(.

Would still try Stuart first, there are plenty of members here that have bought D700's from him.
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Yes, I've confirmed with them that any warranty issues must go through them, not directly with Nikon. Thanks, I'll talk to Stuart but price is my main concern atm.
 
If wanting to save money by buying an import I would rather try Kerso first, then Digital Rev and then Onestop-Digital. Heck, I'd probably rather buy from one of the established UK based importers on eBay than from Simply Electronics.

I've had no personal dealings with Simply but I've heard enough horror stories to simply (hah, hah) not want to take the risk. It's not just about personal risk to my own peace of mind and wallet, but I don't wish to support the practices of a business that seems less than customer focused.

p.s. Sometimes you may be surprised at the online prices available from some of the main High Street suppliers. Of six EOS cameras I own, four have been supplied by Jessops, one from cameras2u, who I believe were an arm of the Jessops Group, and one from Digital Rev. When combined with Cash back from the likes of Quidco and TopCashBack some of our own retailers can be very competitive. Until a couple of days ago you could get 8% cash back from Jessops. I actually got 10% back when I bought my 7D and 5D2. Now the cash back has dropped to 4%. Even so.....

The price today at Simply is £1600. The price at Jacobs is £1769, but you can get 3.5% cash back from Quidco, making a net price of £1707, complete with the backup of proper Nikon UK warranty, proper UK SOGA and probably a whole lot less hassle. If it was my money I'd buy from Jacobs (unless Kerso could do a more competitive price).
 
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Old TP posts linked below, but once bitten etc etc...

Link 1
Link 2

Ian.
 
PhotoTalk said:
So it would be the warranty issue on grey market goods that would most concern you then?
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I only found that out when i started digging around when the 'in stock' lens hadn't turned up after a few weeks and i could never get anyone on a phone they only responded to emails with - i will pass on your concerns to the relevant dept - There office was a council house in Mansfield when i looked up the address on google street map, i believe they operate out of a virtual office in the IOW now.
 
Ok, thanks Tim, Paul, Ian, Scott and Dave. Lots to consider. Yes, I missed the 8% cashback, but I keep hesitating because of the new release rumours and other things. I would usually buy second hand but the need to delay the payment for a while is pushing me towards new, and that same need is pushing me towards cheapest! :lol:
 
I bought a Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 10-24mm F/3.5-4.5G ED from them about beginnng of December. Paid significantly under the other going prices. No problem with payment or delivery, but I did not research them first - would you believe that i had not heard of Talk Photography then!?!

The lens came only with their receipt and refernceback to them if any problems. Up to now ok but lens in S America with daughter no. 1 at moment photographing Maccu Piccu as I write. Hopefully standing up to the strain.
 
I bought D700 from them early last year. I had to wait a while but it came evenyually. No problem with the Nikon warranty
 
Seen loads of bad press about them. If you are looking at spending £1600 or so, does an extra £100 really matter? Digital Depot are excellent to deal with.
 
cambsno said:
Seen loads of bad press about them. If you are looking at spending £1600 or so, does an extra £100 really matter? Digital Depot are excellent to deal with.
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Well, I've subsequently found it at £1,567 delivered at onestop-digital who have an excellent reputation. Digital Depot are selling at £1789 and awaiting stock. That's a difference of £222, which makes a big difference actually.

Thanks also superpippo and icnoble for your comments.

http://www.onestop-digital.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=469 http://www.digitaldepot.co.uk/index...-slrs/nikon-d700-digital-slr-camera-body.html
 
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tdodd said:
If wanting to save money by buying an import I would rather try Kerso first, then Digital Rev and then Onestop-Digital. Heck, I'd probably rather buy from one of the established UK based importers on eBay than from Simply Electronics.

I've had no personal dealings with Simply but I've heard enough horror stories to simply (hah, hah) not want to take the risk. It's not just about personal risk to my own peace of mind and wallet, but I don't wish to support the practices of a business that seems less than customer focused.

p.s. Sometimes you may be surprised at the online prices available from some of the main High Street suppliers. Of six EOS cameras I own, four have been supplied by Jessops, one from cameras2u, who I believe were an arm of the Jessops Group, and one from Digital Rev. When combined with Cash back from the likes of Quidco and TopCashBack some of our own retailers can be very competitive. Until a couple of days ago you could get 8% cash back from Jessops. I actually got 10% back when I bought my 7D and 5D2. Now the cash back has dropped to 4%. Even so.....

The price today at Simply is £1600. The price at Jacobs is £1769, but you can get 3.5% cash back from Quidco, making a net price of £1707, complete with the backup of proper Nikon UK warranty, proper UK SOGA and probably a whole lot less hassle. If it was my money I'd buy from Jacobs (unless Kerso could do a more competitive price).
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i cannot find the voucher at quidco for jacobs. dose anyone no what it is. Cheers.
 
It's not a voucher. You have to join Quidco, which costs £5 per annum, and then when you want to buy something you go to the retailer's site via the Quidco site rather than directly. The annual charge is only taken from the cash backs you accrue. You do not have to pay any money up front. I've been a member for over 4 years and have so far been paid over £1,000 in cash backs, with more in the pipeline.

TopCashBack works in a similar way, but there is no annual charge at all. Sometimes one has better cash back than the other. I am a member of both.

The transactions are tracked via the use of cookies. If you go to the retailer sites directly, or via some other link, the cash back will probably not track. I always do my price searching without visiting the retailer sites, but just using price search websites. When I have found the best price(s) I then go to the two cashback sites to see if the merchant is covered and who has the best price with cash back factored in. Then off I go to make my purchase, confident that I have secured a great deal.
 
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tdodd said:
It's not a voucher. You have to join Quidco, which costs £5 per annum, and then when you want to buy something you go to the retailer's site via the Quidco site rather than directly. The annual charge is only taken from the cash backs you accrue. You do not have to pay any money up front. I've been a member for over 4 years and have so far been paid over £1,000 in cash backs, with more in the pipeline.

TopCashBack works in a similar way, but there is no annual charge at all. Sometimes one has better cash back than the other. I am a member of both.

The transactions are tracked via the use of cookies. If you go to the retailer sites directly, or via some other link, the cash back will probably not track. I always do my price searching without visiting the retailer sites, but just using price search websites. When I have found the best price(s) I then go to the two cashback sites to see if the merchant is covered and who has the best price with cash back factored in. Then off I go to make my purchase, confident that I have secured a great deal.
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Thank you for your help.
 
PhotoTalk said:
Well, I've subsequently found it at £1,567 delivered at onestop-digital who have an excellent reputation. Digital Depot are selling at £1789 and awaiting stock. That's a difference of £222, which makes a big difference actually.

Thanks also superpippo and icnoble for your comments.

http://www.onestop-digital.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=469 http://www.digitaldepot.co.uk/index...-slrs/nikon-d700-digital-slr-camera-body.html
Click to expand...


You're back to the same scenario as buying from SimplyElectronics though, only with OSD you'll need to return the camera to HK if there's a warranty issue and probably get hit for duty on the way back, as you'd be unable to prove it had been paid in the first place, which it wouldn't have been....
 
Jacobs does have a voucher offer on at the moment. You get 5% of the purchase price of a DSLR or digital compact, issued as a voucher, which is then redeemable against further purchases made between 1st Feb to 14th Feb. Details here - http://www.jacobsdigital.co.uk/index.php?target=pages&page_id=fivepercentvoucher

So if you wanted some accessories and could afford to wait a couple of weeks for them, the Jacobs deal, with Quidco cash back, becomes somewhat more inviting, I think.
 
Yes, good point FITP.

Thanks tdodd. Good voucher although I thinkthe Quidco probably can't be combined with it

There are no compatible vouchers at this time.
Any other voucher code may result in you not earning Quidco cashback.
 
Ah, but you dont use a voucher code the first time round, when you buy the body in the frst place. For that you get the Quidco. Then, separately, Jacobs will issue the voucher for a fixed sum (5% of the camera's price).

When the time then comes to buy your accessories, you can try using Quidco anyway, but then pay with the voucher, and if Quidco doesn't pay out on the accessories you'll still have saved 3.5% + 5% on the price of the body in the first place. Also, since the voucher isn't the regular sort of money off voucher, but more like a store credit, perhaps you will get Quidco the second time round as well.

Anyway, that's my read of the situation, but if it all goes Pete Tong, don't blame me. I'm just flagging the possibility of saving a bit more money.
 
I see. Didn't look at the voucher terms. In that case, it isn't very appealing as it is effectively only a max 3.5% off the camera through quidco (and not guaranteed). The 5% voucher isn't a saving as such, it's a voucher towards another purchase. Useful if they had something else at a competitive price I was planning to buy anyway, but they don't unfortunately. Thanks again for the info though - hopefully someone else will benefit from it.
 
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