[Dave]

In the UK, Jessops share price has just tumbled 68% as over a third of investors sold their stock amongst fears the bank are going to pull the plug on thier loan.

With the aggresive pricing on the web being seen as major contributor to the companies lack of profit, how many of us feel we have had a part to play in this companies demise ? Have you gone to the local store to try the goods out yourself & then go off & buy if from the net , or do you buy the goods the form Jessops ?

[_MB_]

Where they've got good staff, they get good custom. Where they have gap year teenagers, they don't. Their prices don't help. Just recently walked pass a "March Madness" sale where everything was reduced to the point where it cost about average internet price.

[stepheno]

Originally Posted by Dave

In the UK, Jessops share price has just tumbled 68% as over a third of investors sold their stock amongst fears the bank are going to pull the plug on thier loan.

I didn't know that! However - I agree with MB about staff. Luckily I have 7 Jessops within a 12 mile radius and 5 of them have what I called knowledgable staff. They do have their own internet site but prices aren't that lower. Personally, if it's a big buy I prefer to buy from a shop, even Jessops, but otherwise I will use the internet - I suppose I share it about a bit.

I have no qualms about buying in Jessops because I will have done my reading and research and know exactly what I want. It's the less knowledgable who will get a raw deal. What I can see is Jessops losing out on the top end sales, dslr and lenses, and therefore concentrating just on the compact, bridge and processing.

[Liam O'Neill]

I do something that isn't in the poll. I spend what feels like an eternity on the web reading reviews, specs, prices etc, decide what I want, and go buy it locally. I do sometimes buy small things (under £50) on the web, but can't imagine buying a lens that way.
It isn't usually Jessops I go to though.

[viages]

I would rather use an indpendant retailer than a group retailer, but the group retailers have put nearly all of them out of business by undercutting prices, (this is good for buyers), but most shops ,never mind shop that sell technical equipment, don't have staff that are trained well enough. Where do you get good advice?

Large companies eg. Canon have reduced the number of retailers who are able to stock their items. This reduces the suppliers overhead costs by cutting down administration and delivery costs.

[Soupdragon]

They bought it on themselves as far as I can tell!

I stopped using them when they stopped offering part exchange.

I don't think they are dead just yet though!

[namllihs]

I like the idea of buying in a local shop as it is comforting to know you have a point of contact should something go wrong. There are only 2 photographic shops in our town centre Youngs & Jessops.
When I got a 70-300 zoom I went to Jessops they were priced reasonably, about £10.00 more than the same lens online, so I purchased it. Later when I was after a 50mm f/1.8, both Youngs and Jessops were asking £89.99 and had none in stock so a 7 day wait, went online and paid about £60.00 including postage, ordered Wednesday dinner time arrived friday morning.
So basicaly I will do my homework, check prices and availability, and then make a decision.
I am willing to pay a small overhead for buying from a shop but I am not willing to be ripped off.
Just my 2p worth.

[Dave]

I've used Jessops if I need to get my hands on the items first, but have always bought them online with same firm, to use discount codes etc. I specifically bought the Sigma 10-20mm from Jessops, as it was only about 5% more expensive than Hong Kong & I was concerned about build quality on said item & didn't want to pay stupid P&P for any returns.

Saying that I'm currently looking at the Nikon 80-400mm VR lens which is 50% more in Jessops store , than from HK Guess where I'll buy that from

[viki]

i think most of the blame lies with the management/buyers certainly at the stores i know a major prob has been getting the right products into stock there is no use having 3 boxes of battery chargers and 3 boxes of mini tripods delivered 2 days before xmas but no dslrs and no cheap and cheerful compacts, good pricing and generally good staff knowledge are no good if the customer cant get the product they have just been recomended but competitors on the high steet and on-line either have the item in stock or can order & deliver in a couple of days

for small items (bags, mem cards etc) i will always buy on-line but for camera's/lenses i choose a company which has a good returns & repair policy whether online or a local shop, for this reason i wont use some well know high street stores because the customer service is rubbish

[Markulous]

Tend to like buying from a local shop if the prices aren't too silly, to support the area. Tried to get my Sigma from an independent camera shop but it became clear that they weren't interested, so gave up and bought from eBay. Saved me a bundle too!

Not keen on my local Jessops shops as they always try and push something which I don't want or need

So, try it out @ Focus and buy it off the 'Net!

[Angela]

For something as expensive as my camera body, I would rather buy that from a local shop. Whilst I buy a lot of stuff online, for camera gear, I would much rather buy it in the flesh.

[fionaB]

well as Jessops is the only dedicated camera shop within 20 miles i dont have much choice. I did get the 9500 from Comet ( only cos the local camera shop was adamant that they were not available any more and i would have to wait 2 weeks for the 9600...... which turned out to be a 3 month wait) so im pretty glad that i wait their so called 2 weeks.
have not had any problems the few times i have been to jessops, the sales guy was wonderful not pushy at all and listened to what i wanted... so yep i have no qualms at all about buying from essops, the only downfall is actually getting to one.............. there is three within 100 yards of each other near enough in Sauchiehall street in glasgow and none near me......
what i will say is that i dont really believe they are in that much trouble or why would they be opening new shops?

Fi

[Dave]

Well Jessops have issued their 3rd profit warning of 2007, plus decided not to pay an interim dividend & is also expected to look to close shops to save some cash.

Investors who bought in at the float of Jessops in Oct 2004 have now lost 90% of their investment ....... & I thought my camera gear depreciated quickly

[fionaB]

losing on an investment is the risk you take when u invest tho............ and why are they looking to close shops while they are opening new ones?
i wouldnt have thought they would have been able to open new ones

[_MB_]

If they own the premises they'll sell them to raise capital to rent out others.

[VinnyP]

Jessops used to be an Alladin's cave in the days of film and B&W processing. But these days they seem usually to offer very little over the box shifters. Bucking the trend is downstairs at New Oxford Street, they are still very good, I have ticked the buy online in the survey but have often paid over the odds for great service.

[Charlotte]

Up until recently I have always just read reviews + bought on the 'net. With my last acquisition however, my trusty new tripod, I did feel the need to see some 'in the flesh' as it were, before choosing one. I did the research first on the 'net, then went to Jessops to go see some. They didn't have much of a range, so I just made a mental note of the one I liked best there, with the intention of buying on the 'net anyway, because ... they are outpriced by just about everyone else. They are just too darn expensive. I feel no obligation to them whatever. It's dog eat dog out there, + they need to be more competitive to get the business. That's it + all about it. Also, although there are a few Jessops branches near me, they are very small + hold very little stock Not bought a thing from them yet

PS: I still ended up buying 'blind' on the 'net, because Jessops didn't have the one I wanted + which I did end up with anyway It was quite an easy choice actually, because I went for a feature which no other tripod has, so if I wanted that feature (no leg clips) there was only one tripod to get - easy peasy!

[VikingPhotography]

Jessops really have brought this upon themselves; the majority of Jessops staff in my locale are almost worse than useless, with the exception of the store manager and assistant manager - consequently those are the only folks I'll deal with if I have to purchase from them.

The situation isn't helped by their excessive prices and lack of product range; if the likes of London Camera Exchange and Park Cameras can offer the same prices in store as they do on their website, then it's beyond me why Jessops can't do the same.

Except I know why this has happened.

When the management buy-out of Jessops occured a few years ago (2001?), the focus of the stores shifted from providing top-quality service to getting as much money in the tills as possible - including their 'extended warranties' on just about every product they sell. The shift away from friendly, customer focused retailing turned them into a bland corporate machine.

If Jessops do end up going out of business, I'll feel a little sorry for the genune photography enthusiasts that worked for them... but, to be honest, most of those folks are long gone by now anyways.

[fionaB]

i hope that they dont go out of business, its getting harder and harder to find dedicated camera shops and to some folks buying off the net is not an option.

FI

[P-E]

Shame if they do go although I did hear they were on the way a couple of years ago

I did buy my D2H from them but now shop on the net or at another local shop in Sheffield.

[brian wright22]

Yes its a shame but like the previous comments Jessops caused a local "expert camera shop" called Focal Point in Maidenhead to close about 4 years ago. The shop has only just reopened as a Inkjet cartridge refill shop. Jessops on the other hand has declined in knowledgeable staff. Also it has no consistency in pricing. Yesterday I went in to purchase some more excellent value Epson inkjet Ultra Glossy 300g paper, well it was three weeks ago. Yesterday the price had doubled. The assistant said come in again in a couple of weeks and it will be half price again. I'm afraid this is not my style of shopping.

[Dave]

One angle that people may not have thought about is if you force people to shop on the net more often, more people get great deals on new gear, but this will cause all our s/h gear to depreciate quicker

At the moment you can sell your s/h gear for reasonable amounts, as people who are only used to Jessops / street prices are happy to pay what they appear to be decent prices, where as in fact they may be paying near / more than the item was bought for new on the web. I've defintely experienced this to date.

[namllihs]

Noticed today Jessops have halved the price of memory cards.

[dabhand16]

Almost makes me feel guilty about getting that demon price on my Sigma 70-200 f2.8. Almost.

[Markulous]

Originally Posted by Dabhand16

Almost makes me feel guilty about getting that demon price on my Sigma 70-200 f2.8. Almost.

Yeah, thread really needs renaming to
"Jessops demise? Is Graham to blame?"

As a small off-topic: I found the Paris fraud interesting. Company within the Dixon's group and, as a result of the fraud, the group "is unlikely to make a profit". Haven't heard how much the amount was, but to wipe out all profits I'm guessing it was a thick wadge!

[Charlotte]

Originally Posted by namllihs

Noticed today Jessops have halved the price of memory cards.

I wonder what else will come down in price ... now is the time to start shopping at Jessops methinks

[VikingPhotography]

Originally Posted by namllihs

Noticed today Jessops have halved the price of memory cards.

To paraphrase: "They're expensive at half the price"

Example: Sandisk Extreme III 4GB Compact Flash

Jessops price: £99.99
Play.com price: £39.99 (but out of stock)
onlinememory.co.uk price £39.88 (in stock)

I normally wouldn't have ordered from any less a reputable dealer than play.com but I needed two extra 4GB cards before the start of the week (1st April) - onlinememory.co.uk did manage to get them to me within a two days of ordering, despite their somewhat dubious reputation (search for reseller ratings online and you can find a few bad reviews)

Still, that's going a little off-topic.

Whilst I appreciate that Jessops have overheads such as premises, running costs, staff etc., I simply don't see how they can justify charging 2.5x as much as a major outfit such as play.com for the same kit.

Even if you ignore play.com, you'll see that many high street camera stores are selling the same card for around the £45 - 55 mark. These stores have similar overheads to Jessops but don't charge the earth for the same kit.

Heck, even the sometimes pricey pro outlet Calumet is selling these cards for £50 inc. VAT (out of stock though) and they also have the Extreme IV 4GB for not much more at £70 inc. VAT (Jessops price £130!)

Jessops, it seems, are intent on pricing themselves out of the market on nearly everything they sell; I don't want to go into a local Jessops store to haggle over the price of kit, waiting whilst staff get authorisation from their head office to match a particular item... I want to purchase at a decent price and not have mostly clueless staff waffle on endlessly about their warranty, telliing me how this wonderful piece of high tech photographic equipment is going to break down the second I so much as look at it!!!

If they offered a wide range of products at only slightly higher than web prices AND this was backed up with consistently good service from all their staff at every store - pre and post sale - then they wouldn't have to worry about web prices - they would be the preferred outlet for many photographers.

[VikingPhotography]

<ignore>deleted double post</ignore>

[fionaB]

Originally Posted by Markulous

Yeah, thread really needs renaming to
"Jessops demise? Is Graham to blame?"

As a small off-topic: I found the Paris fraud interesting. Company within the Dixon's group and, as a result of the fraud, the group "is unlikely to make a profit". Haven't heard how much the amount was, but to wipe out all profits I'm guessing it was a thick wadge!

what fraud?

[fionaB]

but they rely on a lot of people not having an option BUT to shop at them........... as far as I know there is not another camera shop near me. Jessops is about 15 miles away in Stirling........ Falkirk dont have one and nor do they have any other camera store anymopre, and jessops cant be blamed for that as there isnt a Jessops in falkirk.
When we were in Oban the other day i was kinda shocked (in a nice way) to find 2 different camera shops withing throwing distance from each other. and guess what, NEITHER of them were jessops.......
But I gotta shop in jessops i dont have a choice.

Fi