Jessops in to Administration

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Jetnoise
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Jessops in to Administration

Post by Jetnoise »

A little heads-up for anybody in possession of Jessops vouchers or with kit with Jessops for servicing/repair - according to the BBC they may be calling in administrators....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50066623

Another high-street presence potentially biting the dust (again).

Cheers,
Ralph
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speedbird2639
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Re: Jessops in to Administration

Post by speedbird2639 »

Some of the stores have closed already - ours in Redditch is 'shuttered' and empty.

It was a valiant attempt but in the current climate when cameras on smart phones must have devastated the non-SLR market they were reduced to selling Canon and Nikon slrs (and maybe a few Sonys for the contrary types :lmao: ). I can't see what benefit a physical store would have. Advise? Any new camera will have a sheaf of reviews online within days of its release so you can get all the information you require there.

DSLRs have reached such a level now you don't need to rush out to buy each new model as your current camera will suffice for all but the most demanding photographer. Plenty of quality second hand kit available from reputable online sellers etc etc.

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Brevet Cable
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Re: Jessops in to Administration

Post by Brevet Cable »

I can't see what benefit a physical store would have.

Didn't they still have in-store processing for film ? ( you know, that archaic stuff used by luddites :lol: )
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nighthawk999
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Re: Jessops in to Administration

Post by nighthawk999 »

Purely to save time,I've copied and pasted this which I wrote on the EOS Magazine forum a short while ago..
"I've only been in the new Leicester branch of Jessops twice,and it was like a portal back to the 1990s in that customer service-if it can be described as such-was still very poor.

On both occasions the two staff on duty,in a very tiny shop unit,were more concerned with fawning over millennials printing out their smartphone"happy snaps"than dealing with the sale of my fairly expensive(£100+)camera bag,plus a smaller item on the second visit.

In the 90s with a lot of staff on duty in a bigger store,on at least two occasions the same very poor"customer service" attitude lost them sales of zoom lenses plus other things.At least in those days though there were other camera shops near by.

So,if that is the general situation across most of their stores in 2019,I'm not surprised that,according to the news article,none have made a profit.

Peter Jones was quoted as saying that things in-store would be the same as prices on-line,yet I've seen lenses etc cheaper than Jessops prices in other on-line outlets."

elterwater
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Re: Jessops in to Administration

Post by elterwater »

nighthawk999 wrote:Peter Jones was quoted as saying that things in-store would be the same as prices on-line,yet I've seen lenses etc cheaper than Jessops prices in other on-line outlets."


I think Peter meant that there would be price parity between the Jessops shops and the Jessops website. Not the utterly daft situation whereby you could see a product for a low price on the Jessops website, pop into a Jessops store to buy it only to be told "Sorry, that's on online exclusive price only, we can't sell you the store stock for the same price as it's separate from the website stock".

Someone claiming always low prices, does not necessarily mean that they are the *lowest* prices you will find anywhere. It actually means that they're refraining from the practice of artificially boosting prices in order to have endless "sales", as it just means customers get wise to the practice and don't buy when they want to as they'll just wait for this week's sale instead (e.g. ECP).

MiG_Eater
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Re: Jessops in to Administration

Post by MiG_Eater »

Always found Jessops customer service to be poor.

It's never a good sign when the customer is more knowledgeable than the salesman. Once again, it's a case of full circle since Jessops et al put many indie camera shops out of business.

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rockfordstone
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Re: Jessops in to Administration

Post by rockfordstone »

only used them once. by chance they had something i wanted in a store where i was staying once. my nearest one is 40 minutes away and it is too small to have enough gear that would make want to buy anything on a walkup. i get my stuff online as i'm sure a lot do.

nighthawk999
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Re: Jessops in to Administration

Post by nighthawk999 »

Back in the pre digital era,and when most of the staff were quite knowledgeable,Jessops were handy for being able to call into to get good advice on buying various bits of top-end kit,but,that was also partly their downfall.

If you wanted something like a filter,you had to wait ages until someone decided to serve you instead of a potential high spending customer.On two occasions they lost out on selling me two Sigma telephoto lenses because no-one could be bothered to serve me.

Then the online era arrived and people went in to try out stuff,then bought it online for less money.I believe that also led to two other local(to me in Leicester) camera shops closing down after many years of trading.

As has already been mentioned on here,the customer service was of a low standard generally,and the stock levels very low also,at least in my local branch.

Good on Peter Jones for saving the business initially,but nothing really had changed much since the 1990s and with hindsight,it was only going to end badly.

Georgeconna
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Re: Jessops in to Administration

Post by Georgeconna »

Used them once to process film in 1989, when I got the film back (of IAT 89) they manage to scratch and burn most of the Negs and still charged me for it.

That was the year of the Canadian Buffulo and HD.34 and the first time I went. Never saw either again. stil have to crappy photos too.
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George

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nighthawk999
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Re: Jessops in to Administration

Post by nighthawk999 »

Georgeconna wrote:Used them once to process film in 1989, when I got the film back (of IAT 89) they manage to scratch and burn most of the Negs and still charged me for it.

That was the year of the Canadian Buffulo and HD.34 and the first time I went. Never saw either again. stil have to crappy photos too.


That doesn't surprise me at all.In my film days I often used to push or pull them(100 ASA to 400 etc)if the light changed on the day.

Jessops claimed the films couldn't be processed as a result of that,after I'd had to explain in detail what I'd done,and why.

My local Cecil Jacobs photo lab understood it though and were happy to go ahead,even reprinting any that I wasn't happy with at no extra cost.

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boff180
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Re: Jessops in to Administration

Post by boff180 »

Sadly I always found Jessops heavily overpriced with staff that didn't really know much about photography and accessories in store which were poor quality.

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Pen Pusher
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Re: Jessops in to Administration

Post by Pen Pusher »

The two stores, within 10 minutes walking distance of each other, on Oxford Street in London are still open. Went in one yesterday to get some screen protectors and asked if there was a liquidation sale discount. What liquidation was the reply I got.

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AlexC
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Re: Jessops in to Administration

Post by AlexC »

As far as I can remember the only item that I've ever bought at Jessops was one of their AA battery chargers, admittedly quite some time ago now. Happy to confirm that it's still working perfectly as we speak! :smile:
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Stagger2
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Re: Jessops in to Administration

Post by Stagger2 »

Last time I went into a Jessops shop was to buy 5 x 10 rolls of slide film for a 16 day trip to the USA. Even then, I had to play the price-match card! That's got to be 20 years ago? :smile:

nighthawk999
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Re: Jessops in to Administration

Post by nighthawk999 »

Here's another reason why they've failed;

Vanguard Alta Rise 28 DSLR Camera Messenger Shoulder Bag £57 from Cameracentre uk,Jessops price £79!

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