Quote:
Originally Posted by birdsnapper
A good way to help them go bust - I bet that you're proud that you played your part.
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OK I'll give you an example, I have my own photography business, it's fledgling so costs are everything.
At an event a few months ago, one of our flash guns went pop due to water ingestion. I took it to get it repaired but unfortunately the repairs took longer than expected, in the meantime we had a wedding to photograph in Florence for which I wanted to take two flash guns. I looked around for a Canon 580EX MkII, Jessops wanted £406.00 for this piece of kit, another local photographic supplier wanted £420.00 for it, and when I called Currys at Gatwick airport they also wanted £420.00 and this was supposed to have the VAT taken off.
I called Calumet, they had it for £351,00, I live in the Channel Islands so they kindly knocked the VAT off and I got it delivered the very next day for £320.00.
I bought two 24 - 70 F2.8 L series lenses 18 months ago for less than £1,100 for the two from Warehouse Express and Park Cameras, Jessops want nearly £700 each.
Now I'm no economist but would anyone here, with half a brain cell, pay £100 more for a piece of kit. I doubt it.
The staff members I've come across have very little idea of what they are selling, that's if the get off the backsides to actually serve you.
Jessops are a large organisation, arguably larger than Calumet, Park Cameras and Warehouse Express, therefore economies of scale should play apart in what they sell and how much they sell it for, and they should be much more competitive. Their "local" shop staff are basically untrained monkeys with less knowledge of photographic equipment.
I wouldn't shed a tear if they disappeared off of my high street.