Shame, that'll be two high street camera stores potentially gone (Jacobs having gone last year) - did notice the independent shops near me are cheaper though...
Can't say I'm surprised, my experience is that they employ monkeys with no photography experience or interest. Obviously people losing jobs sucks but I won't miss the brand. Seek out and support your local indy camera shop, they are out still.
TBH it's been on the cards for ages, their prices are too easy to better by going on line, and I hear nothing but bad things about their customer service these days.
It is a shame (particularly for their staff), but, sadly, predictable I think..
@andycoleborn it's always been poor. You should try being a woman and going in there! Mind you that means the only camera shop left in Leeds sells mostly hasselblads... That's not a good temptation.
We have one in Loughborough but I stopped using it years ago. The specialist retailers and online websites like LCE, Park and WEX have always beaten them hands down for me. I feel sorry for anyone who loses their job, but to see another so called specialist retailer go under or struggle in difficult economic times is no surprise, particularly when their offer is so poor that they lose the enthusiast market.
What a shame. Sadly their stock was always a season or so what was available. I used Jessops to support a photography shop in my local community and because it was easier to go back to them if I had a problem.
The staff in our local shop knew about photography.
@fueast We have The Flash Centre near Crown Point, but as their name states they mainly sell flash gear and Dales Photographic (which I think you may be referring to!) both are very knowledgeable and helpful though.
It's a shame Jessops may be going under, though can't say I shopped there, I did go into Jacobs fairly often but usually just to pick their brains!
Its a shame, soon we wont be able to buy anything without ordering it online. I went out to buy a CD in town the other day (Richmond) - not a single shop sold them. So I went to Putney. None there either. Crazy.
As to window shopping, I think thats why these places go bust. We go in their nice shops to get a good look then go online to buy. You wont be able to do that soon....
@fueast Some of their second hand gear isn't too bad, they seem open to a bit of haggling! My boss managed to get a 5D Mark 2 down from £1250 to £950 in a matter of minutes...
That said, no... I cannot afford anything there :( I rarely buy anything in retail now, it's a shame but you can always find things considerably cheaper online.
@twocups Yep, that's the way almost all retail stores are going now. I try to do my research online and buy online now because I worked in retail for about 6 years and it got very frustrating when people just picked my brain then went online to order.
I was hoping to go to Jessops to have a look at DSLRs to find out how heavy different cameras are before probably buying on line because it's cheaper! I shall be sorry that I can't go in and handle equipment before buying but I suppose we've only got ourselves to blame for not buying locally! A friend of mine used to work in our local Jessops but left a while ago. he probably knew it was on the cards so I don't blame him but he was great at knowing his stuff!
@fueast Alison, I have to say I agree with you, it has been really hard work walking in as a woman at one of the Jessops in our town. Now frustrated that I persevered and bought items in there to try to ensure they stayed on the high street, could have saved a fortune on line!
My local branch has always been good, staff are knowledgeable and friendly, not condescending like some independent shops I've used. I'll be very sorry to see them go, have bought from them several times.
Bought my camera from Jessops, though not the cheapest they did offer some good advice and more importantly allowed me to purchase this on Hire Purchase with a reasonble low interest rate and affordable monthly payments. It was the only way I was ever going to be able to purchase my first DSLR. All paid up now, would have found it difficult to save up to wait and buy .
I feel sorry for the Jessops staff who knew photography, like the chap who saw my City and Guilds course notes and promptly kitted me out with everything for that year without even looking as he taught that course himself. But the last serious purchase I tried to make the camera was out of stock and would take a week to get to the store and be £50 more and no they didn't do part ex anymore. so I ordered from WEX and never went back to Jessops.
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It is a shame (particularly for their staff), but, sadly, predictable I think..
Feeling Blue - my 365
The staff in our local shop knew about photography.
It's a shame Jessops may be going under, though can't say I shopped there, I did go into Jacobs fairly often but usually just to pick their brains!
As to window shopping, I think thats why these places go bust. We go in their nice shops to get a good look then go online to buy. You wont be able to do that soon....
That said, no... I cannot afford anything there :( I rarely buy anything in retail now, it's a shame but you can always find things considerably cheaper online.
@twocups Yep, that's the way almost all retail stores are going now. I try to do my research online and buy online now because I worked in retail for about 6 years and it got very frustrating when people just picked my brain then went online to order.
I did however buy my camera from them.