A Photography forum. PhotoBanter.com

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » PhotoBanter.com forum » Photo Equipment » 35mm Photo Equipment
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Jessops UK - worth trying to negotiate a good price.



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old November 30th 04, 10:12 AM
Dave
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Jessops UK - worth trying to negotiate a good price.

Hi,

Here are some comments that suggest you might be able to get a decent
price from Jessops, which are quite close to internet prices from Hong
Kong.

I bought an F6 from Jessops the other day, which is listed on their site
at 1499. The guy agreed to sell it at 10% off, making it 1350. Due to a
bit of a mix-up with another store shipping it to him via pigeon post,
it took a bit longer than necessary. It all worked out okay in the end.
He eventually charged me 1325 for the body, which was a bit more than
the 10% off, then threw in some film, spare batteries etc. I paid a
total of 1570 for the F6 body, 50mm f/1.4 lens, UV filter, spare
batteries, 3 rolls of Kodachrome 64 and 4 rolls of 100 ASA print film.
On the Jessops internet site, that lot would cost you a *lot* more.

Yesterday I went back to the Jessops store, with a copy of a printout
from eBay showing the price of a 70-200 f/2.8 VR lens. The list price on
the Jessops web site for that lens is 1499

http://www.jessops.com/search/viewpr...WORD_SEARCH=N&

- conincidently the same price as an F6 body. Whilst the Jessops store
was unable to match the internet price on the lens, he did agree to 1089
pounds, which is 410 pounds less than the 1499 on the Jessops web site.

The difference between Jessops and the internet price is not that great
now. I still think I will buy it from outside the UK, as I can get it
for 819+VAT+duty, which I reckon will be 1023 pounds (65 pounds above
Jessops), assuming I'm unlucky and have to pay the VAT+duty, which is
not always the case. If I'm lucky and escape the VAT+duty, the price
difference is 204 pounds.

I'm going to have another go in Jessops today, and see if I can do any
better - I want an SB-800 too. If so, I might well buy from Jessops,
rather than buying from Hong Kong. 65 pounds more on a 1000 pounds lens
is not bad, and worth probably worth it for the UK warranty. A VR zoom
lens is a pretty complex bit of kit, so I guess more likely to go wrong
than a manual focus lens.

I hope this is helpful to some. if not cat /dev/null (and UNIX or Linux
viewers will know what I mean by that!)





  #2  
Old December 1st 04, 08:22 PM
Matt
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Ebay is not 'Internet Pricing'.




"Dave" wrote in message ...
Hi,

Here are some comments that suggest you might be able to get a decent
price from Jessops, which are quite close to internet prices from Hong
Kong.

I bought an F6 from Jessops the other day, which is listed on their site
at 1499. The guy agreed to sell it at 10% off, making it 1350. Due to a
bit of a mix-up with another store shipping it to him via pigeon post,
it took a bit longer than necessary. It all worked out okay in the end.
He eventually charged me 1325 for the body, which was a bit more than
the 10% off, then threw in some film, spare batteries etc. I paid a
total of 1570 for the F6 body, 50mm f/1.4 lens, UV filter, spare
batteries, 3 rolls of Kodachrome 64 and 4 rolls of 100 ASA print film.
On the Jessops internet site, that lot would cost you a *lot* more.

Yesterday I went back to the Jessops store, with a copy of a printout
from eBay showing the price of a 70-200 f/2.8 VR lens. The list price on
the Jessops web site for that lens is 1499


http://www.jessops.com/search/viewpr...WORD_SEARCH=N&

- conincidently the same price as an F6 body. Whilst the Jessops store
was unable to match the internet price on the lens, he did agree to 1089
pounds, which is 410 pounds less than the 1499 on the Jessops web site.

The difference between Jessops and the internet price is not that great
now. I still think I will buy it from outside the UK, as I can get it
for 819+VAT+duty, which I reckon will be 1023 pounds (65 pounds above
Jessops), assuming I'm unlucky and have to pay the VAT+duty, which is
not always the case. If I'm lucky and escape the VAT+duty, the price
difference is 204 pounds.

I'm going to have another go in Jessops today, and see if I can do any
better - I want an SB-800 too. If so, I might well buy from Jessops,
rather than buying from Hong Kong. 65 pounds more on a 1000 pounds lens
is not bad, and worth probably worth it for the UK warranty. A VR zoom
lens is a pretty complex bit of kit, so I guess more likely to go wrong
than a manual focus lens.

I hope this is helpful to some. if not cat /dev/null (and UNIX or Linux
viewers will know what I mean by that!)







  #3  
Old December 1st 04, 08:22 PM
Matt
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Ebay is not 'Internet Pricing'.




"Dave" wrote in message ...
Hi,

Here are some comments that suggest you might be able to get a decent
price from Jessops, which are quite close to internet prices from Hong
Kong.

I bought an F6 from Jessops the other day, which is listed on their site
at 1499. The guy agreed to sell it at 10% off, making it 1350. Due to a
bit of a mix-up with another store shipping it to him via pigeon post,
it took a bit longer than necessary. It all worked out okay in the end.
He eventually charged me 1325 for the body, which was a bit more than
the 10% off, then threw in some film, spare batteries etc. I paid a
total of 1570 for the F6 body, 50mm f/1.4 lens, UV filter, spare
batteries, 3 rolls of Kodachrome 64 and 4 rolls of 100 ASA print film.
On the Jessops internet site, that lot would cost you a *lot* more.

Yesterday I went back to the Jessops store, with a copy of a printout
from eBay showing the price of a 70-200 f/2.8 VR lens. The list price on
the Jessops web site for that lens is 1499


http://www.jessops.com/search/viewpr...WORD_SEARCH=N&

- conincidently the same price as an F6 body. Whilst the Jessops store
was unable to match the internet price on the lens, he did agree to 1089
pounds, which is 410 pounds less than the 1499 on the Jessops web site.

The difference between Jessops and the internet price is not that great
now. I still think I will buy it from outside the UK, as I can get it
for 819+VAT+duty, which I reckon will be 1023 pounds (65 pounds above
Jessops), assuming I'm unlucky and have to pay the VAT+duty, which is
not always the case. If I'm lucky and escape the VAT+duty, the price
difference is 204 pounds.

I'm going to have another go in Jessops today, and see if I can do any
better - I want an SB-800 too. If so, I might well buy from Jessops,
rather than buying from Hong Kong. 65 pounds more on a 1000 pounds lens
is not bad, and worth probably worth it for the UK warranty. A VR zoom
lens is a pretty complex bit of kit, so I guess more likely to go wrong
than a manual focus lens.

I hope this is helpful to some. if not cat /dev/null (and UNIX or Linux
viewers will know what I mean by that!)







  #4  
Old December 2nd 04, 12:55 AM
Dave
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Matt wrote:
"Dave" wrote in message ...

Hi,

Here are some comments that suggest you might be able to get a decent
price from Jessops, which are quite close to internet prices from Hong
Kong.



Ebay is not 'Internet Pricing'.


Can you explain your comments in more detail?

The sellers from Hong Kong on eBay are selling new equipment, in large
quantities on the internet - one has over 60,000 feedbacks, so I guess
he must have made at least 70,000 transactions.

Whatever the case, it seems possible to buy new equipement, at a fixed
price (no need to bid) on eBay for low prices.




  #5  
Old December 2nd 04, 06:49 AM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

I agree that ebay is not internet pricing. Pricerunner would be
internet pricing. Also, you don't have to buy from Hong Kong to realize
that Jessops is insanely overpriced. I entered a store the other day
and was shocked at the prices of digicams.

  #7  
Old December 2nd 04, 07:03 PM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Hey Dave, you happen to be the only person I come across who bought the
Nikon F6. Many people have reacted negatively to it saying it's too
expensive for a film camera at this time. Probably not so if you
compare to Leicas. What is your perspective on this?

  #8  
Old December 3rd 04, 08:59 AM
Dave
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

wrote:
Hey Dave, you happen to be the only person I come across who bought the
Nikon F6. Many people have reacted negatively to it saying it's too
expensive for a film camera at this time. Probably not so if you
compare to Leicas. What is your perspective on this?


To be honest, I am probably not the best person to judge the camera, not
being a pro, and someone who has not done a lot of photography of late.
Although I was quite interested 25 years ago, when I did my own slide
developing etc.

I've not owned any *modern* SLR. As such, I can't compare it to an F100,
F5 or similar. Cameras I have owned include a Praktica LTL-3(SLR),
Olympus OM-10, Nikon FA, Nikon F3 (bought second hand) and a Fuji
FujiPix 6900Z digital (not an SLR).

The F3, along with an APS compact camera was stolen in a house burglary.
Jessops were appointed by my insurers to replace them. Jessops decided
the nearest to the F3 was an F6, which I did not argue with. I was then
sent vouchers for 1610 pounds to spend at Jessops, which covered the F6
and the compact camera.

For better or worst, I decided to buy the F6 and 50mm f/1.4. Some will
say I should have bought a lesser body and spent the remainder at
Jessops on lenses. But I can get lenses elsewhere at a much better
price, whereas the F6 being new is less easy to get cheap anywhere. So
to a certain extent, I felt I would waste money by buying a lesser body,
since I would still have to spend the remainder at a UK store that is a
lot more expensive on Nikon kit than I can get from outside the UK.

I'm not too impressed with the digital camera I have, although one of my
gripes would no doubt go away if I bought a digital SLR, rather than the
650 pound (two years ago) non-SLR digital camera. I have really realised
its limitations when taking action shots, as the digital viewfinder
can't keep up. Digital viewfinders take ages to update - far longer than
my eyes.

I could easily afforded a consumer grade digital SLR, but decided to
stick with film. I still have a digital camera anyway (it was not stolen).

I don't want to start a film vs digital thread flame war, but my
feelings were basically.

1) The autofocue mechanisms/algorithms are always being improved, and I
suspect the F6 is better than any older Nikon. Likewise for metering.
This is probably the single biggest reason for buying the F6 rather than
an older pro Nikon, or consumer grade Nikon.

2) Digital camera seem not quite to be there yet. Any digital camera you
buy will be worth next to nothing in a couple of years. What is my 3.3
Mega Pixel Fuji worth now? (Fuji call it 6 Mega Pixel, but they use a
fiddle factor to get that number). At least with an F6 I will always own
one of the best (if not the best) film SLR's, whereas I might soon want
to replace a digital one (more money) for something better.

That Fuji cost me around 750 pounds with the necessary extra batteries +
charger. I doubt it it worth 30% of that now. Decent Nikons hold their
value.

3) Digital camera eat batteries far too quickly. Could you really go on
a Safari holiday with a digital camera?

4) Digital interfaces will be changing, and I doubt you will be able to
use USB in 10 years time. I hope to live another 30-40 years, and reckon
the F6 has a reasonable chance of being useful for that period of time,
although I'm a bit worried about the LCD displays. I suspect they will
need replacing and Nikon might not make them available. As such, any
camera with an LCD display of any form might well have a life of only
10-15 years or so. That remains to be seen.

5) I think 35 mm film will remain available, although I could be wrong.

6) It's clearly not something I wish to replace quickly, so might as
well get the best there is. Whenever I buy things that are cheaper but
are not really what I want, I normally end up regretting it. I always
wanted a V8 3.5 liter Rover, but my Dad convinced me to buy the smaller
engined version. So I bought a 2200TC, but was never happy, and ended up
getting a V8 anyway.

(This is just how I personally think sometimes. I'm not rich by any
means, so I don't just buy the most expensive of everything because I
have the money.)

7) I wanted to stick with Nikon, having had a couple of their cameras,
and still do have some Nikon fit lenses, although these are old now, and
not autofocus. I will get shot of them all soon, after I buy a couple of
decent Nikon lenses (looking at getting a 80-200 VR. I would love a 300
f/2.8, but that is well outside my budget.)

8) If you want an image on paper, printing at home is not economic. You
really need to get it done professionally. At which point digital is no
quicker than getting a 35 mm film developed.

9) I tend to take photos on the digital, and never get them printed
which is a real shame. At least with film I will get them all printed.

I've not had a chance to use the F6 yet, only having it a week or so,
and being very tied up since sorting out extra security at home - a
burglery makes you rethink your security measures.

I have my own web server, and could easily publish a 'review' of the F6,
and would probably be in a better position to do so than all the
"reviewers" that have never seen one. But I don't feel in a position to
do so, and as such are not going to make myself a fool by doing it.

I'm very impressed with the AF speed, but comparing the Nikon with an
f/1.4 lens to a 2 year old consumer grade digital camera with a much
slower lens is not a fair comparison. I can't say how it compares with
an F5 as I don't have one.

One aspect I do find annoying. Nikon refer to (in the broshure)

"Continuous Silent(CS) for nearly silent operation at approximately 1 fps"

Well, that is very misleading. It is far from "nearly silent". Who are
they kidding? I like photographing animals, so that was one thing I did
consider. But if you had the TV on in a room and someone was running the
F6 in its "nearly silent" mode, you would soon get fed up and ask them
to stop making that noise with the camera. Now to me something that is
"nearly silent" would not bother you if you were watching TV.

I know the mirror must move in an SLR, but why the hell Nikon call it
"nearly silent" I do not know. Why don't they be honest and call it a RD
(reduced noise) mode? Well I guess I know why, but Nikon are selling a
professional tool and should not print junk like "nearly silent".

It will be interesting to see how the F6 sells. Only time will tell I
guess, but here are a few thoughts on that.

a) Jessops don't seem too keen to keep the F6's. The salesman admitted
they have only 26 cameras in a total of 260 stores. Due to a mix-up, he
got two for me (one was delayed, so he got one from elsewhere). When I
went back a couple of days after picking mine up to get a case (which
Jessops could not supply), he said he would send the other F6 back. He
clearly did not see it being a big seller.

b) I went into Kingselys (a Nikon agent) the other day to order the case
(80 pounds!!) and see someone looking to buy one.

c) I see a news article last night on the TV about the guy (forget his
name) who got 150,000 pounds from the Independant over a claim they made
about his links with Saddam Hussain. I noticed one of the guys
photographing him (I assume he was a pro) had an F6.

d) There's a guy in my village who is a keen amateur photographer (he
was pro at one time, but found the irregularity of income too much of a
hassle when his outgoings were very regular). It's a shame really, as I
have seen some of his work and it is very good. He is thinking of buying
an F6 too.

I guess that is perhaps not the sort of reply you were looking for, but
it is the most honest one I can give.

Dave

  #9  
Old December 3rd 04, 11:55 AM
Rudi Cheow
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

I also recently bought the 70-200 VR from Jessops for £1099 on an
Internet price-match (Park Cameras). No questions asked. A month later
I counted my blessings that I bought it from them. The lens went bust,
I took it back and they did a straight swap for a new one at the
counter.

If that had been an eBay purchase it would have been a LOT more
difficult.

I will always buy Jessops from now on for this reason, except for the
small things like filters and memory cards - kit like this doesn't
really go wrong and is a *lot* cheaper from HK via eBay (how's a new
2GB Sandisk Ultra II CF for £110 nett sound?).

Thing is the price difference isn't always marginal. The Nikon 70-200
is a no brainer - you did the math yourself. You save at the most, if
you're savvy, £100-£150. Fairly significant yes, but on expensive
equipment that difference is worth its weight in gold with regards to
having a local retail outlet with a solid returns policy.

But take for instance the Canon equivalent (the 70-200 IS). My friend
is after one of these, but the lowest UK price he can find on the net
is £1399. On eBay this can be had for under a grand all in, so the
difference matters a lot more than on the Nikon and it becomes far
less clear-cut.

The problem is Jessops will only price match UK stores selling
in-stock UK-spec items, so you can't walk up to them with a printout
of the eBay HK sellers ad and expect them to match. In your case the
eBay price may have been from a HK store (albeit with all the goodies
like VAT and shipping slapped on on top of it), but I doubt the store
did a match on that merit alone. The price you happened to pay for
your lens is the price WarehouseExpress list it as - no coincidence, I
think, as WarehouseExpress is a fully-fledged UK retailer.

I'd be curious to hear how exactly you approached the price and what
print you gave them to show them they're charging a rip-off price
(well, for that lens they were anyway).

R
  #10  
Old December 3rd 04, 07:17 PM
Ken Tough
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Dave wrote:

3) Digital camera eat batteries far too quickly. Could you really go on
a Safari holiday with a digital camera?


Yup. I don't know about ZLRs, but I've been with a compact
3040 (not for animal pics, since 3x zoom is not worth much).
The D70 takes 1,000 (or is it 2,000?) pics off one charge.
That ought to cut it, I'd think. (Plus, most places have
some power anyway). But maybe you were speaking figuratively.

--
Ken Tough
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Question about first digital camera MaryD Digital Photography 80 December 8th 04 05:05 AM
Old stuff still good Chris Brown Medium Format Photography Equipment 73 November 4th 04 04:13 AM
Is $250 a good price for Minolta Autocord RA? klink Medium Format Photography Equipment 14 March 12th 04 07:35 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 08:11 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 PhotoBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.