Jessops UK lens INFLATION!

Are we about to see a massive inflation of lens prices at other stores too? Just this last week or so, prices at Jessops (taken from the web and as seen in store) have risen sharply.

For example:

70-200 f/2.8 IS £1699 (versus warehouse express £1249)
70-200 f/4 non IS £609 (warehouse express £445)
100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS £1409 (warehouse express £1042)
17-40 f/4.0 in store price £679 (warehouse express £495)
10-22 in store price £649 (warehouse express £472)
500 f/4.0L £5679 (warehouse express £4094)

The saving at warehouse express on the 500 f/4.0 is a whopping ~ £1500 !!! Let's just hope that other UK suppliers dont follow this lead.

What is going on?

Is that recent? Jessops have always been expensive. A 2Gb Extreme 3 CF is about £120.

It is not just lenses with Jessops,
I have been looking at the price of a Crumpler bag (Brians Hot Tub)
It's about £80 less at Warehouse Express.

And guess what? they don't have half the stuff in stock either.

It's a shame they have driven out most of the independent Photography shops in our towns & cities, and so far most of the staff I have spoken with
at various stores are not clued up.

I purchased a 70-200 f4 non IS on Saturday, the price on the ticket was £609 but they price matched Warehouseexpress no problem.

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Mark

Foto Focused

Well, we have just entered the Xmas market period - only 3 weeks to go. Maybe this period is less price sensitive than the rest of the year, as people go to stores to get presents for their loved ones and don't bother to price match against other stores or the internet. They just want to get their hands on the present so they know they have it for sure. I must say, I don't bother to check prices on books, clothes, watches, DVDs etc for family Xmas presents, especially if it's a last minute purchase. And if my wife (who is not into camera gear) decided to buy me a lens for Xmas, she would probably just drop into a Jessops in Central London. Warehouse Express doesn't have shops so will miss out on this part of the Xmas market. I'm not condoning it, though, it's slightly sharp practice IMO.

And of course, it enables Jessops to headline with apparently enormous price reductions in the post Xmas sales :

HUGE SALE BARGAINS Canon 20-200f4L...........only £450 !!!!

A whopping 26% reduction on our previous price (£609)!!!!

HURRY WHILE STOCKS LAST!!!!

Michael

Ive bought a few lenses, battery's, video camera, cards etc and always got them to price match no problem

Having lots of shops = big overheads. I used to wiork in their Bluewater branch and I was reliably informed that that was their most expensive shop rental in the country (by square foot). As long as the prices are similar, I'd much rather buy in a shop where you can go back if there is a problem. Yes, Jessops aint cheap but it's a nicer place to shop than eBay

Manners,

Yes, that's why it's all very strange. This month they have inserted fliers (folded A2 posters) in photomagazines and national dailies promising to match any internet price on ""any product they sell that is an official UK import." There was one with my paper this weekend. "We will give you 110% of the difference if you buy it from us", they claim.

So, either the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing at Jessops or someone has miscalculated big-time and they've had to renage on the offer. Or maybe they're more cynical than I thought. The fliers in the mags/ papers do not mention a time period for the promotion. Normally they do!

Michael

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Linda~ http://sweetlight.yuku.com/forum/viewtopic/id/362
You don't take a photograph. You ask, quietly, to borrow it. Author Unknown

The thing which I find strange is why they have hiked up their prices so much and are so much more than reputable non-ebay dealers. Warehouse Express and Bristol Cameras are now SO MUCH CHEAPER on most lenses and those 2 dealers are highly reputable with brilliant return policies also....

I've never bought off ebayshops and yes I would not expect Jessops prices to be that low- just why so much more than bristol cameras and warehouse express....and why the big price hike in the last week or so!!!

wight1979 said:

Having lots of shops = big overheads. I used to wiork in their
Bluewater branch and I was reliably informed that that was their
most expensive shop rental in the country (by square foot). As
long as the prices are similar, I'd much rather buy in a shop where
you can go back if there is a problem. Yes, Jessops aint cheap but
it's a nicer place to shop than eBay

Click to expand...

Before they can legally say that they have reduced prices they have to have advertised at the higher price for a certain period of time.

Bob.

Yes, I realsie that Bob. But there are ways around this. Companies can put disclaimers in small print at the bottom of display ads saying things like "only advertised for the previous 4 weeks" and are allowed to get away with it. That would take Jessops to 2 Jan or whatever. Which is maybe when their sales wiil start. It's all just a game!

Michael

Mark Titcombe said:

I purchased a 70-200 f4 non IS on Saturday, the price on the ticket
was £609 but they price matched Warehouseexpress no problem.

--
Mark

Foto Focused

Click to expand...

Good for you,
I decided to get a 30D in early June,

I went up to Jessops in Hanley (Stoke-On-Trent) along with the latest copy of Practical photography mag open on the warehouse express page showing the 30d & kit lens for £799.00

I showed it to the young girl at the counter and asked for a price match,

She then asked the manger to come & see me but he was engaged in a point & shoot camera sale, and said "that the Jessops price match offer has ended" at that point I should have told them to shove it but I had waited so long to get my 30d I decided to pay the extra £50 telling my self at least I have saved on the postage plus they are local.

Payment was with cash sadly the young Girl could not ok the £849 in real money and had to get the ok to except from the manager,
He was still held up explaining the difference between film & digital to
an elderly couple, so I waited for 20 minuets.

The young Girl was embarrassed by the amount of time that had passed and

Told me many stories about how good her camera phone was whilst drooling at the pile of cash in her hand.

I'm directly involved with customer service for an engineering company
For this kind of service I would expect a rocket up my rear end from my M.D.

But hey this is Jessops and it's a busy Saturday afternoon plus one of the 1st things learned in customer service is patience, could my conscience live with two old timers leaving the shop with a point & squirt they knew nothing about? of course not even though they did not purchase it

Eventually the deal was done but I found out later the manager had told me complete rubbish Jessops price match was applicable on this date and still is.

I should have taken it further.

Jessops will not be getting any more of my hard earned.

Here is a good offer from Jessops - 10% off

I rang up on

0116 232 6000 (press one)

This is the dierect line to thier main office. Then order via the phone and check availablility if necc.

Here is the code

Exclusive Jessops.com discount code:
CPB10PC

• Save 10% on all photography orders excludes digital SLRs.

I bought a Canon 50 1.4 from the Jessops store in the Bull Ring, Birmingham about two weeks ago. They did the "110% of the difference" price match with no quibbles at all vs the price on Warehouse Express' website.

I suspect that Jessops, like most car retailers, budget on the expectation that they'll sell a product at a range of prices. If they list lens A at £700, they'll sell 6 at that price, 2 at £650 and 2 at £600. They couldn't afford to sell them all at £600, but they can cope with a few if the majority are paying top whack. So, they finance their 'internet match' offer with purchases by those who don't know about it or don't want to haggle.

STuart
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