Supply problems with Jessops UK

[pauljm]

I was just wondering if anybody else has had problems with the supply of equipment from

Jessops in the UK?

 

In September of last year I was fortunate to be one the winners of a UK photographic

competition. The prize was �500 of Jessops vouchers which I received in late November. I

obviously had thought long and hard about what I wanted, I already have a digital SLR

camera (Fuji S2 Pro), 4 decent lenses, 2 tripods and a digital storage device. I then decided

that what I really wanted was a second lens for my Hasselblad Xpan which came to �20

short of �500. On the 8th of December I visited the Slough branch of Jessops and ordered

a 90mm Hasselblad Xpan lens. I was informed at the time that none were in stock and that

expected delivery time would be 4-6 weeks.

 

On the 24th January I revisited the Slough branch and enquired as to the progress of my

order. In all fairness the sales assistant was very helpful, even calling their head office for

an answer. Unfortunately they couldn�t say when they would be in stock as they had to be

sent from Hasselblad direct. An estimate to their delivery was now another 4 weeks.

 

Saturday 25th February I popped into Slough to enquire again. On this occasion the sales

assistant just referred to the computer terminal and confirmed that the lens was still on

order but no firm delivery date could be given.

 

The following week, while in Birmingham visiting the Focus on Imaging exhibition, I took

the opportunity to visit the Hasselblad stand to enquire if there were any supply problems

with the 90mm Xpan lens. I managed to speak with a very nice chap who is one of their

Area Sales Managers. I related to him my story, he took my details and asked if I could

return to the Hasselblad stand later on that day when he would have had an opportunity to

look into the matter. I met up with him again prior to leaving the show. He told me that

there had been a delay but that a shipment of 90mm Xpan lenses had been sent from

Japan and they were expected in the UK the following week. He then also made me aware

that Jessops had recently changed their trading terms with all their suppliers. Jessops now

want to delay payment to all their suppliers from 30 to 60 days, plus they still wanted

Hasselblad to honor their early (14 day) payment discount even though they are not going

to pay them for another 46 days. Needles to say that this has resulted in a delay in the

supply of all equipment to Jessops until this issue is resolved. Before leaving we

exchanged contact details.

 

On Friday 4th March my contact at Hasselblad called me at my office and told me that the

new lenses would definitely be delivered to their warehouse the following week but also to

advise me that all back orders with Jessops had been cancelled. He suggested I return to

the Jessops store confirm that my order was still valid. I went to your Slough branch the

following day and managed to speak directly with the branch manager. He did a check on

the computer terminal and confirmed that my order was still logged but there was still no

delivery date. Before leaving I related to him what I had been told by Hasselblad about the

supplier dispute, he told me that he was unaware of any such problem but that he would

make enquiries and give me a call on the Monday.

 

It is now 10 days and I�ve still not had a call. In the meantime I�ve been contacted again by

Hasselblad to keep me up-to-date on the situation. They have informed me that the

lenses are now in their warehouse but that all outstanding orders with Jessops have been

cancelled. I have now written to customer services at Jessops and am awaiting a reply.

 

I�ve now been waiting over 3 months for this lens and because of the vouchers still pretty

much stuck with Jessops as my only source. I originally bought my Xpan kit from Robert

White here in the UK, it arrived in 2 days!

[basscheffers]

I stay away from Jessops for various reasons, except for some trivial bits. But I understand

that is not an option for you right now.

 

But even in the remote posibility they might have something I want cheaper than anyone else

(yeah, like hell is going to freeze over) I will refrain from ever ordering something from them

that is not in stock!

 

Good luck with you lens quest!

[ben_rubinstein___mancheste]

Might be worth buying a camera/lens there and trying to sell it on using Fred Miranda (no ebay fees and very very fast), yes you will make a loss but if you are in a hurry...

[les]

Well, I have waited for a 50/1.8 Nikkor lens for 6 months (Australia), until a shipment from Japan arrived...

Items which are bought in small quantities usually need to wait until the number of orders justifies shipment (or so I was told).

[mark u]

In November, I visited a couple of Jessops branches expressing interest in 3 prime lenses including a macro lens. The first, a large store that once upon a time was a good resource, wasn't interested in my business. The smaller branch did take the time to place an order via computer, with a promise they would phone when the lenses came. I've heard nothing from them since - and I gave up pursuing them after I saw that their policy was not to carry any prime lenses at all - their current adverts exclusively list zooms. They had a competitive price on one item that I spotted - a Velbon Luxi tripod. Now I'd only buy something from them if it's in stock and they are doing a price match (as they are this week for AP readers) and I happen to be passing. The chances of that 3-way coincidence seem slight - I plan to make my purchases elsewhere.

[pjmeade]

I seldom use Jessops any more. I'll pop in to the Maidenhead branch from time to time, but I think stuff costs too much, I don't think their processing is good enough and they don't carry much stock.

 

Most of their business seems to be in selling digicams and video cameras. Your lens looks a bit specialised for them. Buying something you can sell on comes across as a good option.

 

P

[bill_thorlin]

Jessops is not really a camera company any more but a volume seller of consumer products. In their case the consumer products are mainly digicams and the like - for Comet, for example, they are white goods and televisions. There is no difference between them really, volume is the over-riding consideration and service becomes secondary at best.

 

Remember Jessops went public not that long ago and now has to watch out for it's share price.

[pauljm]

Thanks for all the other tales of woe with Jessops, it makes me feel less alone in my

frustration. I think I might have a go at selling them for �450 on ebay and buying a 90mm

from Robert White.

 

I weep whenever I think of the demise of the Euro Photo Center and the growth of Clone

Town Britain.

 

Paul

[bill_thorlin]

Sounds reasonable as long as the vouchers are transferable - read the small print as organisations like Jessops often have a sneaky up their sleeve !

[Brian]

<P>Congratulations on winning the competition Paul, though evidently the prize is not quite as good as it looked. I agree with the others that you should forget about the Hassie lens and just try to realise the value of the vouchers in whatever way is possible. You could always spend it on cheap digicams to give family and friends as Christmas/birthday presents!</P><P>I would reiterate what others have said, Jessops is not a real photo retailer, and if you want specialist gear, someone like Robert White is a better bet.</P>

[pauljm]

Just to wrap up the story. I eventually wrote to Jessops Customer services. They then called

me to apologise and inform me that they no longer stocked any Hasselblad equipment and

even hinted that this was all Hasselblads fault for not playing ball. I told them that this was

perhaps due to their punitive trading terms? I was basically told it was none of my business.

 

The very next day I offered my vouchers on Ebay, taking a slight loss on their actual value. To

my surprise someone bought them within 24 hours. I immediately ordered my lens from

Robert White (very nice people!) and it arrived this morning.