Topic: The sad story of Jessops

[Karl]

OK OK, I try and be nice and positive in my life and not wish ill on others, but I couldn't resist a smirk when I read this. For those of you outisde the UK, Jessops is the main high street camera chain store in the UK, which got rid of all traditional photo stuff around the same time that the profit warnings started flying out of head office. Funny that.

I know that film probably wasn't doing much for their bottom line, but if you align yourself with other High St stores and try and compete with the internet, then...

[Karl]

whoops, I forgot the link

http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2044778,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=24

[This-is-damion]

the problem i always had with jessops was the fact they actually didnt care much about photography at all.  they only seem to care about snapshots.
They could have been great -for me anyway -as it seems everywhere i have worked there has always been a jessops close by.  I have always used them on occasions due to the fact they were so close, but each time they just seem to trip at the first hurdle, for example -I took a film to be processed, Its fine if you want 6x 4 in an hour (although i admit they are not great) but if you want cross processing, 120 -well anything that isnt 6x 4 35mm prints  - you just get a blank stare....and this is from what is supposed to be the UK's premier highstreet photo shop!
I took some horizon negs in once which they chopped up and sleeved in 6's like a 35mm roll, the sliced through every 3rd photo.......

As was posted about they dumped the photographer in a dash for profit and its come back to bite them on the a*se.  The very market they are chasing is the market that will always buy at the chepeast place...which is now the internet.

[Ed Wenn]

Despite the fact that I got my startup home dev setup from Jessops online a couple of years ago (Patterson tanks, Rodinal etc.), I have hated their high st operation with a vengeance for a long, long time. They're like a run-down equivalent of PC World, but for photography instead of computers; the comparison based on my feeling that, like PC World, they fool the average consumer by pretending that they're the experst, whereas the reality is that the staff in there really aren't all that knowledgeable. It's hard being a high street operation (by definition mass market) and at the same time trying to be specialist and expert, but Jessops have always missed the mark by a mile. I remember 15-20 years ago they used to take 2 weeks to process b/w 35mm film and then they charged extra over colour. I spent years using XP2 to get round that particular hurdle; I was not serious about photography back then so I didn't look further afield, but like D says, they always seemed to fail at the first hurdle. They exude negativity. 

To paraphrase my 2 year old daughter, "No like Jessops"....substitute the word 'cat' for the original.
 

[LT]

I had the same problem with Jessops for quite a while - poor customer service (face to face) and I was fed up with sales personnel saying things like "you dont want to bother with that - do it digitally" when I tried to buy things like spotone dyes etc .... BUT, recently, I wanted to buy a 5 litre bottle of ilford fixer so I tried my usual web shops all of which said they couldnt mail that much liquid chemical (?) but they could send me 5 x 1 litre bottles (??) so, in desperation, I tried my local Jessops and they ordered a 5 litre bottle in within 3 days, and it was cheaper (even before I factored in the £6 ish shipping costs) - granted, I had to put up with inexperienced sales staff staring at me in wonderment when I asked for it, and saying " i didnt know they still made that" when I picked it up. 

[Karl]

I had read somewhere (B&W Photography I think) that Ilford will mail out products to camera stores for free within a short timeframe, so it seems Leon has hit on the best idea for ordering Ilford stuff. If other companies did the same, there might be a return to the high street for film users.

[LT]

here is the link for what Karl is talking about:

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/wheretobuy/buyilfordsonline.asp

[bobf]

There is also the new Direct2Dealer concept Ilford have come up with for the UK: http://www.ilfordphoto.com/pressroom/article.asp?n=63

I picked up a catalogue at Focus, but have not tried it as I can usually (but not always) get what I need slightly cheaper from the usual suspects such as Silverprint, RK etc, but this might be useful for large liquid products that some companies will not ship by mail (5 litres  Multigrade Developer = £16.65 for example) or if you are in a hurry as they are (allegedly) next-day delivery.

Cheers, Bob.

[Ailsa]

I was stunned on visiting my local Jessops recently (not even the main Brighton branch, but a tiny little 2ft-square thing on the way out of town), to see a section of wall devoted to all things film-based. There was a half decent selection of paper, some film sleeves, dev, fix etc. I nearly bought the lot - despite not needing it - just to create a market for it!

[Andrea.]

Jessops in Manc. have some film stuff too. Mind you, one Jessops chap also told me Ilford are no longer making stuff! .......and they are only up the road from Ilfords!

[FrankB]

My local Jessops has a a little selection of darkroom gear out on display - a couple of packs of paper, some chems and a couple of pairs of film clips, etc. One of the old-hands there told me it was so people would know the staff knew what they were talking about. He also said that they weren't supposed to be there, according to head office! 

Jacobs in the centre of Manchester has a fair selection of film, and an excellent selection of Lowepro camera bags and backpacks (not solely for traditional gear, but worthy of mention).

[Karl]

epilogue to my story. I came out of Jessops in Edinburgh yesterday (don't worry I was getting some colour film developed) and on the other side of the road was a dark, dusty doorway surrounded by scaffolding. The faded gold lettering read Black & Lizars Photographic Wholesale Office. I ventured up and found a charmingly run down office and wooden counter.
Me: "I don't suppose you have any film developer in stock do you?"
Shop asst: "Yes, Ilford ID11, Ifosol, DDX, Koday D76, XTol..."
After coming too a few minutes later, I found they also sell photoflow, trays, 5L fixers, negative holders, papers in all sizes, even the elusive £2.99 Ilford Daryta Matt Inkjet packs.

www.focusonprice.com (go to the wholesale bit) Proabably not any cheaper than other internet stores but good if you walk past it everyday and therefore don't have to pay postage.

[LT]

epilogue to my story. I came out of Jessops in Edinburgh yesterday (don't worry I was getting some colour film developed) and on the other side of the road was a dark, dusty doorway surrounded by scaffolding. The faded gold lettering read Black & Lizars Photographic Wholesale Office. I ventured up and found a charmingly run down office and wooden counter.
Me: "I don't suppose you have any film developer in stock do you?"
Shop asst: "Yes, Ilford ID11, Ifosol, DDX, Koday D76, XTol..."
After coming too a few minutes later, I found they also sell photoflow, trays, 5L fixers, negative holders, papers in all sizes, even the elusive £2.99 Ilford Daryta Matt Inkjet packs.

www.focusonprice.com (go to the wholesale bit) Proabably not any cheaper than other internet stores but good if you walk past it everyday and therefore don't have to pay postage.

sounds like a good place to spend your money