[StephenG]

I suggest all the UK Pentaxians write Jessops a polite letter to tell them they will be taking their business elsewhere... and explain why...

actually there is an easy way to get Jessops to get pentax back on the shelves very quickly.. just get everyone to phone and ask if they carry pentax..

as example - our company recently moved offices to a new part of town, in an area where there was no shop for me to buy my cigarettes from.

the only shop over the way from us is a chemist / pharmacist, who obviously would not sell cigarettes.

Anyway, I rallied as many staff as i could to each take turns to go to the pharmacist and ask him if he sells cigarettes... all it took was 3 weeks and now he stocks almost every brand imaginable of cigarettes.... right next door to the anti smoking patches!!

So i reckon if we could get a pharmacist to sell smokes.. getting jessops to stock pentax again should be pretty easy.

[woodworm]

I don't think Jessops have had much of a reputation in the UK, they've always been over-priced and displayed a lack of even the most basic photographic knowledge, and from what I've read on generic forums this seems to apply regardless of brand of your camera.

I know of the odd store receiving praise but this is definitely not the 'norm'.

[lbam]

PENTAX DSLRs: The brick and mortar Camera Stores are out, the On-line Stores are in.

[Vormulac]

The biggest problem with this happening is that most people who are in the market for a dSLR for the first time think of Canon or Nikon because it's all most people (and shop assistants) talk about. The change comes when they go into a shop and try them all out - that's when the people I know who own Pentax decided they wanted a Pentax (myself included, on paper I originally wanted an Olympus! ) - if Pentax is no longer available as something to physically pick up, try out and fall in love with, naturally more people are going to follow the herd and buy the market leader.
And Jessops isn't somewhere you go to get solid, impartial advice on anything, I went in for a Cokin filter recently and the spotty youth behind the counter asked me what size I wanted, Canon or Nikon.

[HouseOfHorla]

"...over-priced and displayed a lack of even the most basic photographic knowledge..."

Overpriced? Definately...

Lack of knowledge? They're high street, so I'd have thought more geared towards your bog standard punter, who, is surely going to be more interested in the flashing lights, bells and megapixels. for knowledge try the independents (cheaper too)

...the spotty youth behind the counter asked me what size I wanted, Canon or Nikon.

As far as I know that's how they are selling them - Nikon/Canon fit - so the poor soul probably doesn't know any different. I bought one recently. On eBay. P Filter - Nikon Fit. Go figure.

[NewRsoul]

I've just seen this news and didn't see it mentioned here, the UK's biggest photographic retailer is no longer to stock Pentax, one less place to buy now! Can't believe how little marketing and puting the product out there Pentax doesn't do.


Moderator Action: Threads merged due to duplicate topic. Thread starter posts also merged.

Ah. is that why my post as thread starter has someone else's name against it then?

[Delgado]

Jessops has been routinely over pricing its cameras for ages, and has been hammered by UK customers realising that they can use online dealers to get far better prices (at SRS Microsystems for example). Whenever I looked at the prices Jessops attached to anything I had an interest in I reeled backwards. Worse still, most Pentax gear at Jessops had a 28 day delivery time. For practical purposes, Pentax has been off their shelves for a long time. They have gone out of their way to make buying Pentax incovenient.

In 2007 Jessops managed to turn a £5.1 million pre-tax proft from the previous year into a £25.2 million pre-tax loss. The company had to be bailed out with a £66 million package that was a component of a rescue plan that involved closing 81 stores and shedding 550 jobs. Keep in mind this was well before the current economic downturn. Jessops is not a healthy business.

Obviously the perception of companies like Pentax as minor players by Jessops and the like is not improved by Ned Bunnell's Mack Sennett approach to management, marketing, and promotion which seems to involve little more than one pratfall after another. Still, its nice to see him grinning so much whenever he appears in pictures; nobody suffering under his tenure is.

Jessops's share price from the beginning of 2007 charts like a cross section of a cliff edge as it plummets at almost ninety degrees. Ditching Pentax may seem like the answer to the people who have presided over this abysmal performance, but it looks like panic. Either that or someone with tremendous sales power who perceives Pentax to be a threat is applying leverage at a time when Jessops can't say no to it. This is nothing but conjecture, but worth a thought. It can be a very dirty business.

[Clarkey]

I may be way off-beam here, but I'd invite comment from UK users regarding the price of Pentax gear in the UK relative to US and other countries - my understanding is that UK Pentaxians pay much more than folks elsewhere.
Then you have the Jessops profit margin on top of this...... Oh, well, not any more.

[*isteve]

I may be way off-beam here, but I'd invite comment from UK users regarding the price of Pentax gear in the UK relative to US and other countries - my understanding is that UK Pentaxians pay much more than folks elsewhere.
Then you have the Jessops profit margin on top of this...... Oh, well, not any more.

UK prices and those for most of the EU are broadly similar (with taxes included). There may be small variations. Compared to the US, both are about 10%-15% higher when taxes are excluded, but you have to allow for much stronger consumer protection laws in the EU and generally higher costs and taxes on retail businesses themselves, adding to the retail and wholesale price. Transportation from Japan and the far East to Europe is also higher than for the US/Canada, more business in the US is done via the web, plus there is also the cost of all the different translations of manuals, country based organisations, distributors and other overheads that the US does not have to support, and that 15% seems pretty fair I would say.

Wont stop anyone whining - like the sun rising or niagra falling thats just inevitable

[MoiVous]

UK prices and those for most of the EU are broadly similar (with taxes included). There may be small variations. Compared to the US, both are about 10%-15% higher when taxes are excluded, but you have to allow for much stronger consumer protection laws in the EU and generally higher costs and taxes on retail businesses themselves, adding to the retail and wholesale price. Transportation from Japan and the far East to Europe is also higher than for the US/Canada, more business in the US is done via the web, plus there is also the cost of all the different translations of manuals, country based organisations, distributors and other overheads that the US does not have to support, and that 15% seems pretty fair I would say.

So lets do a price comparison - I'd suggest converting the local price to US Dollars (our US cousins will probably sigh with relief....).

So from Australia (which is geographically quite close to Japan BTW so it should be cheaper ), going to one of our Jessop equivalents (ie not the best value store around - Teds) who BTW are the only K-M stockist.....

These are their on special prices:

• K-M with 18-55 ALII : US$530.61 (AUD$799.95 including 10% tax)
• K200D with 18-55 ALII : US$464.28 (AUD$699.95 including 10% tax)
• K20D with 18-55 ALII : US$994.92 (AUD$1,499.95 including 10% tax)

Current exchange rate: AUD$1 = US$0.6633 (see Reserve Bank of Australia)

Over to you.....

[cpopham]

So from Australia (which is geographically quite close to Japan BTW so it should be cheaper )

And from the other side of the ditch (Tasman Sea...) in New Zealand:

From a well regarded local camera store (www.photo.co.nz):

Pentax K-M with 18-55 kit: USD $818.52 (NZD 1,745 including 12.5% tax)
Pentax K20 with 18-55 kit: USD $1946.63 (NZD 4,150 including 12.5% tax)

I couldn't find an up to date price for the K200 kit.

Current Exchange Rate NZD $1 = $0.5277 USD (See Reserve Bank of New Zealand)

It mightn't surprise you to learn most of us buy stuff from overseas.

[woodworm]

From SRS in the UK ...

K-M with 18-55 ALII : US$466 UK£329
K200D with 18-55 ALII : US$522 UK£369
K20D with 18-55 ALII : US$820 UK£579

£1 = $1.41 (according to Google!)

All UK prices including 17.5% VAT

[Billgscott]

Either that or someone with tremendous sales power who perceives Pentax to be a threat is applying leverage at a time when Jessops can't say no to it. This is nothing but conjecture, but worth a thought. It can be a very dirty business.

Had a look at Jessops website the other day and - lo and behold - they now have a dedicated Canon Shop.

Jessops are horendously priced, and have no discount on the web, but it is still bad news that people can not now 'hold a Pentax' in there.

I had talked someone into getting a K200D Kit after she had a play with my K10D, but she went to Jessops and bought Canon as there were no Pentax there. Some people do not like to buy on the web.

[NewRsoul]

From SRS in the UK ...

K-M with 18-55 ALII : US$466 UK£329
K200D with 18-55 ALII : US$522 UK£369
K20D with 18-55 ALII : US$820 UK£579

£1 = $1.41 (according to Google!)

All UK prices including 17.5% VAT

To be fair, SRS are quite aggressive with pricing, and not really compatible with Jessops pricing structure. Below is a price from a smaller chain in the UK Wilkinson Cameras they have 8 stores.

K-M with 18-55 ALII : US$492 UK£349
K200D with 18-55 ALII : US$563 UK£399
K20D with 18-55 ALII : US$845 UK£599

Same £1 to $1.41 exchange rate as above.

Peter

[bnishanth]

There is a Jessops store right next to my office and I pop in there quite a bit. From what I've seen, there are two types of people who come there (could be a common trend in every other store).

1) a person who wants to get a look and feel of all D-SLR's before he commits. Once he is convinced, he is going to do his own research and buy elsewhere, never in Jessops, cos it's outrageously expensive, be it any brand.

2) there is an user who wants a camera, thinks 'DSLR is the best', wants one today, right now and walks in to a store with commitment to buy. Asks the sales person, who shows him couple, but recommends one. Customer pays and buys the SLR. (I've seen this happen twice, and Jessops sold him C***n 450D). I reckon this is where their SLR business lies.

I'm not sure the reason behind they dropping Pentax, but I for sure will call them several times and enquire if they have Pentax in stock..

Regarding Jessops as a business, as Delgado said I remember they closed several stores in 2007.

As far as Pentax retailer in UK goes, there is no shortage of options if you wish to buy one, so Jessops not stickong pentax is not such a big deal. But having them in stock, couple of posters stuck outside, and salesperson pushing the brand might've helped with some sales on second type of buyers i mentioned above.

I walked into Jessops two weeks ago and asked for an Ilford HP5 roll and he'd never heard of it, but he did have it in stock tho'.. So much for their knowledge..!!

Cheers
Nish