Mobile Photography

I understand that internet based shopping has an impact on physical stores, but wonder if mobile phone photography is also impacting on sales

I am sorry!

I’m too fed-up to buy anymore.

Cameras, like cell phones, computers and televisions are fleeting. The prices vary so much with so many brands and product variations. These products depreciate very fast and are always reconfigured toward the mind set of a price point. The choices available and the vocabulary describing products are actually not helping. Along with this are the internet comparisons available.

On top of that are the stupid camera designs. Look at Fuji and the X100 [an example]. Was the basic button issue ever rectified? No! Two – three years later it still sells that problem over and over. And this is not the only company that makes ineffective ill designed and tested products [Thanks to all the valid web sites that point this out continually]. I believe camera companies actually lie/ bewilder/ intimidate and design confusion deliberately. An exception to this may be Pentax [an example until recently] and of course Linhof who has never ever manipulated things.

I have friends with 5-8 cameras purchased over the last 8 years. WHY?

For me, who still uses film, I never go into stores anymore. My city has no competition. Every store has the same basic price. It’s like buying a car in that you never know what you’re getting, as well as always knowing, there’s a better price in 30 days. Then when the product screws up, that retail experience never ever protects/ assists you in getting the problem resolved. Now I hear of repairs taking 6 weeks to 3 months for many unfortunate owners.

Photokina will be here Sept 16th. Why buy now, when more new ‘stuff’ will be here then?

My kids don’t care. They just buy, wear it out, dump it, and then move on to the next up-grade.

Sad to see Jacobs go

I bought the majority of my gear from the Derby branch, and am really sad to see it closed. It's always been so much more satisfying to buy from a specialist, and to get specialist advice, rather than from mainstream electrical retailers.

Rodney: I appreciate that you're not 'into' digital, but does that really mean that it's irrelevant whether we have specialised retailers? As suspicious of camera manufactuers as you are, don't you think that it would be better to have stores with staff who specialise and can help guide you through these new features and technologies that you don't understand, rather than brushing them off as 'lies / deliberately intimidating/bewildering/confusing'? I'm sure your Linhof works as well today as it did 30 years ago (I have MF/LF cameras from the 70s myself, and they're great tools *when they're appropriate*), but for modern gear I suggest that comparing spec sheets/buzzwords online is no substitute to going into a shop and being able to try the cameras out whilst discussing them with someone.

My condolences to all the Jacobs staff.

Sadly badly run

As any successful business will tell you, if its run well, the money will follow. Unfortunately Jacobs never had the essentials in stock so I was driven elsewhere or to the internet. I always received really good and impartial advice from the guys in their New Oxford St store. If a product wasn't very good, I was never ever pressurized into buying it. The service was second to none, better in fact than what I recieved from those guys at Calumet or elsewhere but sadly if the numbers don't add up then the company will dissappear.

Price

To be perfectly honest this doesn't surprise me considering that on numerous occasions (shock horror) Jessops has been cheaper. Now if you charge more than a faceless high street retailer then you know they won't survive in the current market conditions. As somebody mentioned earlier, badly run indeed seems to be the case.

No surprise

Aged sales model, expensive products, poor online presence, even worse marketing and - on the top of everything - limited stocklist. Family business is great, but to run, has to adapt. I feel sorry for the staff, but it's a lesson for the owners - maybe with some fresh blood and look at the market there was a chance...

Can you blame?

Can you always blame the economy when you have uninformed staff? I went into their store two days ago, walked in, people were right at the back possibly discussing closure... I asked if they had the new Canon 650D in stock just in case... The guy looked at me like I was stupid, and proudly proclaimed that the camera wasn't even released in the UK yet (!!!!!!). Imagine his face when I told him (twice, because he wouldn't believe me) that a friend had the camera already and that it's been released. I almost took out my phone from my pocket, went to Amazon/Jessops and showed him. I mean, how can a business expect to survive if they don't even know what's going on in the market? Feel sad for the family who runs it but in-store experience was abysmal and if that's how they ran the company, no surprises to see it closing down.

A Sad situation indeed

This is truly very sad. I've been used to real bricks'n mortar camera shops for 30+ years; there is nothing like walking into a gadget shop to chat about gear, get your hands on it, and then gladly hand over your credit card to somebody who *appreciates* your custom, safe in the knowledge that should you need future support re: your purchase, a real face to face can be had to resolve any issues. They really should have consolidated their stores much earlier (1 in the north, 1 midlands, 1 in the south) - rest mail order. I've bought kit from them before and been very happy with the service / attention; my very best wishes go to all the staff affected.

Sad news

I have tried several times to find the words but they fail me. An important part of my familiar landscape has just disappeared and I am struggling to take it in. If I knew how to contact the staff at the Cardiff store I would - to say thank you. Thank you for your knowledge. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your enthusiasm. Thank you for helping me to record those priceless memories and thank you for doing such a great job. In my personal hall of fame, you stand tall.
You have walked into my history and I wish you well.
Just a few days before this happened I took my daughter to buy her first DSLR from the Jacobs shop in Cardiff, St. Mary Street. I would not have considered going anywhere else.
The care and consideration given to us by the lady who served us ensured we got the right camera. And her words of encouragement to my daughter lit a fuse of enthusiasm that I am sure will follow on from mine.
Shops like these were more than pedlars of trade. They delighted in the celebration of craft of skill and design. A place where enthusiasm was placed in equal measure on both sides of the counter. Where the customer was treated kindly and where the sheer joy of photography was exalted.
Losing this place feels - wrong. Something should be done. Are we to face of future of mail order anonymity where the box is all and the customer is nil? What Jacobs and other stores like them offered was a place of learning as well as trade - where seeds were sown to nurture the photographers of the future and where
conversation, explanation and consideration still played a part in the exchange of goods.
We shall miss you greatly.

Karma is a B***H!

I worked there for two years and I must say this couldn't have happened to a sleazier guy. Anthony Jacobs is a terrible person who treated his staff and loyal customer base- that his father worked so hard to build up- like rubbish. It's sad to see so many jobs go but I can't help but laugh at the image in my head of Mr Jacobs having to sell his beloved car now to feed his ever growing belly!

The high street is doomed

As soon as Photographic Retailers i.e Jessops stopped doing trade-ins I couldnt really see how they could have a unique selling point.

Back in 96-87 they decided to stop doing trade in's was a big mistake. IMHO.

Anyone surprised ?!...

The London branch in New Oxford St was a complete joke: not enough product variety, sales assistants that were unhelpful and rude and some didn't know what they were talking about, ridiculously expensive prices... beats me how they still had people shopping there !
I am not sad to see them go, and next on the line should be Jessops, who, in my opinion, are by far the worse ripp off merchants in the business ! GET RID and make way for someone that has a genuine interest in the trade and not ripping people off.

Sad day but we are as much to blame.

For those who lament the passing of Jacobs I wonder how many have gone into one of their stores, or any other now defunct photo chain, tried out the stuff and then ordered from an internet retailer?

I have and I bet may others have done so. So it is unsurprising even with price matching that Jacobs have gone from the high street.

I always thought that with their near RRP prices that Jessops would be long gone but perhaps their creditors owe too much of the business to let that happen.

The temptation to buy on line when you could save hundreds of pounds is often too great. The whole tech retail model needs to change if the remainder are to survive on the high street. They will have to cut their margins and/or be able to compete with on-line providers.

Iit's easy to blame the economy

Being a family company does not make you a victim of economic downturn. There are many family business in Europe that make billions in all climates and still remain profitable family businesses.

I've been in Jacobs many times, also Jessops and neither of them can offer better prices nor better experience than on-line retailers. In terms of assistance they are as personal as a personal computer can be and, you know you'll get better advice and information from your computer, so Why to pay them more?

Who needs middlemen anyway?

I buy online. I don't pay a slice to a middleman, and I'm not here to make the Jacobs family wealthy.

Gone like the mist

Anyone can blame anything for the failing of a store/company/product its just an excuse. Keeping ahead of the market was never Jacobs strong point, and as a company it deserved to fail for that, burying your head in the sand with high priced goods and little observation of the market around you is a recipe for failure, and it has happened. I do not feel sorry for the family at all they were running it and they were blind to what was going on, no in store training, no marketing to obtain R.O.I. just get in there charge as much as you dare and wait for the flies to come to the web. The only thing I am sad about as a photographer is that another line of shops have gone, watch this space because London Camera Exchange has exactly the same business plan, check them out selling some S/H items much higher than you can get them elsewhere for new, I have pointed this out to them and they dont listen, the bell is ringing, but no one can hear it.

jacobs new oxford st

In response to an earlier comment about the New Oxford St branch of Jacobs. I have only ever found the staff there extremely helpful. I bought both my cameras and many of my lenses there and only ever found any of the staff lovely. I went in last year to look at getting some lighting eqipment for a wedding i was doing. The gentleman who served me must have spent nearly 3 hours going through possible lighting that might be appropriate for what i had to do. He was brilliant. He assembled the set i finally purchased in store to show me how it all went together and how effective it was. I left the store with so many boxes i had to get a cab home!!. You couldn't get customer service like that in Jessops across the road or Calumet . Very sad to think those staff are now out of work.. Thank you to all those staff for many years of excellent customer service.