Jacobs gone bump!

Had hoped that the original item was paid for on a credit card in which case I'm certain I could've reclaimed my money through my card, unfortunately it appears that it was paid on a debit card :-( yes I'm not certain I'll see the money back, possibly it'll be dealt with as a creditor...
 
Llamaman said:
Re Amazon, there's no loophole to close. UK tax law already has robust Transfer Pricing legislation that applies to all connected party transactions. The profits of the UK subsidiary are therefore correct for tax purposes.

Even if the law were changed to assess a portion of the US parent's profits to UK tax, this wouldn't generate any extra revenue for the exchequer as the US would retain primary taxing authority status (by virtue of the parent's registration and tax residence) and since US corporation tax is higher than the UK, we'd get nothing.

.
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You are, unfortunately, wrong.

Amazon in the UK has nothing (tax wise) to do with Amazon USA. And Amazon UK is currently under investigation by HMRC for its "creative" tax system using Luxembourg as its UK head office.

Amazon.co.uk, Britain's biggest online retailer, generated sales of more than £3.3bn in the country last year but paid no corporation tax on any of the profits from that income – and is under investigation by the UK tax authorities.
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Full story link
 
admirable said:
They're in administration, not receivership.
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Just a matter of time though. In days gone by Jessops would probably have stepped in and bought the stores, but as they're not exactly in good health themselves, coupled with the Jacobs stores (up here anyway) being virtually next door to their own I don't see them as a suitor.
 
It wouldn't surprise me to see the online operation saved and the retail stores canned, although if I'm honest I'd rather it was the other way round. It handy being able to nip into the City Centre and grab an item (even if its a few quid dearer) than sitting waiting for the post, especially working all week.
 
Guess the warranties they have on 2nd hand goods will be null and void too now
 
samems said:
Guess the warranties they have on 2nd hand goods will be null and void too now
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Yes, but if they've been bought on a credit card then, under the SOGA the liability still lies with the the cc company.
 
Like others have said, I'm sad the stores are closing. Always had good service in Manchester and Liverpool.

I buy smaller items online, but camera bodies have always come from Jacobs, and I also use them to go in and compare camera bags.
 
Sad News, I have always had excellent service from the Edinburgh branch, bought my A77 from them a couple of weeks ago, would be a real shame to see them go.
The amount Ive spent on my credit card over the last twelve months in there should keep them afloat!
I hope someone can come along and rescue them as they are a million times better than Jesops a few doors down.
 
I like Jacobs as well, they seem more in touch than Jessops.

However, looking at the financials, during 2010 the total wage bill was £3,554,559 of which £449,784 was paid to the two Directors and I suspect marginally more paid to Papa Grand. Additionally, Papa Grand then paid himself £260,000 in dividends leaving £8,232 in the bank.

Who knows what happened throughout 2011 but over the last five years the two Directors have paid themselves an average of 1/2 million pounds per year which is pretty huge compared to the retained profit. They were cash happy until 2009 where things weren't good, but the Director's still paid themselves handsomely.
 
I haven't used Jacobs much and probably Jessops even less. The problem I find with them is that they hardly ever have anything in stock that I want and if they do it is usually the smaller items which are seriously overpriced.

I'd much prefer them to have a few large stores that are well equipped rather than loads of little shops that stock hardly anything. Preferably they would locate these strategically around the country accessible to everyone.

I am sure that the owners/directors have access to camerapricebuster so have got to be a bit more realistic with their prices.

It is good to see that the management are at least rewarding themselves generously before the ship sinks...
 
I can only go by the published figures and it is also possible that the Directors pumped money back into the company, although gut feeling doubts this. I do find in my own experience that family businesses are either very well run or very poorly run and rarely anything in the middle (not to be confused with company performance) with the latter kind being full of useless family members being paid large sums of money at the expense of those who actual make the business work.

Sorry to hear about things Geoff. The Jacobs in Glasgow was staffed to the max last time I went in but they were incredibly helpful when I was buying a camera bag and let me test several with my gear.
 
It does wind me up when greedy directors take out so much money. It is actually illegal to make a business fail if you take out too much money. With any luck they'll get their collar felt over it.

I wonder how much the whole group is worth to buy?
 
According to public records they are actually worth a few bob as at 2011 and are both solvent, liquid and profitable. But it looks like their money is all tied up in stock and I suspect their creditors have come calling. Administration may allow them to trade their way out if they can buy enough time but I suspect they have huge balance sheet repayments from loans etc, which will be causing them problems.

Also misc. Current Liabilities of £770K is probably HMR&C and they could be the ones putting pressure on them more than anyone else.

EDIT: It can be difficult to speculate the worth of a well known company just from the figures as their name will have a goodwill value. It would be awesome if Nikon decided to step in!
 
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cyclamens said:
Absolutely correct (y)



And that mentality is why :thumbsdown:

When there are no retailers left to offer serious advice and service - we, some of us, may wonder why!
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u get better advice and service from here tbh.

people who work in a shop generaly say anything to get u to buy a item whilst in a forum people will tell u as it is as there is no gain or loss out of it
 
In some ways they were also architects of their own destruction with some of their policies.

I know someone who went in and bought a Nikon fit lens as a gift, they were made aware of their mistake over lunch (everyone knows that the best photographers use Canon ;) ) and tried to get it exchanged for a Canon fit later the same day.

Not only did the staff refuse to do the exchange of the still sealed Nikon mount lens, they also treated the buyer with amusement, to the extent she said she hadn't felt as patronised in that manner in any other shop, they stuck to the SoGA line as company policy without compromise.

Do you think she would ever buy something from Jacobs again?

At least Jessops have a fairly relaxed return policy in their favour.
 
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Dave1 said:
Not only did the staff refuse to do the exchange of the still sealed Nikon mount lens, they also treated the buyer with amusement, to the extent she said she hadn't felt as patronised in that manner in any other shop, they stuck to the SoGA line as company policy without compromise.
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Reminds me of the "Excuse me, I'd like to buy a GRAMMOPHONE" Not the 9 o'clock news skit.
 
When i was testing out a 70-200 f2.8 lens in jessops they asked me what camera i will use for it and said i will use it for a 400d and they said, bad idea, it wont work well on your camera, u need a pro camera body :LOL::LOL:

brilliant advice innit blud!

Thought so.

The point is some of these shops give u crap advice persuading u to buy something u do not need for your needs.

You will get far better advice here as no one has nothing to gain from it so most folks are honest and down to earth.
 
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Dave1 said:
In some ways they were also architects of their own destruction with some of their policies.

I know someone who went in and bought a Nikon fit lens as a gift, they were made aware of their mistake over lunch (everyone knows that the best photographers use Canon ;) ) and tried to get it exchanged for a Canon fit later the same day.

Not only did the staff refuse to do the exchange of the still sealed Nikon mount lens, they also treated the buyer with amusement, to the extent she said she hadn't felt as patronised in that manner in any other shop, they stuck to the SoGA line as company policy without compromise.

Do you think she would ever buy something from Jacobs again?

At least Jessops have a fairly relaxed return policy in their favour.
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exactly my point. some of these lot give **** advice, fact. ask same advice here and u will get lots of useful good answers.
 
jonneymendoza said:
exactly my point. some of these lot give **** advice, fact. ask same advice here and u will get lots of useful good answers.
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You know what to do then, if you think you can do better go get a job at Jessops and spend your day sharing your knowledge with the customers (y)
 
Sadly cutting wages and failing to attract enthusiastic sales people with a background on the shop specific items for sale, is the major failure of most dedicated shops.

Confronted with big discounts by online merchants, instead of reinforcing their strong points like, good advice by knowledgeable people, items physically in the shop, instant delivery of goods, cheaper online option if you wait for delivery, face to face transactions, array of services on shop (repair, cleaning, guarantee issues etc.) they went for pressurizing the staff on quick sales and the cost cutting road, when is clear that their overheads will always be higher than those of online merchants.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Once Jessops go, and that's really only a matter of time imho, then I foresee prices from the internet-only retailers will gradually creep up....
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Don't see why. They've never really competed with high-street shops, merely each other.

It's a shame Jacobs are going under as I always thought of them as a 'cut above' Jessops. Jacobs always felt like a proper camera shop, and was usually staffed by knowledgeable enthusiasts.

Jessops on the other hand, is a joke. Pathetic range of kit, staff who know absolutely nothing and they're more concerned with trying to make money from things like printing than actually selling camera gear.
 
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I've always felt it good to have some local shops because as good as online can be, if you need something urgently sameday then there's not usually much the online lot can do.
 
Vertigo1 said:
Don't see why. They've never really competed with high-street shops, merely each other.
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So are you saying that people buy from online sellers hundreds of miles away based on convenience and not on price?
 
CameraFerret said:
Just looking through my website reports and it is amazing the number of items that are no longer available on the Jacobs website. List growing every day.
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Why is it "amazing"? It's not as if anyone's going to extend them a credit line for new stock, is it? ;)
 
Flash In The Pan said:
You know what to do then, if you think you can do better go get a job at Jessops and spend your day sharing your knowledge with the customers (y)
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no thanks i will stick to my day job im in now that pays more!

But u know what i mean man. many great advice in the internet!
 
Flash In The Pan said:
So are you saying that people buy from online sellers hundreds of miles away based on convenience and not on price?
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No, I'm saying that online sellers have always been (often significantly) cheaper than high-street shops, so the only real reason to use the latter is if you want the convenience of buying from a shop, and are prepared to pay extra for that. Yes I know you can often find a good deal at a high-street shop but as a general rule...

What keeps the online sellers' prices low is competition with each other, not the need to maintain some margin over the high-street shops. If the latter disappear, the competition between the online places will still keep the prices low. If one of them tries to hike prices then they'll lose sales to another.
 
Vertigo1 said:
No, I'm saying that online sellers have always been (often significantly) cheaper than high-street shops, so the only real reason to use the latter is if you want the convenience of buying from a shop, and are prepared to pay extra for that. Yes I know you can often find a good deal at a high-street shop but as a general rule...

What keeps the online sellers' prices low is competition with each other, not the need to maintain some margin over the high-street shops. If the latter disappear, the competition between the online places will still keep the prices low. If one of them tries to hike prices then they'll lose sales to another.
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Why would it keep prices low? The competition would then only be, as you say, between the online sellers. There would be no incentive to keep prices (and therefore profit margins) low when there is already a demonstrable willingness by the general buying public to pay the higher prices.

The competition will still be there, it will just be at the higher level currently inhabited by the liked of Jessops and Jacobs.
 
I struggle to see how any of them can last.Digital destroyed all their easy profits such as developing and printing,selling film and chemicals.It is just a simple fact that someone with a unit out in the countryside who just packs an item and sends it off in the post is far more competitive. A trader who has to pay town centre rates and employ a member of staff who may be 15mins with a customer to sell one camera has no chance.In those 15 mins Amazon have packed 20 cameras and shipped them off.It is only a matter of time.The silicon chip has a lot to answer for. :puke:
 
kestral said:
The silicon chip has a lot to answer for. :puke:
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Not to mention councils and their exorbitant business rates, well in Glasgow anyway.

I was buying a lens the other day at Calumet and noticed that they seem to be a lot more competitive these days. Had a nice chat with the guy and forgot how much I prefer going into a shop and being able to speak about things.

And if you are a good customer they will help you out, here's a quick story, a photographer was on a shoot with his Hasselblad at a swimming pool and whilst the subject was hanging over the water his camera jammed. He couldn't leave because the guy was still hanging there so he called up Calumet and they came down with a temporary replacement for him - and didn't even charge a penny.

I know everyone wants to save a few bob but it's a real shame that so many can't perceive the importance of service and quality over price.
 
gman said:
Not to mention councils and their exorbitant business rates, well in Glasgow anyway. /
Currently, councils have no say in setting business rates. In Scotland, the uniform business rate is set by the Scottish Parliament, and the rateable value is set by the SAA, who appear to be independent of the Councils
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