Buy now... pay later options??? Any ideas???

captures.in.time

captures.in.time

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Hi all

I know W/ Express does a six month service like this... anyone used it? Any problems/ issues?

I really want to buy a 24-105 before my honeymoon cruise rather than take my current system of 15-30 and 28-135mm but dont have the cash to pay a penny out for at least six months due to wedding costs. Appart from W/E's 6 month deal does anyone know of any buy now pay in a year deals out there? Really dont want to use a credit card but might be another option... or should I just take the lenses I have and forget it and buy the lens when I actually have the money to do so!

I know that's the best option... but it's the one I don't want to hear at the mo!!!

I guess what would be better is if any one knows of any intrest free credit deals out there?

Mark
 
(depending on your timescales) an alternative could be a new credit card with a 0% purchases offer?

e.g. have a look at moneysupermarket.com - bank of scotland all in one card does 0% for 9 months
 
AMEX do 5% cashback as well, so that could be a nice discount.

(althogh many retailers do not take AMEX)
 
Im thinking the jessops... offer might be the way forward... as I could save the cash in six months...

so could pay just incurring the£29 fee....

just need to talk my fiancee into thinking it's a good option as she is on a mission to make me more sensible with money....
 
iGiDK said:
(depending on your timescales) an alternative could be a new credit card with a 0% purchases offer?

e.g. have a look at moneysupermarket.com - bank of scotland all in one card does 0% for 9 months
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I've just got an M&S credit card through, 48 hours approval time (applied on thursday, letter with me on saturday!), very simple to use their site and it's 10 months 0% on purchases, you get M&S points and even after the 10months it's still relatively low interest :)

hope this helps!
 
markelliot said:
... or should I just take the lenses I have and forget it and buy the lens when I actually have the money to do so!

I know that's the best option... but it's the one I don't want to hear at the mo!!!

Mark
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You've got it! If you can't afford it now, are you 100% certain you'll be able to pay it off in 6 months' time? I know it's not what you want to hear but you know it makes sense!
 
If you're SURE that you are going to be able to afford it, then go for the credit card option, if not, then you could be putting extra strain on an already stressful time! If you want a nice lens to take on your honeymoon, you could always rent one? Lensesforhire have them here, so you could have the lens for the cruise, return it when you're back, and then get saving for your own when you can!

Chris
 
As above, rent one for your holiday, this gives you time to test etc wtihout going down the finance route.

If you want it save for it when you come back, you never know what's going to happen 1 year down the line.
 
chris321 said:
If you're SURE that you are going to be able to afford it, then go for the credit card option, if not, then you could be putting extra strain on an already stressful time! If you want a nice lens to take on your honeymoon, you could always rent one? Lensesforhire have them here, so you could have the lens for the cruise, return it when you're back, and then get saving for your own when you can!

Chris
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:agree: I did exactly that in order to reduce the amount of kit I had to take on a cruise and it worked a treat. I really wouldn't recommend putting yourself in further debt unless you can - A:be absolutely certain you can afford it, and - B:have a very understanding future wife!
 
For God's sake don't touch the Warehouse Express credit thing with a bargepole!!!!

If you really want to know why, apply for it and get the proper paperwork and read it carefully.... when you read it carefully you will find its a barbed hook with a tasty wiggly worm on it... About the very worst deal I've ever seen written down!!!!!

Go shop around and see if you can find a credit card with 0% on new purchases... 12 months 0% if you can... much, much, much more sensible than these stupid in store credit agreements.
 
I did a BNPL with warehouse express for £1500 (a full D200 kit) and got it in Feb 2008 and had to pay it off by the end of Jan this year. It's set up through Barclays finance and to be honest, it was as simple as anything; just sign some paperwork, send it off and your gear comes through next day. Simples :)

The main problem with BNPL is you can't do a balance transfer onto a CC as the term ends. I had to pay it off on a credit card, and then transfer it on to another CC that had 0% interest. It's still unpaid at the moment :)

It's much easier to just get a CC with 0% on purchases and do it that way from the start. The just transfer to another 0% CC when the terms ends.

I suppose what BNPL allowed me to do was get £1500 worth of stuff that I wouldn't have otherwise been able to afford. yes, I still owe the dosh on it via my CC but it meant i could buy what I wanted, not what i could afford, and that was a no-brainer for me.
 
Whichever you decide - Jessops or credit card, just make sure you can afford it - put the money away every month as I think the last thing you want is to have to sell the lens later on and these get great reviews.

Good luck, hope you have a nice day and all the best for the future :thumbs:
 
I would normally be able to save up for this lens in 4 months... for a few years now I've been saving £250 a month into my camera fund... but I put a stop on that to save for the wedding.... our finances on the wedding will happily be in place in two months time and we should be able to pay the lot off at the time and have no debt. We have both been saving like mad for the last year and a half... somtimes putting £1000 away a month between us. It's amazing how much all the nights out, starbucks coffees, newspapers and magazines cost... and if you cut all that out its amazing how much you can save...

I just feel I want this lens before I go... which I know is a bit spoilt brat of me to do... but I think the jessops option will be the best as I will be able to then save up the money soon after and pay it off well before the 12 months.

Off to discuss it tonight... I'll let you know how I go!

Cant believe the price uplift on this lens in the last year... Criminal!!!

Mark
 
I got the ok!!! Apparently if I dont I'll moan about changing lenses all the time as the 28mm is just not wide enough... and it will cut down on the weight I suppose!

Prob is the more I think about it the more I bet I'll end up in a situation wishing i'd taken my 15-30 too... but i'm going to look on that as a challenge.... possibly... but Venice and narrow streets... will 24mm be wide enough???

Errr now im in two minds???
 
markelliot said:
but Venice and narrow streets... will 24mm be wide enough???

Errr now im in two minds???
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I've got the 24-105, that's exactly why I got the Siggy 10-20, I would advise to think again, 24 is not wide enough for those situations.

Pete
 
24mm on a crop body is not wide at all really. It wasn't really designed for a crop...

Try it - you've got a lens that can do 24mm, set it to 24mm and look around your street and see how far away you have to be to get a house in. Then remember that in Venice buildings are tall and thin mainly and churches sit in little squares.... Also, try seeing how far away you need to be from a 2m high subject (ie a person) to get them all in.

1 or 2mm can make all the difference, for example on APS-C sized sensors, the difference in field of view on a subject 100ft away is 225ft (at 10mm) vs 187ft (at 12mm). How much of a city scene would you loose if you lopped off almost 40ft!!
 
Credit card offers are probably cheapest.....but your bank can probably provide other options that would enable you to buy used.

My g/f got a £1k flexi-loan from HSBC a while back, it's basically a new account with a £1000 overdraft facility and reasonable-ish interest charges. Advantage over credit card is that you can just withdraw cash and buy a nice used lens from here rather than being forced to buy new from a shop and save a few pennies in the process.
 
desantnik said:
24mm on a crop body is not wide at all really. It wasn't really designed for a crop...

Try it - you've got a lens that can do 24mm, set it to 24mm and look around your street and see how far away you have to be to get a house in. Then remember that in Venice buildings are tall and thin mainly and churches sit in little squares.... Also, try seeing how far away you need to be from a 2m high subject (ie a person) to get them all in.

1 or 2mm can make all the difference, for example on APS-C sized sensors, the difference in field of view on a subject 100ft away is 225ft (at 10mm) vs 187ft (at 12mm). How much of a city scene would you loose if you lopped off almost 40ft!!
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I should say I have a 5d... mk 1 so 24 mm is 24mm!
 
If you go the BNPL route, you need to be absolutely - 100% - sure you can pay it off before the interest free period ends. If you miss this payment, even by a day, you end up getting stung for hundreds of pounds in interest (all the interest gets added at once). At that point, you'll wish you used a credit card.
 
^^^ If things where that bad I would not consider it... however you can't tell what's round the corner in the current clime... I guess I'd just pay the BNPL option before the due date with a credit card if I really was stuck... but I wouldn't be not with 12 months to save!
 
Someone said this earlier, but I'll just point it out again. The companies that offer BNPL typically don't accept credit cards for repayment (you might get away with a credit card cheque if you're lucky and get them).

Fair response though. I don't know you or your ability to repay. :)
 
MarkG said:
Someone said this earlier, but I'll just point it out again. The companies that offer BNPL typically don't accept credit cards for repayment (you might get away with a credit card cheque if you're lucky and get them).

Fair response though. I don't know you or your ability to repay. :)
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This is true.
The first big purchase I made was BNPL from warehouse

Despite my best efforts I was simply unable to save the amount to pay it all off (I'd be suprised if most people weren't in the same situation) so I paid a credit card cheque into my bank account and paid switch.
Still had a few months of the credit card cheque interest rate to pay - and they are usuall about 20%!

Overdraft or buying on CC WILL be the cheapest.
 
Be carefull with the 6 / 12 month interest free credit options. Some of them become due at the beginning of the last period and therefore only work out as 5/11 month free. As stated in a previous post, if you go over the interest free period ALL the interest is added in one go and this can be expesive. Basically make sure you read and understand the agreement.

I got caught with this one on a laptop purchase a few years ago and ended up paying four years years worth of interest.
 
Thanks guys for all your comments... I have decided to go down the BNPL 12month deal with Jessops. I'm confident once im not saving for a wedding i'll be able to save the cash within the 12 months and pay it off with my visa debit card.

Hopefully I will not live to regret it... Mark
 
Good luck - you'll need it!
 
at least these things hold there value extremely well, if you did find yourself with difficulties nearer the time.
 
Here's a novel idea, how about actually saving the money up and buying the lens when you can afford it?



Instant gratification, it's the quickest route to misery.....
 
That's quite a radical approach Flash In The Pan in these current climes.

I'm currently in the process of doing this and look foward to purchasing a 16-35 f/2.8 in October 2012 :)

I'm just debating whether or not to sell my 10-22 (30D backup use only) to help speed up this process...
 
I use jessops BNPL, over 12 months, I know I could wait while I save but why bother, £29 to have something instantly aint a bad deal in my eyes. I buy it in store, go home and set up a standing order to cover the full amount over 12 months, that way you have no chance of getting humped by the crazy 29% interest they add after the 12 months.

Be 100% confident you can cover the cost for 12 months though!
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Instant gratification, it's the quickest route to misery.....
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Speaking the truth here

Flash In The Pan said:
Here's a novel idea, how about actually saving the money up and buying the lens when you can afford it?
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I agree. Having done too much credit purchasing in my time I am now of the mind that if I want new equipment I must save for it. Not before paying off what I currently have. It stings to know that X pounds of my income per month are paying for things I have been using a year.
It stings more that the money I am paying off had I managed myself better in the past could now be going towards my next purchase.
I guess I kinda saw the light and now nothing gets purchased on credit.
 
I'm with the rental idea. Spending money you don't have and can't be certain you will have come the deadline for payment seems silly at the best of times, nevermind when you're just married!
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Here's a novel idea, how about actually saving the money up and buying the lens when you can afford it?
Click to expand...

Agreed, 'tis the only way to FULLY enjoy a purchase! With the obvious exception of a mortgage, I wouldn't touch loans or credit agreements with a bargepole. If I can't afford it I don't buy it and if I want it badly enough I'll save for it, simples :thumbs:
I personally can't understand it when people want to live a year or so ahead of their means but each to their own :) Much to better to save up for things, then if you have a crisis in the meantime you have some spare cash available to sort it out.
 
markelliot said:
Thanks guys for all your comments... I have decided to go down the BNPL 12month deal with Jessops. I'm confident once im not saving for a wedding i'll be able to save the cash within the 12 months and pay it off with my visa debit card.

Hopefully I will not live to regret it... Mark
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Im sure I had my lens on a 12 month plan with W-H-E. But if not I know its extra but I got offered to pay a fee and the finance company gave you a paying in book so you could pay lump sums of it during the 6 /12 months. But that was at least 18months ago and I did buy two lenses which was well over £1000 so that maybe the reason I had 12 months. well good luck anyway
 
Just take the 28-135, don't saddle yourself with unnecessary debt for 4mm.

Get into the habit of buying what you can afford it will stand you in good stead for years to come.
 
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