London Camera Exchange

Yardbent

Yardbent

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I'm looking at a Nikon camera at LCE and have offered a mint Canon AE-1 body in p/ex

generally are you happy with their service and p/ex valuations..?

thanks
 
Happy with their service but never traded anything in with them.

A few years ago, I wanted a cheap compact for Mrs Nod's Mum and they had one in for £30 (a Nikon of some sort). When it came to it, they couldn't find the charger so they took a UniPal Plus off the shelf and asked if I was happy with that instead. Too blinking right I was - the charger would have been over £30 so the camera was basically free! Still my universal travel charger.
 
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Never done a P/X but one purchase went back as being far removed from the description, (D300s as it happens!).
 
always found their p/ex prices to be a bit on the low side but I have also got some really great used deals from them (probably because they buy things in at a low price).
Their customer service and warranty claims have been brilliant and hassle free. Claimed under warranty 3 times so far and all very good - one of them had the item back in two days (me post on Monday, arrive with them Tuesday, get back on lens Thursday).
 
I've dealt with them on and off for about 40 years. I've always been happy with the deals I've made with them.
 
Had a PX quote with LCE Manchester for a load of Pentax digital gear.

It was way lower than MPB offered.

When I mentioned it the sales chap said, "Take it or leave it mate".

So I left it.
 
Bought my used EF500L from their Lincoln branch, took in my camera body, trusted to take it out of the store and take some shots with it in the street, ( mind you.. you wouldn't run far humping a 1DX with a 500MM on it lol ) told them I would check them before deciding, processed shots at home and was pleased, called them up next day and they had put it on hold.
Went in collected and paid, they didn't have a bag big enough to put the box in , Jokingly said my luck i'll get mugged walking to the car., offered and did carry it to my car for me, faultless service. Lens still giving me sterling service several years on.
 
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Traded a lens in last week for another new lens. The valuation from all other places was towards the top end although there was only £30 difference between them all (MPB,Wex Camera Jungle). They also knocked some money off the new lens. The whole process was absolutely spot on and they were helpful in phone calls and emails. Whole process took 3/4 days.
 
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Did a px on some Fuji stuff a couple of years ago, they offered the same as MPB and I could nip to the shop and do the deal. They've been very helpful to me in the past.
HOWEVER...The manager did get on his high horse over matters Brexit, which I thought a bit odd given that the country, and presumably his customer base, was split pretty much 50 / 50.
 
Recently (2 weeks ago) traded a Nikon 70-300 for a brand new Sigma 150-600 C and USB dock. The whole process couldn't have been easier of less painless - they picked up my Nikon, emailed the next day to say they were happy with its condition, sent the Sigma out the same day and it arrived the next. 3 days from start to finish.

Totally hassle-free and I have no qualms about using them again.

EDIT: Sorry forgot to add I got my used D750 from their Bath store and was very pleased with both the price and experience. The Sigma came from their Guildford branch.
 
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If you ask nicely most LCE shops will lower their price especially on used gear. And if you become a semi-regular customer like me the discount will increase over time :)
But they don't budge on part-ex price for some reason.
 
When I changed to Olympus last year ,I negotiated a PX price on my Nikon D7200 it was reasonable ,got there to do the deal and they took the camera out the back to check it over and then changed the offer to £70 more ... I was well chuffed and I actually made a decent profit on it to
 
nandbytes said:
If you ask nicely most LCE shops will lower their price especially on used gear. And if you become a semi-regular customer like me the discount will increase over time :)
But they don't budge on part-ex price for some reason.
Click to expand...
This has been my experience - they won't be able to match online people as they have premises [my recent enquiries have had MPB as the lowest on 3 or 4 enquiries] and I still keep in touch with them[and bought something from them with a trade in voucher I had expected to use at The Photo Show] even though we live several hundred miles from them. The Worcester branch is closer but I have a relationship with the people in this branch. Each branch is its own franchise so the manager of the store will set the tone and in the North East, he's a good man and so are the others in the team.
 
Bought a used camera in the Lincoln Branch, decent price and it came with two genuine spare batteries.
Know some places that would remove them and sell separately, chap was helpful too finding the shutter count procedure to check it
 
tijuana taxi said:
Bought a used camera in the Lincoln Branch, decent price and it came with two genuine spare batteries.
Know some places that would remove them and sell separately, chap was helpful too finding the shutter count procedure to check it
Click to expand...

don't think shops can/would sell opened batteries separately. I remember trading in my Sony A99 to Digital depot (now bought by cameraworld) and they basically told there wasn't much point in me handing over my genuine spares since they can't sell it separately, hence they can't increase my trade in price or the price they'd sell the camera at.
Ended up selling them to a forum member here :)
 
nandbytes said:
don't think shops can/would sell opened batteries separately. I remember trading in my Sony A99 to Digital depot (now bought by cameraworld) and they basically told there wasn't much point in me handing over my genuine spares since they can't sell it separately, hence they can't increase my trade in price or the price they'd sell the camera at.
Ended up selling them to a forum member here :)
Click to expand...

Fair point, came in handy not having to buy spares.
Don't think they could have ever been used, the shutter count to my and the salesman surprise was under a 100, crazy
 
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I’ve used the Exeter branch many times and the London Strand once. Service in the Exeter shop does seem a little pretentious sometimes, but always polite and helpful.
They don’t ever seem to offer as competitive prices as the internet retailers like MPB but to be fair to them, they have more overheads to cover and you get benefits like try before you buy, which can be worth the small extra.
If they’re too far out on price, I’ll buy online, but what I’ve normally found is once I’ve been in and discussed my needs, I’m happy to pay a bit more in recognition and to support my local shop.
 
@ Admin...please clean-up the Off-Topic posts - thanks
 
Right, as requested, thread tidied, a couple of the more fractious members banned from participating in the thread again - and anyone who chooses to complain that their post disappeard can feel free to join them on that list...

Can we PLEASE just talk about our experiences of using the particular chain of shops in question and not start arguing or going off at a tangent about the merits of internet shopping, or using bricks and mortar shops to get demos before buying online.

Thanks Folks.
 
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nandbytes said:
If you ask nicely most LCE shops will lower their price especially on used gear. And if you become a semi-regular customer like me the discount will increase over time :)
But they don't budge on part-ex price for some reason.
Click to expand...

Treat the staff well and you'll usually get the same courtesy back and they're more likely to apply their discretion in your favour with regard to their selling price. They have a list of what they can give in PX and aren't allowed to deviate from that BUT if they can sweeten the deal a bit in other ways, they'll often try (if they like you!)

Other than J3550ps, they're now the only camera shop in town so they're my first port of call on the (now very!) rare occasions I want something. Not been in for a while - saved me a small fortune!
 
Bristolian said:
R

EDIT:.............snip......... The Sigma came from their Guildford branch.
Click to expand...

I've had a quick reply from Guildford - will prob go forward. Not a huge trade-in p/x but they've saved the hassle of going into Glasgow
there's a branch in Hereford - will visit next time I'm visiting family there.
 
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