Photo Optix/digistor.co.uk..another one bites the dust

I don't think they'll be the last, ebay and the hong kong suppliers have put many companies out of business, not just photographic, anything that can be transported easily is vulnerable.

I don't get how some of the foreign sellers on ebay can ship things from within the UK yet not be VAT registered, you don't have to sell much photographic equipment to go over the VAT threshold
 
That is a shame. I have used the Photo Optix shop in Guildford before and have found the people there to be excellent and helpful. Whilst there are some success stories on the High Street, it is a very difficult place to be in this day and age.
 
Yes. It always come down to the people on the ground - some shops are good others are terrible. I also quite like the LCEs which I have tried but all Jessops near me are terrible although I am sure that some are good.
 
I don't think Jessops will be long for this world either and one of (if not the) last independant camera shops here in Glasgow, Quiggs, is closing it's doors this week, another victim of cut-price online sales.
 
I think that it is very difficult these days for such establishments. Forums like this are brilliant and help us to discuss issues and opinions so that when we go to shop, our minds are almost already made up - therefore why do we need a shop. However, I was buying a stupidly expensive Canon lens recently and went to LCE - Southampton who have a brilliant stock level and range. I knew which one I was most keen on but tried a few alternatives anyway to ensure that I was making the right choice. The price from the shop proved to be about £20 more than online people but I figured that they deserved that for - letting me try all the various alternatives, having it available to me to take away there and then, being very able and willing to back it up and offer support should there be any problem with the lens. However, I can only presume that to be this competitive, their margin is very tight. Tight margins do not really equate with High Street rents and rates etc. I, like most, buy from a range of outlets online and offline but will also bemoan the dearth of great High Street specialist stores as they all disappear. Now where will I buy my carbon tripod from?
 
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