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Support the Irish suppliers.
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Is it just me or has anybody else noticed a drop off in the services available to photographers in Ireland over the month of July.
As a suppliers of photographic products I have witnessed many of my customers and colleagues slip into recession like never before. For example, a well known Dublin camera shop has dramatically reduced their overheads and now works from a portion of their vast store with the minimum of staff and many processing labs throughout Ireland are operatiing on a 3 day week even through the month of August. I even have one customer who has taken to downsize his car in order to pay us and other suppliers, such is business today. There are plenty of other rumours around which I would not discuss here but if they are true some serious shake ups could happen.
My reason for mentioning this is as a request to the PI site members to consider Irish suppliers for their purchases when buying any products. I have noticed more and more recommendations on this site to buy items on line from outside of Ireland and I outline a few suggestions below that could help you get a better deal from a local supplier.
When getting prices from suppliers leave the Irish guys to last. This ensures that you have taken into account the, item price + shipping+ taxes (if any), perhaps installation and set-up and gives us an opportunity to discuss the advantages and options available to you by buying local and perhaps we can make a sale, if even at a reduced margin. It can be so easy to get an Irish price and go on the web and see it way cheaper, but by the time you go through the order process the shipping etc brings it back up to parity ….but hey you’ve got this far so you continue. Ryan Air 1 cent tickets etc.
Consider too, how or where you would return a product if it were to go faulty.
If the product requires servicing can this be done locally?
If you buy outside of Europe you may have no warranty at all.
You may also be liable to duty and VAT if bought outside of Europe and while you may get the product in under the radar you risk the chance of being caught for at least the 21.5% VAT every time you leave the country. The customs take a view of guilty till proven innocent with the onus on you to prove to them where goods were bought.
Many foreign items use different voltages and frequencies so they may need to be adapted to work in Ireland.If it is a camera, I know of one camera shop that cleans sensors for free so long as you bought the camera there and on hi-spec models they offer a free loan if it needs repair. (It is not us by the way.) This service alone could be worth a fortune to a busy photographer.
From my point of view we sell Epson printers ink and paper, Fuji-Hunt and Hahnmuehle papers, LaCie monitors and hard drives, Datacolor/Colorvision calibration equipment, Tokina lenses, Slik tripods and a host of other products. I pride myself in my product knowledge and if I don’t know something I will know someone that will. If you are buying Epson, we are also the only photographic based Epson Express Centre on the Island of Ireland so even if you buy elsewhere Epson may refer you to us in the future should you have a problem.
We are a small company with a busy shop and as I am on the road quite a lot we don’t have the benefit of a lightning response to email so we respond best to phone conversation and customers dropping in. Go on and make Sheldon Photographic and the other Irish site sponsors your last call and give us at least a fighting chance.
I believe in supporting irish suppliers and do it as much as i can even if they are a few euro more expensive
I think some Irish suppliers offer great value like Gunns on Wexford street, I spend about 1000 euro per year in their shop. I find their prices very competative with online shops. I do use online shops too as Gunns and other Irish shops do not stock what I need somtimes e.g Infrared Film
I find allot of irish shops though are just a plain rip off, for example in Drogheda where I am based when I am very stuck for film I have to buy locally. The last time I was in I complained. The man was trying to charge me 8 euro per role of B&W film. I told him he was ripping people off with these prices and was no wonder he was not selling any. I got him down to 5 euro per role which is still expensive.
I like to do shopping on line. The online camera shops make it very easy for you. Prices are all there and there is a a big selection. Unfortunatelly the web sites for Irish shops are very poor mostly. Allot of the time they do not include a full list of their products, dont lists the prices which I find extremly annoying and makes me close the browser on them straight away. I dont ring for prices, if you are advertising on the web display your prices along with full product offerings!!!
I noticed Shelson that you site does not seem to contain a full product listing or prices for anything (except the Epson logo which gives prices in GBP). Dont want to sound rude or anything, call me lazy but im not going to pick up the phone to ring you looking for things unless I need somthing in a hurry, get your prices and full product offerings on the web, I WILL then buy from you If the price is right….
Regards
MYou are of course correct about our website but at this moment in time we would not consider ourselves a web based company and with 2 fulltime people employed I can’t see the website becoming an e-commerce site in the near future. Interesting that you mention Gunns as they too do not have a website.
Thanks for your comments though.
Totally agree with Martin…
Too many Irish shops are charging rip-off prices. Availability is also an issue… you can’t even get a roll of 120 film here in Enniscorthy… or in Co. Wexford that I know of.
I’ve start using Gunnes a bit since I delved into self-developing film. Their prices are excellent for the bits I’d be buying and hold up very, very well against online suppliers. They do have a website, albeit not very good, but they’re only a 15 minute walk from where I work and the people I have dealt with (John & his daughter) have been first class. I’d have no problem going there.
Irish websites do tend to be poor. If prices aren’t listed I just won’t bother picking up the phone, I don’t enjoy the idea of doing business over the phone, plus phone calls cost money. If you’re going to plug yourself on the web then best have a website… it makes sense.
I won’t buy cameras or lenses in Ireland… far too expensive. I will try to stick within the EU. Sorry, but when you’re talking about saving hundreds or even thousands of Euro I’m not going to get too concerned about who I buy from.
J
Sheldon wrote:
Interesting that you mention Gunns as they too do not have a website.
I work literally around the corners from Gunns so can just pop in, dealing with them now for 12 years so know what their main products are and know their prices….
Pity your not going to put up a full product listing on your site with prices, its very easy to do….. You need to spend money to make money… very short sighted, your based in Malahide which is only a small village with a small catchment area….. I think your mad not putting up prices and a full product listing on your site, why are you bothering advertising on PI if you don’t have this on your web site? People tend not to ring as much these days they expect the info to be on the web. If they don’t get the info on the website and have to ring they go to another site that does have the info on the web….
Again not trying to be negative just trying to be honest….
M
It’s a bit strange that you are blaming the consumers instead of revising your business strategy, Sheldon. Most people would indeed like to buy locally, and they do… if that’s not much hassle for them. Making a phone call to find out the prices, then going out to Malahide to have a look at the product is just a lot more work than looking at photos, features, prices and all that online, paying by credit card and waiting for the postman. The shops in the city centre can probably do without online presence since they have the regular walk-in customers, but you need something extra.
As for Gunns… they fill in a niche, they are the only shop in Dublin, who are selling films, chemicals, papers and the like at good prices (they are the only ones I know about anyway).
My advice is the same as above, revamp your website, put up a price list at least (that takes 15 minutes) or turn it into an e-commerce site (might cost a grand).
Regards,
ZoltanI’ll buy local if the prices are competitive and I have easy access to their service either via the web or the shop is handy to get too.
I recently bought an 8GB USB Key for €24 (shipped) on the web. A pal bought a 1GB USB Key for €12 in the local shop.
I actually thought that €12 was remarkably cheap considering he bought local, although I dread to think how much it would have cost to buy an 8GB USB Key locally…. let’s guess and say €70.
So €24 v €70… My question is to any Irish supplier reading this thread is why would I choose local over the internet in this instance? I mean there’s no logic to the price differential in this particular instance.
How much does it cost to buy an Epson R2880 ink cartridge local vs the web? If there’s a €5 difference and you need 9 cartridges then all of a sudden the difference becomes €45… that’s a lot of money in my book.
I can go to Spar, support local, and pay €1.50 – €1.60 for 500ml of Coke… or I can go to Dunnes and but 24 300ml cans for €8.99.
If I go to the pub for my lunch I’ll ask for water because €2.60 for 3/4 of a half pint glass of coke is just outrageous.
If it wasn’t for VRT the car trade in this country would have died (or revolutionized) a number of years back… and VRT is a poxy/illegal way of cuffing the consumer in this country.
Let’s face it… to buy local is a nice idea, but the heart doesn’t do the talking, the wallet does.
A lot of local shops need to re-think how they do business… this is the way I think, this is the way most people think. There’s no point in trying to change consumer sentiment… especially now when most people have a lot less money.
I believe most Irish people would be only too happy to support Irish suppliers for their goods and services, if they are reasonably priced and not too much hassle to get them. The problem is most Irish suppliers don’t seem to want to offer a “fair deal” to their customers. As nfl said about the Coke for example, convenience stores are ROBBING people everyday. Likewise with Cafes. A cup of coffee for 2.90 etc. The owners constantly complain about their costs. I think this is Bullsh*t. It’s just an excuse. OK smaller retailers will pay a “little” more for the product, but that’s no reason to hike the price to something ridiculous. More people will show their loyalty to a trader, if they are treated fairly in the first place and if the service is good. I’m not saying that all Irish suppliers are like this, but they do seem to outnumber the good ones.
I dont think it is the suppliers that are fully to blame
regarding pricing. I know over the last few years for instance
Insurance prices and rental prices have taken a trip to the moon
and other things to consider like importation loadings from the
customs and tax etc which all adds to the bottom line we have to
pay. and of course our Irish suppliers are not in the game of
providing goods to us here without making a living too.In a way it is not fair to compare the price of something here to
the same thing from HK, if our supplier didnt have to pay up to 30%
extra for that product before they take a cut to cover their costs
and a margin profit we would all be shopping here all the time.And I think we have to consider that if there
were no sponsors here on PI well there probably
would not be a PI.I have dealt with BARKER here on PI and found them to be
101% excellent. they really make you feel that they want you
business and provide a great service as im sure do all the other sponsors.
If they are not getting any return out of their investment to PI well . . . nuff said.Now I am not on the side of the irish suppliers here and I do
have to agree with some of the points made and it would be
nice to get a wee discount off the retail if you mention you
are from or off PI !! but we have to be realistic for some items how much
are we going to save on a €100.00 order? €20 ??? WOW im sure we can now go to
Sheldon and haggle . .. . “if you can save me €10 we will do business . . .”The lab I deal with in Galway are excellent, I get PRO pricing
as I am a regular they stock 120 film [ilford & kodak] along with
providing a processing service, printing and framing and they are
busy busy busy. Oh and they have a bucket of expired 220 and 135 b+w film too!A lot of what has been posted here is pointing at a lack of web presence for my company. This I agree is true but was not my intended target of my post.
What my original post was suggesting was that people should not be as quick to jump on the “buy anywhere but Ireland” post when someone is looking for a product and to give a passing thought to suppliers in Ireland. I have noticed several threads recently suggesting people should check with the site sponsors and the very next post advises them to buy from http://www.etc The thread then broadly goes on as if no other advice but the www was given.
What I am trying to point out is that the Irish Photographic businesses are disappearing. Take E6 for instance. Where can you get that processed now compared to a few years ago? Black and white is the same. Camera shops, Jessops gone, Spectra closing 20 stores and Slattery’s gone from O’Connell St. to mention a few. All well known names.
Does nobody else see what is coming or am I letting the rumours get the better of me!
Hi Sheldon. I agree that there is too much of “Get it at www. whatever.com”, but I also agree with trying to pick up a bargain if possible. I would gladly buy from the suppliers on this site before going to some crowd halfway across the world whom I know nothing about. Sometimes however, the items are not available here in Ireland, so we have to deal with these guys. What annoys me personnally is, stores blatantly ripping us off. For example, I bought a lens in Limerick not so long ago. The same lens quoted in a shop in Dublin was 156 Euro cheaper. It doesn’t cost 156 Euros more from the manufacturers to get it to Limerick. I could also have saved another 84 Euro if I had bought it online. This is the kind of rip off culture that p*sses me off. I think many Irish suppliers think the Celtic Tiger is still roaring, and that the Irish will pay anything for the goods. :cry: I don’t want to see Irish companies going down the tube, but I don’t like being ripped off either. :evil:
Sorry to beat the same path again but Irish stores need to realise that google is the new high street and your website is your storefront, sales team, marketing dept. and customer service desk. People these days will only pass through your doors for three reasons, to see stuff that interests them in the flesh before buying it at the cheapest price they can find, if they have already done the mouse work and decided to buy or if they just cannot find another supplier. The decision making is done at home in front of your screen and suppliers need to rethink their web strategy or fall off the map.
You wouldn’t send a technophobic bore in a tracksuit to someones home as a salesman, and certainly not without the pricing and detailed product specs and features ready at the tip of their tongue. That’s exactly what a lot of Irish suppliers are presenting on their sites, treating the website the same as the physical shop front. Sites like that are only good for getting contact numbers and address, looking up this info is probably easier and faster using golden pages online or similar.
Some places, like Gunns, are lucky in that they have built up a loyal customer base with their keen pricing and being just about the most customer friendly place there is in any field. I would always ring them to get their pricing and support them with my business if I can, on the other hand they dont do trade-ins and I am always looking out for high quality used lenses etc. now more so than new, almost as a rule. That’s probably the only reason I visit other shops now, I have to say I wont pay rip off prices for any cause and if some stores have to close before that message hits home then so be it. My old economics teacher used to despise the whole Guaranteed Irish logo thing and would beat into us ‘buy it if the price and quality are the best, dont promote mediocrity and overpricing!’. While I’m not a cold blooded capitalist you can’t seriously ask people to charitably support the rip-off pricing that seems to have been bred into a whole generation who feel entitled to large profits just for existing.
What I am trying to point out is that the Irish Photographic businesses are disappearing. Take E6 for instance. Where can you get that processed now compared to a few years ago? Black and white is the same. Camera shops, Jessops gone, Spectra closing 20 stores and Slattery’s gone from O’Connell St. to mention a few. All well known names.
Well… let’s not forget that the country is going through a major, major recession.
People are being made redundant, being put on short time and taking pay cuts left, right and centre, most people are a lot less well off due to levies imposed on their earnings and anyone who does have a few bob is going to want to hang onto it for a rainy day as we don’t know what lies waiting around the corner… more taxes, more redundancies?
Retail Sales are down big time. People simply can’t afford the little luxuries in life. I personally have seen my take home pay reduce by 5 figures… so I’m not spending much money on non-essential items. With what money I do have I will shop around for the best bargain. I’m not a particullary keen physical shop shopper, I prefer to surf the web at night.
I think we’ll all agree that we’ll shop local if the circumstances are right (price/availability) but when it comes to money the head typically always rules, not the heart… it’s a simple and harsh fact. You have to worry about yourself and your own circumstances first.
Does nobody else see what is coming or am I letting the rumours get the better of me!
We’re seeing it every week… some people experiencing it first hand, Thomas Cook being the most noticeable incident in recent times. If you want to make your point specific to Photography services well fine… but all shops are enduring the same hard times.
You might also consider a rant about the Gov’t increasing VAT rates… not exactly the best incentive to get people out spending their money is it?
If I paid three times the price for a USB Key in a local shop I can assure you I wouldn’t be walking around feeling proud that I’ve done the morally right thing… I’d feel like I was after being mugged.
I recently bought a new camera and lens on-line because of two reasons. 1, I needed it as my main camera has a broken shutter curtain and is off in England getting it’s bits fixed and 2, I saved an extraordinary €624 by NOT getting it in Ireland. Now, fundamentally, I agree with Sheldon in that we should try and keep our business within the country but unfortunetly there is no way I am going to pay over the top prices for anything in Ireland. Just to show that I like to stay in Ireland as often as possible I purchased a Lacie external drive from Sheldon two years ago because the price worked out to be value, and that’s the key word here. The sad fact is that if I can’t get value here I will go elsewhere to get it. It may seem mercenary but it’s tough times for all.
I have to agree with the concensus here. When money is tight people will look to buy online and save. Not only for photographic equipment for all other purchases.
Just last week my wife needed a lettuce to make us our lunch, she asked me to nip out to tesco but I could not be arsed so she went to the local spar at the end of the street. The fookers charged £2.50 for a iceberg lettuce. Jesus that is taking the piss as tesco sell these for about 80p or so. I would have bought this thing online and had it shipper via DHL for the same price. FFSLast week I ordered a Sigma 105 macro. I checked this on the high street and they were all more expensive than Amazon. I even considered amazon.com as this was even cheaper again. Typical that the UK and Eire always get stung with higher costs of living.
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