why buy in the UK

I tried to buy a zoom gear at the weekend and phoned one of the, if not the biggest underwater camera stores in the UK to buy one. I got an answer that the other shop is closed and I will get them to call you on monday. The guy in the London shop could not even tell me if the other branch had it in stock. Anyway I had a look on their website and the website is a bit of a joke as well, they have their website and then you can enter their online store through their website. Trouble is they only have about a quarter of the items for sale on their online shop. Obviously not happy with this I wrote and explained that their website is rather poor. Today I got a response.

31109 Canon EF 17-40mm F4L USM Zoom Gear GBP 106.99 inc. VAT

Unfortunately we do not have the item in stock and as it is a sea and

sea item it may take a very

long time to come in possibly about 6 - 8 weeks

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask

Wait 6 - 8 weeks for a bloody zoom gear. THATS WHY I DONT SHOP IN THE UK

Stew

Hello,

Unfortunately, your tale of woe doesn't surprise me at all!... It may be worth contacting Sea & Sea direct? Their base in Devon has always been really helpful....

Cheers

Chris

I tried to buy a zoom gear at the weekend and phoned one of the, if not the biggest underwater camera stores in the UK to buy one. I got an answer that the other shop is closed and I will get them to call you on monday. The guy in the London shop could not even tell me if the other branch had it in stock. Anyway I had a look on their website and the website is a bit of a joke as well, they have their website and then you can enter their online store through their website. Trouble is they only have about a quarter of the items for sale on their online shop. Obviously not happy with this I wrote and explained that their website is rather poor. Today I got a response.

 

31109 Canon EF 17-40mm F4L USM Zoom Gear GBP 106.99 inc. VAT

 

Unfortunately we do not have the item in stock and as it is a sea and

sea item it may take a very

long time to come in possibly about 6 - 8 weeks

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask

 

Wait 6 - 8 weeks for a bloody zoom gear. THATS WHY I DONT SHOP IN THE UK

 

Stew

I tried to buy a zoom gear at the weekend and phoned one of the, if not the biggest underwater camera stores in the UK to buy one. I got an answer that the other shop is closed and I will get them to call you on monday. The guy in the London shop could not even tell me if the other branch had it in stock. Anyway I had a look on their website and the website is a bit of a joke as well, they have their website and then you can enter their online store through their website. Trouble is they only have about a quarter of the items for sale on their online shop. Obviously not happy with this I wrote and explained that their website is rather poor. Today I got a response.

 

31109 Canon EF 17-40mm F4L USM Zoom Gear GBP 106.99 inc. VAT

 

Unfortunately we do not have the item in stock and as it is a sea and

sea item it may take a very

long time to come in possibly about 6 - 8 weeks

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask

 

Wait 6 - 8 weeks for a bloody zoom gear. THATS WHY I DONT SHOP IN THE UK

 

Stew

I've got over 100 zoom gears. Not Sea and Sea though I'm afraid Stew.

It is a symptom of a market that is too small for anyone to operate as a viable business. Every 'importer' seems to still have a day job. The bother of dealing with a customer and making a sale requires the motivation of a good profit. When underwater photography is big enough to sustain more than a cottage industry, things might change but I confess to often buying in the country of origin just as does my opposite number on another British mag. Even Sea & Sea has gone over to machining housings rather than casting them because the production runs are so small. In America, how close does a dealer have to be to be considered local?

It is a symptom of a market that is too small for anyone to operate as a viable business. Every 'importer' seems to still have a day job. The bother of dealing with a customer and making a sale requires the motivation of a good profit. When underwater photography is big enough to sustain more than a cottage industry, things might change but I confess to often buying in the country of origin just as does my opposite number on another British mag. Even Sea & Sea has gone over to machining housings rather than casting them because the production runs are so small. In America, how close does a dealer have to be to be considered local?

But had they had one in stock John I would have given them my money. Now I have ordered from Japan and it will be with me probably on friday.

Sea and Sea UK only order from Japan once a month and they dont have it in stock either. This is a zoom gear for a popular lens we are talking about, not something that no one uses.

Stew

I've got over 100 zoom gears.

But you havent got a housing for the MK2..........

Stew

Japan from another well known store,

Would you mind pming me the name?

I am of the camp that if the savings is small I will go local, but if the savings is big I won't. Also, going local does not equal better service. There are threads, in the copyright/non payment/theft forum, of US based companies who screw over their customers. Like all international orders when things go bad, they go BAD. YOu can't just walk down to the store and say "hey give me my money back" you have to deal with them over the phone, and potentially encounter language issues.

I never buy from my local dive shop, I would like to but they are too expensive. I bought the Atom 2 a couple of years ago and they wanted a $1000. I went and bought it from a US online shop for 600. When the dive shop saw that I had a Atom 2, and did not buy from them I explained why (the owner was furious with me). He told me he couldn't compete with the online shop, and he doesn't even buy it for that cheap. On a side note I spoke with one of his employees, who does have access to the invoices...and yes he does get it for that cheap. The mark-ups are that high.

Would I love to give 100% of my business to the local dive shop? Yes. Will I? No. My wallet is more important to me then their wallet. If they cannot compete (within reason) with the online shops then they won't get my purchases. Luckily my dive shop offers training so they get my money that way, and for servicing equipment.

On a side note, the US online shop I buy from has an actual storefront where it is staffed by what looks to be about 15-20 folks and is jam packed with people. I could drive to their location, but why drive two hours when I can mail order.

Hi all, long time lurkers first post...

I've recently been looking at upgrading from a Sony MiniDV camcorder and separate Canon compact (Ixus 980) to a digital SLR most likely the Canon 550d. having had a variety of underwater cameras over the last 14 years I feel I've progressed far enough to warrant a DSLR.

My point being I've always tried to purchase from my local dive store (LDS), which isn't that local (45min drive), or at least in the UK.

But there are times when it means the difference between extending kit or not.

For instance a trip to the Galapagos islands warranted the purchase of an Inon converter and the Inon AD165 fish eye lens.

To purchase this from my LDS was over £600 with a 3-4 week lead time, that's a lot of cash for one lens (well for me anyway).

A fairly well know Japanese supplier could supply this in 3-5 days for nearly half the price.

I know this is not top-end gear but the decision for me was made by the have/have not scenario.

I simply couldn't justify it at £600 (to myself, let alone the wife) but I could at a smidge over £300 all in.

This has almost become a regular occurence with underwater photgraphy equipment over the last five years and I re-iterate I'm not looking for high-end equipment. But strobes, macro lenses, float arms, and all sorts of related equipment has been too cheap by comparison to ignore.

I still support my LDS by purchasing all my other equipment from them (BCD's, wetsuits etc) but when it comes to camera gear they just couldn't compete, I did buy the housing from them and they did a very resaonable priced training course so that I got the most out of my equipment. This put me in a great position to photograph whale sharks, once I got over the initial jaw dropping awe factor of the experience.

I'm now faced with a similar decision, do I look to local (UK) dealers or do I continue to exploit the relationship I've formed with a Japanese supplier.

I'm by no means what I would call a rich man and so every hard earned penny counts for me, as I'm sure it does for many.

Unfotunately a quick browse around the internet tells me that my hard earned will stretch a lot further if spent abroad.

I'm slightly more fortunate than most in that I also have the opportunity to travel very cheaply due to my wifes employment with Virgin Atlantic.

This certainly enables me to travel abroad to purchase items some times duty free, when you can knock off another 17.5-20% due to VAT it all starts to add up.