gravastar Posted April 8, 2008 Share #21 Posted April 8, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) What a prat - that's him not you. I'm almost tempted to go along just to see if it's as bad as everyone is saying <grin>. I've been in the shop ONCE. Bob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 8, 2008 Posted April 8, 2008 Hi gravastar, Take a look here Nicolas Cameras in Camden. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
earleygallery Posted April 9, 2008 Share #22 Posted April 9, 2008 Hmmm, I've been told that a certain proprietor of a certain photographic shop in Camden was the subject of a trading standards investigation and TV consumer programme in the 80's..............tales of faulty goods and refusal to honour any g'tees.......... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
masjah Posted April 9, 2008 Share #23 Posted April 9, 2008 Someone I know bought a lens from them via mail order, found it was much, much scruffier than they indicated, promptly sent it back for a refund according to their trading terms, and eventually (I understand possibly with the intervention of the credit card company) got his money back. I rang them up when I was in London, to find out whether or not they had a couple of R Elpro lenses in stock (their advert indicated "huge stocks" and to ask). They said that they didn't keep Leica stuff on the premises, but rather "at their warehouse", and they couldn't tell me on the spot whether or not they had any. Could they ring me back later or FAX me? I didn't feel like dealing with an outfit that didn't appear to have a proper inventory of its own stock, so I lost interest and rang off. Later in the day I found what I wanted elsewhere and at a very reasonable price. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjr Posted April 9, 2008 Share #24 Posted April 9, 2008 Well.....reading all these replies is the best entertainment I had for days ! I think I will zoom down the A40 toward Camden this Saturday and visit the place. It sounds....fun! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted April 9, 2008 Share #25 Posted April 9, 2008 ......if that is your idea of fun........... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
biglouis Posted April 9, 2008 Share #26 Posted April 9, 2008 Well.....reading all these replies is the best entertainment I had for days ! I think I will zoom down the A40 toward Camden this Saturday and visit the place. It sounds....fun! The shop reminds me of a famous old saying, "If I'd wanted a cowboy outfit I'd have gone to a toyshop". As for the entertainment value, beware that it is not Disneyland.... more like the London Dungeon..... One place I do visit quite often in Camden (just) for all sorts of bits and pieces is the large Calumet store in Drummond Street. Well worth a vist, imho. LouisB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravastar Posted April 10, 2008 Share #27 Posted April 10, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Well.....reading all these replies is the best entertainment I had for days ! I think I will zoom down the A40 toward Camden this Saturday and visit the place. It sounds....fun! He may not be open on Saturdays - I can't remember. If you're serious about this I suggest you check beforehand to save a wasted journey. Bob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjr Posted April 10, 2008 Share #28 Posted April 10, 2008 ......if that is your idea of fun........... ....thank you for your kind remark...have a nice day too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfinnis Posted October 28, 2008 Share #29 Posted October 28, 2008 I have been intrigued by this shop after working in the area for the last 6 months. I have bought a couple cheap items in the past when he can be bothered and saw a D70 in the window today, I asked to take a look and in the meantime asked another customer what he was trying to sell/trade. The owner went completely mad and asked me to leave (rightly or wrongly) and not to trade in his shop. I said "I only asked him about his camera" where he told me to "f - - k off out of it, go on f - - k off you don't trade in my shop". It's his shop and his right but not his right to swear, don't bother with him stay on the internet you will get a better deal. Martin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted October 28, 2008 Share #30 Posted October 28, 2008 Oh, it's nice to know that their customer service is improving at last. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
honcho Posted October 28, 2008 Share #31 Posted October 28, 2008 Don't know anything about Nicolas Cameras, but this thread and others I have seen elsewhere make for hilarious reading. Long may he continue in business! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwig Gretch Posted October 28, 2008 Share #32 Posted October 28, 2008 A friend ordered a f3.5 Elmar, at £190!, and was assured during the phone conversation that it was coated, and superb. Three weeks later it arrived,-the delay due to having been sent out for cleaning and lubricating!, uncoated and with a scored and brassed barrel, but surprisingly it took good pictures!. His price list in the mags makes interesting reading Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenneth Posted October 28, 2008 Share #33 Posted October 28, 2008 They may be as bad as all of you here say but working on the theory that there is no such thing as bad publicity they have had a huge amount of air play here for free Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndjambrose Posted October 28, 2008 Share #34 Posted October 28, 2008 Kenneth, I'm not so sure. The way I look at is there's 1,856 people who've viewed this thread who are unlikely to ever buy from them. Not the kind of publicity I'd want. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted October 28, 2008 Share #35 Posted October 28, 2008 They may be as bad as all of you here say but working on the theory that there is no such thing as bad publicity they have had a huge amount of air play here for free Are you sure? Heathrow T5, Jade Goodie and Gerald Rattner are a few examples which come to mind of bad publicity being bad publicity.......... If anyone chooses to deal with Nicholas camera after reading the experiences above, more fool them! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted October 28, 2008 Share #36 Posted October 28, 2008 During a recent chat with a London Leica dealer the subject of N came up and the dealer started to fume. It turns out that N's 'warehouse' is the stock held by the other London dealers. The reason N wants you to return the next day is to give him time to locate the lens and badger the dealer into selling him the lens a trade price so he can sell it to you with a hefty margin. The good news is that the dealers in London are wise to him and will rarely deal with him. The moral of the story is search the other London shops who offer Leica gear and you'll eventually find it cheaper than at N but with the decent after sales service. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted October 28, 2008 Share #37 Posted October 28, 2008 Pete, that's funny, I suspected as much - or rather that he possibly advertises stuff he doesn't have on the basis that if someone asks, he'll try to source it. If true, that may also explain the delay mentioned in the post about about the Elmar, and also why his descriptions of condition are not always so accurate...........not to mention that there is hardly anything on display in the shop itself - as mentioned above I wasn't able to see any of the vast range of M 35mm lenses when I visited (first and last time!). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenneth Posted October 28, 2008 Share #38 Posted October 28, 2008 Also, I had my knuckles rapped and was yellow carded for mentioning another dealer who is not part of the "inner circle" so beware Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_x2004 Posted October 28, 2008 Share #39 Posted October 28, 2008 ...is to give him time to locate the lens and badger the dealer into selling him the lens a trade price so he can sell it to you... Theres not anything intrinsically wrong with that. You arent committed to buying so you should be sourcing at least a check price elsewhere anyway. If I am buying kit in Aus, I usually phone the Leica distributor so I know whether something is in stock before wasting dealers time. Something to watch out for on eBay with the less reputable HK guys is they often say an item is in stock, their eBay store might list 'X' number of items but in reality the only stock is at the HK Leica distributor, or it was in stock the last time the eBay trader checked with the distributer, last year, the year before maybe. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted October 29, 2008 Share #40 Posted October 29, 2008 Theres not anything intrinsically wrong with that. ... I respectfully disagree, Rob, because he's offering goods for sale to which he doesn't hold title (and he's not declaring it). Imho it's just a mucky little scam to pull unsuspecting punters into his grotty little shop. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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