Grays Of Westminster

Tried to buy a Nikon DF at Grays today. Assistant chirpily told me it wasn’t in stock — no suggestion of when it might come into stock or that it might be ordered. So I went along to the London Camera Exchange in the Strand and bought it straight off the shelf and had a nice chat to the very nice man who sold it to me. A couple of thousand quid gone right there. Draw your own conclusions.

A mecca for Nikon.

Grays is THE Nikon dealer in England! I personally don’t give a fig whether or not they sell other brands — it’s the service and prices you pay that counts to me. You can often dig around on the web & find some Nikon item cheaper but Grays is very competitive, possibly helped by their mail order business.
I visited April 2010 to buy a 16−35mm f4 VR lens & filter. I was served by a young guy who knew his stuff & didn’t bat an eyelid when my girlfriend came out with totally off-​the-​wall comments on totally unrelated topics!
What make Grays so different from the average Nikon Professional Dealer is not only the vast selection of accessories but the collection of 2^nd hand equipment. A delightful shop with a great atmosphere that exudes class (in the style sense — not social background). My transaction was conducted at a rather large bureau. Worth a visit! I left the premises feeling pride in owning Nikon equipment. I don’t recall having to press a bell — the door was opened for me ;)

OK, je nach Wechselkurs ist es nicht eben billig hier, seit Ende 2008 ist es aber wieder sehr angenehm. Hier gibt es ALLES, was irgendwie mit Nikon zu tun hat — und vor allem gibt es gefühlt auch ALLES als Gebrauchtversion in makelloser Qualität zum, naja, bezahlbaren Preis. Die Beratung ist spitze, die Auswahl auch und das Rückgaberecht etc. vorbildlich. Ach, könnte ich hier nur öfter einkaufen…

Nice shop but they’re a bit snooty. Whenever I go in there, even if I’ve got a grand burning a whole in my pocket, the fact that I’m a bit scruffy always seems to make them look down their noses at me.
And it’s expensive. They don’t really offer a lot of incentives to buy (i.e. no nice little discounts if you buy a body and a couple of lenses), which is a bit silly as they really should be luring in younger photographers and getting them hooked on their shop. Patronizing and condescending service is a great way to encourage people to shop online!