FAQ
Scroll down to see further in-store images
The following questions relate to many of the inquiries we receive from you via our email service and in store enquiries. To assist those who wish to find out more about us have a look at the list below to help answer any questions you may have, if it is not listed, please email us and we will be more than happy to answer it for you.
- Where are we?
- Holiday trading hours?
- Who are we?
- Who are our Managers ?
- Hours of trading?
- What is our street and postal address?
- How do we deliver your mechandise?
- Contact & Fax numbers?
- What are our delivery costs?
- What is our ABN?
- How do you pay for your mechandise?
- Which public holidays do we open on?
- Why do we provide a price range?
- The Environment
- Michaels - A Melbourne Institution Since 1916 - Pictorial History
- Privacy Policy
Where are we?
Michaels are situated in the heart of the city, on the corner of Elizabeth and Lonsdale Street Melbourne, Australia since 1916.
Who are we?
The Michael family have traded from this address at the corner of Elizabeth and Lonsdale Streets, Melbourne since 1916.
Managing Director is Peter Michael, whose great-grandfather erected the Michaels Building in 1916, and traded as a pawnbroker and gunsmith. In 1928, Peter's grand father opened a pharmacy in the building with limited stocks of photographic equipment. Peter's father, Alan joined the family pharmacy business in 1950, later graduating as a pharmacist himself.
Alan's fascination for photography led to the expansion of the photo department in the store. At the time, there were tight import restrictions on cameras from after the war until the late 1950's. By 1966, the business traded primarily as a pharmacy and expanded - taking over a significant amount of the ground floor of the building and basement storage.
By 1976, the photographic side represented 80 per cent of total turnover. The Michael family closed the pharmacy section to concentrate solely on photographics, eventually expanding to operate from three whole floors. The idea of one large store as opposed to several outlets is integral to the Michael's philosophy. The Michael family believes that dividing key personnel between different locations would lead to compromise in management resources, depth of stock holdings, and customer service.
Although situated in one location, the business size is the equivalent of 5 or so specialty camera outlets. It has achieved this status primarily due to the enormous range and depth of stock kept and the depth of knowledge of employees and their attention to providing a very high level of customer service.
In 1988, and again in 1997, Michaels was awarded the prestigious "Australian Photographic Dealer of the Year" award. The award is judged by a panel of industry experts, and is based on criteria such as staff expertise, range of stock, store cleanliness, quality of window displays and presentation and adherence to the business principles.
The Michaels building has expanded into the two adjacent buildings on Elizabeth Street and Lonsdale Street. The Michaels building now spands 2200sqm which has significantly enhanced and improved the retail and operational environments, in addition to the range and depth of products available.
Hours of trading?
Monday - Thursday 9.00am - 6.00pm
Friday 9.00am - 9.00pm
Saturday 9.00am - 5.00pm
Sunday 11.00am - 5.00pm
Public Holiday trading hours?
11am- 5pm (subject to change)
What is our street and postal address?
Street address is: Corner Of Elizabeth & Lonsdale Sts, Melbourne, Australia
Postal Address is: GPO BOX 2047, Melbourne, Australia 3001
Contact & Fax Numbers?
-
Phone Number: (03) 9672 2224
-
Main Fax Number: (03) 9600 0898
-
Insurance Department Fax Number: (03) 9670 0074
-
Administration Fax Number: (03) 9642 0046
Our Australian Business Number (ABN)
ABN 27 852 308 806
Open on the following public holidays
Australia Day
Easter Monday
Labour Day
Queens Birthday
Melbourne Cup Day
Boxing Daywe are closed on:
Christmas Day
New Years Day
Anzac Day
Good Friday
Who are our Managers?
Alan Michael - Chairman of the Board: info@michaels.com.au
Peter Michael - Managing Director peterm@michaels.com.au
Pravina Brown - Finance accounts@michaels.com.au
Bill Sotiropoulos - Purchasing bills@michaels.com.au
Cameron Levett - Sales - cameronl@michaels.com.au
Chris Culpepper - Developing & Processing chrisc@michaels.com.au
Ben Lee - Video Sales benl@michaels.com.au
John Mitchell - Camera Sales johnm@michaels.com.au
How do we deliver your merchandise?
Your merchandise is delivered by Australia Post E-Parcels .
Australia-Wide Deliveries : Michaels can deliver to any address in Australia (or overseas). Deliveries within Melbourne and inner suburbs are overnight. Deliveries elsewhere are usually 2 to 3 days. Overnight deliveries can be arranged to all locations in Australia if required.
Same day delivery Australia-Wide can be arranged for time critical requirements.
Note: If you are not home or at work to accept your merchandise, don't worry! Your delivery will not be left on your doorstep or nature strip. Instead a card will be left in your mail box or under your door indicating that your delivery may be collected at your nearest Australia Post office.
Overseas Deliveries : Overseas deliveries are usually forwarded by FedEx or UPS. If you have a preference for an alternative courier or mail service, please advise.
What are our delivery costs?
Cameras & Accessories $16.95*
Digital Files to Real Photos $6.95
Cokin Filters FREE DELIVERY on orders of more than $200*A special "flat rate" of $16.95 up to 5kg applies for purchases Australia-Wide.
For same day delivery, the rate will be dependent on the location and precise timing requirements. Contact us for the applicable delivery costs
How do you pay for your merchandise?
All major credit cards welcome. These include - Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, American Express (AMEX) & Diners Club.
(A 2.25% surcharge applies on AMEX and Diners Club)
We also wellcome -Cheque, Money Orders, Bank Transfer, BPAY
Why do we provide a price guide?
To provide an idea of the price of each product we provide a price guide. The actual price will be within the stated price range listed.
The Environment
Batteryback
Batteryback is a free battery recycling program for rechargeable batteries and household single use batteries.
michaels is a drop off location for old, flat or unwanted rechargeable and single use batteries.
Michaels - A Melbourne Institution Since 1916 - Pictorial History
Privacy Policy
michaels Camera-Video-Digital are retailers of imaging products to government, business and private market segments. We offer service that extends well beyond the initial purchase. To assist this michaels retains contact information and purchase / repair history along with travel information where required for duty free purchases.
michaels are dedicated to maintaining the privacy of customer personal information provided to us. In many cases michaels has built the relationship with our client’s across many years, and as such place great importance on the privacy and confidentiality of our customers personal information. michaels is committed to taking precautions to ensure all information remains confidential and is viewed only by michaels staff, unless deemed necessary or required by a law enforcement agency. All information btained will only be of a relevant nature to the transaction.
Further Contact
From time to time michaels may have a need to contact customers for reasons of customer service or future special offers. It is the policy of michaels both at the time of purchase and at any point in the future to give customers the opportunity to opt-out of any further contact from michaels Security
Personal information is only accessible by michaels staff trained in the michaels privacy procedures, and is stored in a secure location, encrypted for further security. In accordance with the National Privacy Principles we will not sell or pass information to a 3rd party without consent or unless it would be reasonably expected by the individual (in these cases we will inform the customer as a matter of course).When disposing of personal information it is the policy of michaels to shred or destroy any personal information given to us.
Anonymity
In many cases customers may have a need for details of an earlier purchase. michaels maintains a customer history for this reason.
For certain transactions a facility is available for an anonymous purchase if requested by a customer (unless otherwise stated by a law enforcement agency or a governing body). These transactions must be retail (GST Included) paid in full transactions, with the exception of transactions including the michaels Lifetime Guarantee, special orders or purchases over $1000 with the intention of using the Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS).
Internet & e-mail
michaels does not seek any information other than that voluntarily given through e-mail and the internet, these are not passed on to a 3rd party.
By default all web server log files capture some internet browser detail. michaels only use this information to manage our website design and diagnose problems.
For further information relating to the michaels Privacy Policy, please address all correspondence to the michaels Privacy Officer, GPO Box 2047, Melbourne 3000.