The impact of Maplins closing

Chalky

ICBM said:

robgilmo said:

They were expensive for most things.

They were, but sometimes the convenience of being able to walk to a shop five minutes away and buy something I needed for an on-the-spot job made the price irrelevant.

True, but business models based on a retail customer making a distressed purchase and willing to pay a high opportunity cost are less and less viable these days as customers generally know they can avoid that higher cost by delaying by what is often only a day or two.  Most are willing to accept the delay to save the money.

viz

Chalky said:

ICBM said:

robgilmo said:

They were expensive for most things.

They were, but sometimes the convenience of being able to walk to a shop five minutes away and buy something I needed for an on-the-spot job made the price irrelevant.

True, but business models based on a retail customer making a distressed purchase and willing to pay a high opportunity cost are less and less viable these days as customers generally know they can avoid that higher cost by delaying by what is often only a day or two.  Most are willing to accept the delay to save the money.

I’m not - I actually originally bought the cable I wanted from ebay, then drove off to PC World to try and buy it again as I was feeling impatient!

Phil_aka_Pip

jonnyburgo said:

They were the Halfords of electronics really, staff were just clueless salesmen. 

Thats a bit harsh. They were nowhere near as bad as Halfords. Halfords were not only clueless salesman bur arseholes to boot.

prowla

Phil_aka_Pip said:

jonnyburgo said:

They were the Halfords of electronics really, staff were just clueless salesmen. 

Thats a bit harsh. They were nowhere near as bad as Halfords. Halfords were not only clueless salesman bur arseholes to boot.

They were clueless and had an annoying knack of doing the "Are you sure you know what you're talking about, ... Sir???" routine when you would ask for something.

Like the time I went into the Guildford store and asked if they had Speakon connectors and got the reply "Do you mean speakER connectors, ... Sir???". (They actually did have Speakons there amongst the speakER connectors.)

Or the time I went to the Woking one whilst they were closing and one of the staff was deliberately ignoring me waiting at the till, until I asked if he would mind serving me, to which he replied "What do you expect - we're closing down?" (to which I replied congratulating him on his excellent customer service).

As for their ability to supply parts... I've been into a shop and asked if they stocked particular potentiometer and capacitors and had the "You can look online, ... Sir" routine; well then, there's no point in going to your bloomin' shop then, is there?

Oh, and then the prices 50% to double the normal price; I've been there to look for a USB case and walked next door to PC World and saved half.

So no, I don't bemoan the passing of Maplins.

Axe_meister

I just wish PC world would actually hold a good stock of obscure PC parts and more than a couple of main stream parts.

Nitefly

RobDavies said:

I still miss Tandy.  

Their christmas catalogue was a sight to behold for a ten year old me. 

Ah, a bit like the Littlewoods one, was it?  

Musicman20

Ah Tandy! Maplins has always been way to expensive for what often seemed like budget-low to medium priced electronics.

The thing is, if these shops have made a good living for the owners for years and years, then what else do they want? Things change, businesses close all the time, but we see highstreet shops as more of an issue as they are part of history in some respects. 

If you've had a good run at it, but it is time to move on, then so be it. Move on to another business. 

Amazon are a huge player, and I'm afraid not many stores can beat their price and amazing aftercare service. My beard trimmer played up after 18 months and they just sent me a new one, no problem.

Rocker

Back in the 1960s - early 1970s, electronic magazines featured builds consisting of discreet components soldered to Veroboard and the assembly cased in a box of some type. There were many companies listed where you could get the components sent to you. In return for a Postal Order.

I remember one supplier of components being interviewed in an issue of a magazine. He said that he did not fear new companies springing up to compete with him, rather his fear was for a new hobby to become popular. Thus taking the available cash of customers away from the electronics build business as well as reducing customers interest in electronics itself.

The loss of Maplins is felt by us who like to browse kit and form upgrade strategies or even to find out how to ditch SKY. It is not the same as looking at a picture on a screen. The price may be less but how can you determine the build quality without handling the item? And sending it back is fraught with difficulties as packaging needs to be obtained as who amongst us has the space to keep the original boxes?

Determing value for money by price alone is a recent phenomenon, aided and abetted by Internet forums. Customers are made to feel foolish or stupid for spending €50 on something in a bricks and mortar shop if the same or similar item is available online for €40. True you "save" €10 but at what cost? The likes of Maplins closing its doors perhaps for good is one cost. Music shops have gone. What next? Shops that sell guitars and musical instruments?????

scrumhalf

A couple of years back I needed some 9v battery clips. Maplin's price suggested that they were made of unicorn tears. I found a relatively local electronics shop (Cricklewood electronics, since you ask) and went down there.

One return bus ride and half a dozen assorted battery clips cost less than a pack of (I think) two from Maplin. Both shops occupied high street retail premises, so it wasn't a case of high street v online.

Just a shame that the blokes in the shop didn't wear those brown lab-coat things they used to wear years ago.

viz

scrumhalf said:

A couple of years back I needed some 9v battery clips. Maplin's price suggested that they were made of unicorn tears. I found a relatively local electronics shop (Cricklewood electronics, since you ask) and went down there.

One return bus ride and half a dozen assorted battery clips cost less than a pack of (I think) two from Maplin. Both shops occupied high street retail premises, so it wasn't a case of high street v online.

Just a shame that the blokes in the shop didn't wear those brown lab-coat things they used to wear years ago.

https://youtu.be/gi_6SaqVQSw

Rocker

scrumhalf said:

A couple of years back I needed some 9v battery clips. Maplin's price suggested that they were made of unicorn tears. I found a relatively local electronics shop (Cricklewood electronics, since you ask) and went down there.

One return bus ride and half a dozen assorted battery clips cost less than a pack of (I think) two from Maplin. Both shops occupied high street retail premises, so it wasn't a case of high street v online.

Just a shame that the blokes in the shop didn't wear those brown lab-coat things they used to wear years ago.

I presume that both shops are long gone by now. Maplins are for sure. At least you could go to either shops and buy what you needed. Not anymore though.

scrumhalf

Rocker said:

I presume that both shops are long gone by now. Maplins are for sure. At least you could go to either shops and buy what you needed. Not anymore though.

Cricklewood Electronics is still flourishing (well, it was when I last passed it a couple of months ago).

Axe_meister

Maybe it's time to go back to independent high street shops and specialist shops off the beaten track. I love an independent butcher, Our local independent gaming cafe (right next to Games workshop and is always full), or a richer sounds or the local hardware shop. The difference? They are staffed by people who know what they are talking about.

boogieman

Rocker said:

Back in the 1960s - early 1970s, electronic magazines featured builds consisting of discreet components soldered to Veroboard and the assembly cased in a box of some type. There were many companies listed where you could get the components sent to you. 

I remember buying Practical Electronics mag and building some of those projects. There was a company called Henry’s in Edgware Rd London that used to sell the PCB’s ready made too. They had a massive catalogue full of components and kits. I did an AM radio first but couldn’t get it working, so I took it in to their fault finding service to sort out any issues. I did a couple of guitar fx pedals after that, a fuzz and a treble booster. 

jpfamps

ICBM said:

robgilmo said:

They were expensive for most things.

They were, but sometimes the convenience of being able to walk to a shop five minutes away and buy something I needed for an on-the-spot job made the price irrelevant.

Me too.

I have to admit I couldn't really see the wisdom of having 5 large stores in walking distance from my workshop though.

prowla

Rocker said:

Back in the 1960s - early 1970s, electronic magazines featured builds consisting of discreet components soldered to Veroboard and the assembly cased in a box of some type. There were many companies listed where you could get the components sent to you. In return for a Postal Order.

I remember one supplier of components being interviewed in an issue of a magazine. He said that he did not fear new companies springing up to compete with him, rather his fear was for a new hobby to become popular. Thus taking the available cash of customers away from the electronics build business as well as reducing customers interest in electronics itself.

The loss of Maplins is felt by us who like to browse kit and form upgrade strategies or even to find out how to ditch SKY. It is not the same as looking at a picture on a screen. The price may be less but how can you determine the build quality without handling the item? And sending it back is fraught with difficulties as packaging needs to be obtained as who amongst us has the space to keep the original boxes?

Determing value for money by price alone is a recent phenomenon, aided and abetted by Internet forums. Customers are made to feel foolish or stupid for spending €50 on something in a bricks and mortar shop if the same or similar item is available online for €40. True you "save" €10 but at what cost? The likes of Maplins closing its doors perhaps for good is one cost. Music shops have gone. What next? Shops that sell guitars and musical instruments?????

Maplins prices were too high; I don't mind paying for something, but I don't like being ripped off.

If you wanted components you had to browse through their printed catalogue and then get someone to go to the components counter so you could ask them, only to be told to try looking online.

I did buy an air duster and some switch cleaner there once (and again in their closing down sale).

scrumhalf

boogieman said:

 There was a company called Henry’s in Edgware Rd London that used to sell the PCB’s ready made too.

There used to be a load of electronics shops at the bottom end of the Edgware Road. There was also Prrops on Tottenham Court Road, near Goodge Street station, which always had loads of stuff you never knew you needed.

Flanging_Fred

Occasionally I would need to buy something electrical and Maplins was close enough and convenient enough to work to bother going into town

Now it's gone I honestly can't think of any compelling reason why I would ever need to go into Crawley town centre ever again. After living in the area for almost 20 years, that's a pretty weird feeling.

ChuckManual

Didn't Maplins buy Tandy?

Our local Tandy store certainly became a Maplins.

Perhaps it was just a coincidence...?