UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Powered By Google Custom Search Vintage Radio and TV Service Data

Go Back   UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum > General Vintage Technology > Where To Get Sets and Parts

Notices

Where To Get Sets and Parts For discussions about swapmeets, rallies, NVCF and BVWS, car boot sales, antique and charity shops, dealers, newspaper adverts, the local tip and just about any other source of equipment (other than eBay).

Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 5th Mar 2018, 10:07 pm   #241
Heatercathodeshort
Dekatron
 
Heatercathodeshort's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Warnham, West Sussex. 10 miles south of DORKING.
Posts: 9,145
Default Re: Maplin stores

I bet a lot of unsold stock ends up in a skip. They will have to vacate premises in a given time and any extensions to clear stock will be very expensive. J.
Heatercathodeshort is offline  
Old 5th Mar 2018, 10:56 pm   #242
Techman
Dekatron
 
Techman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Lincolnshire, UK.
Posts: 4,985
Default Re: Maplin stores

I've just been talking to someone who went into the Lincoln branch yesterday to purchase one of those halogen heaters for his newly built 'shack'. He was hoping to pick up a reduced price bargain due to the forthcoming closure, but found that everything was normal price and was told by staff that they weren't closing down.
Techman is offline  
Old 5th Mar 2018, 11:21 pm   #243
Dai Corner
Hexode
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Newport, South Wales, UK.
Posts: 278
Default Re: Maplin stores

Being in administration doesn't inevitably lead to shutting down. In theory all or part of Maplin could be sold as a going concern. In practice, the staff probably know no more than we do about their future.
Dai Corner is offline  
Old 6th Mar 2018, 12:18 am   #244
Techman
Dekatron
 
Techman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Lincolnshire, UK.
Posts: 4,985
Default Re: Maplin stores

I agree. I think the staff were looking on the bright side and keeping hopeful that someone would come along and save the company and were not going to accept defeat just yet, and good for them, I say.

The down side was that my pal had to pay the full price for the heater, although he tells me he's very pleased with it and it's toasty in his new shed.
Techman is offline  
Old 6th Mar 2018, 9:27 am   #245
Guest
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Maplin stores

I just ordered "Click to collect" yesterday. I wanted to pay online, but when selecting either card or paypal, I got an error message saying: "Vendor terminated". I paid in store. When I told the chap at Maplin's he wouldn't believe me.
 
Old 6th Mar 2018, 10:36 am   #246
MrBungle
Dekatron
 
MrBungle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London, UK.
Posts: 3,687
Default Re: Maplin stores

Yes that's normal. When I worked for a payment processor, we pulled the plug on anyone pretty sharpish who might suddenly stop fulfilling orders on the basis that we didn't want to handle all the chargebacks. high chargeback rates make the processor look bad by not validating and authenticating their customers properly!

This isn't the same system as their retail POS payments so those will probably work.

I really wouldn't buy anything from them at the moment personally unless you fancy taking a risk. If you do it'll have potentially no warranty or refund rights if it goes wonky.
MrBungle is offline  
Old 6th Mar 2018, 10:49 am   #247
Goldie99
Heptode
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Boston, Lincolnshire, UK.
Posts: 992
Default Re: Maplin stores

Quote:
I really wouldn't buy anything from them at the moment personally unless you fancy taking a risk. If you do it'll have potentially no warranty or refund rights if it goes wonky.
That's why I would have expected Maplin to be discounting somewhat more at the moment, but no - I was in the Peterborough branch at the weekend, and no sign of any 'irresistible' pricing, or customers for that matter !
Goldie99 is offline  
Old 6th Mar 2018, 10:53 am   #248
Scimitar
Heptode
 
Scimitar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Gloucestershire, UK.
Posts: 719
Default Re: Maplin stores

Quote:
Originally Posted by MrBungle View Post
I really wouldn't buy anything from them at the moment personally unless you fancy taking a risk. If you do it'll have potentially no warranty or refund rights if it goes wonky.
If it is over £100 then Section 75 applies to credit card purchases. Under that figure, there is a discretionary chargeback scheme for debit cards, but no automatic right.
Scimitar is offline  
Old 6th Mar 2018, 11:00 am   #249
MrBungle
Dekatron
 
MrBungle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London, UK.
Posts: 3,687
Default Re: Maplin stores

Actually it's not quite that simple. If you buy it through a third party merchant, which most online stores including Maplin use, then your payment may not protected because the supplier part of the transaction is from the merchant, not the retailer. If you try and make a claim under section 75, the card issuer will likely decline it.

This is one reason the merchants cut them off because they know there's going to be short term chargebacks and long term section 75 claims against them.

It's a battleground. The legal protection is difficult to enforce. The card issuer and merchant are only concerned about keeping hold of the money, charging interest and top slicing fees, not the retailer or the customer.
MrBungle is offline  
Old 6th Mar 2018, 2:11 pm   #250
Scimitar
Heptode
 
Scimitar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Gloucestershire, UK.
Posts: 719
Default Re: Maplin stores

That is an important point, but I would hope that shop transactions were direct to the card processor. Certainly third party processing like Amazon, Paypal and all the others would remove the S75 protection except at the discretion of the card processor.
Scimitar is offline  
Old 6th Mar 2018, 5:16 pm   #251
MrBungle
Dekatron
 
MrBungle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London, UK.
Posts: 3,687
Default Re: Maplin stores

Well yes and no. Section 75 only covers breach of contract or misrepresentation so if you receive the goods in the shop and they break then the sale contract is completed. Also there was a loophole introduced in CCD section 75A which suggests that the borrower must make reasonable attempts to settle the claim with the provider of the goods. That is impossible then.

If you walk in there and buy something, don't expect a usable warranty or recourse from it.
MrBungle is offline  
Old 8th Mar 2018, 9:50 am   #252
John10b
Nonode
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Aberaeron, Ceredigion, Wales, UK.
Posts: 2,869
Default Re: Maplin stores

Visited store in Llanelli yesterday and bought some wire etc. Spoke to member of staff and he said “they are waiting for a buyer but it doesn’t look good”.
Lovely store and nice staff, such a pity.
Cheers
John
John10b is offline  
Old 8th Mar 2018, 5:04 pm   #253
saddlestone-man
Hexode
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK.
Posts: 391
Default Re: Maplin stores

I visited the Swindon Greenbridge shop today and it seemed to be business as normal. No discounts and still plenty of stock on the shelves. It will be interesting if stock gets replenished from their suppliers as it runs down.

This was always a very helpful and knowledgable store. Anything they didn't have in stock they would get within a few days and no hassle.

Last edited by saddlestone-man; 8th Mar 2018 at 5:06 pm. Reason: Adding to original text
saddlestone-man is offline  
Old 9th Mar 2018, 2:05 pm   #254
high_vacuum_house
Octode
 
high_vacuum_house's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Belper Derbyshire
Posts: 1,910
Default Re: Maplin stores

I went to the Rugby store today. It says in the window that there is a closing down sale and some things are 10% off and some things are 20% off. The shop assistants didn't pounce on me 2 feet into the shop which is very unusual.

I bought some multimeter leads there. Was £9.99 now £6.99 and the 3 watt white square wire wound resistors are now 10p each. There was only 1 or 2 other customers there and about 4 staff members wandering around so its rather obvious to see how they got themselves into a mess.

Christopher Capener
__________________
Interests in the collection and restoration of Tefifon players and 405 line television
high_vacuum_house is offline  
Old 9th Mar 2018, 5:39 pm   #255
vidjoman
Dekatron
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: East Sussex, UK.
Posts: 3,315
Default Re: Maplin stores

Just had an email giving at least 10% off everything and up to 50% off components.
vidjoman is offline  
Old 9th Mar 2018, 6:22 pm   #256
G8HQP Dave
Rest in Peace
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Solihull, West Midlands, UK.
Posts: 4,872
Default Re: Maplin stores

Just had the same email from Maplin.
G8HQP Dave is offline  
Old 9th Mar 2018, 6:27 pm   #257
G6Tanuki
Dekatron
 
G6Tanuki's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 13,953
Default Re: Maplin stores

Quote:
Originally Posted by vidjoman View Post
Just had an email giving at least 10% off everything and up to 50% off components.
That'll then mean their components are now 'only' twice the price of similar parts from RS/CPC/Farnell.
G6Tanuki is offline  
Old 9th Mar 2018, 6:36 pm   #258
MrBungle
Dekatron
 
MrBungle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London, UK.
Posts: 3,687
Default Re: Maplin stores

And you probably didn't need half the parts you bought in the maplin sale either
MrBungle is offline  
Old 9th Mar 2018, 7:19 pm   #259
David G4EBT
Dekatron
 
David G4EBT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Cottingham, East Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 5,737
Default Re: Maplin stores

Yes - just had the same e-mail.

Maplin is firmly in the hands of the joint adminstrators who now manage Maplin's affairs - not Maplins management.

10% of everything while stocks last.
10% off CCTV.
Up to 30% off Hobbies and Toys.
Up to 50% off components.

http://emailmarketing.maplin.co.uk/q...qY3m2bbYzBP/wv

It's the stores that have dragged them down. Too many of them, often in the wrong places, with high staff and premises costs and low footfall. It's evident from this thread - though we aren't by any means a representative cross section of Maplin's customer base - that the low stock levels of low value/slow turnover stock is a source of dissatisfaction. It's also clear that many would-be customers object to paying the higher prices associated with Maplin having local stores rather than just an internet presence.

Maybe if - instead of opening more stores they've have closed the less profitable/loss making ones and improved their website to boost their online turnover - they've have managed to survive. It must have been evident to them for some time that more and more of their business is via internet where - in terms of daily page views, visitors and pageviews per visitor - Maplin's level of activity compares well with CPC/Farnell and R.S:

Maplin:

Daily visitors 69.2K
Daily pageviews 187K
Pageviews per user 2.7

https://www.easycounter.com/report/maplin.co.uk

CPC/Farnell:

Daily visitors 29.8K
Daily pageviews 140K
Pageviews per user 4.7

https://www.easycounter.com/report/cpc.farnell.com

R.S online:

Daily visitors 63.4K
Daily pageviews 216K
Pageviews per user 3.4

https://www.easycounter.com/report/uk.rs-online.com

I doubt that the adminstrators will find a buyer - who would want Maplin, and what for?Just a possibility that someone might take on the online presence but I doubt it.

Too many others meeting the needs of that market, not to mention Ali Express, Bang-good et al.

Every day the shops stay open, the losses will be mounting. The sad thing is that the shops which will be making the highest losses will most likely be in areas of low disposable incomes with few employment opportunities for displaced Maplin staff.
__________________
David.
BVWS Member.
G-QRP Club member 1339.
David G4EBT is offline  
Old 9th Mar 2018, 7:30 pm   #260
evingar
Octode
 
evingar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Newbury, Berkshire, UK.
Posts: 1,770
Default Re: Maplin stores

Quote:
Originally Posted by David G4EBT View Post
Yes - just had the same e-mail.

I doubt that the adminstrators will find a buyer - who would want Maplin, and what for?Just a possibility that someone might take on the online presence but I doubt it.

I share your pessimism. No one will want the shops and most others in the sector have already got a good Web presence.

It's a shame, especially for those of us that remember them at their pinnacle, but I guess all companies have a finite lifespan .
__________________
Chris
evingar is offline  
Closed Thread

Thread Tools



All times are GMT +1. The time now is 3:24 am.


All information and advice on this forum is subject to the WARNING AND DISCLAIMER located at https://www.vintage-radio.net/rules.html.
Failure to heed this warning may result in death or serious injury to yourself and/or others.


Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2002 - 2023, Paul Stenning.