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Post by seroxatmad on Dec 12, 2008 12:12:58 GMT
Is it just me but is maplin completely shit
I drove 45 miles to my nearest. I could have spent less by paying the posting and ordering from rapid or RS...will i ever learn
John
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Post by PinkFloyd on Dec 12, 2008 12:27:25 GMT
I haven't used Maplin for ages John..... almost everything I have ever bought from them packed in, their soldering irons are just rubbish and burn out after a few months use.... I much prefer Rapid.
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Post by prawn on Dec 12, 2008 21:38:39 GMT
You are spot on Seroxatmad. A couple of months ago I was short of a couple of resistors to complete a project I was keen to finish. I checked the Maplin web site to see whether the store in Leicester (15 miles away from me) had any in stock. This confirmed they were holding several hundred in stock so I duly drove there waited in a queue for an interminable time and then put in my tiny order. I waited and waited - after about 10 minutes i was told "sorry mate we can't find them" I told them they had loads in stock and was given the reply "you don't expect us to go all through those boxes do you?" I buggered off quickly - if I'd stayed any longer I'd probably have ended up with a GBH conviction. Maplin - YOU STINK!
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Post by puffin on Aug 13, 2009 7:46:42 GMT
I don't understand what is going on with Craplin's. They have opened quite a few new stores in the south, but who are their target market? I get regular email sale details and their prices just keep going down.
As a resource for an electronics enthusiast they are complete shite. Why bother to hold any components in-store when they often only have 1 or more commonly 3, THREE! for FFS of anything.
I was on holiday last week and went into their Plymouth store. I wanted some BC550's and 560's. They had ONE BC550. I bought some Wima's as well. When they came back from "the magic place that exists only in Maplin's mind" I was told "it is not there". What a joke.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2009 9:51:21 GMT
Judging by my experience with a local Jaycar store last Sunday, when they didn't have any 100K MF resistors left, and only a couple of 2,200uF 25v electros, and having to supply 10u 63V instead of 25V electros, I came to the conclusion it is most likely due to lazy staff and poor local management. The store that I went to, had been for some years a pain in the arse to find things, because they were scattered everywhere, and not like most other stores layout wise. I had more difficulty than usual finding things at this particular store this time, as everything had been moved around since a visit there a couple of weeks earlier. It turned out that HQ managers had visited the store and made them reorganise their layout ! I then realised that things were now organised very much like they were in the other stores ! SandyK
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Post by andy on Sept 24, 2009 20:09:06 GMT
Craplins mail order isnt to bad, if you order cable you tend to get a bit extra, even in expensive stuff. I wouldnt bother going into the store unless i had another reason to go into town!
RS is much better but you have to order a load of some components to get the one you are after!
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Post by guadixman on Jan 16, 2010 13:23:02 GMT
Maplins has changed but their mail order has always come up trumps for me.
Just before Christmas (and I do mean just before Christmas) I ordered by phone a 100M drum of sat. cable - it was delivered free of charge in 2 days and I used a c/card with a different delivery address than the card - no problem.
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Post by andy on Jan 16, 2010 21:46:52 GMT
It is just a shame that there cable and connector selection is so poor these days, i tend to find that my cable and connectors now come from Canford, free delivery if your order os over £40 as well.
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Post by guadixman on Jan 18, 2010 15:22:54 GMT
Andy, I take your point but it's easy to loose sight of the fact that those who weild a soldering iron in the UK are an endangered species.
When I was visiting Germany just over 10 years ago I was stunned by how many Hi-Fi DIY mags were on the market.
There was at least one specialist speaker mag and 3 other generalist DIY mags as well and that's without ordinary hi-fi mags.
Not to hard to understand - engineering is looked upon as reputable and well paid employment - it has social standing, coupled with the fact that it is German industry that paid for the construction and running costs of the technical schools, not the general tax payer.
I used to be a keen cyclist and I thought it incredible that in Germany there are so many different types of bicycle that are trailblazers in so many different ways.
The Germans hav'nt forgotten how to be creative and of course it helps to live in a country where initiative is supported.
So, how can Maplin make a business case to keep on stocking items that don't sell in numbers to make them cost effective and they have to be cost effective to stay in business.
When the housing market collapsed in 1990 it was sad to see so, many small efficient businesses go to the wall. Small firms where enthusiasts could buy sheet metals of alu/s/steel etc in small quantities and have metal plates bent / shaped for a reasonable price - all gone much to the delight of the post-menapause Thatcher.
As most business now is 'big business' they don't see a need to supply a piddling little market for hi-fi geeks. That's why I buy virtually everything from places like USA/Taiwan/Germany.
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Post by andy on Jan 18, 2010 21:19:17 GMT
I would agree that any sort of electronics hobying has just about vanished in the UK. And it is a huge shame (it makes it a bugger for getting hold of parts). I have noticed that it is very easy to get any type of LED and resitors but anything else....well....
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Post by seroxatmad on Jan 27, 2010 17:34:58 GMT
Called in to craplins the other day and i noticed they dont sell the catalogues and have nothing to look through if u wanted say a resitor etc - guess you have to use the internet to get the order codes
Only went because i wanted a few meters of cable.
P.S
I ordered some heatsinks from farnell and i did not have to pay postage and there was no minimum order value.
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Post by puffin on Jan 27, 2010 19:18:27 GMT
[quote author=seroxatmad board=barry thread=3677 post=6
I ordered some heatsinks from farnell and i did not have to pay postage and there was no minimum order value.[/quote]
Yea, but they add v.a.t Grrrrrrrr
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