Maplin
 

Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If you
can tell the difference.

--
*I almost had a psychic girlfriend but she left me before we met *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Maplin
 

On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If you
can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

Maplin
 

In article ,
newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If you
can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

They were quite reasonable in their original mail order days,and possibly
when they had half a dozen shops in sensible areas - but when they went
"nationwide" including expensive central London sites anybody with any
sense could see itb wouldn't work.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England

Maplin
 

On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If
you
can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished
Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless
I am not even sure people HAVE hobbies any more...



--
€œBut what a weak barrier is truth when it stands in the way of an
hypothesis!€�

Mary Wollstonecraft

Maplin
 

On Wednesday, 28 February 2018 13:35:09 UTC, charles wrote:
In article ,
newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If you
can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

They were quite reasonable in their original mail order days,and possibly
when they had half a dozen shops in sensible areas - but when they went
"nationwide" including expensive central London sites anybody with any
sense could see itb wouldn't work.

I remmeber buying from them in the mid-late 70s from southend, then they had a shop in hammersmiths.
Problem is electronics as a hobby pretty much died out, trying to find something interesting to make was difficult as most things could be brought ready made from china. Now there is a bit of a comback with embedded systems but it';s all modules and if it;s not in a module the average students just can't connect things together.
I've just asked a student why he really needs 2 of these at £1.70 each
http://hobbycomponents.com/sensors/1...-module-ky-018

When I have these in stock (23p)
https://www.rapidonline.com/truopto-...sistor-58-0134

and he can freely take any resitor from our rack and same with connector. I'm betting he;ll say he doesn't know how to connect them up as a potential divider. :-

Maplin
 

"charles" wrote in message
...
In article ,
newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If
you
can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

They were quite reasonable in their original mail order days,and possibly
when they had half a dozen shops in sensible areas - but when they went
"nationwide" including expensive central London sites anybody with any
sense could see itb wouldn't work.

It's the same scenario that did for Jessops

tim

Maplin
 

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If
you
can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished
Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless
I am not even sure people HAVE hobbies any more...

yes they do

It's called facebook

tim

Maplin
 

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:20:49 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If
you can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small
tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless I am not even sure people HAVE hobbies
any more...

I'd suggest the internet was the first refuge for such places ... uk.d-i-
y being an exemplar.

Online fora - some attached to internet retailers have replaced the
bricks and mortar element, with Amazon/eBay mopping up the rest.

A hobby I have developed since the internet - home brewing (and
distilling) seems to be fairly healthy. But that's probably because a lot
of shops are run by people who *want* to run them and who appreciate the
sense in stocking whatchmecallits, oojimaflips and the like, as opposed
to the high value/high margin ****e that Maplin were trying to push.

I suspect there will be a period of some kind of consolidation where
owners (or renters) of big retail units that are starting to struggle
(Sainsburys, Tescos) start to act as landlords for more niche operations
(e.g. homebrewing) in an attempt to entice footfall into their domain.

there used to be a homebrew section in larger Boots

there is no more

tim

Maplin
 

On 28/02/2018 13:20, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us.
If you can tell the difference.

Toys R Us won't be missed - they really lost the plot.
Maplin was handy if you ever needed something small in a big hurry.

I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished
Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless
I am not even sure people HAVE hobbies any more...

They do, but it is certainly true that the median age of people with
non-trivial hobbies that require skill and patience is getting older.

There are very few younger members in astronomy, model engineering and
live steam preservation clubs these days. When I was young there were
enough of us to form a separate sub group from the adults. Now they are
an endangered species - preferring to mess around with their iThingys.

I swear there will be a new RSI disease of texter's thumb soon.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Maplin
 

On 28/02/2018 13:58, tim... wrote:

there used to be a homebrew section in larger Boots

there is no more

Wilco's still do though.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Maplin
 

On Wednesday, 28 February 2018 14:17:45 UTC, Martin Brown wrote:
On 28/02/2018 13:20, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us.
If you can tell the difference.

Toys R Us won't be missed - they really lost the plot.
Maplin was handy if you ever needed something small in a big hurry.

I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished
Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless
I am not even sure people HAVE hobbies any more...

They do, but it is certainly true that the median age of people with
non-trivial hobbies that require skill and patience is getting older.

There are very few younger members in astronomy, model engineering and
live steam preservation clubs these days.

But there are still some that take hobbies to the extreme but they are few in number, there was one on the early news or the oneshow IIRC last night.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-engl...ith-furby-toys

I don't believe what was said though in that he just got most bits from a skip, there's some serious kit there and he has more space than we have seem to have for such things so I don't see how his place can be a standard flat on mile end road.


When I was young there were
enough of us to form a separate sub group from the adults. Now they are
an endangered species - preferring to mess around with their iThingys.

We used to have a radio society and an electronics society now all we have is sports and islamic socities but don't tell Harry.
You never hear of studetns being drunk and causing noise anymore either.

I swear there will be a new RSI disease of texter's thumb soon.

Maplin
 

On 28/02/18 13:56, tim... wrote:


"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us.
If you
can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small
tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished
Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless
I am not even sure people HAVE hobbies any more...

yes they do

It's called facebook

Thats a hobby like smoking crack is a hobby...


tim





--
In todays liberal progressive conflict-free education system, everyone
gets full Marx.

Maplin
 

In article ,
Jethro_uk wrote:
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:58:08 +0000, tim... wrote:

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:20:49 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us.
If you can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small
tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless I am not even sure people HAVE
hobbies any more...

I'd suggest the internet was the first refuge for such places ...
uk.d-i-
y being an exemplar.

Online fora - some attached to internet retailers have replaced the
bricks and mortar element, with Amazon/eBay mopping up the rest.

A hobby I have developed since the internet - home brewing (and
distilling) seems to be fairly healthy. But that's probably because a
lot of shops are run by people who *want* to run them and who
appreciate the sense in stocking whatchmecallits, oojimaflips and the
like, as opposed to the high value/high margin ****e that Maplin were
trying to push.

I suspect there will be a period of some kind of consolidation where
owners (or renters) of big retail units that are starting to struggle
(Sainsburys, Tescos) start to act as landlords for more niche
operations (e.g. homebrewing) in an attempt to entice footfall into
their domain.

there used to be a homebrew section in larger Boots

there is no more

tim

Ah, I'd add Boots to that list of "I remember them". They've fallen into
the BHS trap of not really knowing what they are. Are they a pharmacist,
or a discount make-up store flogging the odd sandwich on the side ?

Whereas Lloyds seem a bit more focussed.

so focussed that they no longer stock lady's razors as SWMBO found last week

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England

Maplin
 

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:58:08 +0000, tim... wrote:

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:20:49 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us.
If you can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small
tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless I am not even sure people HAVE
hobbies any more...

I'd suggest the internet was the first refuge for such places ...
uk.d-i-
y being an exemplar.

Online fora - some attached to internet retailers have replaced the
bricks and mortar element, with Amazon/eBay mopping up the rest.

A hobby I have developed since the internet - home brewing (and
distilling) seems to be fairly healthy. But that's probably because a
lot of shops are run by people who *want* to run them and who
appreciate the sense in stocking whatchmecallits, oojimaflips and the
like, as opposed to the high value/high margin ****e that Maplin were
trying to push.

I suspect there will be a period of some kind of consolidation where
owners (or renters) of big retail units that are starting to struggle
(Sainsburys, Tescos) start to act as landlords for more niche
operations (e.g. homebrewing) in an attempt to entice footfall into
their domain.

there used to be a homebrew section in larger Boots

there is no more

tim

Ah, I'd add Boots to that list of "I remember them". They've fallen into
the BHS trap of not really knowing what they are. Are they a pharmacist,
or a discount make-up store flogging the odd sandwich on the side ?

Those three bits seem to have survived the attempts to diversify

It's all the rest that has disappeared

Of course all of the "homeware" type stuff appeared in the store when they
"merged" with Timothy Whites (extra points for remembering them - ISTR
there's a Dad's Army script where they get a mention)

tim

Maplin
 

On Wednesday, 28 February 2018 11:01:45 UTC, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If you
can tell the difference.


A lot of magazines have disappeared too.
Even DIY is no longer done by younger elements.

Maplin
 

"charles" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Jethro_uk wrote:
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:58:08 +0000, tim... wrote:

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:20:49 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us.
If you can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small
tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless I am not even sure people HAVE
hobbies any more...

I'd suggest the internet was the first refuge for such places ...
uk.d-i-
y being an exemplar.

Online fora - some attached to internet retailers have replaced the
bricks and mortar element, with Amazon/eBay mopping up the rest.

A hobby I have developed since the internet - home brewing (and
distilling) seems to be fairly healthy. But that's probably because a
lot of shops are run by people who *want* to run them and who
appreciate the sense in stocking whatchmecallits, oojimaflips and the
like, as opposed to the high value/high margin ****e that Maplin were
trying to push.

I suspect there will be a period of some kind of consolidation where
owners (or renters) of big retail units that are starting to struggle
(Sainsburys, Tescos) start to act as landlords for more niche
operations (e.g. homebrewing) in an attempt to entice footfall into
their domain.

there used to be a homebrew section in larger Boots

there is no more

tim

Ah, I'd add Boots to that list of "I remember them". They've fallen into
the BHS trap of not really knowing what they are. Are they a pharmacist,
or a discount make-up store flogging the odd sandwich on the side ?

Whereas Lloyds seem a bit more focussed.

so focussed that they no longer stock lady's razors as SWMBO found last
week

The problem with being a high street dispensing chemist is that your main
business is moving away from you as there is a trend for even larger
doctor's practices with pharmacies on site,

Plus the introduction of "electronic" repeat prescription has led to
competition from companies who will order your meds for you and deliver them
to you door.

tim

Maplin
 

In article , The Natural Philosopher
scribeth thus
On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If
you
can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished
Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless
I am not even sure people HAVE hobbies any more...



Yes they do computer games and playing with their smartfone;(....

--
Tony Sayer

Maplin
 

I wonder now who is going to supply those components and weird cables and
short wave radios and wireless doorbels that actually work etc.
The situation is that there is no hobbist electronic market of enough size
now and the scatter gun approach they have used to add to their stock seems
to have been ill conceived. I suspect a number of other companies which
supplied them may also be in trouble.
The whole thing has been killed by cheap imports on the internet, where you
can afford to buy stuff and even if its no good you probably did not spend
as much as getting into town ad going to maplin and buying it at top whack
prices.
Its a shame but there you are.
I'm rather surprised at Toys R Us, but of course they have been under
pressure in the states by imitators who do the toy stuff better than they
did.
You can never sit back and relax as competition will come along and steal
your business.
Sadly with Maplin there seems no business to steal any more.
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If you
can tell the difference.

--
*I almost had a psychic girlfriend but she left me before we met *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Maplin
 

In article , tim...
wrote:


"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:58:08 +0000, tim... wrote:

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:20:49 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R
Us. If you can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small
tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless I am not even sure people HAVE
hobbies any more...

I'd suggest the internet was the first refuge for such places ...
uk.d-i- y being an exemplar.

Online fora - some attached to internet retailers have replaced the
bricks and mortar element, with Amazon/eBay mopping up the rest.

A hobby I have developed since the internet - home brewing (and
distilling) seems to be fairly healthy. But that's probably because a
lot of shops are run by people who *want* to run them and who
appreciate the sense in stocking whatchmecallits, oojimaflips and the
like, as opposed to the high value/high margin ****e that Maplin were
trying to push.

I suspect there will be a period of some kind of consolidation where
owners (or renters) of big retail units that are starting to struggle
(Sainsburys, Tescos) start to act as landlords for more niche
operations (e.g. homebrewing) in an attempt to entice footfall into
their domain.

there used to be a homebrew section in larger Boots

there is no more

tim

Ah, I'd add Boots to that list of "I remember them". They've fallen
into the BHS trap of not really knowing what they are. Are they a
pharmacist, or a discount make-up store flogging the odd sandwich on
the side ?

Those three bits seem to have survived the attempts to diversify

It's all the rest that has disappeared

Of course all of the "homeware" type stuff appeared in the store when
they "merged" with Timothy Whites (extra points for remembering them -
ISTR there's a Dad's Army script where they get a mention)

you mean Timothy Whites and Taylors?

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England

Maplin
 

On 28/02/2018 15:18, Jethro_uk wrote:

Ah, I'd add Boots to that list of "I remember them". They've fallen into
the BHS trap of not really knowing what they are. Are they a pharmacist,
or a discount make-up store flogging the odd sandwich on the side ?

The other outdated store chain is WH smiths. They can possibly survive
at stations and airports but I suspect not on the high street.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

Maplin
 

On 28/02/2018 16:33, harry wrote:
On Wednesday, 28 February 2018 11:01:45 UTC, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If you
can tell the difference.


A lot of magazines have disappeared too.
Even DIY is no longer done by younger elements.

'Sfunny you say that. This afternoon I had to kill about 45 minutes and
had a B&Q close by. I decided to waste 45 mins in there. I was pretty
much the only one in the store, and whilst walking round my memory
drifted off to the late 80's, when on a Bank Holiday Monday you couldn't
get near the car park of the same store.

I know today was a cold and windy weekday but I'll bet there will be
plenty of spaces this coming Easter.

--
Chris B (News)

Maplin
 

The other outdated store chain is WH smiths. They can possibly survive
at stations and airports but I suspect not on the high street.

One imagines that high streets will become secondary shopping areas soon, and presumably rents will plummet.
No one wants to pay more than a quid for an hdmi lead, even if it is gold plated

Maplin
 

On 28/02/2018 18:11, Chris B wrote:


I know today was a cold and windy weekday but I'll bet there will be
plenty of spaces this coming Easter.


Toady was also old age perishers day where they can get 10% all purchases.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

Maplin
 

On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 16:26:08 -0000, "tim..."
wrote:



Ah, I'd add Boots to that list of "I remember them". They've fallen into
the BHS trap of not really knowing what they are. Are they a pharmacist,
or a discount make-up store flogging the odd sandwich on the side ?

Those three bits seem to have survived the attempts to diversify

It's all the rest that has disappeared

How many remember they once had a library service?

G.Harman

Maplin
 

In article ,
wrote:
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 16:26:08 -0000, "tim..."
wrote:



Ah, I'd add Boots to that list of "I remember them". They've fallen
into the BHS trap of not really knowing what they are. Are they a
pharmacist, or a discount make-up store flogging the odd sandwich on
the side ?

Those three bits seem to have survived the attempts to diversify

It's all the rest that has disappeared

How many remember they once had a library service?

In Guildford it was in Chapel Street

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England

Maplin
 

In article ,
tim... wrote:
The problem with being a high street dispensing chemist is that your
main business is moving away from you as there is a trend for even
larger doctor's practices with pharmacies on site,

Plus the introduction of "electronic" repeat prescription has led to
competition from companies who will order your meds for you and deliver
them to you door.

But was Boot's main source of income ever prescriptions? Unlike say a
local chemist?

--
*I wished the buck stopped here, as I could use a few*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Maplin
 

On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 10:52:46 -0800 (PST)
stuart noble wrote:


The other outdated store chain is WH smiths. They can possibly
survive at stations and airports but I suspect not on the high
street.

One imagines that high streets will become secondary shopping areas
soon, and presumably rents will plummet. No one wants to pay more
than a quid for an hdmi lead, even if it is gold plated

Some people do want to spend lots more, because they believe that
cables assembled by pixies on the confluence of ley lines have less
jitter, which they are sure they can sense.

Maplin
 

On 01/03/2018 01:39, Rob Morley wrote:
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 10:52:46 -0800 (PST)
stuart noble wrote:


The other outdated store chain is WH smiths. They can possibly
survive at stations and airports but I suspect not on the high
street.

One imagines that high streets will become secondary shopping areas
soon, and presumably rents will plummet. No one wants to pay more
than a quid for an hdmi lead, even if it is gold plated

Some people do want to spend lots more, because they believe that
cables assembled by pixies on the confluence of ley lines have less
jitter, which they are sure they can sense.


But these people buy mail order from Russ Andrews rather than buying the
inferior £100 gold plated leads from PC World. Only Russ's leads give
clear improvements in image quality, with less noise, finer colour
detail, more detailed sound and better three-dimensional resolution.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

Maplin
 

On 28/02/18 18:52, stuart noble wrote:


The other outdated store chain is WH smiths. They can possibly survive
at stations and airports but I suspect not on the high street.

One imagines that high streets will become secondary shopping areas soon, and presumably rents will plummet.

I think that is absolutely true. Town centers are no longer places where
inmprtant shops a they are leisure areas with cafes, bookshops, and
showcases for products that half the time are bought online anyway.

I use bookshops a bit, and cafes. And the chemists (old age sucks) but
thats about it for 'going into town'

If I actually want to buy, its amazon 99 times out of 100, or some other
online store.


The internet has made 'mail order' so amzingly simple that unless you
actually need to touch and feel te goods, there is no point in shops at all.
And te 'customer feedback;' is pricelesss. I was browsing to see if I
coiuld get a stainless steel replacement for te £30 17l tescos microwave
that has rusted in two years

Model after mnodel 'crap, dont buy this, it doesn't work'. Finally a
stainless Bosch 'crap dont buy, rusted in two years IN SPITE OF BEING
"STAINLESS"'.

In the end I really dont have an option - another £30 one from tescos or
bite the bullet, rearrange the kitchen, move the microwave to where
there is room for a 20l one and buy a semi professional one designed for
commercial restaurant and cafe use. And pay £300...

Point is, I wouldnt have FOUND those options in a shop.


No one wants to pay more than a quid for an hdmi lead, even if it is gold plated

And even £2.86 p&p is cheaper than putting diesel in the car and driving
4 miles into town.


--
"The great thing about Glasgow is that if there's a nuclear attack it'll
look exactly the same afterwards."

Billy Connolly

Maplin
 

On 28/02/18 19:50, wrote:
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 16:26:08 -0000, "tim..."
wrote:



Ah, I'd add Boots to that list of "I remember them". They've fallen into
the BHS trap of not really knowing what they are. Are they a pharmacist,
or a discount make-up store flogging the odd sandwich on the side ?

Those three bits seem to have survived the attempts to diversify

It's all the rest that has disappeared

How many remember they once had a library service?

Still do. And they rent DVDs.

good way to populate that entertainment server..Hi, HandBrake!

Mind you I found some DVDs it wouldnt rip - all the Riddick series.

Had to 'record' them while playing with VLC....



G.Harman



--
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign,
that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."

Jonathan Swift.

Maplin
 

On 28/02/2018 18:52, stuart noble wrote:


The other outdated store chain is WH smiths. They can possibly survive
at stations and airports but I suspect not on the high street.

One imagines that high streets will become secondary shopping areas soon, and presumably rents will plummet.
No one wants to pay more than a quid for an hdmi lead, even if it is gold plated

It is already happening but the rents are not falling - the shops are
going vacant at a scary rate even in once prosperous market towns. There
are only so many charity and mobile phone shops the rest are empty.

There was a noticeable loss of businesses last quarter day. This is in
an area where it was previously not too bad in the earlier recessions.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Maplin
 

On Wednesday, 28 February 2018 13:59:21 UTC, tim... wrote:
"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:20:49 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If
you can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small
tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless I am not even sure people HAVE hobbies
any more...

I'd suggest the internet was the first refuge for such places ... uk.d-i-
y being an exemplar.

Online fora - some attached to internet retailers have replaced the
bricks and mortar element, with Amazon/eBay mopping up the rest.

A hobby I have developed since the internet - home brewing (and
distilling) seems to be fairly healthy. But that's probably because a lot
of shops are run by people who *want* to run them and who appreciate the
sense in stocking whatchmecallits, oojimaflips and the like, as opposed
to the high value/high margin ****e that Maplin were trying to push.

I suspect there will be a period of some kind of consolidation where
owners (or renters) of big retail units that are starting to struggle
(Sainsburys, Tescos) start to act as landlords for more niche operations
(e.g. homebrewing) in an attempt to entice footfall into their domain.

there used to be a homebrew section in larger Boots

there is no more

tim

Supermarkets are all about avoiding anything niche. If they act as landlords it'll be to sellers of all the most popular lines.


NT

Maplin
 

On Thursday, 1 March 2018 08:57:29 UTC, Brian Gaff wrote:
I wonder now who is going to supply those components and weird cables and
short wave radios and wireless doorbels that actually work etc.
The situation is that there is no hobbist electronic market of enough size
now and the scatter gun approach they have used to add to their stock seems
to have been ill conceived. I suspect a number of other companies which
supplied them may also be in trouble.
The whole thing has been killed by cheap imports on the internet, where you
can afford to buy stuff and even if its no good you probably did not spend
as much as getting into town ad going to maplin and buying it at top whack
prices.
Its a shame but there you are.
I'm rather surprised at Toys R Us, but of course they have been under
pressure in the states by imitators who do the toy stuff better than they
did.
You can never sit back and relax as competition will come along and steal
your business.
Sadly with Maplin there seems no business to steal any more.
Brian

no-one buys shortwave radios, except the occasional old timer, for whom there are plenty on ebay. The other things you mention are mostly bought online. As for electronic parts, we are so awash in scrap electronics now that it's mostly not necessary to buy anything, a hobbyist can keep a box of boards and be moderately well supplied.

And of course being able to buy stuff for less than 1/10th the price is a good thing.


NT

Maplin
 

On Thu, 1 Mar 2018 08:22:24 +0000, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

On 28/02/18 19:50, wrote:
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 16:26:08 -0000, "tim..."
wrote:



Ah, I'd add Boots to that list of "I remember them". They've fallen into
the BHS trap of not really knowing what they are. Are they a pharmacist,
or a discount make-up store flogging the odd sandwich on the side ?

Those three bits seem to have survived the attempts to diversify

It's all the rest that has disappeared

How many remember they once had a library service?

Still do. And they rent DVDs.

Are we talking about the same thing?
The Boots library service I mentioned where subscribers could obtain
books from some Boots shops
finished in 1966.

There is a library bearing their name at Nottingham University
presumably because of local connections and maybe sponsorship at some
time, but that isn't quite the same thing.

G.Harman

Maplin
 

On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 05:49:36 -0800 (PST), whisky-dave
wrote:

I've just asked a student why he really needs 2 of these at £1.70 each
http://hobbycomponents.com/sensors/1...-module-ky-018

When I have these in stock (23p)
https://www.rapidonline.com/truopto-...sistor-58-0134

and he can freely take any resitor from our rack and same with connector. I'm betting he;ll say he doesn't know how to connect them up as a potential divider. :-


The answer being they cannot solder and can only use a breadboard

--

Maplin
 

On Thursday, 1 March 2018 09:41:54 UTC, The Other Mike wrote:
The answer being they cannot solder

Health and safety innit

Owain

Maplin
 

On 01/03/2018 02:11, alan_m wrote:
On 01/03/2018 01:39, Rob Morley wrote:
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 10:52:46 -0800 (PST)
stuart noble wrote:


The other outdated store chain is WH smiths. They can possibly
survive at stations and airports but I suspect not on the high
street.

One imagines that high streets will become secondary shopping areas
soon, and presumably rents will plummet. No one wants to pay more
than a quid for an hdmi lead, even if it is gold plated

Some people do want to spend lots more, because they believe that
cables assembled by pixies on the confluence of ley lines have less
jitter, which they are sure they can sense.


But these people buy mail order from Russ Andrews rather than buying the
inferior £100 gold plated leads from PC World. Only Russ's leads give
clear improvements in image quality, with less noise, finer colour
detail, more detailed sound and better three-dimensional resolution.


Its all a joke really..

What HiFi did a review of a blueray player and stated it had the same
stuff in it as the more expensive version of it but it didn't sound as
good. This despite it not having any analogue outputs so the sound was
being done by the amp and not the player.
HiFi nuts believe them.

Maplin
 

In article , Brian Gaff
wrote:
I wonder now who is going to supply those components and weird cables and
short wave radios and wireless doorbels that actually work etc. The
situation is that there is no hobbist electronic market of enough size
now and the scatter gun approach they have used to add to their stock
seems to have been ill conceived. I suspect a number of other companies
which supplied them may also be in trouble. The whole thing has been
killed by cheap imports on the internet, where you can afford to buy
stuff and even if its no good you probably did not spend as much as
getting into town ad going to maplin and buying it at top whack prices.
Its a shame but there you are. I'm rather surprised at Toys R Us, but of
course they have been under pressure in the states by imitators who do
the toy stuff better than they did. You can never sit back and relax as
competition will come along and steal your business. Sadly with Maplin
there seems no business to steal any more. Brian

There's Rapid Electronics, CPC, RS and then ebay. What more do you want?

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England

Maplin
 

In article , The Natural Philosopher
wrote:
On 28/02/18 18:52, stuart noble wrote:


The other outdated store chain is WH smiths. They can possibly survive
at stations and airports but I suspect not on the high street.

One imagines that high streets will become secondary shopping areas
soon, and presumably rents will plummet.

I think that is absolutely true. Town centers are no longer places where
inmprtant shops a they are leisure areas with cafes, bookshops, and
showcases for products that half the time are bought online anyway.

I use bookshops a bit, and cafes. And the chemists (old age sucks) but
thats about it for 'going into town'

If I actually want to buy, its amazon 99 times out of 100, or some other
online store.


The internet has made 'mail order' so amzingly simple that unless you
actually need to touch and feel te goods, there is no point in shops at
all. And te 'customer feedback;' is pricelesss. I was browsing to see if
I coiuld get a stainless steel replacement for te £30 17l tescos
microwave that has rusted in two years

Model after mnodel 'crap, dont buy this, it doesn't work'. Finally a
stainless Bosch 'crap dont buy, rusted in two years IN SPITE OF BEING
"STAINLESS"'.

In the end I really dont have an option - another £30 one from tescos or
bite the bullet, rearrange the kitchen, move the microwave to where
there is room for a 20l one and buy a semi professional one designed for
commercial restaurant and cafe use. And pay £300...

Point is, I wouldnt have FOUND those options in a shop.


No one wants to pay more than a quid for an hdmi lead, even if it is
gold plated

And even £2.86 p&p is cheaper than putting diesel in the car and driving
4 miles into town.


9 miles each way for me.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England

Maplin
 

In article , Martin Brown
wrote:
On 28/02/2018 18:52, stuart noble wrote:


The other outdated store chain is WH smiths. They can possibly survive
at stations and airports but I suspect not on the high street.

One imagines that high streets will become secondary shopping areas
soon, and presumably rents will plummet. No one wants to pay more than
a quid for an hdmi lead, even if it is gold plated

It is already happening but the rents are not falling - the shops are
going vacant at a scary rate even in once prosperous market towns. There
are only so many charity and mobile phone shops the rest are empty.

Round here the town seems to be filled with clothing shops for women,

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England