maplin, Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Keplar240B

Business
Crunch time: Maplin in talks to sell the business

Ailing gadget souk Maplin is locked in eleventh-hour talks with a potential buyer of the chain but the company may be placed into the hands of an administrator if an agreement cannot be reached.

Private equity owner Rutland Partner, which bought Maplin for £85m in 2014, is understood to be negotiating with interested parties including Edinburgh Woollen Mill, according to Sky. PWC is managing the process, we are told.

bit of gap market in they go in terms of a brick and mortar component store or is it all online now.


https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/02/20/crunch_time_maplin_in_talks_to_sell_the_business/

Capt'n Midnight

No gap in the market.

Maplin started out as a way to provide low cost components to hobbyists because the competition were selling overpriced tat or had minimum orders.

Guess what they became ?

Their main business nowadays was selling generic boxes. Components were a sideline.

Today you can order components off the web.

But don't by cheapo mains gear from random Chinese sites or non-reputable sites.

Places like radionics or farnell / cpcireland.farnell.com will deliver to your door for about the cost of busfare or parking.

Amalgam

hackaday.com running a feature on the sale, some interesting links and comments, including old catalogues with their lovely, 'David Foss' inspired covers.

Maplin For Sale by Jenny List

https://hackaday.com/2018/02/24/maplin-for-sale/

Capt'n Midnight

I like the original idea of Maplin. I love the cover art.

I don't like what they've become.

I bought a USB to serial adapter in a charity shop. Hey it's for charity, and there is the possibility that it might be a real one, but no it was a Maplin brand. And yes it was a generic PL2302 clone.

It's like Belkin*. Random generic lowest cost OEM stuff rebadged and up-priced.



*the Belkin 54g USB WiFi adaptor had 5 different chipsets depending on when you bought them. - Assume you can get the same for 50% cheaper elsewhere.

893bet

Maplin quoted me 60 euro plus for a vga to hdmi adapter two weeks ago.

No thanks,

ScouseMouse

I'm doing an electronics course in college. I needed spares so went to maplins in blanch. Have to say it was awful. I needed some spare patch boards and wire and stuff. Prices were silly and availability poor.

I couldn't get what I needed.

Very disappointed

ED E

Farnell wipe the floor with craplin.

Rip-off merchants.

I have better stock in a pile of salvage boards than they have and I can get the components I want from them and not just whatever happened to be in the drawer at the time.
Last thing I bought there the teller was shocked I expected them to validate their stock before sale. 1 x 10kΩ resistor for the price of 10 when I asked for a 1kΩ.

DecTenToo

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-43223175

bnt

They're going the way of Radio Shack in the USA. When you increase prices to compensate for low sales, it's only a matter of time.

ozmo

bnt wrote: »

They're going the way of Radio Shack in the USA. When you increase prices to compensate for low sales, it's only a matter of time.

Be very sad to see them go - there are very few shops in the malls left that are not handbag/shoes/food related

Its always has been a pricey place to shop - but I have bought many a gizmo there on their sales.

https://news.sky.com/story/maplin-enters-administration-with-2500-jobs-at-risk-11270699

I never considered them an electronics store. They're a plug and play store operated by spoofers who can't say "I don't know".

I have one next door and I go in every now and again to be reminded why I don't shop there.

6x the going price for solar. 10x the going rate for semiconductors. 2x the advertised price for being Irish.

The stuff they sell is generally the low end of the market. Honestly most of the time I need something fast I look online, see they only have 1 almost appropriate thing then I give up and find 5 more suitable in my e-waste

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.maplin.ie/clearance-shop Clearance and Pre-Owned stock :rolleyes:
https://www.maplin.ie/p/connectix-cat6a-sftp-ethernet-patch-cable-05m-green-a21rb €11.95 (OK you get a €5 voucher off €10 spend ?)

I'm sure they buy them for less than the Connectix retail price of £1.13 https://www.cablemonkey.co.uk/cat6-ethernet-cables/9352-cat6-snagless-booted-lsoh-utp-rj45-patch-leads.html

We are well used to the Paddy Tax, when prices are double, but adding a zero to the end is a bit rich.

In this case if you needed a network cable now, best advice is get one in a pound shop now to tide you over and order online/shop around for a decent one. (Cat 6 is over kill even for gigabit unless you have long runs and run through multiple racks )

Argos is a good substitute for a lot of the boxes that Maplin sell.

kurtainsider

I'm forever buying cable, adapters, gadgets on the internet. It wouldn't have occurred to me to buy them in Maplin due to their crazy prices. I can't understand how they managed to survive as long as they did.
The day of buying a cable for 10c in China and selling it in your high street store for €10 is gone.

The only place that'll sell cable by the half meter...:rolleyes:

..and another thing. No DC switches!

I wonder do they sell much AC electronics.

Capt'n Midnight

https://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2018/02/28/maplin_electronics_administration/

If there's a fire sale the prices might come down to the same as everyone else's.

1 - Actual electronics shoved in to a corner and no staff to help with anything technical (certainly in my experience anyway)

2 - Shelves filled with cheap Chinese tat no-one wants .... not even at Xmas

3 - Very expensive smart home and IOT guff no-one wants

4 - Massively marked up cables and connectors

5 - last year's technology priced higher than the current model

Management are fully to blame for this. The business needed to be reformed to compete with eBay, Amazon and the likes of CPC Farnell but they sat there with high staff and store leasing costs until it finally caught up with them.

Sad but not unexpected in the slightest.

Nothing new here either,

There used to be a Tandy Radio Shack on South Great Georges Street. Only went there a few times as it was way overpriced, also fairly empty too.

ozmo

Maplins are not always empty though...at least in Blanch anytime I’ve bought anything I’ve had to queue for the checkouts...

They are expensive and the stock they carry makes me scratch my head (is a half isle of flashing disco lights really warranted? Do they sell that many fog machines?)

The center kiosk where they demo stuff like 3D printers and toys really needs to be expanded- that’s where they could really differentiate from amazon and Argos.

Same with the good cctv displays they have setup- the live demos is a good way to sell this stuff.

ozmo

Maplins closing sale started today

Most stuff just 20% off but electrical components 50% off

Overcharging to the bitter end. :pac:

Harryhumanity

Such for a necessary part....yes.
I can wait....not a chance.

Ridiculously overpriced... everything!!!

fritzelly

They might of carried a massive stock but you paid a massive premium for that odd part
Used to groan when looking for parts and the local shops would say best bet is Maplin's

Keplar240B

closing down sale announced

ozmo

Went again today to see if there were any further discounts - but nah - same 10 and 20% off they had 10 days ago when sale started - same stuff on the shelves - people know its still over priced.

Eg. DJI Mavic pro rrp. €999 price set by DJI and Maplins sell it "On Sale" for €1070? I think it was.

Nothing is actually discounted when you consider you aren't getting your warranty.

Capt'n Midnight

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Nothing is actually discounted when you consider you aren't getting your warranty.

when you compare to prices elsewhere.

https://www.maplin.ie/specialoffers

CLOSING DOWN SALE Everything must go!
At least 10% off everything

Prices shown online already include discount.

fritzelly

Thanked the post above even tho a warranty is still a warranty, but having to chase this thru the individual companies will be a major PITA if it breaks a week later

ozmo

fritzelly wrote: »

Thanked the post above even tho a warranty is still a warranty, but having to chase this thru the individual companies will be a major PITA if it breaks a week later

I wouldn’t trust Maplin when they were open with returns anyway- I would go straight to manufacturer.

Last week I saw someone very stressed because he wanted return a dead external hard disk but they wouldn’t let him destroy it to secure his data as it would invalidate the warranty. He didn’t want maplin looking through his stuff if they could fix it.

I myself returned a pos cctv system that firmware update killed- I put it in bubble wrap and took photos as I handed it over(it looked like new). It came back weeks later with note “no fault found” and had a big boot mark on it squashing and dinting the case and screws missing- they insisted I take it- they only accepted me not taking it anyway when I showed them there was a load of stuff wrattling around loose inside the case now and I told them it was an electrical danger.

Quiksilver

The closing down sale seems to be a bit of a sham at the moment, went in to get some solder tip cleaner, marked 14.99 (or so) with all the sign up about the discounts and their conversion charts showing what discounted prices are i taught grand i'll get it. When i went to the checkout i was told the price was 14.99, apparently item that were marked after 20th of march already have the discount applied. How was i supposed to know that, why have all the signs up showing discounts, seems very sketchy.

ShRT

Yup, went to the local one the other day and they tried to over charge me for a gas iron tip. Had to bring the guy at the counter over to where they had the hanger with the same barcode under the 50% off sign.

ozmo

ShRT wrote: »

Yup, went to the local one the other day and they tried to over charge me for a gas iron tip. Had to bring the guy at the counter over to where they had the hanger with the same barcode under the 50% off sign.

Went in myself looking for a soldering iron as my favorite one I’ve been using for years just died and I cannot get a new element for it- going get a decent one but the hakko 888d they had at 220 (180 closing sale price) is way overpriced- even in uk maplins the no-sale price was 135 euros.

Decided I’m going get a ts100 they seem to be all the rage at with the electronics community the moment at a third that price and topping all the reviews.

https://m.banggood.com/MINI-TS100-Digital-OLED-Programable-Interface-DC5525-Soldering-Iron-Station-Sapphire-Version-p-1211661.html?rmmds=search


Just trying find a place that sells one with the tips I like included and if I’m not waiting weeks delivery that would be a bonus.

Keplar240B

How long are closing sale go on for?

ShRT

ozmo wrote: »

Went in myself looking for a soldering iron as my favorite one I’ve been using for years just died and I cannot get a new element for it- going get a decent one but the hakko 888d they had at 220 (180 closing sale price) is way overpriced- even in uk maplins the no-sale price was 135 euros.

Decided I’m going get a ts100 they seem to be all the rage at with the electronics community the moment at a third that price and topping all the reviews.

https://m.banggood.com/MINI-TS100-Digital-OLED-Programable-Interface-DC5525-Soldering-Iron-Station-Sapphire-Version-p-1211661.html?rmmds=search


Just trying find a place that sells one with the tips I like included and if I’m not waiting weeks delivery that would be a bonus.

Iron
https://m.ebay.ie/itm/100-400-C-TS100-Mini-Portable-Digit-Soldering-Iron-PR-I-Tip-DC5525-Power-Supply/372103567642

Tips
https://m.ebay.ie/itm/Original-Replacement-Solder-Tip-For-TS100-Digital-LCD-Soldering-Iron/182720381090?hash=item2a8afbc0a2:m:mHLNJngV_mBekmLJoJfU3jA

Not as cheap as from China direct but should be quick enough from within the EU

ScouseMouse

Went back upto maplins in Blanch to see if there was anything reasonable. Ended up buying a selection box of capacitors and some wire. I needed a few small components, transistors, stuff like that, but they didnt have them or want to even look.

Is there anywhere in Dublin you can go and get bit and bobs? I rang RS in Crumlin and they said come on down, but the stuff in it was completely inapporprate.

I just want odds and ends for experimenting with and college.

ozmo

ScouseMouse wrote: »

I just want odds and ends for experimenting with and college.

Get yourself a heat gun (eg. https://www.woodies.ie/rok-1500w-heat-gun-1114559) and some heat resistant gloves (home store + more - 4 euros)

And any broken PC PSU - in the open air - warm the back with the gun and tap off the ground and all the components just fall out - you get tons of Mosfets, diodes, electrolytic caps, power transistors, opto isolators - all the good expensive stuff and great for experimenting with.

ScouseMouse

ozmo wrote: »

Get yourself a heat gun (eg. https://www.woodies.ie/rok-1500w-heat-gun-1114559) and some heat resistant gloves (home store + more - 4 euros)

And any broken PC PSU - in the open air - warm the back with the gun and tap off the ground and all the components just fall out - you get tons of Mosfets, diodes, electrolytic caps, power transistors, opto isolators - all the good expensive stuff and great for experimenting with.

Might try that (that link is broken by the way). Last night I spent two hours putting together a gizmo from wish and put an electrolytic capacitor in wrongly biased. Broke it taking it out. Where can I find a 10uF capacitor

ozmo

ScouseMouse wrote: »

Might try that (that link is broken by the way). Last night I spent two hours putting together a gizmo from wish and put an electrolytic capacitor in wrongly biased. Broke it taking it out. Where can I find a 10uF capacitor

Fixed link - 10uF is a very common component in anything - eg. radios, tv boxes and power supplies- maybe start a junk parts box and ask anyone with old radios or toys to donate.
Also they generally don't oblige - but some of the Wiii Electrical Recycling shops let you take some interesting stuff if you ask nicely - the older stuff is better for parts - ie. through-hole components - tiny surface mount components are less useful for starting with.

You can also buy new from China very cheap (banggood etc) - but takes a couple months get delivered.

ozmo

gah! Kind of sick of maplins now - bought a soldering iron in their sale rather than wait for a decent one - 48W variable temp similar to one I had before - but this thing Buzzes - never had a soldering iron that buzzes before and it's quite annoying to have on in the room for anything but a quick solder job.

I see now it's only 17 pounds on uk - I paid 30 in Ireland at the weekend.
https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/48w-mains-solder-station-n67ef

They wouldn't take it back as all sales are final due to it closing - beware.

Ubbquittious

You could feel a hand going into your pocket and taking out a tenner just by walking in the door.

A pity there is nothing like the Sim Lim tower over here. Could spend days in that place

fritzelly

ozmo wrote: »

gah! Kind of sick of maplins now - bought a soldering iron in their sale rather than wait for a decent one - 48W variable temp similar to one I had before - but this thing Buzzes - never had a soldering iron that buzzes before and it's quite annoying to have on in the room for anything but a quick solder job.

I see now it's only 17 pounds on uk - I paid 30 in Ireland at the weekend.
https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/48w-mains-solder-station-n67ef

They wouldn't take it back as all sales are final due to it closing - beware.

No such thing as all sales are final, they're still trading, tho probably won't do you any good

ScouseMouse

There is no entitlement to a refund anyway unless its faulty or not fit for purpose.

ozmo

ScouseMouse wrote: »

There is no entitlement to a refund anyway unless its faulty or not fit for purpose.

I very rarely ever send anything back - even if its broken Id have a go at fixing it.

But I was annoyed at paying 50% over the odds the UK shop charged for something I will never use now in my office.

It works - technically - but I've never experienced a soldering iron before that made a reasonably loud buzzing noise - so unfit for my purpose anyway.


I found a coupon that got me a discount off this and ordered it - and for an extra 6 euos its supposed to be max 8 days delivery.
https://www.banggood.com/12-in-1-TS100-Soldering-Iron-Kit-with-9pcs-Tips-1pc-XT60-Cable-1pc-Holder-p-1256069.html
I'll let you know how it goes...

eeguy

ScouseMouse wrote: »

Went back upto maplins in Blanch to see if there was anything reasonable. Ended up buying a selection box of capacitors and some wire. I needed a few small components, transistors, stuff like that, but they didnt have them or want to even look.

Is there anywhere in Dublin you can go and get bit and bobs? I rang RS in Crumlin and they said come on down, but the stuff in it was completely inapporprate.

I just want odds and ends for experimenting with and college.

Just buy from the RS website. Why would you go to the trade counter?

I was half thinking of going to Maplins to look for a bargain, buy ANY discount from Maplins is still bound to be more expensive than what's online.

Keplar240B

the websites gone.

Keplar240B

Keplar240B wrote: »

the websites gone.

Good riddance. Some of their business practices were just strange. Is there any other company that charges for their catalogue? And not a nominal 1 euro either but 5 euros for their catalogue!!

I went home one weekend and was tasked with setting up the new printer. Of course, it didn't come with a cable. With my parents I can't say "Just get this cable and plug one end in here and the other end in here", no. So off to Maplin we went on a Sunday afternoon. A simple USB A to USB B cable - 14.99!

Management will argue they can't compete with online sales, but a walk through Dundrum at the weekend showed 2 mobile phone/general gadget shops practically across the road from each other. As another poster said, why did they have an entire aisle dedicated to disco lights, but you couldn't buy a SIM card in Maplin, they didn't sell phones, tablet accessories or budget anything but by god you could get a micro USB cable for only 7 euros. They pretty much stopped doing components, didn't diversify into mobile and so didn't know where they were in the market and instead sold cheap RC toys, fancy PC cases and tat. They also didn't learn the lessons of Peats and Radio Shack before them who suffered the same fate.

If you've been ripped off by them in the past you won't miss them. A closing down sale of 10% off says it all really. In years to come I hope they'll become a use case in a UCD Business Management course as to how not to do things.

ozmo

I saw an advert in a Sunday paper once - one of those UK rags - Im sorry I didnt keep it.

It was a two page spread for a normal maplin sale.

What was really funny was one one page they printed the UK version of the advert by accident - so the disparity in UK/Irish pricing was so obvious.

You could see stuff for sale on the UK side of the advert like "Was 40 now 20" where on the Irish side you could see the same item "Was 60 now 40"

In each case the Irish Sale price was the usual UK PreSale price (after converting sterling to euros)

Capt'n Midnight

Deleted User wrote: »

They pretty much stopped doing components, didn't diversify into mobile and so didn't know where they were in the market and instead sold cheap RC toys, fancy PC cases and tat. They also didn't learn the lessons of Peats and Radio Shack before them who suffered the same fate.

At least Peats moved into Audiovisual and people recognise brands like Sony.

Maplin were charging top dollar for generic brands.

Ubbquittious

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

At least Peats moved into Audiovisual and people recognise brands like Sony.

Maplin were charging top dollar for generic brands.

I bought a pair of speakers with built in amp there a good few years ago..Lord save us they were sh1te. Brought in from Shenzhen for under a fiver surely

ozmo

In one of their stores...

Keplar240B

How do the chinese component sellers get away with free shipping on ebay,. eg If i order 5 bucks of stuff from RS or maplin or whatever from a block away there is a shipping charge . But i can get free P&P from China???

Capt'n Midnight

Keplar240B wrote: »

How do the chinese component sellers get away with free shipping on ebay,. eg If i order 5 bucks of stuff from RS or maplin or whatever from a block away there is a shipping charge . But i can get free P&P from China???

Subsidised by Chinese government.

Stuff loaded into a container. An Post empties the container when they have nothing better to do as it's lowest priority postage. Most of the delivery time is waiting for someone to empty the container.

TBH the cheapest post card is to write a message in the Address when ordering cheap crap from China