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DaftnDirect
Honored Contributor
February 28, 2018
Question

Maplin collapse. A sad day.

Just heard that Maplin has collapsed into administration.


It's sad news for those of us who enjoyed wondering around the store, getting inspiration for those little electronics projects we like to mess about with. It was also a useful place for the occasional emergency PC component purchase... for when you just can't wait for an on-line order to come though. With the disappearance of Tandy (RadioShack) and now Maplin, my high street is becoming a much less geeky and altogether less appealing place to visit.


It's obviously worse news for the 2,500 UK staff who work in the 200 stores and I'd like to wish well for the future.

    28 replies

    LZoltowski
    Inspiring
    February 28, 2018
    Oh boy, I love maplins, I used to get a lot of electronics parts for my tinkering, soldering etc. It's also a great place to just browse. Got my sound mixer from there too. Boooooooo
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    LZoltowski
    Inspiring
    February 28, 2018
    I blame Amazon, I increasingly get almost everything from there, even shampoo or basic groceries.
    Core i7-7700k @ 4.9 Ghz | 32 GB DDR4 Corsair Vengeance @ 3000Mhz | 2x 1TB Samsung Evo | 2x 4GB WD Black ASUS MAXIMUS IX HERO | MSI AERO GTX 1080 OC @ 2000Mhz | Corsair Carbide Series 400C White (RGB FTW!) Be kind to one another :)
    DaftnDirectAuthor
    Honored Contributor
    February 28, 2018

    Yep, it was one of those stores I'd always go in when passing. The last thing I bought in there was enenloop batteries & charger packs, 2 for 1 offer so I got a spare charger. My last PSU was from there too, that was an emergency!


    The staff always seemed pretty friendly in a John Lewis kind of way which is always nice. Most shops I like to be left alone but the occasional geeky chat is a good thing.


    On-line is definitely the culprit, sooner or later there won't be any reason to leave the house :(

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    matskatsaba
    Participant
    February 28, 2018

    DaftnDirect said:

    On-line is definitely the culprit, sooner or later there won't be any reason to leave the house :(



    Deffo not.
    I started to order stuff from ebay because of the following reasons:
    -Maplin didn't have it in stock
    -Even if it did, only a few pieces per component (which is kinda huge problem if it comes to resistors, capacitors and such)
    -Even if I placed an order there personally, the wanted item took over 2-3 weeks to arrive (if at all)
    -The price of a single capacitor was higher than if I ordered a 20-pack from the same brand on ebay.

    Overall, the ware quality was below expectations. Cheap chinese stuff all over the store.
    There were of course branded things but nothing you couldn't buy at a PC store.
    Not sure its the same but the maplin closest to us employed people who didn't have a clue when I asked for specific components (for example I asked for a 470 microfarad 16v capacitor, and they were like o.O "wtf? can you look it up in the catalogue and ask for product number instead?")

    I simply started to order online because i got fed up with incompetent people who don't even know the purpose of the stuff they are selling, prices being 20x above ebay or amazon, abysmal waiting time, insufficient stock.

    You can blame the internet but they pretty much dug their own hole and so don't deserve even the smallest bit of sympathy.
    elboffor
    Inspiring
    February 28, 2018
    Have to agree with the above. Every maplin i have ever been into was overpriced and underwhelming in regards to staff knowledge.

    I once got into an argument over a hdd as the counter staff was saying a gigabyte was not a measure of capacity but a brand. And they only sold hdd's that are measured in gigabits as thats the "correct" terminology.

    Feckin noobs
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    matskatsaba
    Participant
    February 28, 2018
    Right?  XD 
    I remember a few years ago when drones became the thing...
    Paid a visit
    They didn't have drones for sale
    But they did have "Minihelicopters" XD
    Fazz
    Honored Contributor
    February 28, 2018
    Went to Maplins twice once to buy something and then went back to get a refund. Never in all my life did I have so much trouble getting a refund. They ended up giving me a partial refund because they said the packaging had been opened LOL. Well how else was I supposed to open it and see if it worked without opening it? 
    Zenbane
    Zenbane
    Honored Contributor
    February 28, 2018

    LZoltowski said:

    I blame Amazon, I increasingly get almost everything from there, even shampoo or basic groceries.



    Amazon is definitely causing a lot of these closures. I have a few favorite locals that closed up shop as well in recent months. The worst part about it (for me) is that I hate ordering from Amazon. They screw up more than 50% of my orders.
    Shadowmask72
    Shadowmask72
    Honored Contributor
    February 28, 2018
    Aww I purchased my tower case from there not so long ago as well as some other bits. As Daft says, a shame really but Amazon is to blame, this is what it does to businesses. It eats them all up because they can't compete but adds nothing to the local communities in return. We have a dangerous Amazon only world in the making if we're not careful.
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    Fazz
    Honored Contributor
    February 28, 2018
    Yeah, I could get a cable that cost £5.88 from Amazon, while a similar one from Maplins would cost £19.99. I'm all for Amazon because it's cheap and there no quibble refund is less hassle. Charging ridiculous prices that Maplins charged will only land you in trouble. I'm sorry for it's staff though..
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