Comet

In article , Bill Wright wrote:
Until Comet came to Doncaster there were various electrical retailers,
several of whom my dad worked for fitting aerials. The mark-up on a
telly was either 25 or 33%, and there was no possibility of discounting
because the manufacturer would instantly refuse supply. The reason was
that in those days tellys needed a lot of after-sales service.
Then Comet came along, selling at 5% above the price the other shops
were paying. People used to look at the tellys in the showroom of their
usual retailer, then look at the price that Comet advertised in the
Donny Free Press, take a bus to town and buy from Comet. They actually
did used to take a boxed telly home on the bus, sometimes.
Then, a few weeks later, they'd be in their old retailers, pleading for
help because there was some little problem. All Comet would offer was,
bring it back and we'll swap it. That was a load of hassle, so they'd
try and blag help from the retailer they'd deserted. The expression
"**** off!" was often heard from normally mild mannered shop keepers.
One of the small shops. Miller Bros, decided to beat Comet at their own
game, so they started to build up a chain of sheds. This became
nationwide, and at one point they had 28 sheds. They went bust a few
years ago (owing me a few quid as it happened, but so what I'd had many
thousands out of them).
I always thought that after the sheds had driven the small retailers to
the wall they jacked up their margins almost to the same level that had
supported the old 1960s unreliable tellys. And then of course, they had
the same trick played on them, by tinternet.
It was ever thus. I had an aged uncle who was a blacksmith, and he used
to tell me how his dad (who was in the same trade) used to curse and
swear about the introduction of the motor car.

Another aspect of this is that economy of scale and the increased
reliability of mass produced electronics eventually made it cheaper to
throw away something that was faulty and replace it with a new one than to
pay for the time of an expert who could fix it. Sadly, all that electronic
knowledge that had come back from the war and filtered down one generation
or thereabouts eventually became useless as a means of earning a living.
This means we are now in a situation where any new piece of technology
offered to the public is expected to be developed to a stage where it's
idiot proof before it's sold, because it has to be otherwise it won't
survive. Sadly, the concomitant spread of general ignorance about such
things makes this task even more difficult for the manufacturers who could
once get their products to market sooner because they could follow up with
any necessary repairs and modifications in the field. Or maybe it's irony.

Rod.
--

In article en.co.uk,
Roderick Stewart wrote:


Another aspect of this is that economy of scale and the increased
reliability of mass produced electronics eventually made it cheaper to
throw away something that was faulty and replace it with a new one than
to pay for the time of an expert who could fix it. Sadly, all that
electronic knowledge that had come back from the war and filtered down
one generation or thereabouts eventually became useless as a means of
earning a living.

Combined with which: the circuitry has evolved into a few physically tiny,
dedicated chips, that have countless tiny feet surface mounted to a board.
Almost impossible to repair, or even identify the chips. Too small. Too
fiddly. And you can't get replacement chips. It works until the next one
comes out as a 'must have', and the queues form again outside the Apple
stores... :-)

Slainte,

Jim

--
Please use the address on the audiomisc page if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
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Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html

"Bill Wright" wrote in message
...

It was ever thus. I had an aged uncle who was a blacksmith, and he used to
tell me how his dad (who was in the same trade) used to curse and swear
about the introduction of the motor car.

I expect his great-great-great-grandfather bemoaned the invention of the
blast furnace and the loss of the ancient art of hammering iron ore into
iron and steel.

--
Max Demian

On Mon, 05 Nov 2012 09:42:08 +0000 (GMT), Jim Lesurf
wrote:

In article en.co.uk,
Roderick Stewart wrote:


Another aspect of this is that economy of scale and the increased
reliability of mass produced electronics eventually made it cheaper to
throw away something that was faulty and replace it with a new one than
to pay for the time of an expert who could fix it. Sadly, all that
electronic knowledge that had come back from the war and filtered down
one generation or thereabouts eventually became useless as a means of
earning a living.

Combined with which: the circuitry has evolved into a few physically tiny,
dedicated chips, that have countless tiny feet surface mounted to a board.
Almost impossible to repair, or even identify the chips. Too small. Too
fiddly. And you can't get replacement chips. It works until the next one
comes out as a 'must have', and the queues form again outside the Apple
stores... :-)

Ah, but... that's a religious cult. :-)

--
Peter Duncanson
(in uk.tech.digital-tv)

On Sun, 4 Nov 2012 14:14:07 +0000, tony sayer wrote:

In article en.co.uk,
Roderick Stewart scribeth
thus
In article , Tony sayer wrote:
Seems the real problem is online shopping for such products and I've
done it myself now with some household goods in preference to traipsing
down to them or curry's in the Cambridge traffic ..

You seem almost ashamed of this, but what would you expect any shopper to
do, except what's most advantageous to them? It's only the same as what
businesses do, the ones that survive at any rate.

No I'm not ashamed at all. Sometimes if we need something urgently then
we go to a shed, like we normally order from CPC or RS but there are odd
times when we have to go to Maplins or heaven forbid PC World!.

A few weeks ago I bought a Samsung 40in TV. I had decided which model to
buy on the basis of information online: technical specs, professional
reviews, etc. I considered various places to buy it. I decided to avoid
the bother of having it delivered and to get it from a nearby Argos. It
was not the nearest Argos. It was in a retail park in the same long
building as a Sainsbury's and had car parking just outside the entrance.
I reserved the item online, went to the store, parked the car just
outside, grabbed the Sainsbury's trolley someone had conveniently left
by the Argos entrance, got the TV, put it on the trolley and wheeled it
to the car. I returned the trolley to the Argos entrance, drove home and
installed the TV.

Note on "trolley technique":
With a large flat item like a box with a TV inside, put the box flat on
top of the trolley then move the whole lot by holding the box and
pushing it. The friction between the box and the trolley will ensure
that the trolley goes wherever the box is pushed. Trying to push the
trolley by its handles and hold the box on the trolley at the same time
is likely to result in the box sliding out of control unless you are an
octopus.

We probably buy more domestic goods as a we have a small property rental
portfolio....



A generation ago, little corner shops were lamenting the advent of
supermarkets. Then it was out of town hypermarkets taking customers away
from the town centres. Now it's the internet taking trade away from
traditional face to face shopping. Times change. You can't wind history
back to the way it was.

No course not and for instance we no longer go to the post orifice to
get the motor tax thats been done online for ages now. I do not what to
queue for a load of others to draw their pensions, spend all day gassing
away re all and sundry etc.

Like banks I can't remember the last time I went to our other bank. I
don't even know the bank managers name these days they never seem to
last 5 mins in the job.

Seems to me a lot of these entities could start to merge into combined
shops etc that do more then the one thing.

Like our local building society some 19 branches within a 10 mile
radius. Why are they needed anymore?. OK then keep someone a job but
what do they do now?, is it still little olde ladies putting by 5 quid
by whenever they have a win on the races?......

Rod.
--


--
Peter Duncanson
(in uk.tech.digital-tv)

On 05/11/2012 13:32, Peter Duncanson wrote:

That reminds me. When Woolworths closed down "everything must go" really
did mean "everything must go". A friend who went into the local Woolies
discovered that they were selling not just the stock but also the
display shelves, the shelves in the stock room, and anything else that
was moveable. For all I know they might have had someone lined up to buy
the cash registers (emptied of course).



when my local allders closed they were even selling an ancient looking
crt monitor containing cctv monitoring station - not sure who on earth
would want that.

--
Gareth.
That fly.... Is your magic wand.

On Sat, 03 Nov 2012 17:28:15 +0000 (GMT), Jim Lesurf
wrote:


He then simply relied on the makers (i.e. us) to sort out any problems or
questions after sale. Whereas our established specialist dealers would
actively help customers sort out things out when they made errors or didn't
know what to do. The result was bad for customers, makers, and specialist
retailers who charged more but would then help customers.

This is the Dixons/Currys/PC World model. Some years ago I read an
article that explained that Dixons had gone to the makers of white
goods, saying something to the effect 'You test all this stuff before
you ship it, you rarely find anything wrong and it costs you loads.
Why not ship the stuff to us untested and we'll split the saving. If
anything is returned faulty, we'll replace it (and you'll pay).'

tony sayer wrote:
In article en.co.uk,
Roderick Stewart scribeth
thus
In article , Brightside S9 wrote:
Now umpteen online vendors compete against each other on
price, delivery and range of products, and the shops aren't even bothering
to compete with them.

see http://www.richersounds.com/information/pricebeat

Since I have a nearby store with free parking I use it.

If anything is immediately wrong with the product it is a short trip
back to the shop. No messing around with arcane returns processes.

If anything goes wrong with the product at later date it is a short
trip back to the shop. No messing around with arcane returns
processes.

Can' be beaten IMHO.

Agreed. I'd momentarily forgotten about Richer Sounds, who are in this context
a Special Case. Good prices, deals and guarantees that are actually honoured,
and no messing about.

Rod.
--


Went to buy a new TV there a couple of years ago and was appalled with
the **** poor pix on display.

A yob started a lot of Wally re One aerial supplying all these telly's
etc.

I gave him a quick lecture on that subject and then walked out of the
door.

Specialist TV retailer had the set we thought we needed but a very
arrogant we know best attitude.

Tried John Lewis next. Young lad there very well informed and
knowledgeable and enthusiastic about what he was selling and no bull or
other clap trap.

Bought from them, SONY KDL Series. Price incidentally wasn't the
absolute best but very good all the same, service was in all
excellent....

Didn't bother to look in Comet or Curry's as I knew what sort of clap
trap I was going the get there anyway!...


If you'd looked at, Currys, you might have realised there's no apostrophe.
--
Adrian

On Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:33:30 +0000, Peter Johnson
wrote:

On Sat, 03 Nov 2012 17:28:15 +0000 (GMT), Jim Lesurf
wrote:


He then simply relied on the makers (i.e. us) to sort out any problems or
questions after sale. Whereas our established specialist dealers would
actively help customers sort out things out when they made errors or didn't
know what to do. The result was bad for customers, makers, and specialist
retailers who charged more but would then help customers.

This is the Dixons/Currys/PC World model. Some years ago I read an
article that explained that Dixons had gone to the makers of white
goods, saying something to the effect 'You test all this stuff before
you ship it, you rarely find anything wrong and it costs you loads.
Why not ship the stuff to us untested and we'll split the saving. If
anything is returned faulty, we'll replace it (and you'll pay).'

I can remember in my student days there was a rumour that Comet
negotiated a deal with manufacturers that the goods would be of lower
quality in return for a discount. I was sceptical at the time as I
could not see how the manufacturers could produce goods of
differential quality depending on the customer.

Didn't bother to look in Comet or Curry's as I knew what sort of clap
trap I was going the get there anyway!...


If you'd looked at, Currys, you might have realised there's no apostrophe.

Mea maxima culpa;!(...
--
Tony Sayer