Whos next?

Wazzerphuk

FH is my second home
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
12,054
Comet or Currys is the last place I would buy anything from they are always more expensive, get with the fucking times and stop trying to rip everyone off.

I went to Curry's last week as the oil-free radiator I bought was 4p more expensive than on Amazon, and £20-30 cheaper than elsewhere that sold it online/in shops.

They're not *always* ripping you off. Take a look first.
 

Aada

Part of the furniture
Joined
Mar 12, 2004
Messages
6,716
I went to Curry's last week as the oil-free radiator I bought was 4p more expensive than on Amazon, and £20-30 cheaper than elsewhere that sold it online/in shops.

They're not *always* ripping you off. Take a look first.

I did look, get the facts straight first before telling me to take a look.

Every time we buy something electrical we see what they are offering and they are always more expensive even their online store is utter trash.
 

MYstIC G

Official Licensed Lump of Coal™ Distributor
Staff member
Moderator
FH Subscriber
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
12,457
I did look, get the facts straight first before telling me to take a look.

Every time we buy something electrical we see what they are offering and they are always more expensive even their online store is utter trash.
He's right about online, they had a deal on something that the only other competitor in terms of price was Amazon. Their site was so shit that after 10 minutes I gave up and "1 click" on Amazon later, done deal.
 

Aada

Part of the furniture
Joined
Mar 12, 2004
Messages
6,716
He's right about online, they had a deal on something that the only other competitor in terms of price was Amazon. Their site was so shit that after 10 minutes I gave up and "1 click" on Amazon later, done deal.

Thank you.
 

opticle

Part of the furniture
Joined
Sep 14, 2011
Messages
1,201

I know :) I realised that when I wrote it, but decided to just be honest - I was just trying to point out that that is the problem with these stores. They've got a use, but other companies do the online retail better.
 

Wazzerphuk

FH is my second home
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
12,054
Eh? You stalked me as usual sniped then accuse me of being angry for telling you to get the facts first?

Nice troll, you got me.

Stalked you as usual? Oh dear, paranoid much?

All I did was account a recent story that I found they match Amazon's price in store for a product I purchased just last weekend. Not sure how that's a troll? You're a fucking scared little boy if you think that's trolling.
 

old.user4556

Has a sexy sister. I am also a Bodhi wannabee.
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
16,163
I don't mind paying a bit more for the ease of taking it back locally - i like that flexibility / peace of mind. If the price difference is significant, then i'll buy it online.

I remember spilling beer all over a keyboard and needing a replacement that day, so popped to Currys instead of ordering one from Scan. Didn't see the point for the sake of £5.
 

old.user4556

Has a sexy sister. I am also a Bodhi wannabee.
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
16,163
Eh? You stalked me as usual sniped then accuse me of being angry for telling you to get the facts first?

Nice troll, you got me.

Dude your tone got pissy over not a lot. Just saying.
 

Embattle

FH is my second home
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
13,523
You just have to shop around, bricks and mortar will in general always be more but then most of those types of places have some sort of order online but collect in store type services.
 

Job

The Carl Pilkington of Freddyshouse
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
21,652
I don't buy parts anymore I just download them from Mega2.com and print them out on my 3D printer.
(This post was sent back from 2016)
 

Chilly

Balls of steel
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
9,047
Just went into Staples to pick up some stuff. A few shelves without products, they didn't have any stamps and the woman serving me told me they hadn't got any in for ages either.

All the little signs of a company in distress and wanting to free up cash from existing stock. Next to die?
 

soze

I am a FH squatter
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
Messages
12,508
I think staples has been absorbed by another company. I know people who lost corporate sales jobs for them so I could see them closing.
 

rynnor

Rockhound
Moderator
Joined
Dec 26, 2003
Messages
9,353
Whsmiths soon? They have too expensive units to survive just selling mags n newspapers and the rest of their products like books/cds are now toxic/in decline.
 

MYstIC G

Official Licensed Lump of Coal™ Distributor
Staff member
Moderator
FH Subscriber
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
12,457
Just went into Staples to pick up some stuff. A few shelves without products, they didn't have any stamps and the woman serving me told me they hadn't got any in for ages either.

All the little signs of a company in distress and wanting to free up cash from existing stock. Next to die?
I think Staples are probably pulling out of the UK and closing down gradually or removing sites that make no money. There was one in Croydon which a couple of months ago closed and is now a massive TKmax. There's one in Woolwich which is still going strong though.
 

Tom

I am a FH squatter
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
17,358
WHSmith will be fine, they've got the railway stations et al, always a roaring trade.
 

rynnor

Rockhound
Moderator
Joined
Dec 26, 2003
Messages
9,353
WHSmith will be fine, they've got the railway stations et al, always a roaring trade.

Those are very expensive sites though - if they cant cover the rent they are doomed even if they look like they are doing decent trade.
 

megadave

I am a FH squatter
Joined
Apr 3, 2006
Messages
11,911
There's a staples next to my work, their takings are pitiful, I don't know how they afford the rent.

Those are very expensive sites though - if they cant cover the rent they are doomed even if they look like they are doing decent trade.

Last time I went to a station store they charged about £2 for a small bottle of water so perhaps it evens out ;)
 

Embattle

FH is my second home
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
13,523
I think Staples are probably pulling out of the UK and closing down gradually or removing sites that make no money. There was one in Croydon which a couple of months ago closed and is now a massive TKmax. There's one in Woolwich which is still going strong though.

Perhaps from the high street but I believe they do quite well via the corporate side since they took over http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_Express
 

Raven

Fuck the Tories!
Joined
Dec 27, 2003
Messages
44,857
They do very well with people who don't bother checking prices :)
 

DaGaffer

Down With That Sorta Thing
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
18,516
I for one lament the death of shops (despite working in ecommerce for 18 years). Last week I needed to get printer toner urgently (we'd run out at work for our invoice printer and someone had forgot to replenish the backup that's always supposed to be on hand). There were dozens of online outlets offering next day delivery, but none offered same day and I couldn't find any "shops" that sold toner in Dublin. I eventually tracked down an online place with a trade counter after about two hours of ringing around (Google didn't help - which shows the dangers of relying on search). Five years ago, even two years ago, there would have been a print shop somewhere nearby, not anymore, and obviously no-one's twigged offering a premium same day service (probably not enough demand).
 

Chilly

Balls of steel
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
9,047
PC world or something will always have a load of toner? Although perhaps not for a big corpy-style printer.
 

SheepCow

Bringer of Code
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
1,365
WHSmith will be fine, they've got the railway stations et al, always a roaring trade.

The WHSmith's on my local high street is always rammed with people buying shit - must be lots of people buying stamps or something ... Although I did buy some envelopes from there recently.
 

Zenith.UK

Part of the furniture
Joined
Dec 20, 2008
Messages
2,913
W.H.Smith have a bit of cross-subsidising going on. The really busy stores prop up the costs of the smaller/quieter stores.
Given they've just upgraded their retail systems across the estate, I'm not sure they're going away any time soon. The ROI on such an upgrade would be a couple of years.
 

DaGaffer

Down With That Sorta Thing
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
18,516
Chilly said:
PC world or something will always have a load of toner? Although perhaps not for a big corpy-style printer.

First place I checked. There's a PC World less than 100 yards away. They no longer do business services except in the very largest stores.
 

Chilly

Balls of steel
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
9,047
Can't you just buy it anyway? Would have saved you faffing for half the day to save 10 quid in tax or whatever?
 

DaGaffer

Down With That Sorta Thing
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
18,516
Zenith.UK said:
W.H.Smith have a bit of cross-subsidising going on. The really busy stores prop up the costs of the smaller/quieter stores.
Given they've just upgraded their retail systems across the estate, I'm not sure they're going away any time soon. The ROI on such an upgrade would be a couple of years.

All retail multiples do that. As for system upgrades, sometimes you don't have a choice; PCI issues etc. doesn't really tell you much about the state of the business.

Difficult to tell about the state of WHS but there's no doubt their rents are high and pretty much all of their core product ranges are in decline. Plus their web presence is pretty weak.
 

DaGaffer

Down With That Sorta Thing
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
18,516
Chilly said:
Can't you just buy it anyway? Would have saved you faffing for half the day to save 10 quid in tax or whatever?

No, I mean they don't have business products. If they'd had toner I'd have just bought it.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top Bottom