Will you miss Maplins?

[OceanSprint]

I've used them several times for projects on the boat. At least you could see and feel the items before buying, unlike t'internet shops.

 

[Murv]

Very much so, I used them a lot.

 

[SlowlyButSurely]

I started missing them a couple of years ago when the prices seemed to go through the roof and the very knowledgable staff they previously had seemed to no longer be there.

 

[mlthomas]

T'internet for me, cheap and quick Amazon/Ebay or quality RS https://uk.rs-online.com/web/

 

[john_morris_uk]

I bought an integrated circuit and several electrolytic capacitors from our local Maplin’s last week so yes, I’ll miss them.

 

[colind3782]

They found that resistance is futile and now they're ohmless.

I'll get me coat.

 

[PhillM]

I dont like that we lose another long standing brand but tbh I found them expensive and the staff had very little knowledge. It has been the internet for me for quite some time.

 

[ashtead]

Handy but pricy and staff of varying quality but will miss them for emergency items needed for urgent purpose for phones etc tc . Feel sorry for the staff who seem to have been genuinely interested in store products even if customers were a distraction for them

 

[RupertW]

I will miss our local one a little but I've gradually moved to online buying as they so often don't quite have what I'm after.

 

[oldharry]

Was a useful source for miscellaneous electrical and electronic bits, but recently too expensive and had become more of a toyshop than a serious electronics supplier. Fine except toys were expensive and poor quality. Staff used to be good but last few visits were more interested in playing with the stock than selling it!

 

[Angele]

I liked the ability to choose the individual components from a display, so you could choose the right size of switches, etc. Until the competing sites on the internet have all the relevant measurements for their entire range, selection on the net will always be a bit of guesswork (e.g. the difference between "micro" and "mini").

 

[solent clown]

Was a useful source for miscellaneous electrical and electronic bits, but recently too expensive and had become more of a toyshop than a serious electronics supplier. Fine except toys were expensive and poor quality. Staff used to be good but last few visits were more interested in playing with the stock than selling it!

you hit the nail on the head there, they moved away from their long standing range of components more to toys and gadgets. Prices also went up of components. Any electronics shop that has to order in 555chips is doomed. that is when I stopped going.
I do feel for the staff, one guy in particular who has worked at our local store for at least 25 years and made it his life

 

[wooslehunter]

For what I've used them for for over 35 yrs yes. But for what they've diversified into in the past few years no.

I first started using them as a teenager getting into electronics. I did an electronics degree & got some parts for my final year project from their Manchester branch that was opposite the BBC on Oxford Rd. Carried on using them for years. Great if you have a branch close by.

I've never used them for their toys, audio etc. But I'll miss the Portsmouth branch for convenience. I can get everything online albeit with postage cost & a short wait.

 

[TLouth7]

I think it is completely impossible to compete with websites like RS or Farnell for the electronics components, especially as the former typically deliver for free by 0900 next day. Honestly that is vastly more convenient and quicker than going to a shop.

And while obviously I feel bad for those who have lost their jobs (presumably somewhat more interesting than a generic retail job), I cannot mourn its loss in the way I would a local shop* with the same offering. There is a hardware store local to me that I cannot fathom how it stays afloat.

Can't say I ever used Maplin's for anything nautical though...

*for local people?

 

[mjcoon]

T'internet for me, cheap and quick Amazon/Ebay or quality RS https://uk.rs-online.com/web/

https://www.rapidonline.com/
https://cpc.farnell.com/
are both useful too, but I shall miss being able to pop into town and park in front of the shop...

Mike.

 

[Norman_E]

I bought the tank gauges for my boat from Maplins, (article in PBO August 2016) I used Maplins for little else except batteries, for which they often had good offers. Their own brand rechargeable batteries were also pretty good and I revived an old battery drill with them, so yes, I will miss them a bit.

 

[maby]

I think it is completely impossible to compete with websites like RS or Farnell for the electronics components, especially as the former typically deliver for free by 0900 next day. Honestly that is vastly more convenient and quicker than going to a shop.

And while obviously I feel bad for those who have lost their jobs (presumably somewhat more interesting than a generic retail job), I cannot mourn its loss in the way I would a local shop* with the same offering. There is a hardware store local to me that I cannot fathom how it stays afloat.

Can't say I ever used Maplin's for anything nautical though...

*for local people?

I guess the hardware store keeps going in much the same way that Maplins has until now - supplying a dozen screws or a small paintbrush to someone that is half way through a job and forgot them when he was in B&Q or Wicks. The difference is that the small independent hardware store is probably owned and run by a husband and wife, well into middle age and willing to operate at low profit margins in order to maintain their independence and not have to get up at 7am to hike into town to do an office job. Maplins is a relative large chain and trying to operate to a model similar to B&Q, but in a market that will not support it.

I'll miss Maplins - this morning, for example, I need to do some testing on a circuit board we are developing and which is not behaving as it should. The electronics is pretty simple and I should have everything I need in our stores, but it is good to know that if I find that I've run out of anything I will be able to pop into my local Maplins and find something that will plug the gap - even if it is not suitable for bulk production. Unfortunately, my £2 or £3 emergency purchases a few times per year are not the sort of custom that can keep them in business!

 

[prv]

Until the competing sites on the internet have all the relevant measurements for their entire range

RS have the datasheets with dimensional drawings, including the required shape and size for panel cutouts which I use when laying out for laser cutting.

Pete

 

[maby]

RS have the datasheets with dimensional drawings, including the required shape and size for panel cutouts which I use when laying out for laser cutting.

Pete

RS are pretty good like that. They also offer their DesignSpark CAD software free of charge and you can download the 3D models of many of their stock items into it. We use that to do a lot of our design work - it can output decent quality STL files to drive a 3D printer.

 

[peteK]

Radio spares are a long established firm hence the name, we used to order a lot of stuff of them when I was working in tv rental,so before all this online ordering they where doing what was called mail order.