Time's dicking... really Dick Smith

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#770220 26-Feb-2013 05:54

RileyB: Bought a computer screen for DSE a while ago. Asked what connectivity it had and they replied "There's a plug for power and one for the computer".

I applied for a full time job there after I graduated from university. One thing I learned, if you go to the interview having the remotest clue about computers, electronics etc. then it is a sure fire way of not getting hired. Until Dick Smith hire people with knowledge rather than whether they 'look good' (according to some vague standard of beauty set down by the store manager) you're going to keep getting people giving replies like that.

As for Dick Smith's product range; it has always been crap for as far as I can remember - back when I was going to buy a Iomega Zip 100 drive, parallel port model where the price difference between Dick Smith and another store was $100. With the rise of online retailers I'd sooner wait 2 days with the only reason I go past Dick Smith is to pick up maybe a thumb drive but even then it is only because they're on special with my preferred place being Warehouse Stationery.

"When the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called 'the People's Stick'"

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dickytim

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#770236 26-Feb-2013 07:06

I wont shop at Dick Smith again because Dick Smith is a Dick.

DarthKermit

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#770240 26-Feb-2013 07:14

dickytim: I wont shop at Dick Smith again because Dick Smith is a Dick.

Dick Smith himself sold out of the place > 20 years ago, IIRC.

Whatifthespacekeyhadneverbeeninvented?

rayonline

1734 posts

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#770331 26-Feb-2013 10:41

Back maybe 4yrs ago now ... I went and bought a circuit blank board, a few capacitors and a chip DIY'ing my own Nikon SLR connector so it would connect to the computer and download the settings into a spreadsheet and I made my own cable release (wired remote) but bought one anyway cos they weren't that durable haha. The guy I was talking to said he was put thru some technical training by DSE (but light) maybe they did that with least one guy in the store in the past.

I think the switch to consumer goods is maybe the market demand has switched and they were HIGH margin items but there wasn't much to to made on them given the final pricetag unless they sold heaps of them, required specialised training and took up a lot of showroom floor space. Other than making something, in terms of fixing stuff in the past 15yrs I've only bought some tiny screws from Jaycar b/c I was given a 2nd hand Dell but the power supply blew so I had to remove it off the Dell chassis but the CPU fan plastic bracket on the motherboard was connected to a metal sheet before it was again connected to the case so I had to get some tiny screws/bolts to just bolt it to the board itself. Other than that my purchases have been with Ascent, Computer Lounge and the like and it's been replacing the item with with today's age, DSE probably cannot compete with online stores, probably least 10yrs now they used to sell motherboards, CPUs and all that stuff ... not a lot of selection but they did.

ilovemusic

1428 posts

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#770400 26-Feb-2013 12:08

mjb: What's worse, is the background vocals: "Dick dick dick dick dick dick dick dick dick dick dick dick"...

as the guy in reservoir dogs said... that's a lots of dick

sleemanj

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#770404 26-Feb-2013 12:11

rayonline:
I think the switch to consumer goods is maybe the market demand has switched and they were HIGH margin items but there wasn't much to to made on them given the final pricetag

Nail on the head there. Especially battling against such a small market we have in NZ.

There is plenty of margin in selling components retail, but what there isn't is quantity, to be a worthwhile store you have to keep in stock a LOT of things - otherwise anybody can get parts often the next day from RS, paid by credit card, delivered to their door for free, often the next day especially for common components, and often cheaper.

An electronics components store has to operate based on the fact that it is more convenient and quicker to get the parts from them off their shelf, that's the only selling point they have, so they have to stock a lot of stuff. It might work in a city of 4 million, but in a country of 4 million.... nope.

Jaycar so far has resisted getting into consumer electronics, still holding out with the gadgets, gizmos and hobbiest type products, but you'll note that actual discrete components these days occupy a small percentage of the store floor.

---
James Sleeman
I sell lots of stuff for electronic enthusiasts...

nunz

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#770558 26-Feb-2013 15:42

freitasm: Went to DSE last weekend looking for a converter to 19v. Couldn't find it but they had pink hair dryers.

If you are in chch - JCars. Gasson Street - Just awesome. They are what DSE used to be.

GBristow

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#770593 26-Feb-2013 16:12

rayonline: I think the switch to consumer goods is maybe the market demand has switched and they were HIGH margin items but there wasn't much to to made on them given the final pricetag unless they sold heaps of them, required specialised training and took up a lot of showroom floor space.

I think this is it exactly. Many years ago the internet just wasn't the marketplace it is now. Hobbyists had a better (and quicker) shot at walking into a DSE. DSE had its niche, and people knew where to go if they needed a part. Then the internet came along and, because those parts had to be high margin to sustain the business model, the internet prices were ludicrously cheap by comparison. DSE lost its niche and tried to enter the general electronics market. Since it's already saturated, they're not doing so well. I remember the first time I ever went into a DSE. It was to buy one of those practice electronics kits they used to sell. So. Much. Fun. More recently I bought an iPod shuffle for $80. The sales person tried to sell me a $30 warranty, claiming he'd never heard about the CGA.

Behodar

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#770597 26-Feb-2013 16:19

GBristow: The sales person tried to sell me a $30 warranty, claiming he'd never heard about the CGA.

According to a friend that briefly worked there, they're not allowed to acknowledge the existence of the CGA.

mattwnz

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#770607 26-Feb-2013 16:48

DarthKermit:
dickytim: I wont shop at Dick Smith again because Dick Smith is a Dick.

Dick Smith himself sold out of the place > 20 years ago, IIRC.

In Australia, it is now a food brand, where they try to heavily market Ozzie owned and produced foods over foreign produced stuff.

mattwnz

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#770610 26-Feb-2013 16:51

GBristow: Fun. More recently I bought an iPod shuffle for $80. The sales person tried to sell me a $30 warranty, claiming he'd never heard about the CGA.

The warranty though does cover consumables with the ipod, which the CGA may not cover. eg I got some apple remote earbuds replaced, because the rubber had perished and the cables had gone all sticky after 3 years, on a 3 year warranty, which is a common problem with them. So it was worth the extra $30 odd dollars I paid because the earbuds retail for about $60.

JimmyH

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#770709 26-Feb-2013 20:09

I check them online occasionally when I am after fairly standard commodity items like (say) a USB hard drive or a cellphone because, while they normally aren't price competitive, sometimes they have good specials on such items. But now that they have gone all "consumer" there's very little reason to go there - generally they don't have either the range or pricing to put them on a par with myriad other competitors trying to occupy the same niche (Leemings, JB HiFi, Harveys etc).

I went in a couple of days ago when I was out for a wander and needed some stuff:

- RCA Plugs? Nope, we don't sell those anymore
- Wire? Nope, we don't carry that either
- Solder? Sorry sir, don't think we have ever sold that.
- SDXC card? Sure sir, over there. Trouble was it was $199, and the SAME card can be bought online (NZ seller) for $64, incl shipping, 48 hours delivery.

Unless it's a good special, or I'm desperate for something in a hurry and therefore happy to pick from their overpriced limited range because I'm close, I can't see why I would shop there anymore.

I used to make them a regular port of call on any lunchtime wander, and must have spent many thousands over the years (DVD recorder, Uniden XLT3000 scanner, lots of components and wire......). Now, I pretty much don't bother.

DarthKermit

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#770716 26-Feb-2013 20:31

freitasm: Went to DSE last weekend looking for a converter to 19v. Couldn't find it but they had pink hair dryers.

Awesome! That could be the next GZ giveaway.

Whatifthespacekeyhadneverbeeninvented?

nunz

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#770946 27-Feb-2013 10:54

JimmyH: I check them online occasionally when I am after fairly standard commodity items like (say) a USB hard drive or a cellphone because, while they normally aren't price competitive, sometimes they have good specials on such items. But now that they have gone all "consumer" there's very little reason to go there - generally they don't have either the range or pricing to put them on a par with myriad other competitors trying to occupy the same niche (Leemings, JB HiFi, Harveys etc).

I will use them to get Acer laptops and similar as they often supply pretty much the same specced laptop as Dove / TechPac etc at less than I can buy it for wholesale.

also a year or two ago external hard drives (WD mybooks) were also under wholesale.

DSE have cost me a fortune in lost revenue selling super cheap laptops so I decided to go with the flow, get my customer to source them from there (and dont buy anything else) and do the work and other sales myself. Oh, their Ms Office software deals are pretty competitive.

I have seen pweople who have phoned me to help get their home laptops set up who have bought a good priced laptop and also walked out with over $500 of other crud they didnt really need all at over inflated prices. THe trick with DSE is get the loss leader and nothing else.

BlueShift

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#770962 27-Feb-2013 11:17

nunz: I have seen pweople who have phoned me to help get their home laptops set up who have bought a good priced laptop and also walked out with over $500 of other crud they didnt really need all at over inflated prices. THe trick with DSE is get the loss leader and nothing else.

Harvey Norman are as bad for the upsell - my brother was laptop shopping & found a good special at HN, I agreed it was a good deal and gave him strict instuctions not to buy anything else - no extended warrantys, no laptop bags and especially (and I emphasised this) NO NORTON AV!!
Couple days later he phones me, and admits he paid for Norton, but "it was a good deal cos it meant he paid enough to get a free GPS and the sales guy said you'd be an idiot to use AVG". So I said, I suppose, as long as you don't actually install it. "Ummmm". a month later I'm around his place uninstalling Norton as it clashes with something else and slowed everything else down.
Sigh.

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