Quay Computers Wellington...

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MaxLV

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#129591 20-Sep-2013 20:18

Have closed.

Went to Quay Computers in Wellington today (first time in a while). Big sign on the door, CLOSING DOWN - LAST DAY, and the usual real estate 'to lease' signs.

No bargains, just second hand/used stuff, and lots of the watches they have been selling for the last few years.

http://quay.co.nz/

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#899205 20-Sep-2013 20:32

I purchased one PC from them a few years back, was not good, it was very noisy

Zeon

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#899221 20-Sep-2013 20:45

They've been around for ages!

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crazed

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#899232 20-Sep-2013 20:49

Dealt off them afew times years ago, but nothing recent.

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freitasm

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Geekzone

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#899243 20-Sep-2013 21:30

I walked there today. Only a few phone cases, the watches and some old keyboards and mouse devices around. Everything else pretty much gone.

I've known Quay Computers for 17 years, when they were on Bowen St, a few metres from their current location. I was told they've been in business for 22 years before deciding to close down.

Lias

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#899244 20-Sep-2013 21:31

Never been a huge fan of them, but kind of sad to see them go because they have been around for a very long time.

Still remember buying stuff off them in the early-mid 90's

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mattwnz

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#899262 20-Sep-2013 22:05

They used to have a store in lower hutt too, which closed many years ago. Sign of the times.

DoomlordVekk

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#899266 20-Sep-2013 22:08

Regrettably, they have never been particularly cost competitive against the like of Paradigm or Ascent but there was always something quite nice
about being able to walk in and walk out with something approaching what you needed, even if the kick in the back pocket was a bit more
than 2-3 days of waiting was worth.

Guess it's a sign of the times that the margins on this sort of business are thinning to such a point where it's only the multi product/department stores such as Harvey Norman or businesses driven out of the high street like PBTech can make things work.

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mattwnz

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#899268 20-Sep-2013 22:10

Also being pushed by stores undercutting them on price.

Geektastic

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#899284 21-Sep-2013 00:08

I recall going in a few times when I worked in Bowen House.

It was mostly all PC stuff though and I moved 100% Apple almost 10 years ago so they did not have much to interest me.

psychrn

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#899290 21-Sep-2013 02:12

Yes I recall seeing them on a trip to downtown wellytown some years ago.
Yes I have used Ascent over the years.
Here in Hamilton we have a PBtech which I have used and also their Auckland Branch.
The internet is obviously affecting sales for these stores from some of these major stores.
Im talking about Expansys in particular her as a case in point

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matisyahu

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#899291 21-Sep-2013 04:35

Last time I bought something off them was way back when I bought a Zip 100 drive for my parallel port. These days I think the days of the local computer store are pretty much numbered as the likes of Noel Leeming attacking from one side and the other side you see the rise of online retailers with a greater range and a cheaper price. I admit though there was fun associated with window shopping on a boring day whilst waiting for mum to finish grocery shopping but these days its all a bit meh.

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Ouranos

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#899294 21-Sep-2013 06:12

I dropped in on Thursday, after seeing the "Closing down" signs. Even after the prices had been reduced in the closing down sale, their tablet computers were still more expensive than online retailers. That, I thought, is the problem.

JimmyH

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#899387 21-Sep-2013 11:56

I picked up a few cables at 50% off, which I thought I might need for my forthcoming rejig so were worth getting.

I bought a couple of boxes off them over the years. They weren't the cheapest, but unlike many other retailers where you just pick from a couple of prebuilt generic models and that's it, they were quite happy to build to order and order in and include non-standard hardware if I wanted that as well. Plus, it was nice to have a place that was handy and had it's own technicians, so if something didn't work when you got it home it was easy to take back in and get speedily fixed. I was willing to pay a premium for that. But, ultimately, their prices just got too far out of line.

I suspect one of the issues was that more people are going with laptops, which are much more powerful and no longer such a huge price gap from desktops. Pre-built laptops are a volume/margin business, and I suspect they couldn't compete with the big boys like JB HiFi and Dell online etc.

Interestingly, I had a chat to one of the staff yesterday. He explicitly blamed Windows 8 for being the final straw. Essentially he stated that Windows 8 was awful, but may customers didn't want to commit to Windows 7 which they saw as the "old" OS. Once it was announced that Windows 8.1 was coming, many usual customers essentially elected to hold off buying to see whether it fixed the problems with 8.0 or whether they should go with Windows 7. The result was a marked collapse in sales volumes, as people went into "wait and see mode". I suspect there is some truth in this - that's certainly why I have held off buying for the last 6-8 months.

MaxLV

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#899396 21-Sep-2013 12:29

JimmyH: I picked up a few cables at 50% off, which I thought I might need for my forthcoming rejig so were worth getting.

Interestingly, I had a chat to one of the staff yesterday. He explicitly blamed Windows 8 for being the final straw. Essentially he stated that Windows 8 was awful, but may customers didn't want to commit to Windows 7 which they saw as the "old" OS. Once it was announced that Windows 8.1 was coming, many usual customers essentially elected to hold off buying to see whether it fixed the problems with 8.0 or whether they should go with Windows 7. The result was a marked collapse in sales volumes, as people went into "wait and see mode". I suspect there is some truth in this - that's certainly why I have held off buying for the last 6-8 months.

I dont see or have any problems with Windows 8 at all. When it came out I bought 4 upgrade licences (from Windows 7) and installed it on three desktop computers, and and my Acer W510 tablet that was running Windows 8 basic. It's worked without a single problem on all 4 computers.

I did the hardware upgrade thing for Windows 7, so didn't have to upgrade for Windows 8.

The only 'problem' I'm aware of with Windows 8 is the lack of the Start button on the desk top, which didn't affect me at all as I had stopped using it way back when I had Windows XP, replaced it with sTabLauncher on XP, Windows 7, and Windows 8 on the desk top.

sTabLauncher helps finding and launching your favorite programs, web pages, folders, or any type of files in a fast and easy way. Taking up fewer resources as possible, and allowing you to personalize the appearance in many ways, by changing colors, images, transparency, animations, and many other options to make it blend in with your desktop.

http://www.stablauncher.com/

I also use the Windows 8 Start Screen as well.

Back on Topic, PB computers is/has been my primary hardware store, with Atech a distant second. I dont go near JB Hi FI, Noel Leemings, Harvey Norman etc when looking for hardware, go in there browsing and see the prices..

1080p

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#899430 21-Sep-2013 15:19

KiwiNZ: I purchased one PC from them a few years back, was not good, it was very noisy

Did you ask them if the fans were silent or not?

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