A long while ago, my High St. used to have a Tandy shop. By a tortuous route, our local branch became a Jessops Photographic store, which in itself was no bad thing – you get a bit tired of Dixons being the only place you can buy a camera!
Firstly, Carphone Warehouse, who had bought the ... Read review
Advantages: Huge stock range covering most electronic/techncial fields Disadvantages: Not all prices as low as elsewhere.
A long while ago, my High St. used to have a Tandy shop. By a tortuous route, our local branch became a Jessops Photographic store, which in itself was no bad thing – you get a bit tired of Dixons being the only place you can buy a camera!
Firstly, Carphone Warehouse, who had bought the Tandy name in the UK, decided to phase out certain branches in favour of Tecno, a photographic chain, and our local branch followed this sequence. ... ...brace of SLR cameras from Tecno, AND taken out the extended warranty, than I got a letter from Jessops, telling me that they had bought Tecno’s interests and assets for Carphone Warehouse, and in future, the Hounslow branch would be a Jessops.
I THOUGHT THIS WAS ABOUT MAPLIN
Calm down, calm down, la’, I know it’s a long preamble to an opinion on Maplin, but bear with me, there’s a point.
A long while ago, my High St. used to have a Tandy shop. By a tortuous route, our local branch became a Jessops Photographic store, which in itself was no bad thing – you get a bit tired of Dixons being the only place you can buy a camera!
Firstly, Carphone Warehouse, who had bought the Tandy name in the UK, decided to phase out certain branches in favour of Tecno, a photographic chain, and our local branch followed this sequence.
No sooner had I bought a brace of SLR cameras from Tecno, AND taken out the extended warranty, than I got a letter from Jessops, telling me that they had bought Tecno’s interests and assets for Carphone Warehouse, and in future, the Hounslow branch would be a Jessops.
I THOUGHT THIS WAS ABOUT MAPLIN
Calm down, calm down, la’, I know it’s a long preamble to an opinion on Maplin, but bear with me, there’s a point.
I always felt comfortable knowing there was a Tandy shop around – not that I ever bought much there (no-one else did either – perhaps that was the problem!), but just knowing they were there when my latest bit of hi-fi turned up without a lead or vital connector, and on a Sunday, was very comforting. Also, they were always full of gadgets and other stuff that you never knew you needed until you got there!
Another shop precisely like that is Maplin, but I knew my nearest branch was either a tediously long bus ride to Hammersmith, or I could brave almost “Central London” traffic levels to drive there and pay to park in King's Mall, but for what, a long phono lead or a rare battery? Do me a favour!
Then one day, I was actually in Kingston, SW London, on business and decided to have a look in the newly opened Maplin branch (curiously, two doors from where Tandy HAD been), and actually bought something.
Anyway, problem solved. I still had an electronic knick-knack shop, which is famous (or perhaps INfamous) for the size of its catalogue and for the fact that they have the audacity to charge for it! I buy this once a year just for fun mainly. It usually has about 1,000 pages, although a large chunk consists of page after page of “Semi-conductors”. In fact, whilst writing this, I was reminded of the fact that mine is just going out of date now, and went onto the www.maplin.co.uk web site to order the next one for £3.99, post-free. It has now arrived.
SO JUST WHO OR WHAT ARE MAPLIN?
Maplin is an electronics firm deriving their name from the Maplin Sands on the north bank of the Thames Estuary, near their original Southend head office, although their new HQ is at Wombwell, near Barnsley.
Even before the Internet took hold, they enabled on-line mail order, and I did use this once or twice with my faithful “high speed” 1.2K modem – being a text-only affair, even that was quick!
Now part of Carphone Warehouse themselves (at least I think they are, the bag they gave me in Kingston said so on the side), they are in a bullish position, setting up new branches where, traditionally, there had either been a Tandy or none at all. The total now stands at 66*, spread throughout the mainland plus one branch in Belfast and one south of the border in Dublin. To my delight, this list now includes Hounslow High St., my local shopping centre. I also noticed from a recent visit to the in-laws, that Norwich has a branch on Castle Meadows.
*I just rescued the old catalogue from our recycling bin to check - last year there were 60 branches, so 10% more in one year is quite expansive.
They have an extremely wide product range, as anyone with a copy of their catalogue will attest. Almost anything in the electronic and electrical line is covered from computer hardware through to batteries, disco equipment to in-car hi-fi, digital photography to weather station equipment. Looking for a particular lead to tidy up the back of your hi-fi rack? Maplin will no doubt have it. Buying a radio-controlled model car for your son (of COURSE it’s for him, Dad)? Look no further.
The interior of the stores varies in size quite a lot. Kingston is large by comparison with the new Hounslow branch, and I suspect that, compared to the catalogue, this only shows the tip if the iceberg, vis-à-vis stock. Minor items not on show can be requested from the Components desk at the back of the shop, where a member of staff will disappear into the deepest recesses of the premises to check stock position and hopefully come up with the goods.
Concentrating on PC’s, you can buy cases, motherboards, hard drives, processors, RAM, peripheral cards, monitors and keyboards/mice. In fact, the hobbyist can cobble together a complete PC from here. Not necessarily at on-line prices found elsewhere but you do get this massive catalogue to browse at your leisure. BEWARE, BROWSING CAUSES YOU TO DISCOVER HOBBIES THAT YOU NEVER KNEW YOU HAD, AND CAN BE HARMFUL TO YOUR WALLET!
BUYING FROM MAPLIN
Even if you are nowhere near a store, Maplin is still in easy reach for anyone with a phone or Internet access (or a postage stamp!). You can phone orders through to 0870 264 6000 – you will of course be expected to know the stock number of your items, and this is where a copy of the catalogue comes into its own. Even when using the web site for your ordering, a foreknowledge of stock numbers helps, as finding things can depend on whether you know its precise name. For example, many sites include hard disk drives under “Mass Storage”, and if you don’t know this, you can only hope that they’ve got a cross-reference to “Hard Disks”.
You can also send in the order forms supplied with the catalogue by post or FAX. They send you some more with your delivered order.
The catalogue contains a whole sheaf of discount vouchers, amounting to about 5% per purchase.
Price-wise, Maplin is something of a dilemma. Perusal of their pages will trigger such thoughts as “Hmmmm, cheaper in Argos” or “Heh, that’s cheap!” in equal quantities.
However, to sum up, Maplin supply a HUGE range of goods mainly in the electronics field, always in the technical field. Having their catalogue to hand is far faster than some web-searches I know of, but I still think charging 4 quid for it is a bit of a liberty. Holding the cost back against your first purchase would be nice……..
Advantages: Massive range, Cheap, Good staff Disadvantages: Charge for a catalogue, Not many branches
I feel like I've just come out of Aladdin's cave, juts come out of a store that is a real treasure trove for anyone wanting to buy electrical and computer components. Forget going to PC World or Dixons with their extravagant prices and rather dodgy service, try Maplin Electronics. Before you think they are a very specialist shop selling complicated bits of equipment for building things from scratch, STOP! They are much more than that. I've been in ... ...and they sell a massive range of items, 18,000 components and products in fact! They sell all sorts of things, and not just components. If you need a new keyboard or mouse for your computer, give them a go as they have a good range, reasonably priced. They sell printers, scanners, PDA's, DVD-drives, modems, web-cams, graphics cards, zip drives, hard drives, speakers, microphones, headphones, joysticks, the list goes on and on, and that's just in ...
paule23 10.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of MAPLINS - ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS
Advantages: Almost everything you woule ever want electrically Disadvantages: Can get busy, obsure items not always in stock
I've been a Maplin customer for around 30 years - and whilst that probably doesn't qualify me for a long service award, I'm probably as well qualified as anybody to express an opinion on the company.
I first encountered Maplin as a twelve year old when I joined the radio Club at my high school.
In those days, there were two kinds of radio shops - the high street shop, where you bought finished goods, and the back street version, where you could ... ...Brown's Wireless on George IV bridge, and Millars in Leith Walk.
Both were run by elderly gentlemen who wore full length brown 'machine shop' coats with rubber buttons. Both were magical places in which you could buy any component from any radio manufactured within the past 60 years.
Both shops were fitted out with glass topped mahogany counters, the walls were lined with little boxes, each containing incredibly obscure components - you stood in ...
dobieg 07.10.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of MAPLINS - ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS
...at repairing stuff yourself, then Maplins is the best store you`ll find to help you. They first started as a mail order company in 1972, then moved on to open their first shop in 1974.
They are a bit like Tandy, but sell a much wider range of products. Whether you`re an expert in repairing particular electrical appliances, or just enjoy fiddling about with a screwdriver, then you`ll find all the books and electrical components you`ll need here.
... ...can buy these bulbs from maplins for 49p, and it`s just a matter of taking out the old one and soldering in the new one. It will literally take you two minutes, but a video repair shop will charge you about £50 to this.
The second thing you should know, and most of you will have already done this, is never use a video head cleaning tape. These will actually cause more damage to your video in the long run. They don`t remove the dirt from the video ...
sue26 18.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of MAPLINS - ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS
Advantages: none so far Disadvantages: try and get a refund and you'll see
A new Maplins electronics store opened in Hereford and as I was to go wireless in my home, I went in to have a look at their range of products.
I have BT broadband and with this I got a free wireless Netgear modem, this was for my own computer, my partners laptop and my daughters laptop, so I ended up buying three net gear wireless adapters from Maplins.
There cost me £19.99 for the wireless card adapters, I bought two and a n adapter which fitted ... ...when I really saw how Maplins worked.
I entered the shop and asked the young man at the desk for a refund, he looked at me for a few minutes then said, I'll get someone for you then walked off.
A few minutes later an older man came out of the back and asked what was wrong with the items.
I told him that we couldn't all connect to the internet at once and he said it was my modem. I explained that the modem was working properly and that the adapters ...
Sunnysmiles 24.10.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of MAPLINS - ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS
Advantages: Good range of electrical products at cheap prices.Better service than Dixons and PC world Disadvantages: Plain wrappers give a lack of quality feel.
Ive used Maplins before for small things like ariel leads, torches and components for electronic projects in my school years (Dad dont even say that was years ago...I know!!).
Yesterday was the first time I had been in the shop in a while.I was looking for a cable to connect my new CD RW to my CD player and then on to my motherboard.I picked up the wrong one not knowing it, at the check out the young gentleman kindly asked what it was for. Straight ... ...was looking for an IDE cable instead of an SCSI one. This was the first time Ive had correct advice from an High street shop. I wrongly thought that the young gentleman would have the same knowledge as those robots at Dixons and PC World and was worried that I would have to make a second trip. Im glad to say, thanks to this gentlemans kind offer of a simply question saved me from having to make a trip back to the shop. I had a look around in the ...
bazza1603 07.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of MAPLINS - ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS
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Advantages: great range, helpful staff, good online service Disadvantages: Online stores search engine wouldnt be the best
Maplin are a electronic retail chain with outlets all over the un as well as a online store at www.maplin.co.uk.
They offer components for the electronics buff, audio enthusiast, computer nut, hobyist and must have gadget maniac.
I fall into all of the above and enjoy the store as it offers a range which is unlike most other stores.
You could cal in to buy a capacitor, battery, motherboard and come out with a cctv system and a new telephone. Basically they cater for most thing that use electric from heaters to dvds to things that produce it like solar panels.
It has to be the first p[lace to look for something odd that you need arround the house or gadget fad you hear about.
The satff tend to be 18-30 with a fairly wide knowledge of electronics, and can be very helpful in suggesting other solutions to your current purchasing needs ...
