Bought a computer cable in Maplins for about £4.00-£4.50, took
ages to find the one I was after. Asked an assistant,but might
as well have asked the cat. Next day saw the same thing in
Poundland for ...............£!.

grrrrrrr

Big Club we are in as just about everything I buy I see it cheaper somewhere else, these days I check out what we in Oz call a $2 Shop and many times I win.

For those living in the UK, Poundland now have a website so you can check out their site to see if they have something you are looking for.

http://www.poundland.co.uk/

cheers John.

Some time back I went in to buy a MOSFET power transistor and the assistant brought it out twiddling the 3 legs between his fingers. When I advised him that as they are static sensitive devices and can fail with >20 volts across the terminals and should be stored and supplied in an antistatic bag I think I must have been talking in a foreign language. I suspect the cat you mentioned would have made a better job of it.

I refused to purchase the device from them! I havent found them in £ Land yet, mores the pity.

i used to have a friend that worked in maplins, he used to get frustrated to the point of clipping other members of staff around the ear every time he got frustrated with their stupidity (one of them was his immediate supervisor) i then suggested that he use stock in the store to make a cattle prod to knock them out cold and take over their customer before their stupidity scares them off, now were all grown up he's a software/hardware engineer for some big computer company,,,

Quote from: Frank lax on May 31, 2012, 11:17:10 AM
Some time back I went in to buy a MOSFET power transistor and the assistant brought it out twiddling the 3 legs between his fingers. When I advised him that as they are static sensitive devices and can fail with >20 volts across the terminals and should be stored and supplied in an antistatic bag I think I must have been talking in a foreign language. I suspect the cat you mentioned would have made a better job of it.

I refused to purchase the device from them! I havent found them in £ Land yet, mores the pity.

Hi Frank,

I find that Rapid Electronics usually have what I need and are considerably cheaper than Maplins. If you're still looking for your MOSFET Transistor would this be what you need ?
http://www.rapidonline.com/SearchResults.aspx?kw=power+transistor&srb=0&dir=0&icl=1&cat=5399

Thank you for the info re Rapid Electronics.

I did at that time get some from Squires, also  much cheaper than Maplins and supplied in an antistatic package.

if anyone is going to Maplins then please say 'Hi-de-Hi' from me

I've always found the staff in the Maplins Store at St. Enoch Square, Glasgow extremely helpful.

Which is ironic, as this shop used to be the location for Beatties, complete with shoulder-shrugging assistants.

Quote from: Pendy on May 31, 2012, 02:35:29 PM
if anyone is going to Maplins then please say 'Hi-de-Hi' from me

boom boom 

Quote from: Agrippa on May 31, 2012, 08:36:21 AM
Bought a computer cable in Maplins for about £4.00-£4.50, took
ages to find the one I was after. Asked an assistant,but might
as well have asked the cat. Next day saw the same thing in
Poundland for ...............£!.

grrrrrrr

Sorry to hear that you saw it cheap elsewhere, but the extra £3 you paid at Maplins might be better in the long run as the quality of the cable may be higher and probably last you a lifetime rather than a few months if you brought from poundland.

QuoteMaplins might be better in the long run as the quality of the cable may be higher and probably last you a lifetime rather than a few months if you brought from poundland.

I do admire the optimist - I expect Maplins and Pound land are similarly sourced. I do admit though Maplins have "prettier" packaging

Quote from: tgv_obsessed on May 31, 2012, 10:16:00 PM

Quote from: Pendy on May 31, 2012, 02:35:29 PM
if anyone is going to Maplins then please say 'Hi-de-Hi' from me

boom boom 

NO NO NO..............it's Ding Dong!!!   

Maplins are good for some things but they seem to have moved away from what they were 10/15 years ago, a knowledgeable mail order supplier of comprehensive and reasonably priced electronic components. Although they now have shops around the country they seem to cater for the consumer market.

I wanted to buy a couple of high wattage resistors recently to use as a load in a circuit. Cost under 50p each in their catalogue, however, not available as a stock item in their stores but 'you can order these online, sir'! P&P was going to be many times the value of the resistors!!!   

Also the knowledge of the staff in their shops is maybe 'dodgy' , as has already been mentioned.

Recently my electronic organ (no smutty comments please ) wouldn't power up. A quick delve with a screwdriver and test meter found the fault was a fuse on the internal PSU board. Took it into Maplins and admitted that as my eyesight is proportionate to my age I couldn't quite make out the value on it. Assistant took quick look '1Amp quick blow' and sold me a pack of 10 (evidently they don't sell them individually!). Back home replaced fuse, power on - fhut. Tried second fuse with same result.

A friend (with better eyesight) then looked at the original fuse - 2Amp anti-surge!!! Sourced same (two), NOT from Maplins and...    


   

Hey they were right - 1 amp blew quick     

For those interested - they have a deal on a 60W soldering station atm - seems pretty good ...