yesterday i was installing my new amp, a D8400M into my 'rada, when my mate blew the fuses.


so i go into dick smith, looking for 30 amp blade fuses, simple right? WRONG! i walk up to the guy at the counter and i was like 'hey dude, where are you hiding ur 30 amp blade fuses?' and his response was 'We don't actually stock electrical componants anymore, sorry sir.'

how is this possible? anyone else had a similar problem?

yesterday i was installing my new amp, a D8400M into my 'rada, when my mate blew the fuses.


so i go into dick smith, looking for 30 amp blade fuses, simple right? WRONG! i walk up to the guy at the counter and i was like 'hey dude, where are you hiding ur 30 amp blade fuses?' and his response was 'We don't actually stock electrical componants anymore, sorry sir.'

how is this possible? anyone else had a similar problem?

Yep dick smith is getting rid of all their electrical spare parts like fuses, lengths of wire, connections etc.
Pretty lame because they are the only shop around here that sells that kinda stuff:(

Wow, thats crap!
Maybe try jaycar though.... they might have this sorta stuff....

It's because ******tards steal it all, mess it up, and it's just impossible to maintain those lines in our major stores so it's being phased out. However, this only mainly applies for all the switches and crap we had. At my store (Adelaide's highest turnover store) we've still got glass and ceramic fuses, LEDs, alligator clips etc.

The guy however was wrong. We do still have blade fuses. Most stores will only have a box of 120 though. http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/49fc028415a83fa0273fc0a87e0106a7/Product/View/P7987

edit, oh and of course most of our salespeople know nothing about components and so on. Or anything, but especially nothing about electrical. Jaycar's a much better bet for this kinda thing now. Probably was before too.

na mate, all you guys had in southport were a pack of assorted fuses, and they were 9 bucks for like 8 or so. sorry but im not getting ripped off like that.

The guy however was wrong. We do still have blade fuses. Most stores will only have a box of 120 though. http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/49fc028415a83fa0273fc0a87e0106a7/Product/View/P7987



i would have bought that, if they had them.

maybe try repco, supercheap or autobarn next time

i would have bought that, if they had them.
What store?

yess i did
but they do, he is just dumb.

well knox city does...i bought a pack that has a few of each different capacity with little lights on the top to tell if they have blown or not, and yeah got them sitting in my glove box :)

i remember when i was a lil tacker (8y/o 23 years ago) and dick smith was the uber-store for electronics...oh how the mighty have fallen

your local servo will sell you a 5 pk of blade fuses all different amps for about $3.

i remember when i was a lil tacker (8y/o 23 years ago) and dick smith was the uber-store for electronics...oh how the mighty have fallen
Doesn't make money. It's such a minuscule part of our sales it's not worth the effort of upkeeping those sections.

well knox city does...i bought a pack that has a few of each different capacity with little lights on the top to tell if they have blown or not, and yeah got them sitting in my glove box :)

Ah well there we go, just drive down to Knox then for the fuse, shouldn't take you too long, depending on where you live in queensland its probably a 1700-2000km drive :woot: Call it 24 hours or so of driving :P

Edit: Oh and thats each way

lol

ye i work at supercheap for nearly 3 years now, i was closer to a dick smith.

and seriously saying the electronics is a miniscule part? i know you mean in sales, but seriously, imagine if strathfield didnt sell car audio gear. or if 7/11 didnt sell slurpee's?

i remember when i was a lil tacker (8y/o 23 years ago) and dick smith was the uber-store for electronics...oh how the mighty have fallen


Doesn't make money. It's such a minuscule part of our sales it's not worth the effort of upkeeping those sections.

Dick Smith's 23 years ago was owned by Dick Smith! It has been owned by Woolworths for several years now, Woolworth's focus is on maximising profit. Of course, thats a focus of most stores but its what's practical for the situation.

Here's a completely off topic example:
Woolworths owns Woolworth's Liquor (obviously), but also own Dan Murphy's. In Adelaide a the Marion Shopping Centre Woolworth's Liquor is right outside Woolworth's, and Dan Murph's is just out the exit, behind Woolworths in a separate building at the end of the shopping complex (Supercheap Auto is part of the same building as Dan Murphy's, so it is car relevant :D). Anyways, Dan Murphy's focus is on making money through turnover and range - something that Dick Smith's use to be. Woolworth's liquor focuses on maximising profit as its right outside the Woolworths supermarket (by design), very limited range (new Dick Smiths - high turnover, less range items). Thing is, a carton of beer at Woolworth's liquor can be up to $10 a carton more than at Dan Murphy's, despite it being owned by the same company, within probably 150m (or less), and probably delivered by the same truck!

There is a very obvious flaw in putting Woolworth's liquor right outside Woolworth's, yet its done as its meant to be convenient. Idea is, shoppers shop in Woolworth's, then buy their liquor as its right next door. Problem is, you can't buy your liquor then shop, and you can't take a shopping trolley in to Woolworths liquor, and you can't even easily take shopping bags in due to limited room and for the fear of knocking something over. So, what do you do? You take your stuff back to the car, then go back to Woolworth liquor to make your purchase. By the time you get to the carpark, depending on the area you park you may be closer to Dan Murphy's, which has longer opening hours, and yet people still go back to Woolworth's liquor (and its not opening hours, DM's is open longer). Its psychology.

Its also psychology about Dick Smith's, its a known brand and by changing things over slowly they hope not to draw attention to the fact they've severly limited their stock.

In terms of blade fuses, is it a newer mini-blade or an older large blade fuse? You should be able to get either at a car parts store (Autopro, Motormate, Supercheap Auto, Sprint Auto Parts, etc)

Doesnt matter if you dont make squat out of selling small fuses, it doesnt cost you much to stck the item either. it should be a core range, by this i mean the thing that people know you sell and come to you specifically for that item. while they are there, the "salespeople" (if you can call them that, more like glorified checkout operators) should be clever enough to tell customers about some new products, ask if they want to have a look around at anything else while instore, maybe even make a suggestion (you;hows your day been cust; not to bad, yours? ; oh we just had all this stock come in, new tvs / radios / whatever the popular products are or old stock items that need shifting) to improve turnover, while also lifting the customers perception of the store.

jaycar, altronics, and worldwide electronic components seem to be doing fine sell electronic components..... not to mention cheaper... DSE is a rip off.... $4 for a watch battery that i got from jaycar for $2..... although they're all a pack of rip-offs when i comes to active components... $4 for a 20,000mCd white LED.... Oatley Electronics sells em' at $4 for 10 LED's

IRDA to USB converter.
Dick Smith = $50
eBay = $10

Rip me off once, shame on you. Rip me off twice, shame on me! lol
Dick Smith = good for window shopping, nothing else these days.

IRDA to USB converter.
Dick Smith = $50
eBay = $10

Rip me off once, shame on you. Rip me off twice, shame on me! lol
Dick Smith = good for window shopping, nothing else these days.

i concur but then go on to say time is money and i wouldnt even waste my time window shopping there

I dunno i managed to get my LCD down from $1099 to $770 at Dick Smiths, i was very happy with that, but that just shows you their shift towards pushing bigger products then selling little tidbits and making squat off them, its almost like the corner stores that sell lollies, im sure they would rather sell you say a packet of smokes then fiddle around putting lollies into a bag, and counting them and then adding up how much they cost, just to make like 20 cents off the sale.

yes, us consumers are such a fickle lot. How dare we demand low value items like fuses and lollies when we should be buying the high value items! Shame on us! Shouldn't be allowed! How do the shops put up with it? They shouldn't allow customers in Dick Smiths unless they show the contents of their wallets first and promise to spend at least $200! Grrr @ thoughtless consumers!

PS Does anyone note the sarcasm in my post? lol

So really, DSE is turning into another Hardly Normal shop? Thats 2 places to avoid then!

PIC16F628 Micro-controller $12
CREE LED $20

both not available at DSE

how can DSE call themselves an electronics store when they dont sell electronic components?

PIC16F628 Micro-controller $12
CREE LED $20

both not available at DSE

how can DSE call themselves an electronics store when they dont sell electronic components?
i believe you would be after an electronics service agent for individual components. not a retailer.

yes, us consumers are such a fickle lot. How dare we demand low value items like fuses and lollies when we should be buying the high value items! Shame on us! Shouldn't be allowed! How do the shops put up with it? They shouldn't allow customers in Dick Smiths unless they show the contents of their wallets first and promise to spend at least $200! Grrr @ thoughtless consumers!

PS Does anyone note the sarcasm in my post? lol

So really, DSE is turning into another Hardly Normal shop? Thats 2 places to avoid then!We haven't cleared out all of it. There's BETTER alternatives than DSE for components. Like I have already said, too much of it gets stolen, too much of it is put back in the wrong place by stupid customers who think anywhere will do (uh, no, each item has its own catalogue number for a reason), and too many waste time by ignoring the signs requesting, or forgetting from previous times that they've shopped at DSE, that we NEED the catalogue numbers to put the sales through.

As far as comparing us to Harvey Norman, not quite. Part/full time salespeople get a fraction of the commission HN staff do and as such shouldn't be anywhere near as inclined to force accessories that in truth you don't need.

PIC16F628 Micro-controller $12
CREE LED $20
both not available at DSE
how can DSE call themselves an electronics store when they dont sell electronic components?DSE's (lame) logo: Techxperts. That implies technology. Which is computers, home theatre, cameras, phones, and so forth.

Rumour has it that woolworths tried to buy out JB Hi Fi to be used as their main consumer electronic business, while Dick Smith would remain the more electrical component type store.
The two groups didn't see eye to eye or perhaps the price wasn't big enough but JB told them where to go, and woolworths basically said "if we can't buy them, we'll beat them" so they're now converting all SE stores in to consumer electronic focused chains and are promoting their stores to have sales staff who know what they are talking about.
Rather than promoting the lowest price, they're promoting the best advice.. in todays day and age, as much as we like to think we want good knowledgeable sales staff, the fact is that over 90% of consumers will simply go where the cheapest prices are, regardless of the calibre of staff in the shop.

It's be interesting to see if DSE are still around in 10 years...

At the end of the day, who really cares who does what. Consumers are so lazy and with the net at their fingertips - why not spend an hour researching something your about to purchase. Then get 3 or 4 opinions.

I have only been to 4 places which I trust who know what they are talking about:
Camera House
Jaycar
Good Guys
FHRX

Yes, pretty sure nothing's gonna happen to the company. We've got sales targets and most stores can meet them. DSE's cost of doing business, as a percentage, is significantly lower than the BigW stablemate. JBs is significantly lower though and Woolworths needs to do something about it although I'm guessing the issue is with our overheads regarding too many small stores and too many head office staff.

The joke is about offering the best advice that given people who NEED advice aren't going to know any better, they could be sold anything.

i believe you would be after an electronics service agent for individual components. not a retailer.

jaycar and altronics are retailers

if you were running the shop what would you prefer, your sales men making maybe $0.50 on a switch or $400 on a TV sale?

if you were running the shop what would you prefer, your sales men making maybe $0.50 on a switch or $400 on a TV sale?


:roflwtf: :bowrofl: :facejump:

Obviously don't sell TV's for a living.... i cant remember the last time i sold a TV that had $400 profit in it

anything under $2.5k would be lucky to have that at the ticket price

If i were to sell someone a 50" plasma, hard drive recorder, and hdmi lead, odd's are there would be more money in the lead than the recorder, and very close to it with the tv.

We haven't cleared out all of it. There's BETTER alternatives than DSE for components. Like I have already said, too much of it gets stolen, too much of it is put back in the wrong place by stupid customers who think anywhere will do (uh, no, each item has its own catalogue number for a reason), and too many waste time by ignoring the signs requesting, or forgetting from previous times that they've shopped at DSE, that we NEED the catalogue numbers to put the sales through.

As far as comparing us to Harvey Norman, not quite. Part/full time salespeople get a fraction of the commission HN staff do and as such shouldn't be anywhere near as inclined to force accessories that in truth you don't need.
DSE's (lame) logo: Techxperts. That implies technology. Which is computers, home theatre, cameras, phones, and so forth.


Why could the small stuff not be behind the counter?? this would stop ppl walking off with da SH*T :iough:

Because in all our stores we've got batteries and ink cartridges behind the counter.

i got a better idea, how bout having an electronic spare counter, like at repco, all their stock is out the back and only available by request.

i got a better idea, how bout having an electronic spare counter, like at repco, all their stock is out the back and only available by request.

It's a lot of floor space and money on wages for a few switches... I don;t like it as much as the next person that buys cheap switches from DS, but it doesn;t make a whole lot of commercial sence.


:roflwtf: :bowrofl: :facejump:

Obviously don't sell TV's for a living.... i cant remember the last time i sold a TV that had $400 profit in it

anything under $2.5k would be lucky to have that at the ticket price

If i were to sell someone a 50" plasma, hard drive recorder, and hdmi lead, odd's are there would be more money in the lead than the recorder, and very close to it with the tv.

I got $400 off my TV, the ones at work we got $600 off each (we did by 15 of them)....

But the point remains that it's still going to be A LOT more than $0.50

i got a better idea, how bout having an electronic spare counter, like at repco, all their stock is out the back and only available by request.That'd be ideal, except many stores are quite restricted for stock out the back. Won't happen though.

I got $400 off my TV, the ones at work we got $600 off each (we did by 15 of them)....

Exactly the point freeky was making.... the store discounts the $400 off the unit, and thus only makes about $50 :P

:roflwtf: :bowrofl: :facejump:

Obviously don't sell TV's for a living.... i cant remember the last time i sold a TV that had $400 profit in it

anything under $2.5k would be lucky to have that at the ticket price

If i were to sell someone a 50" plasma, hard drive recorder, and hdmi lead, odd's are there would be more money in the lead than the recorder, and very close to it with the tv.

Ok then.

I have a mate who sold me a LCD TV for $2800 ( cost price ) and the cheapest I could get it for from a retailer with bonus HDMI 1.3 ( worth nothing, not even a 1.3b cert ) was $3157 ( JB, tried Harvey, Good Guys, Bing Lee etc etc ). RRP was $3499 I think at the time and this was Novemeber / December 2008.

Exactly the point freeky was making.... the store discounts the $400 off the unit, and thus only makes about $50 :P


It takes what, 2 hours to sell a TV? That's still 100+ misc components to sell in two hours per sales person. There has to be more money in TV's/other crap than components/cable.... That's why DS is doing it.

Cost prices vary from retailer to retailer. May have been higher for the rest.

edit - mrmaco, usually half an hour tops.

Ok then.

I have a mate who sold me a LCD TV for $2800 ( cost price ) and the cheapest I could get it for from a retailer with bonus HDMI 1.3 ( worth nothing, not even a 1.3b cert ) was $3157 ( JB, tried Harvey, Good Guys, Bing Lee etc etc ). RRP was $3499 I think at the time and this was Novemeber / December 2008.

Was nice of your friend to do so. Again proof that the price the item was sold at, did not have $400 profit in it. :P


It takes what, 2 hours to sell a TV? That's still 100+ misc components to sell in two hours per sales person. There has to be more money in TV's/other crap than components/cable.... That's why DS is doing it.

Nope, no money in big products. More money is in small things (cables, batteries, accessories, etc). any switch being sold for $3 would have at least $2 profit in it. Looking at it from a business prospective, the switch would carry with it around 60%GP (gross profit) where the TV would have 4-8% depending on the buyer.

TV takes 20 - 60 mins to sell, accessories takes 35 seconds eg; "im looking to buy a tv, whats the difference between this and everything else" [insert 1 hour here of wasted time - after which customer walks out without buying anything] OR "I need to connect this to that" [sales person picks up switch, lead, and depending on how helpful they feel, scribbles some directions on some paper] "here you go, that'll be $15" ($10 of which is profit)


Exactly the point freeky was making.... the store discounts the $400 off the unit, and thus only makes about $50 :P

Thank you. lol