Is Jaycar changing?

[Geoff45 (Geoff)]

Has anyone noticed a change in the Jaycar shops lately? There used to be a time when it was totally staffed by electronics nerds who knew everything there was to know about electronics. Now we seem to be getting more personnel whose only product knowledge is how to scan the price.
Geoff

[RB (Andrew)]

Do you remember what Dick Smith stores were like?

[erick (Eric)]

Went looking for some bits at DSE the other day. The assistant could lead me to the soldering section, but I had to locate the parts I needed - she had no clue. Also their boxes of rocker switches were woefully empty - all stolen, she said!

Jaycar is better, but appears to be following the same path. Not surprising - what is the profit on a bag of hand-selected resisters and switches, compared to a one-off sale of an el-crapo radio-controlled helicopter?

[Glenhuon (Bill)]

Your not the only one who has noticed the change in Jaycar. Getting very hard to find an assistant who has any clue about the stuff they are selling.
The Dick Smith one in Geraldton was started and run by an amateur electronics enthusiast for a few years, and quite successfully I believe. Next time I went in, he's gone, to be replaced by 3 "shirts" who hadn't a clue. Seems to be the way of the world.

Bill

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Thankfully, our local Jaycar store is still staffed by people who know something about what they sell. The manager is an electronics nut and electrical engineer to boot. He's helped me out countless times.

I also remeber when Dick Smith opened his first discrete component electronics store in Gore Hill near St Leonards. He was in our 1st East Roseville scout group, and one of our leaders, Tony Balthazar, helped him get his car radio repair and supply business off the ground back in the late 60's in Artarmon - just up the road. The store was staffed by pencil in the pocket types that REALLY knew their business. Sadly all of that is gone in the interest of running a profitable business - and being owned by Woolworths, you aren't going to get what you want these days - knowledgable staff.

[kinetic (Steve)]

I hadn't noticed the downward slide of my local Jaycar yet, but I
haven't been in there for a few months.

DSE used to be my Jaycar....I'd go in to get something like
a pack of doides and just saunter past the kits and see if there
was anything interesting to build that week/month/year

Usually I'd walk out, having spent $100 when I only went there
to spend $10

I first noticed what you described when the shelf of kits disappeared!
Then the component trays thinned out...so that you would open
up the '2 line 16 character LCD display' tray and find LEDS or
something ridiculous.
It can work towards your advantage though.....

You walk up to the counter with your PIC micro chip and look all
vague and confused when he asked what it's catalogue number
was or if I noticed the price...
You shrug...he says oh....$2.00 will do. (price was $9.00)

Steve

[GTB_an_Owl (Geoff)]

for some time now, i have had a wholesale account with "Electus", which is the jaycar wharehouse.

bits, and definitely Kits, are on the way out
Kits are now a special order

emphasis seems to be shifting to the "Gadget" market

geoff

[Ian Robinson]

Originally Posted by kinetic

I hadn't noticed the downward slide of my local Jaycar yet, but I
haven't been in there for a few months.

DSE used to be my Jaycar....I'd go in to get something like
a pack of doides and just saunter past the kits and see if there
was anything interesting to build that week/month/year

Usually I'd walk out, having spent $100 when I only went there
to spend $10

I first noticed what you described when the shelf of kits disappeared!
Then the component trays thinned out...so that you would open
up the '2 line 16 character LCD display' tray and find LEDS or
something ridiculous.
It can work towards your advantage though.....

You walk up to the counter with your PIC micro chip and look all
vague and confused when he asked what it's catalogue number
was or if I noticed the price...
You shrug...he says oh....$2.00 will do. (price was $9.00)

Steve

Been over 12 months since I set foot in a Jaycar, Tandy or Dick Smith shop.

Jaycar guys were very knowledgeable - can't say the same for Tandy and Dick Smith guys and girls .

HND are much the same too , as are Binlee - useless if want real info.

[mozzie (Peter)]

our tandy store closed down dick smith opened up it was great at first but like every one is saying getting worse it's full of toys and telephones there must be more money in that then small electronic parts
i know buy most of my stuff through the catalogue online at jaycar

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

I guess we must be one of the lucky areas up here. Our original Jaycar supplier in Maroochydore closed down. Which was no great loss really. Unless you knew what you wanted (from the very limited range of stock), getting useful information out of the owner was like trying to pull teeth with a pair of tweezers. He was just not interested in helping you if you didn't know anything about 'lectronics.

The new store that has opened (about 1km down the road from the previous) is fantastic. This is a MUCH larger store as well. The boss really knows his stuff and most of his staff are at least competent. They have an extensive range of bits/pieces/kits/and bobs, as well as all the really tempting gadget/toy stuff. Plus they are great to deal with and are prepared to do deals on some stuff. I spent quite a few hundred more than I should have in there in the first 3 months it was open. This is besides the fact that I am an electronics neanderthal. Oh and did I say it takes me the better part of an hour just to drive there.

DS just down the road from Jaycar.....What a waste of fuel.

[erick (Eric)]

Nobody (kids in particular?) building up circuits from kits these days? That was such fun in my earlier years.

And I remember The Dick's ads in Electronics Australia from the late 60s/early70s - funny. He was growing by the time I moved to Sydney and went to his Gore Hill store. By that time, he didn't work there any more - off in Head Office I guess.

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Originally Posted by erick

And I remember The Dick's ads in Electronics Australia from the late 60s/early70s - funny.

Remember his delivery trucks - emblazoned with "The Electronic Dick" down the side. LOL! Not sure he'd get away with it nowadays, such is the PC madness that we live with now.

[erick (Eric)]

I think when he worked out of his garage, the little ads in EA said - our prices are cheap because our overheads are low - about 4'6"!

[Ian Robinson]

Originally Posted by mozzie

our tandy store closed down dick smith opened up it was great at first but like every one is saying getting worse it's full of toys and telephones there must be more money in that then small electronic parts
i know buy most of my stuff through the catalogue online at jaycar

Yep , I buy via the catalogue too , rarely ever set foot in these shops unless I want to eyeball something to check its actual size.

FARNELL catalog is a fav too.

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Always pays to call ahead with Jaycar as their stock levels are very hit and miss.

Radio Parts is a good alternative but with the same disclaimer about stock levels.

As for Farnell you pay a huge premium for their well stocked line of rare bits.
Buy from Farnell when you cant find what you want anywhere else.

[AdrianF (Adrian)]

Hmmmmmmm JayCar Hmmmmmmm Tandy Hmmmmmmmm Dick Smith Many hours were spent, while my wife was shopping, in these stores talking with the Electronic/Computer Nerds. But now consumer electronics is their go with a few components somewhere in the store. I gave up building electronic devices because parts are so hard to source now.

Adrian

[ving (David)]

its the way the world is going... dont want electrogeeks you want customer service experts (and sum1 pretty) to serve...

sigh...