Jaycar - Business opportunity?

[Tom Smyth]

History repeating itself.... Looks like Jaycar is following the path of
Tandy (and later Dick Smith, after they successfully filled the void for a
while) with their prices slowly increasing and them selling increasing
amounts of novelties and toys. What is going to fill the void for
enthusiasts and professionals next?

Their latest catologue is half devoted to gimmicks and novelties. That junk
obviously sells, or they wouldn't be selling it, but I've gotta wonder who
the hell buys it?

 

[budgie]

On Mon, 6 Mar 2006 18:29:25 +1000, "DAC" <Mister@Enigma.net> wrote:

(snip)

I went in with a list of ICs and components because it always take me ages
to find everything and they werent real pleased about serving me at all and
said I should put in a mail/fax order etc. The prices are bad enough as it
is on eletronic components, I just shop at farnell now, only a tad move
expensive and will ship to me overnight every time for just 8$

Here in the west we have a well-kept secret - Wordlwide Electronics. He caters
for mainly commercial customers but still sells in hobby quantities. I think
the only item with an MOQ is 10 for 1/4W resistors.

Mike carries all the normal range of semis, caps etc etc and his prices are more
than competitive with the Altronics/Jaycar. I think his overnight courier stuff
is around $8 too - never needed it because I go past often enough.

Interesting thing - his semis are all name brand suppliers, not cheapest chinese
stuff like the rest of them.

Has a catalog system you can download.

http://www.iinet.net.au/~worcom

 

[Poxy]

Tom Smyth wrote:

History repeating itself.... Looks like Jaycar is following the path
of Tandy (and later Dick Smith, after they successfully filled the
void for a while) with their prices slowly increasing and them
selling increasing amounts of novelties and toys. What is going to
fill the void for enthusiasts and professionals next?

Their latest catologue is half devoted to gimmicks and novelties.
That junk obviously sells, or they wouldn't be selling it, but I've
gotta wonder who the hell buys it?

I remember an episode of The Office pointing out how awful those talking
dolls are, and a few months later Jaycar starts stocking the exact same
crap - I hate both them and the mouth-breathing morons who find them
amusing, but if it keeps the shop in business then I guess I have to live
with it.

What about Futurlec - www.futurlec.com.au? I haven't tried them yet, but
their prices and range seem good.

 

[GB]

Tom <tom@nospam.net> wrote in
news:Fi3Pf.2808$k6.48937@nasal.pacific.net.au:

They are in Thailand but the deliveries are fast and reasonable cheap
- I bought a few times and cannot fault them.

How to you get payment to them? I'll be buggered if I'd risk
sending credit card details to SE Asia.

GB

 

[GB]

"David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com> wrote in news:1141781110.920199.259670
@v46g2000cwv.googlegroups.com:

The risk is exactly the same as for a merchant in Australia.

Not quite, but approximately so.

As long as their site is secure you have little to worry about,
Futurlec are a reputable business.

To some extent, it's a reputational thing. The comments
that you, Tom and budgie make help satisfy that issue.
I wouldn't go in cold, but with anecdotes of satisfaction...

GB

 

[Franc Zabkar]

On Sun, 12 Mar 2006 10:11:44 +1000, Tom <ttp@nospam.com> put finger to
keyboard and composed:

Franc Zabkar wrote:

As for careers in electronics, I think ultimately all design will be
done offshore. So what will there be left for "professionals" to do,
except to emigrate?

Retire.

I suppose they could write the specs.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

 

[budgie]

On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 08:24:42 +1100, Franc Zabkar <fzabkar@iinternode.on.net>
wrote:

On Sun, 12 Mar 2006 18:34:58 +1100, "Peter Parker" <p@p> put finger to
keyboard and composed:


"Franc Zabkar" <fzabkar@iinternode.on.net> wrote in message
news:vpi412d7ufedisu8mou850hk018r87id3h@4ax.com...

What can a hobbyist build that China can't supply ready made for half
the price? Not much, I'd say.

Heaps of things, especially if they are (i) one-offs and will never be
profitable as a comsumer item, and (ii) meet a small specialised LOCAL need,
especially for business or industry.

A recent example is an LED signal for train signal teaching purpose. The
instructor liked the prototype so much that he bought a bigger version. And
his colleague wants another version, but slightly different.

Sure this $50 signal would retail for $9.99 if mass-produced, but since
there isn't a mass market, the Chinese (or anyone else) aren't going to make
it happen.

There must be other similar unmet needs that aren't widespread enough for
mass production, yet are desired enough that people are willing to pay more
than consumer prices for them.

Peter

I think you've hit the nail on the head. As far as electronics is
concerned, Australia will be left with specialty boutiques while China
and India will get the department stores. Even so, you may still be
surprised as to what constitutes a viable production quantity.

For example, a friend designs and manufactures a best selling prawning
lamp for the Australian market. The design and testing is nowhere near
as trivial as it may first appear. Many competitors have attempted and
failed to produce a reliable alternative. Because the market is
relatively small, one would have thought that he would have been safe
from serious competition. However, the Chinese have recently attempted
to copy his design, so low production volumes do not appear to be a
deterrent for them.

In exchanges with (the late) Peter Crowcroft, he explained that the chinese will
copy anything with even miniscule volume. Their rationale - if you could call
it that - is that there IS volume if you get the price down. You and I know
that the gizmo is a one-off or will never sell more than a dozen. They believe
otherwise. He was getting some pcb's made for me by one of his mainland fabs,
and strongly recommended I remove all information from the board that might give
a clue as to its end use.

 

[Terry Collins]

budgie wrote:

You and I know
that the gizmo is a one-off or will never sell more than a dozen.

I think this is where you and others are wrong. The "chinese" must have
at least a million shops that they can flog their stuff to. This is why
you were told to remove identification marks. Many of these shops will
stock a box and see how it sell. That initial stock is still a good
production run.

Am I the only person to cruise these $2 shops to see what trinkets are
around?

 

[Kralizec Craig]

"Poxy" <pox@poxymail.com> writes:

Tom Smyth wrote:
History repeating itself.... Looks like Jaycar is following the path
of Tandy (and later Dick Smith, after they successfully filled the
void for a while) with their prices slowly increasing and them
selling increasing amounts of novelties and toys. What is going to
fill the void for enthusiasts and professionals next?

Their latest catologue is half devoted to gimmicks and novelties.
That junk obviously sells, or they wouldn't be selling it, but I've
gotta wonder who the hell buys it?

I remember an episode of The Office pointing out how awful those talking
dolls are, and a few months later Jaycar starts stocking the exact same
crap - I hate both them and the mouth-breathing morons who find them
amusing, but if it keeps the shop in business then I guess I have to live
with it.

Well I certainly do not like the line Gary Johnston and the team at Jaycar
are taking, but perhaps they're doing this because they want to compete with
DSE (aka Woolworths) who have got the edge over the other players because
Woolworths can leverage immense marketting power and have a supermarket in
almost every part of Australia so you can bet that plans are afoot for
Woolworths to start selling electronics products under the DSE banner
through supermarkets in the coming years.

It would be really nice to have places that are like Radio Despatch,
Sheridans, Geoff Wood, etc. which were all highly regarded by professionals
and enthusiasts alike. We do have Oatley Electronics thanks to the efforts
of Branko Justic, but they're more like Sheridans used to be than the Geoff
Wood (which was a very specialised supplier) or Radio Despatch.

What about Futurlec - www.futurlec.com.au? I haven't tried them yet, but
their prices and range seem good.

Seem pretty good so far.

Jaycar's only sensible decision to date has been to move their Gore Hill
Store back to it's original location. Did you know that out of all of
Jaycar's original handful of stores, the ONLY one that's still in its
original location is Gore Hill? Even the one in the city has moved a couple
of times, but always within the same block on York St at the back of the
QVB. And the other interesting fact is that York St and Gore Hill have
retained the same phone numbers all the time they've been open! I remember
when I used to work for Jaycar in the late 80's that their York St store's
phone number was 267-1614 (nowadays with the extra '9' at the front).

I'm sure Jim Rowe and others remember the Hurstville Jaycar store down the
northern part of Hurstville's CBD on Forest Road. That's where I was most of
the time but I spent time in school holidays, etc. working in York St, etc.
Jim was a regular customer and I bet if that store was still there today (it
got replaced by the one at Bankstown on the Hume Highway), Jim and many of
the regular faces from the area would still go there to buy things.

Regards,

Craig.
--
SUN RIPENED KERNELS - Surplus Sun Microsystems Equipment, Parts + Accessories
Waterfall, NSW, Australia - Operated by Craig Dewick - Founded in 1996
Main site: www.sunrk.com.au - Ebay Shop: www.ebayshops.com.au/sunripenedkernels
Ph: 02-9520-2547 (int. +612) - Fax: gone - Mobile: 04-2163-0547 (int. +614)

 

[Mr.T]

"Kralizec Craig" <cd@lios.apana.org.au> wrote in message
news:e11v8c$kvo$2@yoda.apana.org.au...

China has the advantage (for now) of dirt-cheap labour and a huge
population. But what will be the effect of that? With such as massive
population, wage and inflation pressure will become extreme and over time
(say 10 to 20 years), getting things made in China will become
increasingly
expensive and eventually so expensive that local design and production
will
be attractive and affordable again.

No, some other country takes over. There are plenty of African countries
that could supply cheap labour.
After all, China only took over from Japan, Korea etc. as costs there became
more expensive.

MrT.