Hi all, for anyone, who like me is looking to buy (thanks for the pointer Mike) a RadarBox in the next 7 weeks or so, register as a subscriber to Maplins Newsletter, and you get £25 off voucher, and free delivery on any purchase over £35.
https://www.maplin.co.uk/Subscribe_Email.aspx
Better than a kick up the rear end!
Maplin selling RadarBox - that's excellent news! I wondered how long it would be before they started stocking them.
I hope that they stock them in the stores as well as selling them by mail order - there's no stock showing using the store locator search, but with Maplin stores all over the UK, this has to be a good thing :-)
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=226607
This has been a recent development and for those is the UK you will know how big Maplins are , it shows how RadarBox is has become a respected and popular product.
The first and only ADS-B Receiver device to be sold in such a major electronics store in the UK.
Good for the product yes.
Good for the customer who wants technical advice on the product???
To be able to offer both a £25 discount voucher and free postage on the Airnav RadarBox Maplins must be getting a much better deal than the average specialist retailer.
For what it's worth, I agree with Rocket. I am not so sure Maplins are the right people for a product like this.
Only time will tell.
Andy
Want to buy one?
Product availablity: AirNav Radar Box (N76GJ)
Note: Stock figures may be up to 24 hours old. We do recommend that you contact the store and reserve stock to avoid disappointment.
Maplin Store (click for more details) Stock Level Distance away
Stevenage 0 4.5 miles
Stevenage Roebuck 0 5.3 miles
Luton 0 8.5 miles
Harlow 0 19.8 miles
Watford 0 21.7 miles
Milton Keynes 0 22.1 miles
Enfield 0 22.3 miles
Bedford 0 22.7 miles
Cambridge 0 23.5 miles
Cambridge (Beehive) 0 24.3 miles
There are none locally to me that I could purchase as a customer.
They are not getting a special deal. For the customer as you say its a great plus point. Many customers we getting enquiring don't have any radio or electronics knowledge and are a bit afraid to go down to radio shop or electronics and shop and buy the kit.
While Maplins is a electronics shop it has vast reach on the high street in the UK. The post above is a bit silly, there may not be close to you but they have many stores which will reach out to a large audience.
Overall Maplins is not our only dealer so its win win for customer and I don't think dealers should be too worried as Maplins attracts a different customer base.
According to the Maplin site, the RadarBox is available web only.
I do not accept that my concern is "silly" as you put it.
If this product is available web only, how are they going to be able to provide demonstrations or any meaningful support whatsover?
Well, I think it's excellent news that someone like Maplins is now selling Radarbox. They have branches across the country, in areas where there are no other radio shops (eg Inverness).
And as for the concerns from another dealer about the lack of demonstrations. Well, I bought my Radarbox without a demonstration, since my nearest dealer is a 200 mile journey away in Edinburgh. Not everyone lives near to a radio shop!!
The best demonstration is the free download of the Radarbox software, including a DEMO mode.
And as for support, doesn't Airnav provide excellent support, regardless of where you've bought the Radarbox?
IMHO, anything that increases the user base of Mode S receivers has to be a good thing.
I cant see what the problem is, this forum is full of advice and infomation for anyone to find, and as for it being 'web only' sales thats the way things are going these days, If I remember correctly, I bought my unit over the web, and by chance from 'Rocket Radio' and as far as a demo, all I had was the free download from AirNavs site which was enough to convince me to buy. Ive had problems but sorted them out, not had to keep ringing for customer support or anything, others may have problems, but customer support from AirNav on this forum seems very good indeed.
OK, I have clearly seen things very wrong here, it is only me that thinks like this.
Mark
It is probably only you that thinks like this : you're a dealer and most of the rest of us are consumers.
However, I see your point. You are now selling against a very large national chain which is effectively discounting the box, in a roundabout way. And if they haven't negotiated a volume discount, their buyer should be fired.
Rest assured though, that many (myself included), given the choice, prefer the instant gratification of buying in real-time i.e. in a shop and from someone who knows their product i.e. not a large national chain.
Sid
Quote from: sidskeg on November 08, 2008, 09:34:37 AM
You are now selling against a very large national chain which is effectively discounting the box, in a roundabout way.
Perhaps Maplin are selling it at a loss and hoping to make it up in volume :-)
QuotePerhaps Maplin are selling it at a loss and hoping to make it up in volume :-)
A smaller
profit margin and volume, maybe.
If you want a volume loss, become chairman of a bank.
Sid
Quote from: DaveReid on November 08, 2008, 10:14:42 AM
Quote from: sidskeg on November 08, 2008, 09:34:37 AM
You are now selling against a very large national chain which is effectively discounting the box, in a roundabout way.
Perhaps Maplin are selling it at a loss and hoping to make it up in volume :-)
I may be wrong, but Maplin is not discounting RadarBox, they are giving a £25 voucher if you subscribe to the Newsletter, so you can spend that on whatever you like.
QuoteI may be wrong, but Maplin is not discounting RadarBox, they are giving a £25 voucher if you subscribe to the Newsletter, so you can spend that on whatever you like.
Agreed : can I spend the voucher on a RadarBox ?
Sid
Hi Sid,
If I were you I would buy one from them too, £25 discount voucher and free postage.
Just watch their 0906 technical support line though, it will sting you 50p per minute from a BT line. But you can email them for free. Or fax them and they will answer within 2 days.
I love the RadarBox, that is why I'm getting a bit het up about it, be gentle with me please you lot!
Don't worry Mark - I bought from a local specialist radio shop. And I'd still do the same now. Face-to-face, over a coffee. Call-centres are the work of the devil.
Sid
I bought my box from a company who's name begins with "W" & located in a place beginning with "H" near Southend....The guy in the shop switched the PC on & got the box running & left me to "play" with it...I then started to ask him some questions but he did'nt have a clue....all I got was "I don't know"...Good job I tried the demo mode at home & studied the posts on this forum.
Mark,
as a fellow reseller I can understand your point very well. But you wont change anything by complaining here or in the other forum. This (large retail chains grabbing business from mom'n pop shops) is the situation since many years in the electronics business.
So make sure that nobody get's your excellent after sales support by tracing the serial numbers. Not bought here? No (free) support!
Make sure to tell your potential customership about the added value you have - knowledge and support. Make bundles, maybe with antennas, cables, pre-amps etc. Something Maplins will never be able to sell because they are too slow and too stupid. Offer service contracts or whatever, there are ways to differentiate.
And don't get angry when a 'customer' ask for a free demo and 2 hours of your time and then walks off to buy at Maplins to save 5 quid. Happens here all the time (not with RB but with radios). That's just the way this world is (or has become).
Regds,
Ekki/WiMo
Having thrown this now rather hot potato at you, I would like to point out that Maplins run various discount vouchers for purchases over £X all year now. They are not offering RB with £25 off, this is a one-off incentive voucher for joining their newsletter. I would assume that any dealer would be looking at a minimum of 25% mark up (£320 + £80 = £400), but perhaps I'm wrong.........? Maplins (like Screwfix and many others) can afford free postage offers, as they label, address and sort the despatched items ready for DHL/Parcelforce etc., and pay very low charges, as they're on highly competetive contract rates.
It's only supermarkets and competition that bring down prices for the consumer (until they squeeze everyone else out and have a monopoly!).
Having dealt with Maplins (and Cirkit Electrnics - what happened to them?) for many years (too many) I know their product support is generally very good, and no quibbles.
For those with a local store, ring them up and I'm sure they'll get one for you (if they're showing no stock)!
Mark, I would rather buy one from you - match their price.............? and you have a sale!
This is interesting, and I should have had more faith in my customers and what they expect as regards customer service etc.
I thank WiMo and Jon above for their kind words of support and advice.
But, (big but!) it turns out after I did some research that I needn't have worried. Maplins have sold less RadarBoxes in 3 months than I've sold in a weekend.
I understand that these contracts are done for business reasons and I understand why a supermarket is now selling this product. What upset me was the fact that the supermarket could get apparently the same trade discount as I could, but didn't have to provide any support.
A lot of my customers will not touch a forum with a bargepole, forums can often seem quite aggressive, and so these people like to have a chat in person or even a (non premium-rate) phone call.
I accept that I rared up a bit, and apologise if I have caused offence to anyone (AirNav for instance) I am passionate about what I do, and the service that I provide. For a product such as this the service and backup has to be 100% so that more people get on the network.
I am going to let this rest now. I have my my point, but I should have trusted in the common sense of potential customers more.
£25 discount vouchers I won't do (because I am so busy that I don't need to) but free postage I might do....
Hi Mark, thanks for that, if you were within Cornwall, I'd've been round to see you as my work (what used to be MAFF) takes me all over the County. We buy all our meat and milk from small local suppliers (being in my trade, I know where supermarket meat and milk come from and what happens to them during production - I will expand if anyone's interested!) and try to buy veg. from genuine "farm" shops.
I will be buying an RB from Maplins in the next couple of weeks (not allowed to even open it 'til Christmas day though) and will post my experiences.
At the end of the day Maplins are any other new dealerships we may in the future simply aim to expand RadarBox customer base. Customers who are interested or who actually want to see it working first will still go there to local radio dealer.
Regardless of who you buy from, even if you pick it from a seller on ebayer we are here providing email, forum support which is great and quick.
Quote from: CoastGuardJon on November 10, 2008, 07:27:10 PM
Hi Mark, thanks for that, if you were within Cornwall, I'd've been round to see you as my work (what used to be MAFF) takes me all over the County. We buy all our meat and milk from small local suppliers (being in my trade, I know where supermarket meat and milk come from and what happens to them during production - I will expand if anyone's interested!) and try to buy veg. from genuine "farm" shops.
I will be buying an RB from Maplins in the next couple of weeks (not allowed to even open it 'til Christmas day though) and will post my experiences.
Hi Jon,
OK, good luck with that.
Make sure they supply you with the latest stock that has the 2009 software included. It is easily identified by the picture of the box on my website as having the big orange '2009 software included' flash on the front.
Hi All
Just an update on Maplins. I ordered a radarbox yesterday at 2 pm after they had notified me they were back in stock,and lo and behold i received the '2009 stickered' box at 10am this morning . Not a bad service! Just have to negotiate whether my Xmas present can be opened now or not. Cann't wait to get going.
Quote from: mjleprix on November 22, 2008, 05:24:19 PMJust have to negotiate whether my Xmas present can be opened now or not. Cann't wait to get going.
Hi Mike, I'm glad I'm not the only one in this position!