Jaycar need to pay the rent...

I thought this was quite obvious. I think they cater well for the
basic hobby market, and this is in an industry that is ever increasing
in difficulty and complexity. A tricky market.

Only problem is that now electronics is a hobby for me, and 90% of my
parts get purchased online because I cant buy what i want from Jaycar.
However, i am realistic and cannot expect Jaycar to suppy everything I
want.

In saying that, i do try to base a lot of my projects around what
Jaycar can supply, because I know that I can drive 10minutes up the
road and buy Jaycar parts.



Well i dont see DSE selling even close to the range Jaycar offers.
They are the only place left for the hobbiest.



Same.

The Real Andy wrote:


Altronics are still there, and have an excellent range, especially SMD
stuff.
The new Sydney store is excellent.

Dave :)

I had a chat to a couple of the salespeople at Jaycar the other week as some
child was busy setting off the farting/squawking junk in the
farting/squawking junk isle. They all seemed to hate the rubbish and
resented the fact that they had to stock it - I suggested that if selling
that crap is what was needed to keep the doors open, then so be it. However
they argued that they sell almost none of that crap, and most of the
turnover of the stuff tends to be display items getting broken by the
aforementioned kids.

I frankly find a lot of it deeply offensive and extremely distasteful, to
the point where I'm increasingly using alternative sources wherever possibe
in order to avoid having to visit the shop. And while my local branch might
be the exception due to the nature of the local market (ie. a statistically
lower percentage of the simple-minded mouth-breathers that find this shit
"entertaining") , it seems that Jaycar should allow local branches to have
some choice as to what they put on display.

I bagged them, and I've always understood. They sell that junk to make
money, very complex stuff.

Yes they are currently still very good on the electronic stuff, and yes some
of it *is* expanding. The point is that someday (probably if/when the chain
changes hands) a bean-counter is going to come in and work out which
products contribute a profit and which don't. The stuff that doesn't make
money will be turfed and as soon as you know it you'll have yet another
DSE/Tandy.

Furthermore I struggle to understand who (if anyone) buys those novelties.
They're on the shelf because they have an enormous margin, but I actually
never see anyone *buying* them ... and that includes my experience working
in electronics shops.

 ... and then another will rise up underneath them and fill their
place. Once upon a time Tandy sold a passable range of components
too.


 I have two theories on life. One is that cars 'grow' (they actually
physically get bigger over time), and the other is that electronics
stores are operating on some sort of FIFO arrangement.



GB, look, for example, at the Nissan Pulsar. The N12 was tiny, N13
    small, N14 bigger, N15, N16 even bigger still. The Corolla has
    followed a similar evolution. Same applies for pretty much all
    others too.

I suspect FIFO, though having said that, the BC548 transistor must be at
least 25 years old by now, and many items have had shorter cycles.

On one hand an ever-expanding stock range is more labour-intensive
(especially if the number of stores is also growing)* and may lead to
reduced average profit per stock line.   So at some point you ditch some old
lines in favour of the new (eg DSE's range of transistors has shrunk, but
there's more LED varieties now).  A limit also imposes a certain discipline
to review slow selling stock and replace it with more modern stuff that is
absent if there is no limit (which just encourages mindless accretion and
postponed decisions).

On the other hand there is a critical point where slow-selling items can
induce sales of other components.  For instance DSE used to sell vernier
dials, a good range of polystyrene capacitors and some RF things that
Jaycar/Altronics didn't.   So people would go to the place with the more
comprehensive range, even if they didn't buy many of the 'slow-moving'
items.    If this argument is correct then cutting range may be false
economy.

(*) There may be an inverse relationship between the number of stores and
product range/depth for hobbyists.  Eg Tandy used to have many more stores
than DSE but a far inferior range (for us).   DSE reduced its range as it
grew its store numbers.  Jaycar has fewer stores but better range.
Altronics has fewer stores still (though it is rapidly growing) but I don't
know if its range is better than Jaycar's.

Peter

old
discipline
don't
Aha! So we find the company with no stores and they'll have everything!!
:-)

Ken

Eg some of the US online suppliers ;)

Peter

That matches my experience. And I don't think it's just the demographics.

I guess the margins make it all very attractive to market, and at the same
time if they end up with a product that's not selling there isn't much
impact as they depreciate or go on "clearance" because of the negligible
cost.

Must be referring to this:
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=GT3095&CATID=&keywords=chicken

Choke - A - Chicken Animated Chook


*AS SEEN ON Channel 7's Sunrise*



The Choke-A-Chicken flaps and waddles around doing the Chicken Dance,
clucking and flapping its wings in sync with the Chicken Dance melody.
Grab him by the neck and he will squawk and cluck like mad, flapping
his wings and feet wildly as if he is really being choked. Put him
down and he will waddle off, singing and dancing as he goes. The
chicken stands about 300mm tall and is powered by four AA batteries,
available separately


Junk is the work for this.

Gadgets, eg laser pointers are fine.

Not necessarily. It's what's inside that's interesting. But $30 for some gears
and
a motor is a bit expensive.

No way, that's serious fun!
Haven't you ever got so up tight in your cubicle that you've slipped in
a few "novelty" items disguised as real components on a company
purchase order? ;-)

They really break the monotony and are great fun. Try the remote fart
machine on a sub-woofer, or remote control battle tanks. Those Auora
Interactor backpack things are great for all sorts of stuff too.
Hours of office fun.

Even Farnell are carrying "novelty" items now.

We often wonder who the engineers are that design this stuff, and what
sort of design meetings they must have. The Functional Performance Spec
must be a hoot to write on it's own!



They can be ordered as a "Focused LED" without raising an eyebrow ;-)

Dave :)

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=GT3095&CATID=&keywords=chicken


A genuine battery hen?



Wouldn't it be easier to build an FM wireless microphone inside it so it's
heard over the colleage's radio/stereo etc?

Cheap smoke alarms are great too - where else can you get a powerful alarm +
battery for little more than the cost of the battery on its own?  Just add
an LDR and transistor and you can make a light alarm to protect drawers,
fridges, etc.

 Peter

put finger to keyboard and composed:



I like this one:
 http://bigmouth.here-n-there.com /

- Franc Zabkar

I just got the new Electus "Gifts, Gadgets & Life in the great Outdoors
Catalog"
This new gadget, the "Spankometer" takes the cake:
http://www.electusdistribution.com.au/productView.asp?ID85%68

"Spankometer with wrist strap
New millennium pedometer just for men
Spankometer is the perfect gift for any bloke who enjoys a little wrist
action. You just strap on the Spankometer, enter your 'stroke'
length and you're ready to go. You can measure your performance, keep
a year long record, compete with your mates, or use it as part of a
diet and fitness program. Spanking the monkey has never been so much
fun. "

LMAO!

Dave :)

Damn, we bought the boss' birthday present last week, missed an
opportunity! :-)

Ken

You've hit the nail on the head as to just who buys these items. The bemused
recipient usually throws it away the following week.
More crap for the landfill for nothing more than a five second laugh. For
that reason, it always annoys me, rather than amuses me, to receive such a
gift.

MrT.

You pity the fools?

Has anybody bought the "Norbert" vacuum cleaner from Jaycar?
Does it work ok?