Whoa, I forgot about Maplin. I used to go to the one nearby occasionally, but I don’t think I even noticed it close down. Always found it to be overpriced.
I thought the whole brand had closed. Bought a screwdriver once, everything else was stupid money (Including the screwdriver probably.).
I could never work out what they sold. It always just used to be random stuff, the one near me had brake pads at one point, it was kind of like Woolworths in that respect.
It used to be like electrical components. Plugs, cable ends, solder, shit like that. I assume for a lot of hobbyists, but also repairers.
Then it became just another Currys type retailer and the death spiral soon followed.
Most stuff is generally not worth repairing these days, and anything super specific can be had from an Amazon warehouse the size of a small town.
The one in Charlton became a Wilko.
That unit has a curse on it.
Every single Maplin store in the country closed down nearly 7 years ago
I was expecting no results, but apparently the stores are still there, unused.
They’re still on Google maps, but the stores will have long since been turned into vapes shops and such.
The loss of maplins has made my Amazon boycott somewhat difficult, though not impossible, but there’s just no way to get small parts and adapters same day now, always have to wait for delivery. PC world used to have some stuff, but now it’s rolled into Currys you only get packaged stuff and peripheral cables and such. Sometimes Screwfix has what I need but it’s somewhat rare. They did have a bunch of audio a networking stuff last I looked though.
Does CPC.co.uk still exist? Used to use them all the time
Yep, they’re great. I used them to buy some LEDs and battery holders for my miniatures.
You can’t comment that without a wee pic of your miniatures. Assuming they’re not miniature whiskys
Haha, okay, but they’re nothing special. I used to buy kits, but now I make them from scratch.
There are for my nieces. I’m currently making a game room for my mate, a full house and I’m thinking of making a mini vinyl shop too.
This was my first attempt at soldering too, as I couldn’t find any 3V LEDs prewired. Let’s just say it was an adventure, but it was worth it.
I’ve given up on PC world now. I went in once and asked and they don’t even sell graphics cards anymore. What’s the actual point in them?
All they do now printers and pre-built PCs. Which are always terrible value.
Their target market are people they can upsell extended warranties, anti-virus, etc to. So if you’re buying individual computer components you already have too much knowledge for them to exploit you
Oh I know but they could still make money from me by selling me things that I want to buy from them. I just find it baffling that they don’t want to do that.
I find EBay is pretty good for little cables and adapters, usually cheaper than Amazon too
It has everything but in my experience, you’ll need to wait a few weeks while whatever it is comes in from China.
I usually filter to UK sellers only. Might have to pay a quid or two more but I’ll have it in a few days.
this is a good recommendation thanks for this
A lesser known UK option that may be worth checking is ebuyer.com for some of your A/V, networking and computer stuff. Nowhere near the full range of Maplin/Amazon etc, but they will deliver quickly from UK warehouses - and if you’re trying to avoid using Amazon, always worth an extra option.
thanks for this – it’s definitely got a smaller range, but a good alternative to amazon
Aylesbury shut maybe a decade ago.
I miss Maplin, I still use stuff I bought from there
such a solid hobby shop, I feel like I’ve lost my budding early adult years
