Poor old Comet

[28XX]

I think we may soon see a new variety of shop, one which carries no stock at all, apart from demonstration models which you can play with. Choose what you want and order it at the desk. Delivered to your house direct from the manufacturer or importer free. Not having any inventory tying up capital, costing storage and insurance and going obsolete while you watch should give an advantage.

 

It's management of expectation, if you know you can't cash-and-carry you won't be disappointed.

[Kenton]

Whilst that sort of business model is already in use by the big furniture retailers (order now and expect delivery in 3 months) and can work really well, there is still a place for the order online and collect from the warehouse type and for those shops that have a considerable amount of impulse buying. There is also still space for the fresh foodstuff retailer as who is going to trust the staff at the likes of Tesco/Sainsbury/Morrison/Coop.. to select the freshest, least damaged items of fruit/veg/meat ? I think the High Street will survive but in a radically reduced format and probably be better for it.

[tender]

Whilst that sort of business model is already in use by the big furniture retailers (order now and expect delivery in 3 months) and can work really well, there is still a place for the order online and collect from the warehouse type and for those shops that have a considerable amount of impulse buying.

Not a good model for 'white goods' either, when the washing machine packs up irretrievably you want a replacement next day, not in 3 months time.

[DaveF]

I think we may soon see a new variety of shop, one which carries no stock at all, apart from demonstration models which you can play with. Choose what you want and order it at the desk. Delivered to your house direct from the manufacturer or importer free. Not having any inventory tying up capital, costing storage and insurance and going obsolete while you watch should give an advantage.

 

It's management of expectation, if you know you can't cash-and-carry you won't be disappointed.

 

Electrical retailers used to work in this way, except for very small items - in many cases up to the early 1980s.

 

I would hate to go back to that - when I need a new white goods item to replace something life expired it is no use if it arrives several weeks later.

 

Why do so many "improvements" just seem to put the clock back? - I do not want to live in the 1970s in terms of customer service.

 

David

 

Edit: Some of the smaller more local furniture retailers will deliver many items from stock in a couple of days. Even the local manufacturer is often able to deliver the most popular items from stock very quickly.

[Ron Ron Ron]

Comet have been doomed for years.

Their dingy looking, gloomy and badly fitted out stores were not exactly the most welcoming places to shop or even browse.

Coupled with the often seedy looking sales staff hovering like vultures watching a wounded animal, I've found it a place best avoided.

It's not as if they were price competitive, even with their sales items and their online prices were amongst the highest anywhere.

 

Having said that, I have bought a couple of things from them in recent years.....

 

6 years ago - online order - collect in store - a quite expensive and 5* rated inkjet Photo printer marked down by £100 as the model line up was being changed.

That price couldn't be bettered anywhere online.

 

Last year - Discount Voucher code (20% off) - online order - home delivery - Some components for a Sonos wireless music system - delivered the next day at 0730 !!!!!

 

As for the sale of warranties; 10 years ago we bought one of those wide flat screen CRT TV's, a few years before LCD and Plasma went mainstream.

After much research, reading the reviews and shopping around on the internet and various store, we made our choice of a particular Sony model and were ready to buy.

 

To cut a long story short, Comet had a special discounted offer on for the same TV, including a "free" VCR (remember them?), plus another 10% off for signing up to Sky TV (which we were planning to do anyway).

It worked out a bit cheaper than the best online price so I went for it.

 

However, when it came to paying, the salesman tried to sell me a warranty. "....after all Sir, the "tubes" on these big new Tellies cost several hundreds of pounds and should it go wrong it would cost a fortune to get it fixed. almost the cost of a new TV..."

The other line was "...the technology is all very new and so far these widescreen TV's are proving to be a lot less reliable than the traditional models..." !!!!!!

Like Coachman, I asked if these TV's were such a risk, why was he happy to sell me one if it was probably going to break down? maybe I shouldn't bother?

He tried to wriggle out of that, but strongly suggested I should think carefully about it, but must decide there and then.

 

How much was this extended warranty (5 years - i.e. an extra 4 years on top of the manufacturers warranty) ???

£300 !!!!!!!

 

I politely declined; said I'd take the risk and paid for my goods.

When the purchases were delivered at my home 2 days later, in with the paperwork and handbook for the TV was an offer for Sony's own manufacturer's extended warranty scheme.

Extending the warranty cover on the TV would cost..... £35 for 5 years !!!!!

To think, some people would have paid ten times that amount having been badgered by a Comet salesman.

 

Other than the two items I mentioned above, I haven't bought anything else from them since.

 

.

[coachmann]

Things began to change for the worse in the very early 80s in my experience. I went in a famous furnature store, saw the dining table and chairs i wanted and was able to purchase them....Thats how it was then. However, it was a time of recession during the early Thatcher years but I wasn't affected lucky me, and so asked for discount for cash. The smart-suited manager became all uppity and said discount was out of the question. Her indoors really wanted that dining suite and so I wrote a cheque! Not long afterwards the shop suddenly shut down mid-week.

 

20-odd years later that manager and I happened to end up in the same hospital ward....And he remembered me! "Locked me out of the shop they did....Treated me like rubbish".... he told me.

 

"Tuff!"

[MJI]

For big value items I prefer local independants for service, even if I did pay getting on for £100 over the odds on the last TV. Large screen good quality brand TVs are not that cheap and I wanted a good play and the free 5 years guarantee they gave me.

 

Oven & Hob were from a local place too.

 

Comet were good in the past, my dad bought a half price Beta VCR from them, top end Sanyo for £300 and it still works. I have it now.

 

However I had to resort to internet for my last video camera, noone stocks HDV any more.

 

Eeek, just worked out I have spent more with the TV and Camera manufacturer than I have any other except General Motors and house builders.

[melmerby]

For big value items I prefer local independants for service, even if I did pay getting on for £100 over the odds on the last TV. Large screen good quality brand TVs are not that cheap and I wanted a good play and the free 5 years guarantee they gave me.

 

 

I got that at John Lewis on a Sony TV and cheaper than any independent I tried.

 

The one independent, already £100 more expensive, wanted another £133 (IIRC) to extend the warranty to 5 years that JL were doing as standard.

I did try doing a deal, making it obvious I was ready to purchase at the right price and they would not budge.

 

It was the second Sony TV I have bought which came with a free 5 year warranty, the other was from a small chain, cheaper than independents who were again unable to do the 5 years.

 

I have bought several things from JL recently, all cheaper than the competion and their shopping experience (IMHO) is less pushy than some others.

 

Keith

 

BTW Comet used to do "Order at the Counter" after perusing a price list, little was on show, big items not in stock were delivered direct.

They used to sell LPs (remember them?) and other non-electrical items.

I got my "Tubular Bells" from them when it was released!

[Debs.]

So sorry for the employees...........and before Christmas too!

[MJI]

I got that at John Lewis on a Sony TV and cheaper than any independent I tried.

 

The one independent, already £100 more expensive, wanted another £133 (IIRC) to extend the warranty to 5 years that JL were doing as standard.

I did try doing a deal, making it obvious I was ready to purchase at the right price and they would not budge.

 

It was the second Sony TV I have bought which came with a free 5 year warranty, the other was from a small chain, cheaper than independents who were again unable to do the 5 years.

 

I have bought several things from JL recently, all cheaper than the competion and their shopping experience (IMHO) is less pushy than some others.

 

Keith

 

BTW Comet used to do "Order at the Counter" after perusing a price list, little was on show, big items not in stock were delivered direct.

They used to sell LPs (remember them?) and other non-electrical items.

I got my "Tubular Bells" from them when it was released!

 

As a home cinema enthusiast I tend to go for quality rather than price, a £500 TV may excite some people but that to me is a smaller TV or a too cheap larger TV, I would rather spend the money on something nice to watch. I have had 3 large TVs in over 20 years so I buy decent and buy rarely.

 

First was large 4x3, second a 32" widescreen IDTV, most recent a 46" HDTV, all bought for quality.

[melmerby]

most recent a 46" HDTV, all bought for quality.

 

IMHO too big, unless you have a massive viewing lounge.

My main TV is 37". I tried looking at different sizes at the viewing distance at home, I found 32" too small, 42" possible, anything bigger OTT.

It's all personal opinion of course but I find 46" at 8ft viewing distance too much.

 

Keith

[PhilH]

 

 

As a home cinema enthusiast I tend to go for quality rather than price

 

Not mutually exclusive - one of the points of shopping around on the internet is to get (previously researched) good quality at the best possible price.

 

Btw I have a 46" 1080p tv hanging on the wall - at my viewing distance (12ft) it's the optimum size apparently.

[Southernman46]

Comet have been doomed for years.

 

Yes - look at what happened to poor old Shoemaker-Levy 9..................

[MJI]

IMHO too big, unless you have a massive viewing lounge.

My main TV is 37". I tried looking at different sizes at the viewing distance at home, I found 32" too small, 42" possible, anything bigger OTT.

It's all personal opinion of course but I find 46" at 8ft viewing distance too much.

 

Keith

 

Great at 6 foot I find

[298]

And I thought this thread was about Comet:

 

 

86217 looks like it's doing quite well for itself...

[Peter Kazmierczak]

And I thought this thread was about Comet:

 

 

86217 looks like it's doing quite well for itself...

 

Is that Pink Floyd?

 

Sorry.....

[two tone green]

Watch out in the press, online etc, they are about to have a fire sale.

[Kenton]

Watch out in the press, online etc, they are about to have a fire sale.

 

3 year warranties for the price of 5 ?

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry .... its sad ... I'm SAD

[Edwin_m]

No, two fires for the price of three.

[APOLLO]

I think the High Street will survive but in a radically reduced format and probably be better for it.

 

Certainly not "having a go" at you Kenton but a "radically reduced High Street" will be a complete disaster. It's bad enough now in most towns with many empty shops, and every visit to my town centre (Wigan) sees more empty shops. Same down south, Banbury, Bicester Aylesbury, & Henley on Thames are four towns I visited recently, same story, decent towns but dismal shopping, empty shops everywhere, (except for the Bicester ""fashion ?"" outlet village - wife liked it but I hate those places - no model or book shops !!).

 

Talking to those "in the trade" its shop rents and overheads (utilities etc) that are killing the traders. Wigan Market in particular puts rents up every year, looses traders, but they are not interested & do not learn. "Nowt we can do" mentality.

 

Unfortunately I think a few more "big name" chain stores will be in trouble soon, probably soon after Xmas. Difficult days.

 

Brit15

[simon hudson]

I think a lot of the big boys and some of the smaller ones will be in trouble after the turn of the year. A lot of leases will be due and with everyone struggling I think a few will go

Reading back through this thread a lot of people obviously cite the internet and think that is the way forward,but remember not everyone has a computer and not everyone is interested in the net.A lot are but there are many people who value their High Street they just not spending and in a lot of customers I deal with it is not so much a lack of money it is all down to a lack of confidence in the present economic climate. A very vicious circle.

[298]

Certainly not "having a go" at you Kenton but a "radically reduced High Street" will be a complete disaster.

 

Brit15

 

If there is a precedent for such a disaster, you only have to look at the US- most city centres turned into business districts, as retailers moved to out of town to occupy space in malls. This was all before the internet revolution, so in years to come we might even see one of these close as shopping on the internet becomes the norm. It might be unwelcome, but it's just progress at work.

[MJI]

We lost our local model shop - empty buildings bring in a lot more rent than a paying tenant, I don't know why all the landlords don't raise the rents even higher so they can make their fortunes on empty premises.

[Michael Delamar]

MORAL - DON'T buy store cards anymore (any), give cash instead - cash is (and allways will be) king.

 

Brit15

 

I never do, because I always think of this when Homer gets talked into buying $1000 of the Itchy and Scratchy land money, gets in the park then no one takes it

 

sorry I couldnt find the clip, not as funny when you have to explain it

[Butler Henderson]

The failing High Street in many towns is a long overdue occurance , once they were full of butchers, bakers etc then along came the supermarkets and the shops were reused by other reatilers who eventually failed, in came the lesser quality shops who then have also given up in many places - the problem is simply far too many shop units in many towns and those on the side streets, roads leading away from the High Street should be turned into houses or cafes etc and the shops concentrated on the high street.