Dick Smith Exposed

[Phil Allison]

** From the SMH:

Dick Smith and other retailers exposed for selling returned items as new.

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/used-sold-as-new-dick-smith-says-it-wouldnt-happen-if-he-was-in-charge-20111223-1p890.html

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/exposed-new-dick-smith-hard-drive-full-of-pirated-movies-20111222-1p6eh.html

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/new-goods-scandal--more-stores-accused-20111223-1p80h.html

Anyone who has ever had anything to do with retailing knows that any item
returned in presentable condition goes right back on the shelf. That is why
retailers will not accept damaged items for return nor items with no
packaging.

DSEs famous 7 or 14 day " satisfaction guarantee" was all about doing just
this.

But with digital storage media, the subsequent owner can be in for a nasty
surprise ...

It ain't happed to me, but I have been sold faulty valves and transistors
where I was certainly not the first owner.


.... Phil

 

[kreed]

On Dec 23, 2:26 pm, "Phil Allison" <phi...@tpg.com.au> wrote:

** From the SMH:

Dick Smith and other retailers exposed for selling returned items as new.

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/used-sold-as-new-dick-sm...

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/exposed-new-dick-smith-h...

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/new-goods-scandal--more-...

Anyone who has ever had anything to do with retailing knows that any item
returned in presentable condition goes right back on the shelf. That is why
retailers will not accept damaged items for return nor items with no
packaging.

DSEs famous 7 or 14 day " satisfaction guarantee" was all about doing just
this.

But with digital storage media, the subsequent owner can be in for a nasty
surprise ...

It ain't happed to me, but I have been sold faulty valves and transistors
where I was certainly not the first owner.

...  Phil

A lot more of this in Whirlpool forums I noticed too.

Im not really surprised at this, and I don't think it would be limited
to Dick Smith either.


As for your case with valves and transistors, it could also apply to
kits.

IIRC years ago, when you bought a kit from Dick Smith, you would be
able to return it for a refund if, once getting it home, opening it
and looking at what was involved, you didnt feel confident you could
build it and hadn't started construction.

If there were IC's involved, and they were not handled with static
safe methods before being returned, you could end up with a faulty
kit, if you were the next owner of one of these returned kits.

 

[David Eather]

On 23/12/2011 10:53 PM, kreed wrote:

On Dec 23, 2:26 pm, "Phil Allison"<phi...@tpg.com.au> wrote:
** From the SMH:

Dick Smith and other retailers exposed for selling returned items as new.

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/used-sold-as-new-dick-sm...

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/exposed-new-dick-smith-h...

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/new-goods-scandal--more-...

Anyone who has ever had anything to do with retailing knows that any item
returned in presentable condition goes right back on the shelf. That is why
retailers will not accept damaged items for return nor items with no
packaging.

DSEs famous 7 or 14 day " satisfaction guarantee" was all about doing just
this.

But with digital storage media, the subsequent owner can be in for a nasty
surprise ...

It ain't happed to me, but I have been sold faulty valves and transistors
where I was certainly not the first owner.

... Phil


A lot more of this in Whirlpool forums I noticed too.

Im not really surprised at this, and I don't think it would be limited
to Dick Smith either.


As for your case with valves and transistors, it could also apply to
kits.

IIRC years ago, when you bought a kit from Dick Smith, you would be
able to return it for a refund if, once getting it home, opening it
and looking at what was involved, you didnt feel confident you could
build it and hadn't started construction.

If there were IC's involved, and they were not handled with static
safe methods before being returned, you could end up with a faulty
kit, if you were the next owner of one of these returned kits.

Just as a BTW the Dick Smith "satisfaction guarantee" is gone. Now they
only exchange as required by law.

--
We have failed to address the fundamental truth that endless growth is
impossible in a finite world.

 

[Jeßus]

On Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:26:47 +1100, "Phil Allison" <phil_a@tpg.com.au>
wrote:

What an unfortunate subject title (shudder).

 

[Ian Field]

"kreed" <kenreed1999@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:9fb7b7c9-acdb-42af-a96b-59a4e2b0118c@b20g2000pro.googlegroups.com...
On Dec 23, 2:26 pm, "Phil Allison" <phi...@tpg.com.au> wrote:

** From the SMH:

Dick Smith and other retailers exposed for selling returned items as new.

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/used-sold-as-new-dick-sm...

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/exposed-new-dick-smith-h...

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/new-goods-scandal--more-...

Anyone who has ever had anything to do with retailing knows that any item
returned in presentable condition goes right back on the shelf. That is
why
retailers will not accept damaged items for return nor items with no
packaging.

DSEs famous 7 or 14 day " satisfaction guarantee" was all about doing just
this.

But with digital storage media, the subsequent owner can be in for a nasty
surprise ...

It ain't happed to me, but I have been sold faulty valves and transistors
where I was certainly not the first owner.

... Phil

A lot more of this in Whirlpool forums I noticed too.

Im not really surprised at this, and I don't think it would be limited
to Dick Smith either.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Had returned faulty items that had been put back on the shelf several times
from Maplin in the UK.

Suspect once or twice from the Lidl chain of stores too.

 

[bristan]

"Phil Allison" wrote in message news:9lie89Fu78U1@mid.individual.net...


** From the SMH:

Dick Smith and other retailers exposed for selling returned items as new.

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/used-sold-as-new-dick-smith-says-it-wouldnt-happen-if-he-was-in-charge-20111223-1p890.html

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/exposed-new-dick-smith-hard-drive-full-of-pirated-movies-20111222-1p6eh.html

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/new-goods-scandal--more-stores-accused-20111223-1p80h.html

Anyone who has ever had anything to do with retailing knows that any item
returned in presentable condition goes right back on the shelf. That is why
retailers will not accept damaged items for return nor items with no
packaging.

DSEs famous 7 or 14 day " satisfaction guarantee" was all about doing just
this.

But with digital storage media, the subsequent owner can be in for a nasty
surprise ...

It ain't happed to me, but I have been sold faulty valves and transistors
where I was certainly not the first owner.


.... Phil

When I negotiated a price match on my wireless router from DS, the salesgirl
rummaged in a cupboard and came out with a boxed unit. When I got it home
and set it up it already had details in it including a hotmail address. It
would appear that the customer thought he/she could connect to the internet
without an isp? and when not successful, returned the unit. Nevertheless it
has worked faultlessly since. When I was next in the store I mentioned the
fact to the manager, and also that the Ethernet cable was missing. He
apologised and was willing to give me a cable however as I have plenty
already, I declined.
Not limited to Dick Smith either. I purchased a canon Camera from Harvey
Norman last year. I negotiated a lower price and the salesman assured me
that they had new stock and it would not be the display unit. He then walked
me to the payment counter and disappeared saying that he had to search the
storeroom. After what seemed a rather long time he appeared with a boxed
unit and I made the purchase. When I got the box home and set it up all
appeared ok except that the battery was already installed in the camera and
there was no battery cover. Having purchased several Canon cameras
previously, the batteries always come in a sealed plastic bag so the guy had
more than likely reboxed the display unit or given me a return. It has
proved to be OK also, tho I would like a battery cover
I find myself opening boxes in the car park these days just to make sure I
am getting what I paid for before I take it home!

 

[Phil Allison]

"kreed"

As for your case with valves and transistors, it could also apply to
kits.

IIRC years ago, when you bought a kit from Dick Smith, you would be
able to return it for a refund if, once getting it home, opening it
and looking at what was involved, you didnt feel confident you could
build it and hadn't started construction.

If there were IC's involved, and they were not handled with static
safe methods before being returned, you could end up with a faulty
kit, if you were the next owner of one of these returned kits.


** As I recall, ICs were supplied in a plastic bag and were inserted into
pieces of conductive foam - whether they needed that or not.

By far the most likely reason for finding a bad part in a DSE kit is that is
came from a shonky supplier. This was particularly true of TO3 transistors
with "TIC" brand on them or later the Motorola "M" brand on them.

At one time in the late 1970s, DSE were selling LM741s that were out of spec
and more than half were completely dud. I remember the logo on the packs was
like a clover leaf.

The faulty transistors I bought were MJ15031/32s from David Reed in York
Street. I purchased 5 of each and they were all shorted C-E. When I got a
staffer to check the remaining stock with a multimeter - they proved to be
all shorted too.

Then the truth came out, all the stock had been returned by another customer
who had put them through a selection process to find the ones with the
highest Vce rating. He returned all the ones that failed his test.

The faulty valves were GE brand 6L6GCs bought from Radio Despatch Service in
George Street. I had returned four of them for making severe crackling
noises only to have them turn up in an amplifier on my bench two weeks
later. The owner of the amp had bought them from RDS a few days previously
and he still had the boxes. They were the same ones.


.... Phil

 

[Phil Allison]

"bristan"

When I negotiated a price match on my wireless router from DS, the
salesgirl rummaged in a cupboard and came out with a boxed unit. When I
got it home and set it up it already had details in it including a hotmail
address. It would appear that the customer thought he/she could connect to
the internet without an isp? and when not successful, returned the unit.

** Some customers are very cunning.

With stores that offer a no quibbles return policy - they will return an
item that is clearly faulty and say they changed their
mind. They then get an immediate, no questions asked instead of waiting god
knows how long for the item to be assessed and maybe repaired by DSE or some
other company.

With the money, they then buy another one at another DSE store or elsewhere.

The faulty one is then sold to the next customer.....


.... Phil

 

[geoff]

Jeßus wrote:

On Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:26:47 +1100, "Phil Allison" <phil_a@tpg.com.au
wrote:

What an unfortunate subject title (shudder).

"Exposed Dick" ?!!!

Surely the man hiumself should sue Woolworths to take his face off
everything, as they now do zero of what his chain was originally about.

Unless he has no pride.

geoff

 

[Phil Allison]

"geoff"

Jeßus wrote:

What an unfortunate subject title (shudder).

"Exposed Dick" ?!!!

Surely the man hiumself should sue Woolworths to take his face off
everything, as they now do zero of what his chain was originally about.

** Dick sold his name and the " Dick face " logo to Woollies for a tidy
sum - you know.

For a while time in the 70s, delivery vans had the Dick face logo on the
back with the words:

" The Electronic Dick "

in large, black letters.


.... Phil

 

[Bruce Varley]

"geoff" <geoff@nospampaf.co.nz> wrote in message
news:u--dnalbYY2P02jTnZ2dnUVZ_qSdnZ2d@giganews.com...

Jeßus wrote:
On Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:26:47 +1100, "Phil Allison" <phil_a@tpg.com.au
wrote:

What an unfortunate subject title (shudder).

"Exposed Dick" ?!!!

Surely the man hiumself should sue Woolworths to take his face off
everything, as they now do zero of what his chain was originally about.

Unless he has no pride.

geoff
His moniker is likely to be part of the business assets, Mr Smith probably

has no further say in the matter.

 

[T.T.]

"Phil Allison" <phil_a@tpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:9ll1tkFpl3U1@mid.individual.net...

"geoff"

Jeßus wrote:

What an unfortunate subject title (shudder).

"Exposed Dick" ?!!!

Surely the man hiumself should sue Woolworths to take his face off
everything, as they now do zero of what his chain was originally about.


** Dick sold his name and the " Dick face " logo to Woollies for a tidy
sum - you know.

For a while time in the 70s, delivery vans had the Dick face logo on the
back with the words:

" The Electronic Dick "

in large, black letters.


... Phil

I know what a silversmith does and I have seen a locksmith at work.
But a Dick Smith?

 

[kreed]

On Dec 24, 1:59 pm, "geoff" <ge...@nospampaf.co.nz> wrote:

Jeßus wrote:
On Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:26:47 +1100, "Phil Allison" <phi...@tpg.com.au
wrote:

What an unfortunate subject title (shudder).

"Exposed Dick" ?!!!

Surely the man hiumself should sue Woolworths to take his face off
everything, as they now do zero of what his chain was originally about.

Unless he has no pride.

geoff

When you see him unashamedly spruiking for the Woolies group about how
great they are and are as pure as the driven snow, it shows quite
clearly what side he is on - at the same time rubbishing Aldi, who
through their much better pricing on many items are probably doing a
lot to keep food on the table in many low income households.


He seems not to be concered about how his "heroes" treat their
suppliers, or what they have done to small businesses over the years
either. Ironic, since he started out small himself.

 

On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:50:39 +1100, "Phil Allison" <phil_a@tpg.com.au> wrote:

....

At one time in the late 1970s, DSE were selling LM741s that were out of spec
and more than half were completely dud. I remember the logo on the packs was
like a clover leaf.

I think there were heaps of faulty 741s on the market, I remember
building an acceptance tester that the assembly people could bin
the parts into working comparators, integrators, or fully functional.

We didn't get many product returns, and the binning sure helped
improve manufacturing yield for completed assemblies, mid 70s.

The faulty transistors I bought were MJ15031/32s from David Reed in York
Street. I purchased 5 of each and they were all shorted C-E. When I got a
staffer to check the remaining stock with a multimeter - they proved to be
all shorted too.

Then the truth came out, all the stock had been returned by another customer
who had put them through a selection process to find the ones with the
highest Vce rating. He returned all the ones that failed his test.

Poor testing, worse ethics

DSE also supplied remarked 5% resistors as 1%, some values you
could see the gold showing through the brown tolerance band.

Grant.

 

[keithr]

On 24/12/2011 3:46 PM, T.T. wrote:

"Phil Allison"<phil_a@tpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:9ll1tkFpl3U1@mid.individual.net...

"geoff"

Jeßus wrote:

What an unfortunate subject title (shudder).

"Exposed Dick" ?!!!

Surely the man hiumself should sue Woolworths to take his face off
everything, as they now do zero of what his chain was originally about.


** Dick sold his name and the " Dick face " logo to Woollies for a tidy
sum - you know.

For a while time in the 70s, delivery vans had the Dick face logo on the
back with the words:

" The Electronic Dick"

in large, black letters.


... Phil


I know what a silversmith does and I have seen a locksmith at work.
But a Dick Smith?

A Japanese legend has it that a demon with sharp teeth had hidden in the
vagina of a girl, and had successively castrated two young men during
their wedding night. A blacksmith fashioned an iron phallus to break the
teeth of the devil, and the subject became a holy relic. A Dick Smith?

 

[David Eather]

On 24/12/2011 1:59 PM, geoff wrote:

Jeßus wrote:
On Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:26:47 +1100, "Phil Allison"<phil_a@tpg.com.au
wrote:

What an unfortunate subject title (shudder).

"Exposed Dick" ?!!!

Surely the man hiumself should sue Woolworths to take his face off
everything, as they now do zero of what his chain was originally about.

Unless he has no pride.

geoff

What Dick used to do was sell you resistors that with a 98% profit
margin and tantalum's with an 86% margin*. Then he got on TV to complain
how IKEA was ripping of Australians

* my very first job was as a salesman at DSE Chermside.
--
We have failed to address the fundamental truth that endless growth is
impossible in a finite world.

 

[kreed]

On Dec 25, 7:01 am, David Eather <eat...@tpg.com.au> wrote:

On 24/12/2011 1:59 PM, geoff wrote:









Jeßus wrote:
On Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:26:47 +1100, "Phil Allison"<phi...@tpg.com.au
wrote:

What an unfortunate subject title (shudder).

"Exposed Dick" ?!!!

Surely the man hiumself should sue Woolworths to take his face off
everything, as they now do zero of what his chain was originally about.

Unless he has no pride.

geoff

What Dick used to do was sell you resistors that with a 98% profit
margin and tantalum's with an 86% margin*. Then he got on TV to complain
how IKEA was ripping of Australians

* my very first job was as a salesman at DSE Chermside.
--
We have failed to address the fundamental truth that endless growth is
impossible in a finite world.

Strange how they always see their own worst faults in others isnt
it ? Never been to Ikea, so dont know what their pricing is like.

 

[TonyS]

On 25/12/2011 9:33 AM, kreed wrote:

On Dec 25, 7:01 am, David Eather<eat...@tpg.com.au> wrote:
On 24/12/2011 1:59 PM, geoff wrote:









Jeßus wrote:
On Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:26:47 +1100, "Phil Allison"<phi...@tpg.com.au
wrote:

What an unfortunate subject title (shudder).

"Exposed Dick" ?!!!

Surely the man hiumself should sue Woolworths to take his face off
everything, as they now do zero of what his chain was originally about.

Unless he has no pride.

geoff

What Dick used to do was sell you resistors that with a 98% profit
margin and tantalum's with an 86% margin*. Then he got on TV to complain
how IKEA was ripping of Australians

* my very first job was as a salesman at DSE Chermside.
--
We have failed to address the fundamental truth that endless growth is
impossible in a finite world.

Strange how they always see their own worst faults in others isnt
it ? Never been to Ikea, so dont know what their pricing is like.

Really? How much would your mark up be if you'd have to re-package a
penny article and sell it in retail quantities, keeping it on stock over
years? Keep in mind you have to make a profit.

 

[Phil Allison]

"kreed"

Some Trolling Idiot

What Dick used to do was sell you resistors that with a 98% profit
margin and tantalum's with an 86% margin*. Then he got on TV to complain
how IKEA was ripping of Australians

* my very first job was as a salesman at DSE Chermside.

** What era was this ?

I know someone what was there in the late 70s.

DSE generally lost money selling 0.5W resistors and tantalum caps through
their retail stores.

Wages paid to staff that had to order and handle such stock and deal with
counter sales exceeded the value the sales - plus there as a high theft
rate.


" Never been to Ikea, so dont know what their pricing is like."

Dick's criticisms of Aldi, Ikea and others is all here:

http://whatacon.com.au/blog/ikea-what-going

He seems to have a good point.



.... Phil

 

[keithr]

On 25/12/2011 8:01 AM, David Eather wrote:

On 24/12/2011 1:59 PM, geoff wrote:
Jeßus wrote:
On Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:26:47 +1100, "Phil Allison"<phil_a@tpg.com.au
wrote:

What an unfortunate subject title (shudder).

"Exposed Dick" ?!!!

Surely the man hiumself should sue Woolworths to take his face off
everything, as they now do zero of what his chain was originally about.

Unless he has no pride.

geoff



What Dick used to do was sell you resistors that with a 98% profit
margin and tantalum's with an 86% margin*. Then he got on TV to complain
how IKEA was ripping of Australians

And the rest. When I went to Tokyo in 1980, I found that I could buy the
same stuff at one third the price retail in Akihabara.

* my very first job was as a salesman at DSE Chermside.

You weren't a "Techxpert" were you