Coin battery

[cl]

I don't know. I used them occasionally back then because they were not impossibly far from home (Barnet, not the Middle East), they specialised in BBC Computer stuff for a while didn't they?

[cl]

Aha, yes, I was going to suggest they became one of the many PC bits and pieces suppliers.

[Andy Burns]

Dunno, UK101 bits for me

[The Natural Philosopher]

And if you have ever run a business you understand that implicitly: A shop is not where you but product: Its where you buy convenience of access and hopefully customer service. If it offers neither, buy online.

[alan_m]

Kodak - another badge that's stuck on second rate goods. Today the badge may be on a fairly decent battery but tomorrow it will be stuck on some junk that came in at half the price of the first battery.

[Adrian C]

And they don't last very long hanging around in a card of 50 waiting to be used up ....

They leak :(

Saying that, I do still buy them (and similar cheapies from eBay) but if the so powered item is to be stored unused for a time, I remove the cells.

[Johny B Good]

I did realise that. I just forgot to add a smiley.My apologies to Whisky-dave for that oversight.

[Theo Markettos]

'Watfraud' had a reputation for 'interesting' business practices. It looks like the 'interestingness' continues in its Saverstore/Savastore guise - it's the same Jessa brothers who set up Watford, 'buying it' was just rearranging of the shell companies.

Theo

[Theo Markettos]

They were going that way in the late 80s/early 90s - there were complaint letters in Electronics - The Maplin Magazine (remember that?) about it. Raspberry Pi is actually a pullback in some ways: in the 2000s it was all PC bits and disco lights.

Theo

[news]

Unless it was just after the new catalogue came out of course - I was building electronics projects in the late '70s when everyone looked forward to the annual event of the "New Maplin Catalogue". Unfortunately in the immediate aftermath of a new catalogue it was not unusual to wait 4 to 6 weeks for your ordered bits to arrive.

[Scott M]

Me! Me! I bought a selection of bits from Maplins via eBay a couple of years ago. Must have been competitive or I wouldn't have used them.

God knows what it was but it must have been quite obscure if no-one else was selling them/cheaper. And, in mitigation, it has only been the one time ;-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I can't remember how long CPC have been doing free postage on web sales, but they are now my first choice. Only criticism being their website is perhaps more difficult to find what you want on than Ebay. I *think* they may have a minimum charge of 10 quid or so but never a problem to make the order up to that. ;-)

[Bob Eager]

It's a fiver now...!

[Scott M]

I can't use CPC's website on its own without a paper catalogue to flick through first - and its got a lot harder to get books out of them in recent years.

[Chris French]

I use it quite often, but there is something fussy about the credit card handling bit.

It seems to object to something in the address it sees as not matching the card address. Though I can't see what, and no other website objects.

So I have to go through a little routine of doing the payment 3 times. After the third time it says order accepted, but there is a problem with the card or soemthing and to contact them.

Leave it there and then the order gets done. I think it kicks it off to someone to check manually from what someone said when I phoned them the first time

[Johny B Good]

That's interesting. Do you know whether they sell items like the VARTA Mempac 3/V150H Rechargeable Battery?

Their site is down right now (a maintenance thing) so I can't check it out right now at 2:37 in the am (probably thought the wee small hours would be the least disruptive time to go "Off Air", I guess).

I've seen that item (backup battery used by the Potterton EP2000 controller) advertised by a couple of e-tailers at around the 5 quid vat inclusive price but the killer is the £4.99 P&P delivery charge.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Yes - 4.73 inc for one. However, you might fall foul of the minimum charge for credit card sales - but it will tell you if you order.

[Johny B Good]

Probably too late to save anyone replying but I thought I'd let you all know that, after seeing my post (made more as a reminder to try checking CPC's website later), I see that CPC do indeed stock this item.

They sell it in two flavours. The slightly more expensive to make, solder tagged version, for a mere £3.94 versus the slightly cheaper to make tagless version (the one I'm _supposed_ to fit) for an eye watering £6.88 (a staggering £2.94 +VAT premium to save the manufacturer's additional expense of spot welding solder tags onto the battery!!!). One of the more extreme examples of the effect of "Supply and Demand" on pricing (a real 'tour de force' example imo!).

Needless to say, I'm going to buy the cheaper tagged (but otherwise identical) battery and make up the order with a couple of other cheap bits (40W oven lamp for 99p to provide a spare for our Bosch Oven - I paid over 4 quid plus VAT and P&P the last time I ordered one from Bosch- and a 3.5mm jack plug to phono lead for 60p to tip the order value over the 5 quid minimum line).

I'm now looking at a total, VAT inclusive price of £6.64 delivered next day (as soon as I submit my payment details and authorise the transaction). I'm quite impressed. I've basically managed to get a 33% discount on the delivered price offered by two other e-tail competitiors (admittedly, one of which was selling the non-tagged version) with a couple of useful 'freebies' thrown in (a spare oven lamp at less than quarter the price of the original and a useful audio lead).

+1 for CPC, "nul point" to their competitiors :-)

[Bob Eager]

£4.73 VAT inclusive. Buy a few resistors to get it over a fiver.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I don't generally get next day delivery with CPC free delivery. Next but one. In London.