I'm in the market for a 19" LCD 4:3 computer monitor - and there are not many around, 'cos they're nearly all wide screen.
I've found some on Willen's site, but had hitherto not heard of the company. They apparently sell "factory graded or nearly new" items such as TVs and monitors - which seems to be roughly equivalent to Maplin's B-grade stuff - customer returns, packaging slightly damaged, etc.
Have any of you bought anything from them, and was it ok?
I have bought a lot of items from them on eBay. I live about 20 miles away from Willen (part of Milton Keynes) so I have usually collected them. Their warehouse is very close to the M1, Junction 14 (A509).
I have found them professional at all times. They are box shifters, by which I mean they sell electronic goods in very large volumes at very low prices. I have bought a professional digital SLR camera, two DVD recorders, several LCD picture frames, a bread maker and various other smaller items totalling well over £1000. No problems with any of them.
My sole complaint is that they make a charge for collection from their warehouse. The collection charge is much lower than their postage charge, but I really don't see why collection should not be free. But in the scheme of things, it isn't a vast sum of money (£2.50 IIRC) and all the items I have bought have been extremely competitively priced, even when that collection charge (grrr!) is included.
Their eBay rating is +127,292 and 98.7% positive, which is about what I would expect of this type of company. It would be worth looking through the comments associated with the negatives and neutrals to see what people have complained about.
Still some good 4:3 monitors around...
- Dell w/3yr warranty -
- Dell 2007FP 20" 1600x1200 4:3 IPS panel -
The 2007FP can be had on sale at places =A3125-129-159-179 also if not urgent. A very good monitor with 3yr warranty.
Don't know about Willen but there's loads of 19 inch monitors here (42):
Check Out CCL.... wonderful company, great tech support and customer services.
I would imagine that the reason they charge a collection fee is the same reason i charge a collection fee - to cover the cost of my time dealing with arranging it, the cost of any phone calls, time taken to email and to actually have someone to handle and process it when you pick it up, this ensures i make a profit on cheap sales!!
And don't they all have the ability to display in 4:3 ratio?
You might like to look at these
No, but even if they did, you'd end up with a big monitor displaying black strips. (Your PC video driver may be able to do this if you really want to.)
I recently went through the monitor replacement process, having had a 20" LCD 4:3 1600x1200 for 7 years (an excellent HP one), but which was suffering from some screen burn and backlight starting to go uneven.
I decided I wanted a slightly bigger one, at least same resolution, and 4:3. I couldn't find anything which was still made.
Displays are mainly made for TV, so it's very hard to find ones which aren't widescreen. For the same reason, the choice for anything higher than 1080 vertical is very limited. Put these two together, and there's just nothing large available in 4:3 anymore.
I eventually went for a 24" 1920x1200 Samsung 2443. It's good for the (quite cheap) price, but not in the same league as my HP one was (but nothing like the price that was new). A couple of friends had seen it and bought one, but I think it's gone obsolete now. There was another Samsung one same size and spec but with a more flashy surround and faster response for gaming (and less contrast IIRC), but I don't play games.
trading........if true the clang clanging you can hear is worth listening to.......
JimK
All the ones i've seen can, including the two 26" i have here. As for the black strip, if the resolution is correct they will be minimal and the picture will be exactly the same size as it would be on a 4:3 if the wide screen is the same height, so i don't see what the problem is, it's in the mind i think!
In reality there is little if any detectable difference to the eye between any unless the contrast ratio is really poor. I bought two of the cheapest i could find, they are both fine although one did have a low contrast ratio which is noticeable particularly on text.
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Grimly Fiendish" saying something like:
Depends on use. When it comes to photo processing, I'm stubbornly hanging on to my old Sony CRT until I can find a decent LCD at my price. I'm not into paying new prices for top kit, so I'm looking for last year's top kit, iyswim.
There is that - most of them are quite shit.
Willen Trading Ltd was put into members voluntary administration by Liquidity Services Ltd, its sole member, in Sept 2009. (Company no
05652418). They also appear to have stopped their collection service. "Willen Trading", also owned by Liquidity Services, appears to be a trading name of Liquidity Services rather than Willen Services Ltd as it does not seem to state it is trading in administration. The company details required to be shown by the E-Commerce regulations are not obvious.In their terms and conditions for returns they claim they have no responsibility for loss or damage in transit from the customer back to them. Under the Distance Selling Regulations they are at risk when goods are returned to them.
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Bob L saying something like:
tubes as of last May. Pity, they were bloody good.
You probably won't ever find an LCD that performs equally as well as a Sony CRT in good condition. I'm sad that I had to retire my Apple monitor, which uses a Sony tube, because it was getting dimmer.
Finding a new CRT of the same standard to replace it is of course impossible, and even the most expensive LCDs (Eizo, LaCie etc.) don't come close. You can train yourself to cope with an LCD monitor but they just aren't capable of producing the image quality of that good old Sony Trinitron- or Mitsubishi Diamondtron-based CRT monitor.
We're not there yet. Maybe 2011's top kit will be acceptable, and affordable in 2012.
Oh dear. That puts a very different complexion on things, so I withdraw my recommendation.
Many thanks to everyone who has replied. Even though some people seem to have had good service in the past, the company looks like it might have gone down the tubes - and I shall therefore give it a miss.
Pity - because I particularly like the spec of the LG L1942P monitor shown on their site, and I can't find anyone else with any stock - with the possible exception of Amazon at a silly price.
Thanks for the alternative recommendations - I will follow some of them up. If anyone can point me at a suitable model which is actually available at a reasonable price, I will be very grateful. I'm going to be taking my laptop between 2 locations, and intend to duplicate the peripherals. As part of this, I want a screen as similar as possible to my existing Samsung SyncMaster913B, which is:
19" screen with 4:3 (actually more like 5:4) aspect ratio Native resolution 1280 x 1024 Analog (D-sub) and Digital inputs Capability of being turned into portrait orientationThe LG L1942P (not to be confused with the L1942S or anything starting with W) would fit the bill perfectly - if only I could find one!
Ideas, anyone?
I had a bad experience- bought a fewwview box that was faulty, and then had trouble returning it. They took it back in th end, but I wouldn't use them again.
I dread to think were you have been for the last few years
@Sexfiend.fsnet.co.uk
all we need now is CG PW and Freda
I have an LG L1953HR that is being replaced on Tuesday if City Link do their stuff. I have the original packing for it. Email me if it's of interest.
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