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I have just bought something from ebay & I was offered "click & collect" as an option, so I clicked it to see my nearest store & it came up with an Argos store up the road from me, pretty convenient as I pass it at least 3 times a day!
So that's great right?, well I can see it's great for convenience, great for the seller as they don't have to worry about people being in when their courier calls, but just what is in it for Argos?
Obviously they get paid per order, but to me it just means they are in trouble & looking for extra revenue, given they are the same group as Comet, do you think they are the next big high street retailer to leave us?
Is it possible that the ebay seller is, in fact, part of the Argos group?
More feet through the door as well.
I wondered that, I also pondered why a group like Argos would want to devalue/dilute their business, both are beyond me.
Edit, item in question if your [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131095067463?var=430261993405&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 ] wondering [/url]
Argos devalue their business?
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So you're saying argos is acting as a collect+ type setup ?
(I believe some asda stores do collect+)
Jamie, that was going to be another avenue, they sell tat (maybe) at a price point, but they have the overheads of a high street retailer, if they except that they are not the cheapest & are trying to take a slice of other cheaper on-line retailers then it can only mean one thing, & that's another major one gone! 🙁
2unfit - Argos are doing very well right now - their click and collect has made their profits soar and everyone is now looking to their business model (and the same group own Homebase too btw). They aren't going bust just yet.
Argos are kinda the original click&collect aren't they? Also, AFAIK, they had a great year last year didn't they? Biggest seller of Apple products in the UK (again, AFAIK). I like that while everyone was predicting their demise a few years ago they've bounced back really well. 🙂
John, so the future of Argos is a collection point then?
2unfit - you can check availability of stock and order it, meaning you don't waste a journey going into town only to find out they didn't have it - and you get it a day quicker than anyone online.
It works really well.
John, so the future of Argos is a collection point then?
Not their future, no. But I imagine they have a logistics network in place that allows them to integrate the service into their product portfolio easily enough. As I said, they've been doing click&collect for years. There probably aren't that many organisations that can match their expertise in that area.
John, I get that, I just don't get them taking a courier fee rather than a 50-70% mark up, to me it just means they are rolling over & excepting the can't compete with the likes of Ebay.
But Argos was always just a collection point?
Sometimes companies realise that they can't compare with a certain competitor, so instead of trying to compete with them directly, they join in somewhere along the supply chain and take a slice of the pie. Also, as enfht pointed out above, it's making you walk into their store, where you just might remember something else you needed, and, oh, look where you are...
Jamie, that was going to be another avenue, they sell tat (maybe) at a price point, but they have the overheads of a high street retailer, if they except that they are not the cheapest & are trying to take a slice of other cheaper on-line retailers then it can only mean one thing, & that's another major one gone!
Show me another proper high street retailer that carries the range of goods that Argos does.
Giving Chippenham as an example, there isn't another that carries cameras, jewellery, TV's, and other stuff, you have to go right out of town to a Curry's/PC World for starters, which means driving, it's at least a mile or so.
Acting as a collection point, each collection may not make much, but, other than storage, there's little outlay for Argos, and the cumulative amount just adds to the profits.
they sell tat
See my post above. Anyone that thinks they sell [i]just[/i] tat is thinking through his arse.
OK, just to reiterate where I was going in the first place, argos are happy to act as a courier, we all know there is F all in that, seems they are making the most of what they have rather playing on their strengths, which would be a "buy it here now" (assuming you have checked that your desired store has it in stock) store.
Argos (and a lot of other high street retailers) use eBay as a clearance channel to sell end of line or hard to shift gear they can't sell though their normal stores/websites. It means they can avoid devaluing their brand, reach an audience looking for a bargain and therefore willing to buy out of date or undesirable merchandise, reach people who wouldn't normally go into a store and the price they can get on eBay is actually quite high.
So you basically bought some shit Argos couldn't sell the first time round. But you still bought it from Argos.
So you basically bought some shit Argos couldn't sell the first time round. But you still bought it from Argos.
I have put up the link to the item I bought if you want to look, given that I stopped off to look for a bin in B&Q earlier & and a standard bin with lid was over £25 I took to looking on Ebay & found a better product for a lot less, it is an oxymoron in itself, but to further this Argos is happy to act as a courier to allow people to buy cheaper shit, make of that what you will.
I have thought for a while that Argos had an ideal opportunity to take forward their business to the next level with an 'order online for same day delivery' type deal within a certain radius from stores, a bit like Domino's 😀
ninfan - they already do that, I think