Komplett closes retail ops across Europe

Online computer components retailer Komplett ASA has pulled the plug on several of its European websites. The Norway-based firm today shut down a number of its operations across Europe, including its British, French and German websites. The channel outfit, which has 16 internet shops in 10 countries, posted the following …

[Brian]

What?

I actually liked using these guys, they can't go! Dammit, stupid degree, I haven't bought new stuff in a while... if you stay, I promise I'll find money to get more stuff!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Shame

Twas a good company and I've bought many a item from them.

[Craig]

Bummer

I've bought a bit from them in the past, always seemed to have some decent offers on.

[Knasher]

Still Alive

Komplett.ie is still alive (yes I rephrased specifically for the portal reference). Does anyone know if its going to stay that way, or if its just a temporary oversight? I was considering a purchase soon and I don't want to pay the overhead overclockers charges for shipping.

[Patrick O'Reilly]

Strange

You'd think that they would be the bigger markets.

Ah well I'm happy the Irish one is still there...

[DrXym]

This is a shame

I've ordered stuff from them and they seemed like a good crowd - decent value, a good selection and prompt delivery. I wonder what reason they had for shutting up shop.

[Colin Guthrie]

Yeah ditto.

I've had a few dealings with these guys and have always been pleasantly surprised... which in fairness is probably in part to do with trying to deal with Dabs' customer support which is nothing short of a black hole.

[Michael Sheils]

Aw damn

They were one of the better online shops. They will be missed.

[Repo]

Ditto

A shame indeed; I'm guessing they couldn't kompete on price well enough :p

[Owen Sweeney]

Irish site will stay

A rep posted on an Irish BB that komplett.ie's future is secure:

Linkage: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055320846

Thank heaven for that. Cracking site for the most part.

[Joe Desbonnet]

Great company -- glad IE operation is still going

I've been ordering from Komplett (.ie) for many years and they have never let me down (can't say the same for the delivery guy however).

Website was a breeze to use and order from. Any problems were quickly resolved. Technical questions answered with reasonable competence.

I'd be curious to know what prompted this.

[Kevin Whitefoot]

Long live Komplett!

I have no idea what their foreign operations were like but I have bought plenty from them at home in Norway. So far they have been the epitomy of what a web shop should be: efficient, reasonably priced, fair.

And their behaviour when returning goods under warranty is, in my experience, very good indeed. Actually the Logitech XBox controller that failed is still in my junkbox because they simply took my word for it and sent me a new one.

So I hope this isn't the beginning of the end but rather a strategic withdrawal and chance to regroup.

[LeBeourfCurtaine]

Best days behind it

I recall that 2 years ago Komplett was untouchable on price, but I've noticed in the last couple of weeks that even trailblazing sites such as overclockers were cheaper. Rest In Pieces.

[Anonymous Coward]

Komplett won't disappear

Komplett is huge in Norway, so they won't disappear. I just read an article about them (not surprisingly), and they are certainly not in any financial problems. They do make a profit, but most of it comes from Norway. Their Norwegian site was twice as big as all the other countries combined. I guess they will focus more on smaller markets and leave the large markets alone.

[Stephane Mabille]

Sad

Hi,

As many people here I find it quite sad, they always had great services, excellent delivery etc... and they might be a few £ above the lowest price but still always been very competitive and always worth it :-(

[Anonymous Coward]

Meh....

Komplett were never the cheapest (Komplett.ie anyway, which looks like it's still available). tekheads.co.uk is the best I've found so far, order it today, usually have the following day and thats coming from the UK.

[Tom]

Too expensive

They were even more expensive than overclockers.co.uk, and couldnt touch dabs.com, so i would always shop elsewhere...

nice site mind.

[CrackedButter]

RE: Prices

They were a bit expensive, I waited months for a price drop on a HD which never came and by chance I looked at Dabs which were selling it £25 cheaper. Komplett were weird but I never got a chance to buy from them because of their prices.

[Rich]

Oh well

Long live TheOverclockingStore

Are we in a period where small firms are going to dissappear also?

[Jonathan]

Oh well...

At lest there's still dabs.co.uk & dabs.ie beats Komplett price's most of the time.

[Gerry Doyle]

P+P?

For anyone ordering from UK online stores it's the P+P rates that have always been the killer, it's as if they simply did not want to do business with anyone abroad.

If something from dabs was cheaper than komplett you could be sure that this would be wiped out by their P+P. Trying to order a bass guitar I was quoted 75 of your British pounds for carriage, while Thomans in Germany charged a maximum of 15 euros and free if over a certain amount - and that's right up to entire PA and lighting systems. I've ordered sets of large hardback books all the way from the USA for less than Amazon.co.uk charge for a single slim volume.

[Christopher A Light]

Curates Egg

OK, s bunch of you loved them to bits.

I bought from them twice. Twice I got faulty goods, twice I got (very) delayed delivery. The delivery was entirely DHLs fault, probably the worst courier firm I know of. But the faulty goods really put me off, bad luck it may have been, but after twice in a row I wasn't inclined to go through the resultant delay a third time.

Komplett aren't the only firm I've had poor experiences with and decided to avoid in future though...

Overclockers for me these days. Fast, reliable, good deals and, when you do get the odd DOA, well, they sort it out cheerfully and commendably quickly.

I for one won't be missing Komplett.

What these firms seem to fail to understand is that what most of us want is:

• An easy to use, well designed shop

• Accurately described items

• Accurate stock level indication

• Goods delivered promptly and in working order

• Reasonable prices (cheap is NOT always the priority - not when you need something NOW

• A simple but secure payment system

• Prompt delivery by a reliable courier service at a reasonable price

If they fail to tick the boxes, well, there are plenty of others to check out...

[Doug Lynn]

Been a online computer reseller 10 years, can't make money selling parts or computers

Hi, I started in 1998 and did well for 3 years and then the 'big guys' got on the internet and killed it for small resellers, they sell at wholesale prices, no more 15% markup, which what it takes to make a profit after paying for parts, advertising and expenses. Ebay is a joke for selling new computer parts, between Paypal and Ebay they charge over 10% to sell a computer part. Only good for selling used/old parts for clearance. Some of the big computer sites are actually owned by computer manufacturers and distributors, competing directly with their own resellers. An example is ABS computers who owes NewEgg, Malabs owns EWiz. Mitac owns Synnex and Tyan. The problem is the gray market, substandard parts, OEM selling off their surpluses, etc. The only way to make money is high end system integration and repair of computers. Its so bad now even the big computer retailers are folding, Monarch Computers, CompUSA. The problem is consumers don't know how to buy smart, get quality parts only, get better warranty and service, its just price, price, price. You do get what you pay for and don't get what you don't pay for. There is so much fake parts out there, just look at the Cisco clones the USA DOD bought unaware...I make my money now doing NASA system integration, last big project was ground computers for GLAST project, thats in orbit studying the far reaches of the universe. The heck with selling parts or computers. Brand name computer you make 3-5% markup, enough to cover your expenses, nothing else for profit. Pretty soon if you want a computer part, you will have to go to Walmart and pay full retail price, or mail order it, there will be no more computer stores. Some retail stores won't even sell branded computers, there is no money in it, and they even lose money. Sorry for the whining but wanted you to know to treat your local reseller nicer and expect to pay more for local sales and service.

'

[Christopher A Light]

Oh really?

OK, s bunch of you loved them to bits.

I bought from them twice. Twice I got faulty goods, twice I got (very) delayed delivery. The delivery was entirely DHLs fault, probably the worst courier firm I know of. But the faulty goods really put me off, bad luck it may have been, but after twice in a row I wasn't inclined to go through the resultant delay a third time.

Komplett aren't the only firm I've had poor experiences with and decided to avoid in future though...

Overclockers for me these days. Fast, reliable, good deals and, when you do get the odd DOA, well, they sort it out cheerfully and commendably quickly.

I for one won't be missing Komplett.

What these firms seem to fail to understand is that what most of us want is:

• An easy to use, well designed shop

• Accurately described items

• Accurate stock level indication

• Goods delivered promptly and in working order

• Reasonable prices (cheap is NOT always the priority - not when you need something NOW

• A simple but secure payment system

• Prompt delivery by a reliable courier service at a reasonable price

If they fail to tick the boxes, well, there are plenty of others to check out...

[Anonymous Coward]

hopefully komplett.ie will stay up

In Ireland, komplett.ie often beat the others on price, but what matters to me is that htey always had prompt delivery and excellent service. I've bought hard drives, USB sticks, mp3 players, quite a bit of kit over the years.

the one item I had a problem with was a creative zen sleek. Komplett advertised a 2 year warranty (easily checked as they give you a lot of info on your purchase history), which meant when it started to hang and lock up after most of a year I spent too long trying to repair it's database and update firmware before eventually looking for a replacement. Turned out Creative only offer a 1 year warranty, so when I complained to komplett, they replaced it immediately with a newer model, no quibbles. Great service every time. Hang in there komplett.ie, lord knows everywhere else charges an arm and a leg to deliver to the republic, so you'll still be getting my business!

MikeC