Prompted by a few comments in other threads ...

I gather that one or two members here have worked at Jaycar at some time or other. Out of interest: what, if any, electrical/electronic qualifications/experience exists among the product buyers there?

Interesting question I had one eyeball to eyeball once & posed the question as to how they managed to remove so much expensive plasticiser that their flexible suicide cable could be stood in the corner with the broom?

Hi GTC I cannot comment on the new warehouse as I retired from any day to day contact with the firm about 7 years ago.

Background:

As one of the "technical" people my role around 1980's was making and repairing kit sets, making PCB's for a bunch of sellers (dont ask).
I initially helped Bill Edge with Electronic Agencies as well as working at RA Lister and for myself as above(yes 3 jobs).
When Bill decided to get out of Sydney (no comment) and as Gary Johnson had a different view to D. Smith about where DSE(no comment) was going. Gary aquired John Carr and started the journey of Jaycar. I wanted to keep going with electronics so started doing work for Gary at the time the warehouse was at Burwood on Paramatta Rd.
Buying was done by Gary and Bruce Routley and you guys who were into hobbies via EA ETI AEM will know that components were a matter of going OS and just buying heaps of stuff and re-selling.
As the number of stores and turnover increased, the buying department had to be done by more and more guys/girls but the components were always vetted by GJ, he had the final say as to what went into the catalogue and the stores. No problem with quality up to Y2000 or so.
By that time, buying was done with specialist managers, who then referred any tech problems back to me (hey fred what will I do about xyz) and a couple of other guys with specialist knowledge. I ran the phone help desk for about 20 years so was probably the "general specialist" who looked after the shit tech problems.
Anybody that worked at management level in the stores had my number on speed dial.
After too many heart attacks I backed off to working only one job for myself and just tackled specific tech problems and helped the in house tech specialists like Brian Chilcot. Later around 2010 Brian and I did of lot of product testing, performance, safety and liased with the production Dept to either modify or send back stuff we did not like.
Also around that time, with the quest always to cheapen the product, we left a lot of Taiwnaese and Korean suppliers behind and imported stuff from the PRC. Thats when the shit really started. PRC motto was "how many you want....... what colour?"
Product samples in testing simply would not do what they were supposed to do, fuses did not fuse at specified rating, batteries did not fit in holders, screws did not fit nuts, you name it. And thats just simple products. Anything with more complexity was just a night mare checking every facet of say an alarm system or DVR so that there was basic compliance and the thing actually worked.
Too long a story. Anyway, in the end I bowed out, Brian quit and retired to something simpler like testing atomic bombs and the quarity was left mainly to the supplier. So long as they could produce compliance paper work to make the government happy, no ploblem.
Whether a 3.5mm plug fitted into a 3.5mm socket became less important than if the compliance papers were correct.
Brian and I would say, BUT THE F---ING THING DOES NOT FIT. Reply from PRC supplier, NO PLOBLEM WE SEND MORE!

Well the above is a bit of a jaundiced view from someone right in the middle of it all and being hit with bad news from all sides.
After I left I of course kept in touch with GJ would drop into the head office, say hullo to all the girls in production and just watch with awe at how the office staff and warehouse size expanded. GJ aquired the Luxaflex building next door and kept extending the Jaycar building backwards into the next post code. There were dozens of people concerned with product buying and I am sure that only the highest quarity ploducts are sold and those of you who use components from Jaycar will know what I mean.
The company now is pretty much selling stuff in boxes with warranty and whether they keep on selling components is anybodies guess. The main reason for components was purely GJ, other people in the company viewed components as an expensive pest and would have dumped them years ago.
Well GJ is not there anymore and the family wants to sell up.
I would say get used to buying parts off the internet yourself direct from suppliers.

The company was built around producing a yearly catalogue every March, come hell or high water, and basing the years sales on that.
I dont see a 2022-3 Catalogue this year.
Smell the winds of change.
Fred.

As a kid I lived a few blocks away from Bill Edge which was on the corner of Parramatta Road and Lloyd George Avenue in Concord. I was always in there as a young lad. Fred, maybe you served me when I was on the scrounge for things. I vaguely remember the shop's brickwork being painted red in those days and when Jaycar came about, the signage was hand-painted for the first few years because the company didn't have a logo.

I was always fascinated by the Musicolour 4 machine in there with the coloured portaflood lamps beating in tune with the music played on the demonstrator HIFI system.

Well GJ is not there anymore and the family wants to sell up.

I just hope to Christ that Woolworths doesn't get a hold of the joint. Components or not, Jaycar is a successful business and components obviously sell otherwise even a conservative like Gary Johnstone would not have kept them going. When I go into the Gore Hill store, I always see people grabbing components and things like switches, sockets and relays. I do myself, mainly for work.

Wookworths would destroy the company like they did with Dick Smith and Tandy.

Above is a photo of the old place, looking rather neglected and sad. When Jaycar moved out, VIP Home Services set up shop here but they have since moved on.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

Hi Brad, yep the whole buisness was built around components and the catalogue.
The cat drove the business and was so important as the master tool for product line selection and pricing.
I used to wander around the various departments and shout at people not to forget WHY they were there, they were not just accountants or IT people, or buyers or organisers, they sold PARTS in a CATALOGUE and that's what paid their wages!!
Simple.

Jaycar is/was not just a electronics company, there were many other buisnesses under the company umbrella, but most importantly of all were the charities that GJ contributed millions of dollars a year to. He would not give me $5 if I was broke but $100,000 to a Kids charity or homeless people or a hospital was not a problem.

Yep, the Concord building does look a bit sad. Needs another coat of Jaycar colours to spruce it up! Just to think, that was the main warehouse back then (plus a bunch of lock ups and containers). My first "interview" with GJ was there. His office had only one chair (his), was full of product boxes and I had to pull up a box to sit on!!! I was "hired" with a handshake and then worked from home. He did not care where I was so long as I did the work required and charged what I said I would. Always paid on time.

That Concord building would fit through the doorway of the new warehouse at East Creek!

Memories.
Fred.

Brad, not sure if this Post is extending or hijacking GTC's initial Post. Please shift it if you consider it to be the latter ... Ian

Hi guys,

This is always a tough call for me when I need a part or parts. Freds' Posts don't surprise me ... they give me a laugh, but also make me disappointed / angry on a whole range of issues.

So, when I need something, I tend to buy from ....
* Elements14 et al in the hope that I get a better quality product and a timely delivery,
* Jaycar et al for midrange quarity, or 'need it now',
* Ebay et al if quarity is not a problem and I can wait a couple of months.

I don't buy sufficient quantities to be sure, so what are your thoughts/perceptions??

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Cheers, Ian

A bit off topic, but Woolworths might be good at selling groceries, but they are hopeless at anything else. Look at the Masters debacle, absolutely no idea how to run a hardware store. Was it any surprise that they destroyed DSE/Tandy?

Some food for thought regarding Tandy - Radio Shack (what Tandy is called in the US) is apparently starting to expand again. It proves that their business model (even though I found them a bit on the pricey side) works and Woolworths was out of order in messing about with it when they took over the chain of local stores - more than 400 from memory.

As a kid I spent a lot of time with my 150-1 kit with the spring-loaded terminals. There were enough circuits in that for all skill levels.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

I use Jaycar for most things I need. When it comes to something like a multimeter (and I do have a Jaycar analogue meter) I tend to go for something that won't break. Professionally, I will only use a Fluke meter. They are tough and accurate. They cost more because they go the distance. If Jaycar sold them I would buy it from Jaycar instead of an electrical wholesaler and score a few NerdPerk points for later use. I only use an analogue meter for some types of vintage radio work, so happy to buy that from Jaycar.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

Jaycar is the only choice for me, as I refuse to buy things online (call me a dinosaur), even though I have to drive 10km to get there. I have an analogue meter and a digital meter that both came from Tandy.

One day I needed a meter in a hurry so I grabbed a cheap one from Jaycar and used it once. I went back to it the other day and some of the ranges don't work. Maybe it was only meant to work once, I don't know.

One needs to keep an eye on meters I have had them go out of caibration. In the case of the AVO 7X it was caps. I have acouple of others of them from a deceased estate, one is marked as having an accuracy issue, likely the same fault? That one is normal used on the dirty automotive generators.

I and another have Jaycar QM-1020's and both give a different voltage reading on the 250V & 1000 Volt range, when switched from one to the other on the same source. So that issue is within the design and definately on "B" not a loading issue.

Marc

My analogue meter cost me about $30 I think. As I rarely use it the quality level is fine. Jaycar do sell a complete range, with better quality and a higher price included. It's a case of getting what one pays for. Because I use the digital job for work, paying top dollar for the best available is the only option.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

That is the criteria for a few things here. You develop a set of criteria that the thing needs to do and then find a device to do it. You do not look at the price at this point.

Valve radios are diffferent because of the voltages, and there can be an issue with RF in modern DVM's. That has to be taken into account. Often that will need CATIII or better. 7X is an Industrial meter.

Marc

Fred: Thanks for the inside view, albeit from a while ago, although I'm still in the dark as to what, if any, electronics qualifications exist among the buyers -- those who deal directly with the suppliers.

As regards the catalogue, that must cost a motza to produce. Frankly I'd prefer they spent the money to replace their pathetic website, with its lame search function. Compared to element14 and RS and WES, it's a joke.

Looking to the future, when GJ left the business and died soon afterwards, I thought: "Here we go -- DSE and Tandy revisited."

Whenever a business founder moves on, without there being a good succession plan in place, the risk of it collapsing is high. And even when there is such a plan, the replacement CEO will never be as dedicated and driven as the founder was.

If the Johnson family is about to sell the business, then the risk is doubled because the buyer is bound to be either a competitor or a venture capitalist, neither of which have the best interests of the traditional customer (i.e. hobbyist) front and centre. And they like to replace existing management with their own people, so out goes any carry over of tradition and business experience from the founder.

Regarding the Gore Hill store: the manager told me late last year that the site is slated to be redeveloped thus Jaycar has to move out. Except for COVID, I gather that would have already have occurred. I had hoped they would find a place in Artarmon (with parking!) but the latest scuttlebutt I hear is that they are looking to relocate to Chatswood, "near Bunnings". I hope not, as that would add 6 kilometres and a bunch more traffic lights to my trip.

I hear is that they are looking to relocate to Chatswood, "near Bunnings". I hope not, as that would add 6 kilometres and a bunch more traffic lights to my trip.

I didn't hear anything about that. Even though parking isn't a strong point at Gore Hill, I hope they don't move because I get to walk there from where I work. If Jaycar sets up shop in Chatswood it'll be problematic for me going there during work hours. There are plenty of empty shops in St Leonards, including former bank branches, although parking is still an issue I admit.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...