All Things Dick Smith - Crazy, Clearance, Collapse (Closure of Stores)

Yes I know we all knew about it a week ago, but it seems Dick Smith are finally advertising it Dick Smith Crazy Clearance- In-store only

There are still deals to be had, especially if your trained in bargain hunting (it also helps to know what is on clearance) as most of the good remaining bargains are not clearly marked or are in strange places.

Update:

ASX: Dick Smith to close all of their stores and undergo liquidation

Related Stores

Dick Smith / Kogan
Dick Smith / Kogan

Comments

Search through all the comments in this post.
        • Sounds like how it has always been, I don't see them shutting down completely, but either being sold off, or reducing store numbers to just profitable stores is likely.

  • looks like there is a fire sale

    • Is or will be?

      • wasn't there already a fire sale a month ago? lol

        • I wished I have a webcam pointing to the back doors of a DSE store right about now (or from yesterday)

  • What's the deal with extended warranties? I believe they will be honoured because the contract is with a third party. I was told this in store, is this true?

    • Never purchased extended warranties before, but don't they tell you the name of the company (the third party) that will handle the warranties?

      • Yeah, I hardly ever buy them. Usually the CGA is enough cover. I only bought one because the purchase was a display unit, and I figured they may not help if I had any problems.

        From what I can see, the warranty is provided by "The Warranty Group". Here is where you are told to make a claim.

        Looks like the warranty will be valid, unless there's some fine print somewhere saying otherwise.

        Who is the Insurer?

        • +1

          Well if the warranty company is still operating, then the warranty should be valid, right? Unless there is some insane fine print written somewhere which states that DSE must be in business too for the warrant to be valid….

          PS a check on the NZ company website for Warranty Group shows they are still a registered company

  • Shouldn't I be covered by CGA if Dick Smith owes me my refund for taking my money and not supplying the goods in regards to my C+C orders they did not fulfill and will not be fulfilling? Surely this is like an outstanding order and since the store continues to operate it needs to be completed?

    • +1

      Shouldn't I be covered by CGA

      No, I don't imagine CGA would come into this, but even if it did, you'd likely just be another unsecured creditor, much like gift card holders.

      Another option is to goto your local store, and see if they can help you at all.

      • But that's the issue, DSE hasn't even acknowledged the fact that I am owed the money, just that it is an outstanding order (30+ days by now). If I went to say the Small Claims Tribunal (I know, just an example) wouldn't it be seen as an unfulfilled sale?

        • Small Claims Tribunal

          Problem is, that takes time, and you likely have very little of that. You may also just be seen, as mentioned previously, as an unsecured creditor, and there isn't much that they can do about that.

          How did you make the purchase?

        • @Shaw: Debit I think, not too worried about it to be honest, I am just curious about obligations, etc.

        • @Toddy47:

          Not much when secured creditors (Banks, etc.) come first.

          If I were you, I'd be contacting my card provider and filing a dispute/chargeback, regardless of the amount, don't let them get away with screwing you around.

    • +1

      If you paid by Credit Card then a simple chargeback would suffice. If you paid with a debit card for C+C then you are essentially an unsecured trade creditor - but if they continue to trade then chances are you'll get your product. (Edit: Except special orders) Only when they close their doors would you have a serious chance of losing your money.

      See this link:
      https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/business-sale-or-collap…

    • If you're still owed money, I would be ringing customer support right now and demanding a refund. If they try and trade their way out, I would think they have to honour the CGA. If they go into liquidation, you'll probably be out of pocket.

      https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/business-sale-or-collap…

  • If I had purchased a Go Pro through that deal on the homepage, I would be pretty concerned right now. Do you think the title of that deal should be edited, so that more people are made aware of Dick Smith's situation.

    • This one?

      If so, not really concerned, as it's expired. Will add extra information for any future deal posts.

  • Yeah that's the one I meant. Good idea, I just thought it's such big news that it deserves some sort of exposure on the home page. But I realise it's not a news site : )

    Edit: I keep stuffing up my replies, sorry.

    • Edit: I keep stuffing up my replies, sorry.

      Ha, that's why the edit button is there!

      OzBargain have a small notice on their homepage,, but I don't see it being significant enough in NZ to warrant it's own homepage notice here. I will check with Scotty if the functionality exists to add a notice just to DSE related pages and see what can be done.

      • I kept posting a new comment instead of replying to you, that's what I meant.

        Yeah something like that is what I was meaning. I'd say most people know about the news anyway, so you're right, it's not a necessity.

        • +1

          Oh yea, I'm semi used to that now, so many do it! Doesn't matter though, still get email alerts.

          Have added a note to make anyone posting new DSE deals aware of what is going on, and will use the homepage notice as well, the most painless solution.

      • OzBargain have a small notice on their homepage

        mmmm…….. brandy flavoured custard… and only 5 cents

        • We some of that here!

  • If anyone does have a DSE GC, you could try it online and try your luck, but not sure if the systems crossover.

  • Just saw this posted in the OzBargain discussion.

  • Damn I'm still waiting on a refund for items I purchased online but they didn't have stock but my CC was charged… will hit up the bank and see if I can get a chargeback

    • Good luck, should be pretty painless, hopefully.

  • Stopped in just before to DickSmith in Wellington, a surprisingly busy store for a weekday although I guess it was lunch time.

    Had a good chat to a manager I'd previously dealt with during December sale, no new markdowns recently which we already sort of know, they're obviously fielding a lot of calls and inquiries about warranties and gift cards too.

    Store didn't look too empty of stock although I know they put a lot of work into rearranging the store so that it didn't look to empty after the December sale, quite a lot of low value items on the walls.

    • I've noticed a lot of low value stock around the walls too, even 56k modems…

      • They have a ridiculous amount of those modems, were discounted to $5 on December but I suspect even it they were free no one would want them.

        • Paperweights?

          Can get free boxes from supermarkets, so not worth grabbing for the box… Hmm… Will it blend? :)

        • @Shaw: Actually saw someone buy phone cable and adapter today, maybe not for their modem but still something I haven't seen in years.

        • @Toddy47:

          Like, old school? What kind of adapter?

        • @Shaw: Single phone line into two adapter, so old school can't remeber what you call them. What I use to use when i wanted have the phone in the jack at the same time as modem without having to unplug phone and plugin modem to dial-up.

        • @Toddy47:

          Na, that's beyond me haha, I always remember we just didn't use the phone while on the computer, or the other way around.

        • @Shaw: It was sort of similar with me, but my phone jack was behind my computer desk and it was such a mission trying to blindly unplug and plug it back in each time I wanted to connect so I got one of these I think from the Original $2 shop (Jeez are these guys still around) and would instead unplug the phone RJ11 connector from the back of phone so no-one would interrupt my connection.

          My Dad was always paranoid if you left the jack plugged in to the PC after you disconnected someone would hack your computer and dial 0900 numbers so had them blocked… lol.

          The good old days where I would load up Kazaa analyze an mp3 download for 20 minutes to ensure i didn't download a fake or incorrectly named file only to find after 40 minutes of downloading that the intro was missing or it had annoying voice overs the whole song.

        • @Toddy47:

          A handful of them left. You just need to travel around Asia to see how expensive the junk they sell actually is though, even at $2.

          Ha, I remember being excited that we got our first 'decent' computer, and went and jammed the rj45 into somewhere else, I can't recall exactly which socket, but it didn't like that, and ended up breaking it. Ofcorse we didn't have hundreds of spare cat4 cables laying around back in those days, so can't remember what the outcome was, but would've schemed something.

        • @Shaw: I can't believe how much I put up with as a kid. For years we had a cable that had a broken locking tab and it would regularly fall out when you were downloading something big via internet explorer so all progress would be lost. Perhaps this is why nowadays I have dozens of the same cable?

        • @Toddy47:

          We still do use cables like that, bit of insulation tape and it's all good!

          Ha, yea, makes sense, although nowadays they come with everything anyway. I tidied my stuff up the other day and cable tied all of it, have a draw full of them lol.

    • Just came back from Botany where they had one guy on and the store was packed! He started helping me with my refunds and then atleast a dozen people started lining up to buy things, after about 5 mins I was like "Ok, your really busy I'll wait". Somehow he managed to answer stupid inquiries, reject a few refunds (and explain why) and close off a bunch of sales without breaking a sweat before getting back to me.

      Based on what I saw (a bunch of old folks buying 2m coaxial cable for $35) these guys should be making huge margins, god knows what the hell the are spending it in, especially if there is only 1 staff member on (there must have been 50+ people in the store, no doubt things were stolen).

      Quite a lot of inventory, I wouldn't be surprised if they transferred a lot from the smaller region stores to try clear because there is certainly more stuff than before Christmas but a lot seems to be DSE or cheap brand TV's, etc.

      • I'm surprised they only had one on, I wonder if some people just aren't turning up now??

        The wellington store had three staff which is about normal for a weekday I think.

        • +1

          It's usually quite an understaffed store, maybe 2-3 people. Perhaps one was out back searching on seek for the 30+ mins I was there.

        • @Toddy47: They usually have min 3 staff in the Botany store. There's no security door or tags on their product, won't be surprised if people steal from that store.

        • @Toddy47:

          I was there too (and at Sylvia Park) and witnessed 1 person arguing with staff (gift voucher? refunds? or warranty items still in the possession with DSE). Yeah just dropped in to get me another one of those excellent Targus bags I got for 15 bucks about 2 weeks ago (since workmates are constantly hassling me about mine lol). Scanned the bag at the counter and was told it was 99 bucks D'oh!! …… ahh well…

        • @footy7: Yeah for some reason their clearance ended 29-Dec, although I noticed some things like Ps4 games are marked as $20 normal price. When I was there a guy was checking up on his dvd player he had brought back a week ago as it was not working, they hadn't even tested it and he was trying to get an exchange. Not sure how that ended.

        • @coolstorybro: Interesting, I only visited the store during the "fire sale" perhaps 5 times over a two week period (click + collect and looking for "bargains") I always struggled to see more than 2 staff and always had a long wait. When i bought a tablet that was a display model, I had to wait over an hour as there were only two on and the guy helping me kept getting interrupted while trying to box it up.

      • Quite a lot of inventory

        Yeah you got that right. Lots more cables, faceplates, wall chargers lol. Oh, and I finally found one of those Belkin dual USB wall chargers at Sylvia Park (just one unit, must have magically appeared in the stock room). Scanned at the counter… $53.95 ….Rofl

  • Did you guys just get an email? Interesting that they're advertising again.

    • +3

      Herald article quoting Consumer NZ on this sale

      Receivers have shot themselves in the foot, now will struggle to sell anything even at hot prices unless in-store.

      • +1

        30 potential buyers eye up Dick Smith

        And up to 30 buyers?? Who and where do they come from?? Hey, I can be a buyer too! My offer is …… one dollar :)

        • Is Anchorage now in charge of selling DSE? This is the sort of thing they would say "Buy now or miss out, I've got 29 other buyers just waiting to purchase this no risk business opportunity"

        • Sheesh, ya a greedy bugger, Footy7. Most of us are happy to get a USB cord for $1. You want the whole bloody shop !! That's taking Cheapies to a whole new level……

        • @Jay:

          Next will be:

          "Ferocious budding war raises DS price. Rising from a lowly $1 forum bid, to ¥100,000 over the telephone!"

        • @Toddy47:

          Anchorage sold off their share a year or so ago…. Cashed up while DSE's share prices were high…. Cheeky!

        • @Jay:
          Unfortunately because of its damaged reputation, I reckon its worth a dollar now :)

      • Interesting they state:

        Deals available on the New Zealand website include an eight-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab A for $379 and a six-inch Kindle for $129.

        The Kindle has been that price for at least a week.

        • Pretty sure that Tab A has been too.

    • +1

      Yep but I don't trust buying from the site without seeing an actual statement that funds from those orders would be safe if they can't be fulfilled…

    • What was it about? Standard sale email or actually some information?

      I unsubscribed from their promotional emails after a very short time.

      • Just one of their standard daily sales emails. They had stopped sending daily promotional emails (last I received was the 5th), now they're back again.

        Screenshot

  • CEO of Dick Smith steps down

    Dunno why this didn't happen earlier, but it seems like the receivers want to keep this boat floating as they have reinstated an interim CEO.

  • Has anybody found a nice COMPACT with lots of ZOOM point and shoot camera out there?

    • Are you talking about a superzoom or just a camera with say 10x optical zoom?

      • i am talking about compact point and shoot, not super zoom, they are bulky.. but should ahve enough zoom.. 10x.. ermm no but anything around 18x or over is nice.

        • +1

          Was recently on special for $198 is this Canon PowerShot SX610 HS with 18x zoom, 20mp camera

          Best recommendation I can make but my experience is limited in this field.

        • +1

          Hi bholu, I would recommend this Canon PowerShot SX710 HS which is a step up from Toddy's recommendation. The RRP is $499 and was recently on-sale at $245 (a total of $254 off) @ Harvey Norman. And I believe there was a $100 canon cashback deal on it so potentially down to $145??! Damn would have love to get one of those since I use a chunky DSLR all the time.

          It comes with a 30x zoom and a nice 20.3MP sensor. A good pop-up flash (you can hack and treat it as a flash unit by bouncing flash off the ceiling - so more even lighting. And nice manual camera setting control too.

        • +1

          @coolstorybro: I've had some firms be open to negotiation on the cash back expiry period if not months over. Sometimes worth contacting them and asking for extension.

        • @Toddy47: spot on bro, this is a good one but not on special anymore i think:(

          I checked online, can someone confirm if they are instore..

        • @bholu: No, not at that price as it was likely a boxing day special. Use this list to find a list of stores which have the product, currently lowest is $249 If you would prefer to pick-up from a store your best bet is likely PB Tech which has it for $284.

          Based on the reviews it is well worth it at that price.

          Otherwise you can have a look at other Cameras or wait for the next round of specials.

        • @coolstorybro:
          If its the summer cashback then it finished on 24th december, Unless theres another one? be keen if there is. Regret not getting the 70d on boxing day. :(

        • @coolstorybro: Thats a much better deal. how can i check if cashback is wtill working or not? any link coolstory bro ?

        • @bholu: Here's the cashback link for Canon, I believe it's over, but still keep an eye out for it as there may be new cashback deals. I would also recommend a Sony mirror-less system if you are willing to spend a bit more money to take DSLR like quality photo but on a more compact camera.

        • @rkl: Oh true, but still a good deal regardless! That's like 50% off retail price. and ahh, good old Canon 70d, a great camera indeed. But I think Canon is releasing a new line of camera to replace it (70D is few years old already). Nikon's older generation camera - D7100 already out performed 70D, Nikon D7200 came out last year..

          PS. If you are going to Oz, camera is definitely cheaper there + there's tourist refund scheme to get your 10% GST back at Airport.

        • @coolstorybro:
          Yea been thinking about nikon, will look into the d7100.
          think the 80d is marked for midyear, but want to upgrade my old gear by march as am travelling.
          Didn't realise how much cheaper in oz. Got some mates that should be able to help me out :D

        • @rkl: Sweet as, you should also consider upgrading to Full Frame if you're considering to buy from OZ - like this Nikon D610 - super expensive in NZ and meanwhile in OZ - same price as Nikon D7200..

  • Just received an open letter email from DSE saying that if we purchase products from DSE during the receivership and are unable to quickly repair or replace the goods, they will provide full refund, no questions asked.

    I highly doubt that all the staff at DSE store will actually provide full refund without asking questions and will start discouraging us from getting refund.. Some of the staff are ***hole.

    • Yea, I read that too.

      Interesting that it's written as if they are going to try and save the company, that'll be a huge job.

    • That's funny, they still haven't refunded me for an undelivered purchase I made on December 6.

      • You'll need to charge back mate, very unlikely to ever see the refund.

        • Can't do a charge back after 30 days can you?

        • @Jizah:

          Depends on who the card is with, I know with the ASB Debit Visa you can do it up to 180 days after IIRC.

      • it's a different company now, the new company has no obligation to make good on your refund

  • New 'receivership sale' mailer out. I couldn't see any good deals however.

    http://i.imgur.com/NPFUXEW.png

    • Been looking through it, nothing of note really.

    • Took me awhile to realize that the JVC wasn't a 24" TV for $1429 but was a 65"

    • I went into my local store, and yeah, nothing spectacular on sale. Nothing like the pre Xmas. Stores are also dead quiet too :)

  • I noticed that they have put a massive sign up at their Queen St store saying they've been serving New Zealand for 30 years, or something like that. That seems to be their angle at the moment.

    • +1

      The receivers want the new buyer/owner to pay top dollar!

      • They should have thought about that before they destroyed the brand.

        • Certainly, nobody will trust them with any big ticket items, beyond a quick cash sale.

  • ASX: Dick Smith to close all of their stores and undergo liquidation. Looks like it includes all of the NZ stores.

    • Guttered for staff, but suppose they wouldve/ shouldve started looking for other opportunities.
      Wonder if this means some good deals again

      • I have just been reading elsewhere that a few dicksmith stores in NZ have now put big signs up saying closing down sale everything on sale starts tomorrow 26/2/16 I cant confirm this tho as my closest store in around 30mins drive

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