Conrad Electronic to close all stores in Germany - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Neper
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2022, 01:46:28 pm
content: There was a time, when every German town had a selection of electronics shops. Cologne had a good dozen of them. Great places where we would go to meet friends, exchange the latest gossip and spend our money.Then, in the mid 80s, Conrad Electronic, until then a mail-order business, opened big and impressive stores right in the centre of all major cities. They hired radio amateurs for their radio department, modellers for their modelling department etc. Within a few years, all other electronics shops were gone. Conrad picked out their best staff and hired them.10 years later, they began to ask for customers' ZIP codes at the check-out. Soon after that, the impressive city-centre stores moved to some industrial estate way out of town. Gone were the highly qualified staff, replaced by the same kind that would be flipping burgers elsewhere. Eventually, the store in Cologne was one of the first to close altogether. That was about a decade ago. I haven't bought a thing from them ever since.Now, Conrad have announced that they'll close all brick-and-mortar shops before the end of this year and concentrate on B2B.Good riddance!

author: HighVoltage
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2022, 02:18:51 pm
content: This was the writing on the wall for a long long time.I could repeat almost all your points for Hamburg. As a student in the 1980s I probably visited a Conrad store once a week at least. In the last few years I have not ordered anything from Conrad and also have not visited their stores anymore.The quality of products went down every year.The employees were less and less knowledgeable.The one store in Hamburg had a very good and smart guy working there. After he retired 10 years ago, it was like the store changed and for me it felt like only idiots were working there.I will not miss them!This might be similar to the closing of Fry's in the USA.

author: ace1903
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2022, 02:40:00 pm
content: Around 1988-1989 my father visited West Germany, probably Munich Messe for business. As a present for me he bought one printed catalogue and several electronics kits.At that time I was 7 or 8 years old child in Yugoslavia. I spent days listing that catalogue and enjoying in stuff never seen in my country.Even now I remember some pages with things that I wanted to have. I think that I become engineer just because of Conrad.Still have that catalogue and several others from 1990ies. Later around 2009 I visited myself Conrad in Nuremberg. It was far from city center but still nice place.To have models in hand to evaluate them and possibility to order something from master business catalogue without shipping was nice for us from poor countries.Probably generations of engineers and builders were inspired by Conrad. One can order everything from web shop but it will be never inspiring as walking in the shop on weekend and talking with people that share same hobby.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2022, 02:45:58 pm
content: QuoteOr maplins in the uk.

author: Bicurico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2022, 03:08:12 pm
content: Let's face it: China destroyed them all.You get a much broader ranger of products and much cheaper ordering from China directly.Also, why build a kit five times as expensive than the ready to go equivalent from China?What I wonder is: why only now? Especially since ordering from China is not that cheap or convenient anymore, at least in the EU.Another reason is cheap boards like the Arduino or Raspberry Pi. Hacking is now done in software and less in electronics.The remaining electronic freaks use Farnell and similar.

author: Kleinstein
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2022, 03:20:44 pm
content: The electronic components part is just better served online. If you have a local shop near by, it is nicht so have the option to get at least more standard parts from a real shop, but the selction is naturally limited and the service is expensive for the shop. I have not been to a Conrad shop for quite some time and my impression was that a lot was more regular electronics and than some model building stuff.In Germany, especially before the pandemic shipping is quite fast - next days is kind of standard and this makes the local online shops quite competative.The electronics parts and other more special parts are kind of made to be served online. So more like a surprise the kept the electronics parts part running so long and have not shut down earlier.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2022, 03:21:44 pm
content: What happened to Opperman , Nedermann ? Their annual catalogue had all the schematics and many of the layouts for all the kits. i had several of their catalogues in the mid 80's. they also sold lots of spare parts.That was my staple when i was 15 years old. That and the EKA transistor guide books ( the little yellow book with the owl on front that listed any possible transistor, shortform spec and replacements )ELV was also good with their kits. their magazine even had the "platininfolie" in the middle. a true plastic foil ready for you to etch your own boards. Then they started making everything with a microcontroller you had to buy ... Now it's all made in such a way you have to buy the kit from them ( custom lcd displays, preprogrammed micros )They had a whole tower of test equipment in those black vero-style boxes.up till a couple of years ago they had all the project pdf files for free on their site. all gone now.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2022, 04:14:07 pm
content: Quote from: Bicurico on April 13, 2022, 03:08:12 pmNo. Online ordering and reduced interest in electronics killed these kind of shops. I'm surprised Conrad lasted this long. Likely they used their online sales to keep the shops open. Then again, Conrad sells a lot of lower quality hobby stuff nowadays.

author: Bicurico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2022, 05:08:34 pm
content: On my last visits to Germany I always made sure to visit the Conrad store, mostly the one in Frankfurt.I never saw anything worth buying, unfortunately.But I agree, we can broaden my culprit Chine to generic online shopping. I am OK with that.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2022, 05:30:56 pm
content: I’m not entirely surprised. They closed the store near Lucerne in March 2021 and the one near Zurich in September 2021, leaving them with only an online presence for Switzerland.

author: MrMobodies
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2022, 07:01:18 pm
content: I brought two Voltcraft Charge Manager 2020 from them, Conrad Direct site, one in 2006 and 2012, they still work to this day.https://web.archive.org/web/2021*/https://www.conrad-direct.co.ukI had replace the fan in one of them in 2014. I think it was 24v ac? fan. The Energizers lasted 6 years, (self discharge before 2 week), the Annsman 8 years (self discharge after a month) before they started loosing significant capacity and now the Eneloops that seem much better which it charges and discharges to their' rated capacity. I read there are charge specifically for Eneloops but these ones seem to work fine and the cells don't get hotI ordered other things from like Conrad 9v rechargeable battery blocks, they held most their capacity fine until 3 years ago and they started to bulge. GP C rechargeables for doorbell which still seem to work fine and a Steinel 5000 Glue gun. I think they delivery prices went up so I only brought stuff by the many.Sometimes they seem to waste packaging, instead of putting everything in one box with bubble wrap they'd put each item in large boxes with no bubble wrap where they'd move about.I got a lot of good things from them in the past many that sill work.I just remembered something. When I first spoke to customer services in 2006, they answered all my questions and I wanted one that would charge Lithium battery charger like the CM2020 that tell me all the details about what it is doing but they didn't have one. I mentioned a company near them in Germany that sold such a charger (ELV 2000) but I can't find a store that would ship it directly. They offered to buy it for me and ship it across and I thought was really good.ELV 2000https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Battery-Charger-ALC-2000-Expert-ELV/dp/B00QCEXVRMI decided not to buy it due to finding reviews about them failing and no support/comebackhttps://de-elv-com.translate.goog/elv-akku-lade-center-alc-2000-expert-038408?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=scActually no, strange, I really thought they charged lithium round cells up.They do RAM cells.Sorry about that.Also it doesn't have the serial port for the datalogging.Sad that they seem to be going down hill.

author: KaneTW
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2022, 12:04:40 pm
content: Makes sense. There's generally no reason for me to order from Conrad over more specialized stores, and the few times I needed something *now*, they didn't have it in stock.

author: jonpaul
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2022, 01:17:22 pm
content: bonjour à tousSince 1970s visited Germany often, Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt. I found in these cities an electronic district near the Bahnoffs, with many stores, usually with discount areas and oddball items.Gold plated silicone patch cords, beautiful colored lamps with flowers, religious, and political symbols, German test probes like Hirschmann.I would return with bags of stuff not available in USA or France.Over the decades the "radio row" stores disappeared and now are just memories....I still have this unique collection of test leads, probes and oddball lamps still working from Germany.There was a Similar decline in Silicon Valley and New York city, Courtland Street.Just the ramblings of an old retired EEJon

author: MadScientist
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2022, 02:23:58 pm
content: As someone from a country that never had anything resembling a proper components shop, online ordering has been a godsend. Who cares about bricks and mortar

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2022, 04:47:35 pm
content: RS still have stores/trade counters open in the UK but frankly I don't see why. I used to live 10 minutes away from the one in Leeds, yet they had essentially no electronic components in stock. It also wasn't possible to apply a filter on their website along the lines of "show me only what you have in stock at location X", you could add items to your cart and then see, but that was an extremely slow method (their website is **** - but not quite as bad as Farnell I suppose.)The few times I did go there (open 9am-5pm M-F so screw anyone shopping for personal reasons) it was completely empty... huge car park with just the staff parked in it.Never quite got why they kept them open, they still are, but I'm sure the writing is on the wall soon enough.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2022, 05:17:26 pm
content: QuoteBut aint that always been the way, its not that long ago when it was trade account only

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2022, 07:30:47 pm
content: I have been to Conrad in Lille (now closed, serves only mail order since two/three years ago) and now here in Mannheim and Frankfurt. However, it is really good only for emergencies when I need somethingright now. Most of the things they sell there are either generic consumer stuff (appliances, lighting, computer, hifi and such - a lot of it crazy old and obsolete!) and the rest ... A few bits and bobs for model and RC folks, some 3D printers, drones ...While they still do carry some electronic components and tools, either the stuff you want is not in stock or it is - and with good 200-300% markup. And even then it is most often just the lowest quality, cheapest junk imported from China, only rebadged as one of their store brands. If they were actually importing the good quality items at least but alas ... Their online store carries also decent brands like Fluke or Amprobe but I have never seen one of those in the physical stores.And heavens help you if you didn't write down the Conrad's part number beforehand - the guys in the "theke" can be really really annoyed if they have to search for e.g. resistors or connectors by value. It is not completely their fault, though - their computer system is as bad if not worse as the website.I quite don't understand what they expect from going B2B only for physical stores - do handymen and companies actually shop there? Why would anyone do that, given the prices and poor choice?Speaking of - I have only moved to Germany last September, I would appreciate any tips from "locals" where to buy electronic components here for personal (not business) use in small quantities.In France I used mostly RS because they had free shipping over weekends. I could obviously go to Farnell or Mouser but the ~20€ shipping/handling charge is a pain and I don't buy stuff that often to be able to accumulate the 50€ or so order to avoid that fee in a reasonable time.Is there some distributor in Germany that is a bit less hostile to small orders?

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2022, 08:19:15 pm
content: If people need electronics parts in northern NJ there is a parts counter at NTE electronics in Bloomfield, which has been in operation for decades, under different names..I used to go there as a child and could buy any of a large number of different ICs, transistors and other electronics parts. Its still like that.They are particularly good for power transistors. This is the best electronics distributor in the NYC metro area. (for modern electronics)https://www.nteinc.com/their northern NJ distributor ishttps://www.solidstateinc.com/products/SOLID STATE INC.46 Farrand StreetBloomfield, NJ 07003United States at the same location, off of Bloomfield Ave in Bloomfield.As a kid I would shop there. One wrote what you needed on a paper order form and they would deliver it up at the parts window.There is also a really good ice cream store near there. I forget their name.

author: langwadt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2022, 08:52:47 pm
content: Quote from: KaneTW on April 16, 2022, 12:04:40 pmthat's the problem, to be really useful for stuff you need *now* they would need a huge inventory and you can't make a business out of a huge inventory and occasionally selling a few euros worth components to someone who forgot to order them online

author: david77
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2022, 09:20:38 pm
content: Had to happen sooner or later. Oh well, good by old friend.I hope they keep selling to B2C customers online. Not like RS and Farnell who won't sell to me here in Germany.

author: TassiloH
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2022, 12:30:54 am
content: Quote from: janoc on April 16, 2022, 07:30:47 pmFree shipping for small orders will be difficult, you will be stuck with 6 or 7 EUR for shipping for most companies. My go-to list includes:Reichelt (reichelt.de) - prices are ok, good for standard semiconductors and passives (electrolytic caps are cheap), electromechanical stuff, networking stuff, cables, toolsVoelkner (voelkner.de) - this IS Conrad (Voelkner = Re-In Retail = somehow part of Conrad group), same items shipping from same warehouse just with better prices for most items. They offer a flat-rate shipping program which one can sometimes score for free when buying a promotional item, otherwise it costs some 20EUR for a year and gives free shipping for each order above 10 EUR or so. Not so good for electronic components, but I buy electromechanics and various accessories, MeanWell power supplies, and the odd tool there. Of course they have all the consumer nonsense that Conrad has.TME (tme.eu, in Poland, but ships from Germany) - a real electronics distributor, decent but not comparable to Mouser or Digikey, but typically good pricesMouser/Digikey: If you don't get to the 50 EUR minimum order for free shipping, have a look at the German mikrocontroller.net forum, frequently some people organize a group order over there (but I don't have personal experience with that, I usually have a list of non-urgent stuff I might need from Mouser and Digikey to fill up an order to 50 EUR if something is needed quickly).Pollin (pollin.de) - originally a surplus dealer, now mostly sells a lot of cheap China imports, tools and stuff. Selection of hook-up wire is decent and cheap, sometimes a real surplus gem shows up, passive, electromechanical, and mechanical components are worth a look there, but never trust that you can order the same item again later. And never order something fragile together with any heavy item. The surplus stuff is sometimes broken, but typically they just give you the money back without much ado.

author: Messtechniker
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2022, 05:59:53 am
content: Fully agree with the above listing.More here:https://www.mikrocontroller.net/articles/Lokale_ElektroniklieferantenVery long time ago I found Conrad to be only worthwhile for components and parts not available anywhere else. Otherwise C was simply too expensive. My last Conrad order was about 10 years ago.

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2022, 07:05:15 am
content: I have been purchasing from Reichelt since the late nineties, largely online but sometimes will call. I find they are generally quite good, especially for small quantities: for nearly all items, there is no quantity discount.Generic items can be a guessing game. If Reichelt does not state who makes an item and you need to know, I would ask them.They can also be reluctant to acknowledge mistakes, but perhaps that is in the past as the latest management no longer advertise an ISO-9001 rating.

author: KaneTW
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2022, 12:19:29 pm
content: Distrelec and RS-Online are other, expensive options that might be worth it sometimes if they have a component in stock that no one else has.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2022, 08:44:41 pm
content: Quote from: TassiloH on April 17, 2022, 12:30:54 amNot looking for free shipping (not like it really is free anyway), 6-7€ is a reasonable price. 20€ is not.Thanks a bunch for the list, very appreciated!

author: ferdieCX
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2022, 10:10:27 pm
content: Quote from: janoc on April 16, 2022, 07:30:47 pmYou can try Segor. It is a Shop in Berlin, but they also make shipmentshttps://www.segor.de

author: Neper
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2022, 10:51:10 am
content: Quote from: jfiresto on April 17, 2022, 07:05:15 amStay away from their cables. They are either dirt cheap and total crap (plugs fall off, screening made of two strands of microscopic wire) or somewhat better but outrageously expensive.

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2022, 11:25:52 am
content: Reichelt will gladly let you buy much too cheaply. Are you just dying to buy 9-pin DSUB connectors for 0,15€ each? Well, go for it.I bought some dirt cheap cables to extend a USB port: to take the wear and tear of plugging and unplugging devices. With some lubrication, I figured I might get a hundred cycles or two before the flash/plating wears through and becomes intermittent. Instead, the first cable failed at the other end, from the contacts creeping apart, because I left it plugged into the computer (and undisturbed) for six months.Reichelt is often not the cheapest place for tools.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2022, 04:45:31 pm
content: Quote from: janoc on April 16, 2022, 07:30:47 pmThe Zurich store definitely carried name-brand stuff. Fluke, Rigol, Weller, Ersa, Knipex, Bosch, Makita, etc. were all there.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2022, 06:09:01 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on April 18, 2022, 04:45:31 pmKnipex, Bosch and Makita (the hobbyist, not pro ranges) are available also here - but so they are in any Bauhaus (home improvement store, there is one in almost every quarter) and usually with wider range and cheaper.I meant more things like test equipment, power supplies, multimeters, etc. Conrad sells all that from decent brands on their website. But good luck finding any of those in a physical store. Voltcraft and Basetech is about the best you can hope for, along with other obvious rebrands of cheap Chinese products.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2022, 10:33:21 am
content: As I said, the one here did carry Fluke, and likely others, too. No, they won’t have a Keysight scope laying around, but you could certainly walk out with a top-brand multimeter or soldering station.

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2022, 11:20:55 am
content: Haven't bought anything from Conrad for a long time. A few decades back they had nice kits and resold some good stuff made in East Germany. A small lab PSU and another 13.8V PSU are still going strong.

author: david77
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2022, 12:37:12 pm
content: Bought my first lab PSU from Conrad. 30V/3A with analog meters. Used it until it died from spontaneus combustion. It just sat there switched on but not in use, suddenly flames came out the top. It was not one of the GDR made ones.Conrad also owes me a microphone stand that I mail ordered in 1993. Never delivered it.

author: nightfire
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2022, 09:57:13 pm
content: Quote from: jfiresto on April 17, 2022, 07:05:15 amI had the pleasure of really seeing Reichelt being able to grow from a basement-based mail-order shop to the size it has today- I remember visiting my Uncle (RIP) in Wilhelmshaven about 40 years ago, and we went to buy some crocodile clips he needed for some tinkering as he was freshly retired back then- that was their second adress after they moved out from the basement where everything started- their catalogue was something about 30 photocopied pages...Some years after that I was a student and moved there for a few years, and Reichelt was becoming bigger and bigger and just moved to Sande, some small suburbial area near Wilhelmshaven- basically a very big storage like amazon with some small attached "store" area- basically you would order stuff from the catalogue and some time later, a plastic cradle would appear from the roll basket line with your stuff inside...Then Angelika Reichelt, the founder, retired and now Reichelt as a company belongs to the Dätwyler holding- and some dimensions have changed...

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2022, 08:49:50 am
content: I probably should have written that Reichelt is "pretty good" rather than quite good. I reckon their line-item error rate has been less than half of a percent, but I could probably drive it higher by the unfortunate choice of parts. They have, however, always made things right, but sometimes not without putting up some bureaucratic resistance.Lately, I have been purchasing from tme.eu. They have been a good experience so far, although their enthusiasm for paperwork is something else.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2022, 10:26:29 am
content: I like Reichelt in theory (and LOVE that they still give out printed catalogs, updated 1-2 times per year!), but their website is so bad that I’m usually willing to pay more to order from Digi-Key. The parametric searches are awful, when available at all, and above all, you can’t just click “back” to return to the results of a parametric search!!(It always requires an “are you sure?” dialog, followed by a full — slow — page reload.) More than once, it’s lost my shopping cartduring shopping on the same computer. It did thattwiceon my last order.On the other hand, they carry some stuff that’s hard to find, and their single component prices (especially for passives, connector parts, etc) are often similar to Digi-Key’s @1k prices.

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2022, 11:37:20 am
content: Quote from: tooki on April 21, 2022, 10:26:29 amI also find Reichelt's indexing, both online or on paper, is not one of their strong points.I don't think their shopping cart has ever lost an item on me, and I often slowly fill a basket over many days or weeks between orders. I have never seen an "Are you sure?" dialog, but I use a really old version of Firefox (48.0.2 under 0SX) when I order from them. That browser and their site take a solid minute to finish the first connection of a session, but after that I have no problems. Perhaps that is something to try.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2022, 04:27:40 pm
content: The odd thing is that I can’t identify what causes the cart deletion, because indeed I can happily have stuff in the cart for months, but then when I’m intensively using the site to nail down what I want to order, it hiccups and develops amnesia.As for “back”: it’s only when using parametric search.

author: TassiloH
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2022, 09:07:23 pm
content: I used to see randomly deleted carts with Reichelt, but haven't experienced it for quite some time. Nevertheless I save my cart as a list if I intend to store it for longer. To me more aggravating is the sorting of the cart: All other vendors manage to keep the items in the cart in the order you added them, but for Reichelt it becomes some quasi-random order of line items. That is real fun when I have some 500 line items to order from various sources, have to place the orders at the same time to be able to find alternatives when something is out of stock (which is the new normal now), and in the end want to check that I haven't forgotten something... On the other hand, their error rate is definitely not worse than the other shops on my list.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2022, 04:51:43 am
content: Quote from: TassiloH on April 21, 2022, 09:07:23 pmIt last happened to me in November.I’ve since taken to strictly using lists to gather an order, and only adding that to the cart at the last second.Quote from: TassiloH on April 21, 2022, 09:07:23 pmFYI, the lists seem to retain the order (and you can change the order of items).Quote from: TassiloH on April 21, 2022, 09:07:23 pmError rate of what?

author: TassiloH
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2022, 09:44:57 am
content: Quote from: tooki on April 22, 2022, 04:51:43 amI meant the frequency of wrong or damaged items (referring to jfiresto's post above). In the last couple of years with Reichelt I had one missing item, some extra items (the shipped several tool sets valued 20EUR each or so, so that I actually told them and sent them back), and a damaged item (crystal where they cut off a pin while cutting the tape). For comparison, with Digikey I had one wrong item (wasted quite some time on this, 10pF caps ordered but 1nF shipped in bag labeled with the 10pF part number, took me hours to figure out why the oscillator on a uC would not run - they actually had me ship back the capacitors worth $.50) and one damaged item (dual D-Sub connector, clearly damaged before shipping), and with Mouser had one missing item. I'd say that 3:2:1 ratio is about proportional to my order volume (by line count).QuoteAh, thanks, that is useful, I never used the list when entering an order for immediate placement. I will try to use the list again the next time.

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2022, 07:51:42 pm
content: Quote from: Neper on April 13, 2022, 01:46:28 pmI agree. Its interesting that you exposed the method behind their madnesss.. Good for you for saying it. People rarely do.

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2022, 07:54:48 pm
content: Quote from: HighVoltage on April 13, 2022, 02:18:51 pmIn the US corporations seem to want to make around 20% yield per annum or they are under pressure to go out of businesss.. Thats a lot of profit. More than many businesses are inherently able to support. Is that unreasonable?