Argos... What is going on ...AIBU to expect to be able to buy the items they sell?...

[LauristonLane]

Our local Argos is now just a couple of catalogues and a cashier, so no longer any stock on site.

I want to buy an item...comes up as not available at our store - not surprising really as of course it isn't they don't have any products...yet I can't order the item either.

It is advertised as 'new in' so not old stock that they have run out of. It is a Habitat product.

No option of home delivery, miles and miles to the nearest store with the item I want.
Have tried to contact to ask if I can order, no response.

Argos was always my easy 'go to'.

Doesn't seem like a good model for selling to me???

I tried to order something a few weeks ago. The nearest store I could collect it from was 75 miles away and no delivery option. I do wonder what they hope to gain from such a ridiculous way of doing things, because it sure as elves won't be profits.

@AcornAutumn

I said on another thread, I think Argos is planning to close.

I suspect they'll go to online-only.

But I think they're just generally pretty out-dated. They're over-priced and have a very odd business model. Most things can be bought from supermarkets or Amazon for for much less.

I remember taking DC into argos and explaining the strange process of buying something. The little pen, filling in the paper. Queuing to see if it was in stock. Only then did it occur to me it’s a bonkers system.

Easier now you can check online to see if it’s in stock.

Argos used to be my go to as they are the only place that offers same day delivery which is really useful. Now lots of things just aren't in stock (anywhere!)... take it off the website then? I wish you could filter to your postcode without having to click on every individual item to find out that it's not available to collect or for delivery.

Hang on, no-one's blamed brexit yet like they do on all the other recent Argos threads - what's going on?

I don’t want Argos to close I’m surprised people think it’s expensive I chose them over ikea which charges £50 for delivery so doesn’t work out cheaper ime , ikeas only cheaper If you have a car

I'm another one who's found them to be pretty good, actually. I live in an urban area but the branch near me is small, yet still has good levels of stock. I can pick something up easily on the day, the staff keep it all socially distanced. And prices are fine. Amazon isn't always cheapest by any means!

Argos have been going down the pan since Sainsbury's took over.

For example I needed some new drawers and yes they were cheaper in Ikea but by the time I paid delivery of £50 they would have been much more expensive whereas Argos was £3.95 delivery and same day, Ikea was two weeks delivery.

No issues here and I’m near a small one where I wouldn’t expect much stock.

I find their website so glitchy I can't ever even seem to get to the point of ordering!

We once ordered a tumble dryer, never went through but charged us. Called Argos and they said its called a "ghost order" and we had to wait for the money to come back onto our argos card. Took over a month so we got charged interest on something we never actually managed to buy!!

I’m starting to suspect it’s deliberate.

Sainsbury’s owned Homebase, sold it to Argos, who then ran it/wound it down. Then Sainsbury’s bought Argos and seem to be doing everything possible to destroy the brand.

I am starting to suspect Sainsbury’s plan was to close every stand alone store and have it only out of supermarkets. But that would only work with centralised warehouses of stock that would be shipped to where it needed to be. I think it’s as a mistake to move this way and this is now being bourne out by it’s rapid decline since it was sold to Sainsbury’s.

Under their new ‘counter in supermarket’ model they dont have the stock in the right places, and no longer have enough stores/warehouses large enough to keep the stock evenly distributed around the country.

Instead you end up with pockets of stock in random areas and no stock in others. I’m not sure I can see a way back from here without major investment in warehousing and logistics to bring them into line more with the Amazon model (who are their main competitor after all).

I guess it all depends how much Sainsbury’s can be bothered, although at this point I think the damage to the brand is too great, they have lost the trust of the their customer base. Argos would be the go to place for many/most ten years ago.

But people will only keep trying to buy from you for so long before giving up and going elsewhere, and they may never return. If you look at the comments on their FB page it’s just filled with hundreds upon hundreds of angry frustrated customers.

I don’t think there’s any coming back from them, which makes me sad.

I gave up on Argos a while back.
Out of stock
Out of stock
Out of stock.

Makes me wonder if they actually stock anything at all.
I get it if they want to stop stocking shops and move to online shopping only, but every time I want to order a few items that ARE in stock, I can't get them all delivered. I have to go into a shop two towns away, have some items delivered and go to another shop in a town in the opposite direction to complete one full order. And it's not like I would save much money shopping there. Anything I can get from Argos, I can get elsewhere, next day delivery and often, cheaper too.

Argos has been crap for years ,I can walk to my local Argos ,,everytime I have tried to buy something it's out of stock .

It's completely rubbish. They seem to have given up. I just order from Amazon.

We had a local shop and I used to do click and collect. But it closed in the first lockdown, even though it could have remained open, and now it's one of the casualties of their closures so if we want to use it now we have to drive about 5 miles to a local Sainsburys - and that assumes they even have the item. I can't see the point if I can get it within a day or two from Amazon.

You can blame Brexit and covid, but why is Amazon getting stock but Argos isn't?

Given up with Argos. Whats the point of showing an item as 'in stock' but not available for home delivery or store collection anywhere in the UK?

@DynamoKev

Hang on, no-one's blamed brexit yet like they do on all the other recent Argos threads - what's going on?

'cause Argos have been shit for a while

The item I wanted is actually Habitat, now part of Sainsbury's/Argos.
Habitat dumbed down in quality and also access to products too.

As a teenager I always aspired to being able to shop in Habitat!

Our local Argos closed during the first lockdown and then a few months ago they announced it wouldn't be re-opening and we would need to trek to Sainsbury about 6 miles away instead. Like your experience, stocks seem poor and delivery rarely available - I can understand not keeping high levels of stock in all areas but surely they can offer a better delivery service option?

I wonder if this is the beginning of the end of Argos.

@LauristonLane

The item I wanted is actually Habitat, now part of Sainsbury's/Argos. Habitat dumbed down in quality and also access to products too.

As a teenager I always aspired to being able to shop in Habitat!

Oh yes! It was a good day when a Habitat catalogue arrived in the shops. Absolutely loved the place and, like you, I vowed to furnish my first home from there completely. Not now, sadly.

I've given up on Argos too: they never have anything in stock, but sometimes tell me I can have the item if I drive a couple of hours away to get it. Yeah, right.

It's a shame because a couple of years ago they were fine: they kept randomly giving me free next day delivery, and seemed to be genuinely trying to compete with Amazon.
Not any more

I bought something from Argos the other day. Not in stock in my local store or any within a 10 mile radius (and there are lots of those, I live in London).

Item was only in stock in a central London shop and it couldn't be delivered. I was desperate for this item though, been looking a long time, so I sent DH into town on the bus to collect it. It was worth it for us ... but what a palaver!