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rahimnathwani

For those not from the UK, who don't know how Argos operates:

1. Browse a paper catalogue with thousands of items (audio equipment, kitchen accessories, jewellery, toys, ...).

2. Write down the 7-digit code for each item you want to buy, on a slip of paper.

3. Go to the nearest Argos store (there are many).

4. Queue (line up).

5. Hand the paper to the cashier and pay for the items.

6. Wait ~5 mins until your order number is called, then collect your items.

(Everything is in a warehouse behind/below the store.)

This how it worked almost 40 years ago when I first shopped there. Today, it's very similar, except that:

- you can reserve online, so you don't have to worry about an item being out of stock

- you can pay extra and have the items delivered

- they have a much thicker catalogue, with many items that are delivery-only (similar to any other online retailer)

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When I was growing up they had these little devices by the catalogues in the shop as well. You could go in, flip through the catalogue and find something, then type in the code the this device and see how many were left in stock. My brother and I would each try to find an item with the highest amount of stock.

The idea of walking into a shop, seeing everything they had while standing in one place, and then finding out how much stock they had was magical as a child in the late 90's/early 2000's. It also meant you wouldn't queue up to pay unless you knew the item was in stock which saved a lot of time. Sometimes the queues got pretty huge on a Saturday just because of the sheer range of items.

Yeah, I liked the stock checker devices. I would just type in random digits to see if I could find a valid code. Also I sometimes stole one of the little blue pens.

I'm sure everyone in the UK has at least one Argos pen and Ikea pencil somewhere!

They have checker machines now that can also put through the order. I've used them withinn last 5 years. It's an interesting hybrid or warehouse and retailer. Very handy. Lived across the street from one. Walked home with new TV in my hands the day I moved in.

In the last 15 years or so you could use a terminal to look up the number and pay. You just give the receipt to the counter.

Right, I should have mentioned that. No longer needing to queue for a cashier was a big change.

And even better, there are terminals where you can browse the catalogue and choose an item, basically the same workflow as making a reservation online. But those terminals don't take payments. So you enter a code word, then walk over to one of the payment terminals, enter the code word again, and pay!

It's kind of horrific UX, but i can see how it would have been quick and cheap to ship, and it works!

I think they abandoned the code word thing. Now you just get a numeric code on a printed ticket. I thought it was cool but I'm sure it was confusing to a lot of customers.

And of course the important point was that the catalogues were given away free so you'd have one in your home. Imagine it! Being able to sit on your sofa and browse everything that's available in the shop.

I doubt there were many houses in the 90s and early 2000s that didn't have an Argos catalogue in them.

On a similar note my local yellow pages was delivered this week (I know, i'm shocked it still exists too). Its gone from something you could beat a medium sized bear to death with to more like a modest paper back.

Sign of the times i think.

They had a scummy sales technique as I remember it. When you owned a business line you were automatically entitled to a single line entry in your business' category but they'd phone you up and try and sell you a display ad as though that was the only option. Then you'd point out to them that you had an entry anyway and they'd denigrate those as ones no one would ever see. It was yuck getting a call from them.

In my family (of seven) we started to have no less than three catalogues in the house. Two were for us children, otherwise there could be arguments about who was reading the Argos catalogue. One was for my parents, and this would stay in a usable condition while the other two got slowly destroyed.

Around Christmas time the Argos catalogues came out to give us inspiration while writing our letters to Father Christmas.

There used to be a similar chain called Service Merchandise in the US https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Merchandise

The store had the same setup, a big show room with a pickup counter and conveyor belt from the basement. They had terminals throughout the store with a catalog you could flip though and you placed your order through the terminal.

story: I must have been around 10-11 at the time and my father was browsing Casio watches. I started paging through a catalog and come across the electronics section. I proceed to stave off boredom by building an order for a honkin Pioneer stereo system complete with laser disc player. Somehow I accidentally hit purchase. So I quietly walked away and pretend nothing happened. 10 minutes later we're on line and I hear the fake name I entered being called. I saw the order in the corner: a huge mountain of boxes: speakers, cassette deck, CD player, receiver, Laser disc player etc. I was scared but they didn't know who put in the order and kept calling the name until we left. I'm sure the stock pickers were mad as hell.

Screwfix uses the same model doesn't it? I think they still have catalogs. Given that elderly people and very young children might prefer a catalog they may be missing out on a bit of business, but the costs of the department producing the catalog is likely to be huge!

Screwfix is the Argos of DIY.

Toolstation also.

Ideal business model for Covid times it turns out.

For the record, Argos also operated in Ireland too, and hopefully most readers won't be surprised to learn it hasn't been part of the UK for about 100 years.

Otherwise the Argos nostalgia is identical.

Only since 1996. Before that a visit to Argos was a must for people in the Republic who went on shopping visits to Belfast.

As a UK person visiting Ireland for the first time it was fun to notice all the things that are the same and the ones that are the same but a bit different. Like Ireland has Primark, but it's called Penneys, and you have the same post boxes as the UK except they are green instead of red. We all have the same plug sockets. We have pretty much the same road signs but Ireland has YIELD to the UK's GIVE WAY. The font used on Irish speed limit signs is almost unreadable at a distance, but your pedestrian crossings are the best with that awesome tik -tik -tik WAKAWAKAWAKA noise.

EDIT: as corrected below, Penneys is the original, Primark is the name change. Apologies!

> same and the ones that are the same but a bit different

I think the UK needs their schools to study our shared(!) history/past 800 years of colonialism.

> Like Ireland has Primark, but it's called Penneys

Penneys is an Irish founded & HQed company. "The world has Penneys, but it's called Primark" would be more correct - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primark

> The Penneys brand is not used outside of Ireland because it is owned elsewhere by American retailer J. C. Penney.

My Irish friend usually makes a similar response to yours. If I notice something is the same she says - "well you know, we do have a shared history, of course things are the same"

If I notice something is different she says - "well you know, it's a different country, of course things are different"

But in either case she bristles a bit, like these things ought to be neither surprising nor interesting to me. Like the UK ought to teach the colour of Irish postboxes in schools and of course the road signs are in kilometres and we use the Euro but we drive on the left and have the same plug sockets. It is all a sign of my colonial arrogance I am sure.

If we’re being pedantic, Primark/Penneys is a subsidiary of ABF, which is a British company.

Your attempt at pedantry has failed.

> Penneys is an Irish founded & HQed company

Primark/Penneys is still an Irish founded company whose headquarters and decision making happens in Ireland, regardless of who the owners are.

> pedestrian crossings are the best with that awesome tik -tik -tik WAKAWAKAWAKA noise

These are present in a few European countries; my favourite variant was visiting Stockholm for the Eurovision song contest, where some had been reprogrammed to play beepy but recognisable versions of Sweden's last two winning songs. So you could listen to a ticky version of "Euphoria" while waiting that switched to a fast version of "Heroes" while it was time to cross.

The postboxes really are the same. They were all installed during the occupation, and still have the on the front the initials of whichever English monarch was around at the time.

We had these in the states as well, many years ago, "Brand Names". You can almost smell the idea bubbling up again, some startup is going to call it revolutionary.

"Disruptive", shirley?

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