Overclock.co.uk throws in the towel

[vimes]

It isn't just about pricing though it is also about expertise of the staff and customer support that could eventually be eroded as it becomes too cut throat. Whilst competition is good for the consumer there comes a tipping point where the ability for a company / supplier to survive by investing in that support and training for their staff gets less and less as people will and do shop with a very keen eye on the price.

[TechnoTone]

Here's hoping it's just a temporary closure.

[Nitestorm]

It is a shame there are less and less specialist 'overclocking/high-performance' retailers around. Seems long gone the days when shops would regularly offer specific steppings and memory chips, pre-tested CPUs, etc. Ironically that kind of service is one area the big boys probably couldn't compete with. Unless you have the ability to trade blows with the big boys in terms of price, product range, advertising, etc finding a niche service or product range is one way of standing out from the crowd.

[rover214]

I've ordered a few thing of them in the past, never had any probs with e-mail replys or the cs on the phone,

always on the ball even when you only wanted some info on a product,

sad news

[BUFF]

Shame, the couple of times that I used them they were very good incl. dealing with the RMA of a top of the range video card.
Whilst the service was excellent the range & pricing weren't as good as some of the competition & Agent is right that we'll often save a few pounds now at our own expense later.

[Duke]

Originally Posted by Toole

Such a pity! I was a regular on the forums there too, which have also been closed. Every time I ordered from them the service was superb...

RIP to another decent e-tailer.

I agree, any idea where the guys hang out now? Yes I am one of them (RobM)

I thought the website got hacked. I was like can't be true.

[zakelwe]

Originally Posted by BUFF

Shame, the couple of times that I used them they were very good incl. dealing with the RMA of a top of the range video card.
Whilst the service was excellent the range & pricing weren't as good as some of the competition & Agent is right that we'll often save a few pounds now at our own expense later.

Buff and agent are right, I do the same thing, know they are good to deal with but go price hunting. It bites you on the ass when it goes wrong though with your cheaper goods

I wish I had used them more now. You only miss something when it is gone, perhaps customer service is one of those.Meanwhile I am still waiting for my Pipex refund ... as an example .... 28 days apparently it can take for them to give me my money back .. took them a lot shorter to take it in first place.

Just a comparative example of lack of good customer service and yet who is still around

Regards

Andy

[cruentus]

I have the misfortune of having ordered from Overclock a week before this happened.
I decided last week that now was the time for a new PC and on saturday (1/9) ordered the majority of my bits from Komplett (taking advantage of their upgrade bundles). However they didn't have the case, PSU, keyboard or mouse that i wanted so i ordered these from Overclock. A week later anxiously awaiting my order (i got up at 7:30 each day having worked 2-10 the previous night to ensure i didn't miss the delivery!) i find the overclock site displaying the message.

I was irrate. I didn't even have time to reorder my bits from somewhere else as i needed to leave for work soon after i found out. If they'd just sent me an email or let me know a little sooner i could of reordered the bits and they'd of been dispatched before the weekend.

Instead nothing - no idea what they did with my order ... the account page on the site read "Processed" and i received an email stating such. Damn them for that - i used them because i'd had good experiences in the past though admittedly hadn't used them for 2 years.

What are the chances that they'd close a week after i decided to give them another go after that long?? I have no smiley to express what i felt yesterday. I can only hope that I can benefit from the free Scan postage by being a new member of this community.

[hughlle]

howdy there, just registered. tis a shame the forums are gone,

just to mention, the forums are still up just the index has changed but the lease is said to expire in november (for the domain)

currently in the process of looking to buy the domain either when the lease expires or off overclock themselves and hosting the forums from my pocket. am just waiting on some emails from jonny_ovc

with any luck the forums will be "re-activated" until i or whoever i do this with (me and elite squad might make a venture out of it) take it over officially (if we can)

ciao

p.s i do like the smiley's one these here forums KAPOW!

[Toole]

Originally Posted by Duke

I agree, any idea where the guys hang out now? Yes I am one of them (RobM)

I thought the website got hacked. I was like can't be true.

I know, I checked a few times in the day hoping the website would come back on again, but to no avail.

@hughlle: good to see there's some activity in getting the forums back up! If there's anything I can do to help, just pop me an e-mail/msn at: onutaka@hotmail.com

[Duke]

I got lucky, I ordered my seagate drive on 24.08.2007, and I got it. Then last night at worke was gonna pop in to see who's on and see this crap.... man it sucks chunks. I feel just thinking about all the other customers like the guy above.

[Nitestorm]

I would think any outstanding orders will be fulfilled or refunded by Overclock soon, if they haven't already done so. Unless the administrators were called in and it is now in their hands? Even if not, customers who paid with a credit card can claim it back off their bank, especially if over £100. Inconvenient I know, but it's not like anyone had any warning.

[DDY]

I'm waiting for an official response about why OvC has suddenly ceased trading. I've so far been unsuccessful at contacting OvC staff for the last 2 days. Emails bounce, phones calls not answered, IM accounts offline etc etc. It's like the staff disappeared, or the bailiffs came and took their phones.

Not that I need to know but I reckon it's a bit strange for a store to just "stop" like that.

[directhex]

i'd completely forgotten they exist

that's never a good situation for an online store to be in, especially given i'm the target demographic

[Nitestorm]

Originally Posted by directhex

i'd completely forgotten they exist

That could of been one of their problems. Lacking a high-profile compared to competitors, like when it came to LAN parties, trade shows, magazines, advertising, competitions, reviews, etc.

[Pie_uk]

well the overclock forums live on http://www.grippers.co.uk/phpbb/index.php

cant believe that this has happened,i have been with there forums since 2004 and now its just stopped ! a few other admins have saved the forums thank god so thats good news at least. still a shame though

it has to be said that there gear was getting out dated and prices not so good.

longlive overclock.