Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: Abou27 on November 19, 2005, 12:34:45 AM
-
Hi there,
Just a quickie! Online and mail order firm "Special Reserve" went into liquidation yesterday. Read the story here:
http://www.mcvuk.com/newsitem.php?id=607&ss=3
I feel really sad at their passing. I bought my first Amiga from them, followed a few years later by my second. I also purchased my PCs from them. They were a company very supportive of the Amiga in its early days - partly due to founder Tony Rainbird running the software company "Rainbird" (bet some of you saw that one coming). He was also involved with Magnetic Scrolls, the company that produced "Corruption" amongst other titles. I found them to be a wonderful company who retained a family firm atmosphere even as they expanded and expanded through the nineties. Part of the blame had been apportioned to supermarkets now selling new games at low prices - ie stomping through their territory. Oh well, these things happen. However, I have never before felt this kind of loss at the demise of a trader...
Cunningly, they recently made sure that their ISP business: Freeola.net was registered as a separate company, so the spirit lives on...
Another indie bites the dust, however...
-
Hey man
I'll back you up on that one. I used to purchase all my things for my Amiga from them.
I lost track of the amount I purchased from them, and always found their service to be first class.
I stopped buying from them when they stopped stocking Amiga gear when it became unviable for them to do so any longer.
Such a shame.
Rude!
-
Haven't bought anything off them in years, but used buy lots of games from them when I was a wee lad at school. Always excellent service and very helpfull. Seem to remember that you had to have some kind of membership in the early days, cant remember details though!
A sad loss but then I guess our 'convenience' shopping habits have a lot to answer to!
-
I was, personally, quite happy to see this happen. I worked for Tony Rainbird in 2000 and was laid off just before Christmas by the snotty old bugger.
In my opinion, his Dickensian ways were the demise of his company, not the supermarkets and convenience shopping habits. He had no rapport with his staff, instead electing to swan around the offices pretending to like you and then chastising you for having too many icons on the desktop of your Mac or something.
I worked in the marketing department and, unfortunately, had to put up with his daughter Sarah working opposite me. She was as bad as her father (ugly too). By the time I left I was so heartily sick of this "family run business" that I was glad to get the boot.
I'm astonished that the greasy old snob has started to get his fingers back in the old pies, not having learned his lesson, and look forward to seeing him fall flat on his face again.
God bless Freeola and all who sink in her, especially their esteemed leader, My Rainbird, whom I hope drowns in a pool of his own venomous spittle sometime soon.
-
@someone
Welcome to Amiga.org.. You might want to check out the Posting Guidelines (http://www.amiga.org/modules/sections/index.php?op=viewarticle&artid=6) for this site. I think you might have just broke most of them! :lol:
-
someone wrote:
I was, personally, quite happy to see this happen. I worked for Tony Rainbird in 2000 and was laid off just before Christmas by the snotty old bugger.
I'm quiet happy to see them go as well. Back in my old amiga days we bought a Citizan ABC printer with colour kit. We knew nothing about printer (it was our first ever printer) at the time and asked how many colours it could so, the guy at the Special Reserve shop said "As many as you want" once we got the printer the manaual said 7. Also the printer, which I think we've still got stashed away somewhere was never right from the start.
-
News travels fast - Special Reserve went into liquidation in 2005 !!
They were certainly in my early Amiga years one of the best sources for hardware and software however the growth of the internet and increased competition forced the issue of closure and unfortunately I lost the deposit I'd put down on an XBOX 360.
:-( :-(
-
Abou27 wrote:
Hi there,
Just a quickie! Online and mail order firm "Special Reserve" went into liquidation yesterday. Read the story here:
http://www.mcvuk.com/newsitem.php?id=607&ss=3
I feel really sad at their passing. I bought my first Amiga from them, followed a few years later by my second. I also purchased my PCs from them. They were a company very supportive of the Amiga in its early days - partly due to founder Tony Rainbird running the software company "Rainbird" (bet some of you saw that one coming). He was also involved with Magnetic Scrolls, the company that produced "Corruption" amongst other titles. I found them to be a wonderful company who retained a family firm atmosphere even as they expanded and expanded through the nineties. Part of the blame had been apportioned to supermarkets now selling new games at low prices - ie stomping through their territory. Oh well, these things happen. However, I have never before felt this kind of loss at the demise of a trader...
Cunningly, they recently made sure that their ISP business: Freeola.net was registered as a separate company, so the spirit lives on...
Another indie bites the dust, however...
Quite shocked to hear, they always seemed to be doing well! Remember seeing their ads in the old Playstation and Amiga magazines... quite sad to see them go actually, I never personally had any problems with their service!
I was a member for a year around 2001/2002. Had some of their "Reddie" tokens until not so long ago!
-
That's a shame. I used to get most of my Amiga software from them when I lived in Germany and a few PC games too. I stopped using them when I moved to the USA as they either didn't ship overseas or their rates were too expensive (can't remember which).
-
someone wrote:
I was, personally, quite happy to see this happen. I worked for Tony Rainbird in 2000 and was laid off just before Christmas by the snotty old bugger.
In my opinion, his Dickensian ways were the demise of his company, not the supermarkets and convenience shopping habits. He had no rapport with his staff, instead electing to swan around the offices pretending to like you and then chastising you for having too many icons on the desktop of your Mac or something.
I worked in the marketing department and, unfortunately, had to put up with his daughter Sarah working opposite me. She was as bad as her father (ugly too). By the time I left I was so heartily sick of this "family run business" that I was glad to get the boot.
I'm astonished that the greasy old snob has started to get his fingers back in the old pies, not having learned his lesson, and look forward to seeing him fall flat on his face again.
God bless Freeola and all who sink in her, especially their esteemed leader, My Rainbird, whom I hope drowns in a pool of his own venomous spittle sometime soon.
I just phoned Tony and he says you were fired for continually "hitting" on his daughter despite her stating several times to you that she wasn't interested and because you had a habbit of insulting and putting down your fellow co-workers.
not really... but you never know.
-
someone wrote:
I was, personally, quite happy to see this happen. I worked for Tony Rainbird in 2000 and was laid off just before Christmas by the snotty old bugger.
In my opinion, his Dickensian ways were the demise of his company, not the supermarkets and convenience shopping habits. He had no rapport with his staff, instead electing to swan around the offices pretending to like you and then chastising you for having too many icons on the desktop of your Mac or something.
I worked in the marketing department and, unfortunately, had to put up with his daughter Sarah working opposite me. She was as bad as her father (ugly too). By the time I left I was so heartily sick of this "family run business" that I was glad to get the boot.
I'm astonished that the greasy old snob has started to get his fingers back in the old pies, not having learned his lesson, and look forward to seeing him fall flat on his face again.
God bless Freeola and all who sink in her, especially their esteemed leader, My Rainbird, whom I hope drowns in a pool of his own venomous spittle sometime soon.
wow, he must have graduated from the bbrv school of crappy business practices. :lol:
-
>wow, he must have graduated from the bbrv school of crappy business practices
As opposed to... all the other wonderful Amiga businesses? Starting with, oh, i don't know... Bill and Fleecy?