Founded in
1987, Scan were one of the first companies in the
UK to cash in on the market for
IBM PC clones, picking up large corporate contacts. Later a mail order component section was added, and offices were opened in
Singapore,
Taiwan and
Hong Kong to make and sell cheap components. According to their website, anyway. (www.scan.co.uk)
Most people, myself included, came across Scan as a very,
very cheap online computer component company. Most notable is the company's
Today Only feature - products at pretty much
trade prices, for one day only. It used to be a pain to order (telephone only - so 90's.
Hur.) but recently online ordering has been added.
Invisible money is -much- easier to spend.
What marks the company out, asides from their prices, is their
savvy; they genuinely seem to know what niche markets want, and cater for them, often by manufacturing the product themselves. Example? They sell a 100% Hardware based PCI
internal modem, with Linux drivers. They sell a high quality, region free
DVD player with tonnes of connectors, for a relative pittance. Oh, and it plays
MP3 CDs.
My only real complaint? Not enough info. Typically, all you get to know about what you're buying is a one line description, often without even a
brand name. Rather
disconcerting for people who don't really know what they're doing, but then Scan isn't really for them.
Reliable and cheap.