Mwave Has Been Placed into Administration and Acquired by digiDirect

NigerianGirthLord on 16/06/2025 - 11:58
Last edited 16/06/2025 - 15:49 by 2 other users

Was sent this from an Rtx 50 series Instock discord server: EXCLUSIVE:Leading PC Retailer Placed Into Administration

"Leading PC retailer Mwave has been placed into administration. The Company that is well-renowned amongst PC enthusiasts and the gaming community was placed into administration last week; at this stage it’s not known the extent of their debt. Antony Resnick and Henry Ho Leung Kwok of DVT Group in Parramatta NSW have been appointed to liquidate the Company. The Company was controlled by Essel Pty Ltd whose key director is Victor Wei Lee, the managing director of the Company is listed as Mr. Phil Montrone."

Checked via the ABN details for Mwave which is ESEL PTY LTY

Then checked via the Asic website and yeah uhh they're in external administration now

It's not looking great, especially considering how many unfulfilled RTX 5090 preorders they still have

Update.

The digiDirect Group has acquired the Mwave business. We will continue to trade from our Lidcombe headquarters for the time-being before eventually transferring Mwave operations across to The digiDirect Group’s headquarters in South Strathfield in Sydney.

We are committed to fulfilling all orders swiftly and efficiently, maintaining the place in pre-order and backorder queues of all customers. We anticipate there will be a maximum of 2-3 days delay on any current available shipments as we work through a stocktake and change over courier accounts to new ownership.

More information.

Computing

Related Stores

Mwave Australia
Mwave Australia

Comments

  • 87percent on 16/06/2025 - 12:08
    +31

    I always found their pricing to be more expensive than other places

    • 45rpm on 17/06/2025 - 09:39
      +5

      Yes the pricing went up over the last few years. Haven't bought from them since early 2020…

      • vid_ghost on 17/06/2025 - 16:44
        +6

        Same. Also free postage on orders over $250 is a little high. They would have had way more sales if it was above $100.

        The gimmick give always was horrible. win this.. win that.. $20,000 worth of free stuff.. they would have made more money with cheaper postage. Centercom has the right idea and so does Scorptec. giving free postage on lots of items at low prices.

        I was wondering why they had no stock of the RX9060XT cards and what stock they did have was all sold out.. i guess they didnt have the funds to order more.

        • antiocker on 17/06/2025 - 17:54
          +8

          I can't complain, I won this: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/728788

          And according to their website order history my oldest order from them was a HDD in 2008.

        • juki on 17/06/2025 - 22:08
          +2

          i liked them but found their website awkward to navigate (yes its not the only aussie one like that) but such poor filtering options soon lead me to just google and go elsewhere

  • Fredfloresjr on 16/06/2025 - 12:10
    +62

    Mwavegoodbye

  • apsilon on 16/06/2025 - 12:11
    +1

    That's somewhat surprising. I've said for a while that they've been a victim of their own success in relation to the drop in customer service and increased wait times across the order process but seems they may have grown too big too quickly.

    • CascadeHush on 16/06/2025 - 12:52
      +23

      You're surprised that a company seling comodities on razor thin margins with no customer loyalty in an extremely competitive market is going under!!!?!!?!?!

      • apple2016 on 16/06/2025 - 16:32
        -7

        Not so sure of "razor thin margins" mate. Have you see GPU prices?

        • 2expensive4me on 16/06/2025 - 16:49
          +34

          NVIDIA (and possibly the AIB partners) are drowning in money, the aussie retailers are for sure operating on razor thin margins.

        • gromit on 17/06/2025 - 09:39
          +13

          it is not the retailer that is making the massive margins on GPU prices.

  • Clear on 16/06/2025 - 12:18
    +11

    Customer service has been terrible for years. I know a lot of people who got prebuilds from them that had USB-C on the case but no appropriate header on the motherboard leaving a cable dangling inside the case and a non working port. That's pretty amateur.

    Their woeful stock levels have been a pain too. Sure a lot of products say "In stock at supplier" but a lot of it doesn't. Don't expect to get anything notification when it's out of stock after ordering.

    • JPerez on 17/06/2025 - 11:32

      i was waiting in line to pick up a keyboard from them. the dude behind their makeshift counter told us to wear masks.

      we were waiting outside. lol

      if you've been to mwave in auburn, you never go inside. you're outside in the car park, and they give you your stuff.

      some people said asked why as it was utterly ridiculous.

      after some back and forth the Asian guy behind the counter just ended up ushering the queue without us wearing the masks.

      • OMGJL on 18/06/2025 - 05:47
        +2

        did this happen lately or was it during COVID?

        ridiculous if it happened recently, quite reasonable if it's during COVID.

    • Aureus on 17/06/2025 - 18:37
      +1

      Terrible customer service and incorrect stock levels listed on website.. sounds exactly like digidirect. Maybe that is why they bought them out

  • payton on 16/06/2025 - 12:19
    +3

    Sad end to another PC business. They had a huge Sydney CBD storefront way back in 2006, pickup prices were competitive, beats having to pay PCCG's inflated postage cost.

  • geekcohen on 16/06/2025 - 12:26
    +15

    OH HELL NO! I've got hardware pending and its all paid for! Like $2k worth!

    • Fredfloresjr on 16/06/2025 - 12:30
      +20

      Claim to ATO under donation

      • geekcohen on 16/06/2025 - 12:31

        Yeah, lovely and mean while it screws my customer over who has paid for the equipment.

        • Bruceflix on 16/06/2025 - 13:22
          +4

          Doesn't screw your customer over.

          • geekcohen on 16/06/2025 - 13:23
            +2

            @Bruceflix: Well it screws me over and might mean a longer delivery time frame for the customer.

            • Bruceflix on 16/06/2025 - 13:24

              @geekcohen: I hope you get it sorted. I have a pre-order with Mwave and I litewrally rang them on Saturday to see the progress, was considering canceling then. Damn it

              • geekcohen on 16/06/2025 - 13:36

                @Bruceflix: It would've been too late anyway, I think, since the Paperwork was done on Friday. I assume it would've been effective over the weekend.

                I am holding onto hope and that I'll either get the hardware or get my money.

      • holdenmg on 16/06/2025 - 12:32

        Just got it in this financial year. (Nice!).

    • bargaino on 16/06/2025 - 13:03

      I hope you used credit/debit card.
      Do they normally debit at order time, or when shipping?

      • geekcohen on 16/06/2025 - 13:10

        Bank Transfer because they have a surcharge for cards.

        Orders need to be paid in full before anything is shipped etc. They have always been good in the last 12 months I have ordered from them and I have ordered $15.7k worth of stuff (including this current $2k). Yes, it can take some time for items to arrive to them before coming to me, but it has never been a problem.

        • barcer on 17/06/2025 - 07:39
          +10

          And this is why I usually tolerate the surcharge for purchases like this. If something goes wrong, it's relatively easy to get your money back. I think of it like insurance.

          • geekcohen on 17/06/2025 - 07:41

            @barcer: But would a chargeback actually work even though it has been cleared? Like, if they have taken all the funds out of their credit card account, there would be nothing to return?

            • real-nb on 17/06/2025 - 07:53
              +8

              @geekcohen: A chargeback is handled by the bank and the issuer (Mastercard/Visa/Amex). All the issuer networks will essentially be able to claw back the funds a number of ways (or eat the loss).

              Whenever a business goes into administration, the banks always advise anyone with outstanding orders to request a chargeback/dispute. So yes, a chargeback should work even if the business is in administration - as said above, for stuff like this just think of the surcharge as insurance knowing you’re protected by a card scheme

              • geekcohen on 17/06/2025 - 08:11
                +3

                @real-nb: Yeah, well I think I will have to do that from now on as a possible safety net.

          • huggsymersh on 17/06/2025 - 12:15
            +1

            @barcer: Same here. I'm fortunate that my cc also extends manufacturer warranty by a year, so I don't mind paying surcharge in addition to your reason.

            I know the Australian Consumer Law can take precedence over any express periods stated in a manufacturer warranty - but it's nice to have as much protection as you can muster if things so south.

        • SBOB on 17/06/2025 - 18:40

          Bank Transfer because they have a surcharge for cards.

          As you're using them as a supplier and reselling you'd think the surcharge would be worth it for both cashflow (ie delay payments via cc interest free periods) and reduce risk due to charge back benefits.

          • geekcohen on 18/06/2025 - 05:36

            @SBOB: I always get payment before placing any orders for specialty hardware. If it is some TP Link access points, I generally have them sitting on the shelf. But I order a lot of Ubiquiti stuff from Mwave and thats often $2k or more. I was reviewing my orders and last year I ordered $4k worth of stuff.

            I don't use Ubiquiti on every job, so the thing is that if the client pulls out but I've ordered hardware, that hardware I might not use for 2 to 3 months until I have a use case, so its a lot of investment to sit on the shelf.

            But I will be adding the surcharge to pricing moving forward to safeguard myself.

    • Twix on 16/06/2025 - 15:50
      +9

      Mwave has been acquired by digiDirect.

      We are committed to fulfilling all orders swiftly and efficiently, maintaining the place in pre-order and backorder queues of all customers. We anticipate there will be a maximum of 2-3 days delay on any current available shipments as we work through a stocktake and change over courier accounts to new ownership.

      More information.

      • geekcohen on 16/06/2025 - 16:03
        +4

        Thanks, I got the email from them. I am very relieved!

    • entropysbane on 16/06/2025 - 16:26
      +1

      It took a while to turn up so I was getting worried, but our bunch recent Mwave purchases of PC components (for a Build) arrived a couple of weeks ago. Phew!

    • buffalo bill on 17/06/2025 - 15:58

      Hope you paid on credit card

  • geekcohen on 16/06/2025 - 12:38

    Well their 1300 number works and apparently they have "system issues" and "the warehouse isn't running at the moment".

    They cannot issue refunds either….. well this is just lovely!

    The fact their 1300 number works seems positive and that I could speak to someone, but I bet it won't be long.

  • 01011010 on 16/06/2025 - 13:07
    +8

    hold on before you send in the pitch forks.

    entering administration isn't a trading halt generally… the administrators best option is to continue operating and fulfill current orders that it can.
    They may terminate a bunch of staff instantly or get a skeleton crew, but I wouldn't think everything is lost just yet.

    • geekcohen on 16/06/2025 - 13:12

      Yeah, that is the exact conversation I was having with my Dad. Might be lucky. Going to give it a few days. The fact that the 1300 number was answered and I was able to speak to someone is giving me a bit of hope. Also, the fact the website is still online and working.

    • NigerianGirthLord on 16/06/2025 - 15:14
      -1

      I thought so too, but someone from the buildapcaustralia subreddit called the 1300 number and "got to speak to someone. Everything appears to be on hold and "they cannot issue refunds" and "the warehouse isn't operating"."

      it ain't looking good chief

      • geekcohen on 16/06/2025 - 16:04
        +2

        Yeah that was me who called them. I was a bit concerned when I got about the warehouse not operating, no refunds and it was all "a system issue".

    • buffalo bill on 17/06/2025 - 15:59

      Its not good though is it? 99% of the time the administrator will just wind it up and take their cut from any assets they do have

  • Bruceflix on 16/06/2025 - 13:23

    I have a pre-order. Hopefully I can get through and cancel. Angry now for not paying by card

  • Sawtell on 16/06/2025 - 15:14

    Dont they have to advise on the website that there is an administrator appointed?

  • Namidairo on 16/06/2025 - 15:25
    +4

    Mwave are now claiming to have been acquired by digiDirect.

    https://www.mwave.com.au/blog/business-update/

    If true, they have very poorly handled the communication of this, and possibly have a few chargebacks to deal with in the next few days because of this.

    • NigerianGirthLord on 16/06/2025 - 15:35
      +1

      "We will continue to trade from our Lidcombe headquarters for the time-being before eventually transferring Mwave operations across to The digiDirect Group’s headquarters in South Strathfield in Sydney."

      oh boy, digidirect sure has 'headquarters'

      • Namidairo on 16/06/2025 - 16:28
        +2

        I'm not in the camera hobby but I don't exactly like the feedback I have seen from people's impressions of digiDirect. (It was not positive feedback)

        That and I went over to their site and immediately had my eyes spot the data breach page in the footer.

        • geekcohen on 16/06/2025 - 16:31

          Yeah, I think this will be the last time I order from Mwave. Might pay a bit more through CentreCom but at least I know it will often be dispatched next day.

        • Subere on 17/06/2025 - 20:46
          +1

          Will never shop at Digi again. Took over a week for a click and collect a year ago, and then the data breach that they never communicated about but I know my unique email was breached as I'm receiving spam to it.

          But the owner wants to diversify his business and is buying up all these struggling Aus companies. First Booktopia and now mwave

    • Shunter86 on 16/06/2025 - 15:45
      +3

      Hahaha, I'd literally just asked my provider to do a chargeback before I saw this message. Bugger me, terrible terrible comms.

      • dekay on 16/06/2025 - 22:14
        +1

        Dont worry, i've done it too. It can take time to do a chargeback, I'm hoping they just refund me before it goes any further

    • 01011010 on 16/06/2025 - 17:01
      +5

      wow, interesting.

      If esel (the parent company) entered administration and the administrators sold off the company to digidirect in less than a week there must have been some pre-planning to this.

      • geekcohen on 17/06/2025 - 07:40

        100% and I reckon that is what they have told staff as they seemed clueless about being in Administration, plus the 1300 number and website were still operational.

  • geekcohen on 16/06/2025 - 15:56
    +2

    There is light! Thank the lord!

  • mrdean on 16/06/2025 - 17:39
    -7

    End stage capitalism. Consolidation in the market place. When corporations rule the world.

  • Gamerguy94 on 16/06/2025 - 19:09
    +17

    On the Centrecom homepage it says:
    The Wave is gone
    CENTRE COM
    HAS YOUR BACK
    Same great tech, better service.

    Thats rough as xD

    • Bruceflix on 16/06/2025 - 19:54

      Not sure centrecom are doing too good either

      • geekcohen on 17/06/2025 - 05:33

        So who do you trust now in the computer space then and how do you protect yourself against potentially losing thousands? Like I will not order from Mwave again after this and I was probably going to lean towards CentreCom.

        • GardenGnome on 17/06/2025 - 08:38
          +2

          Protect yourself? Pay by credit card or PayPal. You will always get your money back in 99% of cases if the item is not delivered, package is stolen or order is not for filled. It may take a few weeks to a month, but you will get it back if you keep evidence and receipts.

          CenterCom is probably the best of who's left. Their website stock levels are pretty accurate, sure you don't know how many items are in stock but if it says in stock, it 99% will be available at the same price on the website.

          • geekcohen on 17/06/2025 - 09:03

            @GardenGnome: Yeah, I think I will start paying things via PayPal now.

            I think CentreCom are the best, but would like to know why @Bruceflix thinks that they are not doing too good. I've always had a good experience with CentreCom.

            • 01011010 on 17/06/2025 - 17:23
              +1

              @geekcohen: I received a text from Centrecom 'have you been ghosted by your tech store'

              They are definitely taking full advantage of the situation.. (and fair game).

              • geekcohen on 17/06/2025 - 17:44
                +1

                @01011010: Yep, well, I won't be buying from Mwave again. I think CentreCom will be my go-to. It offers good dispatching and reasonable pricing on most things.

      • cephh on 17/06/2025 - 21:21
        +2

        As someone who worked at centrecom, i don't know the numbers in the back-end, but they are sure pulling in a good amount of revenue.

      • Kumo1887 on 20/06/2025 - 11:08
        +1

        Not sure about that. Two QLD stores just opened.

        https://www.centrecom.com.au/queensland-launch

    • Randolph Duke on 17/06/2025 - 10:39
      +2

      Thats rough as

      Pretty shit. Wonder if there's some petty drama between people at the 2 companies.

  • lovesabargain77 on 16/06/2025 - 19:23
    +17

    digiDirect, the company who last year didn't even have the courtesy to notify customers that there had been a massive data breach

    https://www.csoonline.com/article/3543250/data-of-300k-digid…

  • mrhugo on 17/06/2025 - 09:40
    +7

    digiDirect picked up Booktopia last year who were also in administration.

    Just like Booktopia, they probably snaped it up for pennies on the dollar.

    OK, if they can turn it around.

    • Sendaris on 17/06/2025 - 13:49

      I've ordered off Booktopia a few times since Digi picked them up and they've been super fast sending the orders even with the free/standard post option.

    • ihbh on 17/06/2025 - 14:11

      Read Google reviews. Sure they can inject some capital in, but that doesn't change how difficult the business is.

    • McFly on 17/06/2025 - 16:26
      +1

      probably snaped it up

      Cheapotakeovero!

  • geekcohen on 17/06/2025 - 12:34

    They replied to my Live Chat from yesterday with an update on my order. I've requested a full refund instead and they were happy with that. So I am not awaiting that. They were pretty quick on the emails which was a surprise.

  • Naigrabzo on 17/06/2025 - 15:22
    -1

    MWave them good bye.

  • airtime on 17/06/2025 - 20:27
    +1

    Ha. I received an SMS from Centrecom this afternoon at 5pm:

    "Ghosted by your tech store? We've got you. Better EOFY deals, fast shipping & easy pickup at Centre Com!"

  • airtime on 17/06/2025 - 20:30

    Thoughts and best wishes to any staff affected by this. Losing your job or just the stress created by this news sucks.

  • AUBRX on 17/06/2025 - 20:33

    So what happens with anything that needs to be RMA? I thankfully don't have to RMA right now, but that could always change in the future -most of my pc parts were purchased through mwave.

    • Twix on 17/06/2025 - 21:52

      Fill out the RMA as normal.

      The new owners are honouring all warranties per the current terms. The process for warranty claims continues to remain the same. Visit the Mwave website —> Contact —> Warranty Returns, click the button and submit a Claim to our Warranty Department who will provide you with further instructions. We will continue to respond to claim requests and enquiries within 24 hours from Mon - Fri 9:00am - 5:00pm, Sat 9:00am - 2:00pm (AEST).

  • Antikythera on 17/06/2025 - 21:17
    +1

    wow. I dodged a bullet.
    last night I had a cart full of water-cooling fittings at 10-20% of retail and my Spidey Sense was tingling and I didn't order.

    funnily enough it was the disclaimer that all EK items were still in Slovenia and would arrive from supplier in 10+ days that put me off.
    why are you selling items at 10% retail if you don't have them in stock yet?

    clearance of stock that isn't moving would make sense. not ordering new stock from supplier.

  • dekay on 17/06/2025 - 21:50

    they are still trading so it would be safe to assume they will be completing orders, just a lot slower as they transition the inventory and orders.

    • geekcohen on 18/06/2025 - 08:22

      Yep and they were still "trading" even though they were "in administration" on Monday.

  • goms on 17/06/2025 - 22:38
    +3

    I used to be a loyal customer of mwave until one bad experience a few years ago after my GPU order was cancelled and they jacked their price.

    Long story: I ordered a GPU which was pending a delivery from their supplier. I got impatient, so I asked if it's possible to swap for a different model that was $20 more that they had in stock. However, the live chat staff saw a different pricing on their end and it was $70 more expensive. So I decided not to go ahead with it. The live chat person assured me that my GPU would arrive the next day.

    Few hours later, my GPU order was cancelled and when I asked about it, they told me that I missed my allocation because of the swap (which I didn't agree on). The GPU was hot back then, so I had no choice but to pay the exact same GPU as what I ordered for $50 more. I told them my disappointment and they arrogantly said they were happy for me to shop elsewhere, which I have since.

    Bye mwave, I won't miss you!

  • furyou on 17/06/2025 - 22:45
    +4

    Very bad, less competition means higher prices later
    They don't have to have the lowest prices to be competition

    • dbmitch on 19/06/2025 - 09:55

      The issue was that their prices weren't even near competitive and they never had any real sales on IMHO.

      Sure you can be competition, but you can't just straight up price yourselves high with no reasons to show why you deserve to price that high….

      • furyou on 19/06/2025 - 10:17

        I can't really say but I have purchased from them in the past which means they have been the cheapest

  • Boop Doucha on 17/06/2025 - 23:43
    +1

    Tried to order a ryzen 5600 for a friend recently, express post. One week later it still hadn't been sent. Requested a refund which went through 10 business days later. It makes sense now…

  • WayneOZ on 18/06/2025 - 15:18

    Not surprised at all. Price been ignorantly high was the beginning of all this.

  • dealhunter-au on 18/06/2025 - 20:54

    digiDirect has the worst customer service.

    • McFly on 19/06/2025 - 16:24
      +2

      What/when was your request?

        • McFly on 19/06/2025 - 17:48
          +2

          directly contradicts the information provided on their faq page

          Exactly. And they don't even have their 5090 yet!

    • dekay on 19/06/2025 - 16:33
      +1

      They never told me this when I requested a refund at the start of the week, so this is a change in tune?

        • dekay on 19/06/2025 - 17:06
          +2

          ridiculous they are stringing us along

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