Save Bookshops

[Mr Celine]

Or to give a real example.

i needed a new electric heater. I was able to order it online whilst at same time in a phone conference with others yesterday.

Said heater was delivered first thing this morning and is currently heating my office.


The alternative would have been to wait until Sunday when I can next get to shops owing for other commitments, trawl round numerous shops, having driven their ( increasing my carbon footprint). Hopefully if I find the product I want, it will be in stock and I can take it with me.

Thus, I will be in coldhome office for several days, be unable to do my Sunday bike ride and have to drive round shops trying to find item I want.


Is itany wonder I chose to buy from Amazon.

There is nothing to stopother shops having simply to use websites and arranging swift delivery.





Shops are there to serve the customers, and its no wonder those who provide what the majority want thrive whilst others go to the wall





Its the same as the local butchers, greengrocers etc in the small commuter town I live in that open from 0900-1700 and wonder why the supermarkets that open early and close late get the customers whilst those smaller shops that do not meet the need of their cvommuting customers go out of business.

I would much prefer to use the local butcher, greengrocer etc, but I am not taking hours off work at cost to me because they do not serve my needs

An advantage of buying from local shops is that it's easier to return faulty goods.

How are you going to return your faulty keyboard?

 

[spen666]

An advantage of buying from local shops is that it's easier to return faulty goods.

How are you going to return your faulty keyboard?

I donhave a faulty keyboard!

Amazon either provide free return labels or collect returns, so it's actually usually easier to return faulty goods to them, and usually far less quibbles from Amazon.

You may prefer to go to shops for your purchases, but not enough people do to make local shops flourish

 

[qigong chimp]

Or to give a real example.

i needed a new electric heater. I was able to order it online whilst at same time in a phone conference with others yesterday.

Said heater was delivered first thing this morning and is currently heating my office.

The alternative would have been to wait until Sunday when I can next get to shops owing for other commitments, trawl round numerous shops, having driven their ( increasing my carbon footprint). Hopefully if I find the product I want, it will be in stock and I can take it with me.

Thus, I will be in coldhome office for several days, be unable to do my Sunday bike ride and have to drive round shops trying to find item I want.

Is itany wonder I chose to buy from Amazon.

There is nothing to stopother shops having simply to use websites and arranging swift delivery.

Shops are there to serve the customers, and its no wonder those who provide what the majority want thrive whilst others go to the wall

Its the same as the local butchers, greengrocers etc in the small commuter town I live in that open from 0900-1700 and wonder why the supermarkets that open early and close late get the customers whilst those smaller shops that do not meet the need of their cvommuting customers go out of business.

I would much prefer to use the local butcher, greengrocer etc, but I am not taking hours off work at cost to me because they do not serve my needs

Heater?

In a denouement as sensational as Elle Woods skewering Chutney, I'm calling this heater tale for the risible canard it is; can share that a former avatar of spen showed him to be as blunt and smooth as an M&S haggis,

blubbered as a Weddell seal.

So well insulated that he could comfortably discharge his lawyerly duties (writing threatening letters for the rogue clamping crew operating from behind the taxi office) reclining naked on an ice-floe adjacent to a colony of Emperor penguins playing shivery keepy-uppy with their eggs.

 

[cookiemonster]

That is very subjective.

Clearly many people think the amazon service of ordering from home & very rapid delivery is a better service than having to traipse in town(s) paying travel & parking costs, spending hours extra time.

People are voting with their wallets & obviously prefer the Smazon service to the independent High Street retailer.

It's up to the High Street retailers to provide customers with what they want.

It is not the fault of customers that some retailers do not provide the service the majority want.

If customers do want the High Street retailers, then they would be thriving & have lots of trade.


Times they are a changing - whether you like it or not. The independent retailers need to provide the services and products that enough people want if they are to survive.

One - I said in my OP that Amazon does have its uses, as you gave an example of, and I use Amazon now and then, although as a last resort.

Two - As I mentioned, independent retailers have to pay rates and taxes. How much has Amazon paid over the years?

Three - The best shops I've been in have been small, indie bookstores. Their service is superb and Amazon cannot compete with them.

 

[cookiemonster]

As you say, freedom of choice. If enough people prefer the high st experience it will survive.

alternatively, we could all turn the clock back a couple hundred years, think of all those jobs we could bring back, saddle makers, farriers, riveters, etc, etc

Or if High Street shops get some backing from the Gov, they would survive. Instead, the Gov gives Amazon the green light to dodge taxes and, in turn, destroy small retailers.

 

[BoldonLad]

Or if High Street shops get some backing from the Gov, they would survive. Instead, the Gov gives Amazon the green light to dodge taxes and, in turn, destroy small retailers.

I doubt that Politicians of any persuasion give Amazon (or, any other Company, unless they have an interest in it), a “green light” to avoid taxes. Taxes are the lifeblood of Politicians, they love taxes. Taxes give Politicians money to spend buying support. Politicians are just too stupid/lazy to control the Amazon’s of this world, much easier to kick the little people around.

 

[Deleted member 49]

I doubt that Politicians of any persuasion give Amazon (or, any other Company, unless they have an interest in it), a “green light” to avoid taxes. Taxes are the lifeblood of Politicians, they love taxes. Taxes give Politicians money to spend buying support. Politicians are just too stupid/lazy to control the Amazon’s of this world, much easier to kick the little people around.

Yea right....
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...per-deduction-most-beneficial-uk-construction

 

[BoldonLad]

Yea right....
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...per-deduction-most-beneficial-uk-construction

Like I said, too idle/stupid.

 

[spen666]

One - I said in my OP that Amazon does have its uses, as you gave an example of, and I use Amazon now and then, although as a last resort.

Two - As I mentioned, independent retailers have to pay rates and taxes. How much has Amazon paid over the years?

Three - The best shops I've been in have been small, indie bookstores. Their service is superb and Amazon cannot compete with them.

None of the above points has any relevance at all to the fact that a significant number of the High Street Retailers do not appeal to enough customers to survive.

In fact point 3 is very subjective, and clearly the majority of customers prefer the service of the likes of Amazon. What you prefer is not necessarily what the majority of others prefer. That does not mean you are right or wrong, it merely means the majority prefer something different to you.

You clearly prefer to go to physical shops. However, in increasing numbers, people prefer online retailers. It is not the customers who are wrong. Physical retailers need to provide services that attract sufficient customers and do something to reverse the decline in trade.

People/ Shops can make all the explanations that they like (and they may or may not be valid), but the fact is customers are voting with their wallets and choosing the services of Amazon and the like over going to the High Street. Shops need to address this to survive.

Rather than make excuses or telling the customers they are wrong and need to change, those retailers need to provide service that sufficient customers want if they are to compete.

 

[matticus]

Sadly Spen can't see the bigger picture. despite numerous posts here explaining the issues.
He is only able to count 1 type of bean, and is only concerned with whether the numbers work out for him.

(But he is persistent here; perhaps he thinks Amazon needs campaigners like him in every online corner, just in case their dominance ever comes under threat? )

 

[BoldonLad]

Sadly Spen can't see the bigger picture. despite numerous posts here explaining the issues.
He is only able to count 1 type of bean, and is only concerned with whether the numbers work out for him.

(But he is persistent here; perhaps he thinks Amazon needs campaigners like him in every online corner, just in case their dominance ever comes under threat? )

Well @spen666 is not alone, I am an avid online shopper too, sometimes for delivery, sometimes "click and collect". Shopping in the "High Street" is over rated IMHO. I am quite happy to visit "the big city", but, only if there is something on offer (I don't mean cheap, necessarily), which appeals to me.

The number of empty shops in most High Streets I have visited in the past 10 years or so, suggests, the majority share this view. Time for business to wake up and smell the coffee.

 

[Deleted member 49]

Well @spen666 is not alone, I am an avid online shopper too, sometimes for delivery, sometimes "click and collect". Shopping in the "High Street" is over rated IMHO. I am quite happy to visit "the big city", but, only if there is something on offer (I don't mean cheap, necessarily), which appeals to me.

The number of empty shops in most High Streets I have visited in the past 10 years or so, suggests, the majority share this view. Time for business to wake up and smell the coffee.

Which is your and many others choices...is everything about price and convenience though ? No thoughts for ethics or the the workforce ? Or trying to support someone local ?
Like you say your choice.

 

[BoldonLad]

Which is your and many others choices...is everything about price and convenience though ? No thoughts for ethics or the the workforce ? Or trying to support someone local ?
Like you say your choice.

I specifically said "I don't mean cheap"!, so, no, price is not everything.

Convenience, is relevant, be honest, given the choice between taking the bus or metro to Newcastle (my nearest city), and carrying a bulky purchase home, on bus or metro, versus, two minutes on phone, to have same, delivered to my door... no contest. However, there is nothing to stop one of the large stores or local stores in Newcastle, matching Amazon's delivery service, if they reply want my business.

Personally, I am not a purchaser of "take away" food, but, in the area I live, many people are, and, some local outlets have learned a lesson or two and now deliver. Full marks to them.

 

[matticus]

Let's be clear here, this is not a new and surprising phenomenon:

The number of empty shops in most High Streets I have visited in the past 10 years or so

I think everyone reading this thread will have observed this - as you say, for at least 10 years!

It's just that some of us have also thought about the bigger picture during that 10 years.

 

[Deleted member 49]

I specifically said "I don't mean cheap"!, so, no, price is not everything.

Convenience, is relevant, be honest, given the choice between taking the bus or metro to Newcastle (my nearest city), and carrying a bulky purchase home, on bus or metro, versus, two minutes on phone, to have same, delivered to my door... no contest. However, there is nothing to stop one of the large stores or local stores in Newcastle, matching Amazon's delivery service, if they reply want my business.

Personally, I am not a purchaser of "take away" food, but, in the area I live, many people are, and, some local outlets have learned a lesson or two and now deliver. Full marks to them.

So price isn't everything....get off your fecking arse and support the local economy then !