tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3575321478441277410.post1973751627644025661..comments2024-03-13T10:32:22.656+00:00Comments on thanetonline: Scams spams and funny experiences in bookshopsMichael Childhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09499435016469020417noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3575321478441277410.post-85955426663340264362010-11-25T20:06:14.630+00:002010-11-25T20:06:14.630+00:00Bluenote Don, I really don’t know the answer to th...Bluenote Don, I really don’t know the answer to the problem of small shops closing, it’s something I give a great deal of thought to that result in few ideas.Michael Childhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09499435016469020417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3575321478441277410.post-30764159106191970032010-11-25T12:45:49.073+00:002010-11-25T12:45:49.073+00:00Bluenote I stay clear of Michaels for that reason ...Bluenote I stay clear of Michaels for that reason My wife wont let me go in because I would be like a kid in a sweet shop.Browsing in record shops and bookshops was one of my great delights unfortunatly its not the same in a wheelchair. I will get to see you Michael honest.<br /><br />Shops unfortunatly are an expensive commodity. And competing on a level playing field would be nice Michael. A friend was saying last weekend his turnover goes up at boot fairs when its too cold for those on Benefits to stall out. He is a general secodhand trader doing house clearances auctions markets and bootfairs, He had to give up his shop because it became to expensive.Don Woodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17099505939055955603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3575321478441277410.post-88013954856831491942010-11-23T20:16:53.280+00:002010-11-23T20:16:53.280+00:00I would have to agree about the demise of the spec...I would have to agree about the demise of the specialist shops. One I used to enjoy was the diecast model cars and trains shop up the Margate Road. Both the stamp shops, that lasted from my childhood to my retirement, have now gone and the old style genuine junk shop is no more. Well, there is certainly junk out there but not the kind where you find that long lost Ming vase.<br /><br />I suppose ebay, boot fairs and the exorbitant costs of running a well sited shop business all contribute though I do not subscribe to the notion it is all down to out of town shopping. That hardly effects the little specialist shops for, though the superstores do everything from TVs to fresh fish, they don't do old books or Dinky collectables. Guess the turnover on such retail items will no longer support the potential costs. Sad!<br /><br />Anyway, as long as folk like Michael keep going there is still somewhere to go (though I kind of wish my wife and daughter had not found the place for it is costing me a fortune and we need another bookcase to boot).Bluenotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506047184035056068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3575321478441277410.post-55493321539208408302010-11-23T17:57:36.618+00:002010-11-23T17:57:36.618+00:00Don I think underlying this problem is that a grea...Don I think underlying this problem is that a great many people selling on the internet don’t need a proper working wage, either they already have a full time job or are receiving various benefits that they wouldn’t be able to claim if they were running a shop.<br /><br />The difficulty here is if you declare your income in an honest way, so you pay the right taxes and only claim the benefits that you are entitled to.<br /><br />I sometimes get the feeling that most of the problem revolves around competing with a grey to black economy.<br /> <br />But really the problem here is where to hide oneself at lunchtime in the cold weather, at the moment I find I am leaving the shop full of people having a relaxing browse in one of the quiet corners of the bookshop and am running out of any more interesting places to go.Michael Childhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09499435016469020417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3575321478441277410.post-64211876090724428482010-11-23T17:40:36.831+00:002010-11-23T17:40:36.831+00:00Niche marketing is ok Michael but lends itself too...Niche marketing is ok Michael but lends itself too the internet as by very nature not everyone wants or need it. Thats where the internet is so good offering a market place for those who would otherwise struggle in a High street setting. And there we go taking another retailer out of the High Stree. The whole shopping experience is so different know even from that of say 20 years ago. Perhaps we have gone from a nation of shopkeepers to a nation of Internet shopkeepers.??Don Woodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17099505939055955603noreply@blogger.com