Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote further down: Bob W wrote directly below: > > That's why there'll be no more bricks & mortar bookstores in a few > > years. > > > > Amazon will charge whatever they want, and we will have lost the > > pleasure of browsing for books. You won't be able to talk to > > knowledgable staff about the books. The town centres will become > > dustbowls and the unemployment rate will keep on rising. > There'll be > > fighting in the streets, with our children at our feet... > > > > Well, perhaps not that bad. But what you're doing is what > happened to > > all the little photo shops, and so many other small shops. It all > > contributes to the break-up of local communities and a fall in the > > quality of the goods and the quality of living. > > > > I've bought an awful lot from Amazon over the years, but > almost only > > when I haven't been able to get the book locally (which > includes the > > West End of London). > > > > Support your local shops. > > All the good bookstores near me are either big chains (Barnes > & Noble or Borders Books) already, with the exception of the > four used bookstores and two small bookshops which I frequent > and buy from quite often. Since B&N and BB are on the same > order of commercial scale in business as Amazon.com, what the > heck? Why pay a 40% added markup to B&N when Amazon has the > same thing? > > Camera shops ... The two good ones nearby I frequent often, > and they usually offer prices quite close to what I can buy > from B&H Photo, and I buy locally whenever it's sensible to. > All the little older Mom & Pa shops ... well, Mom and Pa > already retired and nobody picked up the business. Not much > choice there. > > The world has changed.
I've been a great believer in using local shops. Our Borough gives lip service to being committed to local shops but the actions it has taken over the past decade have changed the high street permanently. I have always been happy to pay a little extra for someone local for the convenience and customer service, which includes staff knowing what you are interested in and letting you know of something new or second hand as it comes up. However, apart from the changes in competition with Supermarkets forever increasing the range of the merchandise with the benefit of all in one shop, draconian parking measures on the high street have killed passing trade with wardens ready to pounce the moment you have stopped; locally parking is paid for by pre-paid 'scratch off' vouchers, so unless you have some, you could well receive an expensive ticket whilst you are buying some vouchers! It's great easy money for the Council - but it's killed trade. I have recorded this demise over the years on film, from a busy shop for every need to a wasteland of restaurants and take-away food outlets, which rely on foot trade through the day and passing cars outside of restriction hours. Those shops which are surviving are having to stock other items or try to cram as much into the shelves as possible - often with fewer staff - and the customer service which separated them from the big shops has taken a dive as they don't have the time they used to have. A level playing field it is not and I know that, but my trade is starting to go elsewhere when the one selling point of service is the same as a big shop but ends up costing me more. My generation wants everything now - from digital images, to shopping for the whole weeks shopping under one roof, with the car right outside. Little shops are another casualty of change in society. Malcolm
