A New Chandlery?

Bruce B said:

One interesting result of the consumer-online-purchase-reality is that it is now more difficult to find a given item locally. No one stocks anything anymore...

If a company doesn't have the item I'm looking for, I'm online ordering it myself.

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Local stores are surrendering without a fight in many cases. Instead of improving service and selection, they worsen it, and soon no reason for their existence. If you repeatedly try to shop locally and every time you do they're out of the product, then you're obviously not going to continue. The worse thing is the stores that then tell you that you can order it from their online store as they have more products. Duh....yes, I could order it from any online store, so why did I waste my time coming here?

Reduction of inventory is a sure method of killing a store. Sales are obviously going to drop. That's counter to needing more business.

BandB said:

Reduction of inventory is a sure method of killing a store. Sales are obviously going to drop. That's counter to needing more business.

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I made this argument many times but a friend then in retail, now retired, countered with his observation that when he started in retail there were two or three choices for any product at most, and by the turn of the century there were five to ten choices for any product. Stocking all ten products was costly for a brick and mortar store. He hadn't actually reduced his overall inventory levels, it was just there was much more to stock for his product line.

Bay Pelican said:

I made this argument many times but a friend then in retail, now retired, countered with his observation that when he started in retail there were two or three choices for any product at most, and by the turn of the century there were five to ten choices for any product. Stocking all ten products was costly for a brick and mortar store. He hadn't actually reduced his overall inventory levels, it was just there was much more to stock for his product line.

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That is one thing that online retailing has done for the consumer. It has greatly increased the variety of products that we have access to. It also has significantly helped a lot of small businesses that are able to sell a product online that would never be able to compete for shelf space in a retail store. Increased diversity in products has been a wonderful thing.

The market is never wrong. People who try to out guess the market can be wrong-----very wrong. I have been wrong, and it was very expensive.

Social engineering such as deciding how people should live is counter to the free market, and will backfire. Businesses will come and go in the manner of the proverbial buggy whip industry. Look at Kodak or even one of their big users Olan Mills photography. Olan Mills is out of business. Kodak's film business is a small percentage of what it was. Digital photography did that. So nothing is forever

There was an interesting comment about Walmart refining their distribution system. If you can't get your goods to market economically, you can't be a player in that market. Amazon is doing some amazing experiments in getting goods to the consumer. The retail market is ever changing. Neither Walmart or Amazon will be around forever.

Moonstruck said:

The market is never wrong. People who try to out guess the market can be wrong-----very wrong. I have been wrong, and it was very expensive.

Social engineering such as deciding how people should live is counter to the free market, and will backfire. Businesses will come and go in the manner of the proverbial buggy whip industry. Look at Kodak or even one of their big users Olan Mills photography. Olan Mills is out of business. Kodak's film business is a small percentage of what it was. Digital photography did that. So nothing is forever

There was an interesting comment about Walmart refining their distribution system. If you can't get your goods to market economically, you can't be a player in that market. Amazon is doing some amazing experiments in getting goods to the consumer. The retail market is ever changing. Neither Walmart or Amazon will be around forever.

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Neither will we! Thanks God... I guess.

Moonstruck said:

...Look at Kodak or even one of their big users Olan Mills photography. Olan Mills is out of business. Kodak's film business is a small percentage of what it was. Digital photography did that. So nothing is forever...

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Ilford is still in the film/paper game.

Kodak went all in with digital and probably thought they could control the direction of digital photography based on their past dominance in the industry. Bad plan...

dhays said:

That is one thing that online retailing has done for the consumer. It has greatly increased the variety of products that we have access to.

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I recently ordered a few small parts for my 20 year old Honda outboard. There is no dealer within 100 miles of me. I ordered onine on Monday and had the parts on Wednesday. Motor fixed. It's a blessing and a curse, but a convenience that can't be duplicated for many...

I purchase pretty much where it suits me at the time. However, I do have some special persons/businesses to whom I nearly always request part or repair capabilities first.


Hopcar of TF is one for boat parts. Great service, great parts, fair price... and... marine item knowledge/background.


My two local auto mechanics (working in same shop) are another one... as are my trany repair shop and radiator and exhaust shops. Been using them all for decades. No complaints from me and I get really good service or question answering from them.

Art said:

I purchase pretty much where it suits me at the time. However, I do have some special persons/businesses to whom I nearly always request part or repair capabilities first.


Hopcar of TF is one for boat parts. Great service, great parts, fair price... and... marine item knowledge/background.


My two local auto mechanics (working in same shop) are another one... as are my trany repair shop and radiator and exhaust shops. Been using them all for decades. No complaints from me and I get really good service or question answering from them.

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I'm extremely loyal to those who have provided me good service. Of course, I expect them to be the same. If I'm a loyal customer giving them all my business for years and then when I make the only special request I've ever made and they don't find a way to do it, then I think it was a one way street and start looking elsewhere.