Mission Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 Amen to that. If I had just £1 for every time I get asked advice from someone who has bought something off island or from the internet I'd be a very happy man. There's bugger all in it margin wise these days either and the manufacturers for the most part make it as difficult as possible to return items under warranty (this also isn't helped by most peoples sheer lack of understanding that you do in fact need to fill in and post off the warranty card in the first place!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 Hey Tempus, Anyone we has run a shop can relate to that. Before we came to the Isle of Man, my wife ran a Joke Shop in Staines (near Heathrow). Running costs were exhorbitant and we had lots of "incidents" with nasty customers. Anyway, last year she got pregnant, and decided she had enough of the abuse, violence and theft; so we moved here (Baby born in Jan). You're lucky on the Island that you don't have the level of violence and abuse, but there are always costs to cover and it can take years to start seeing some return on your investment. My take, however, is that long term profits are generated from the relationship you build with your clients. This is probably even more true here as everyone is geographically close and repeat sales a real possibility. "Shifting boxes" is something everyone can do, and hardware prices are under serious pressure as prices are always cheaper online. This is why local retailers should put more emphasis on the service element of their business. Anyone can sell you a router online, but if you need help installing it, only someone local can fill that role. The biggest problem Manx retailers have is that their customer base is fixed in size; and growth is a serious problem. Without economies of scale, certain elements will have to carry inflated costs and at the end of the day, whether they like it or not; the customer will be bearing this cost. Retailers need to be savvy enough to realise this, and nurture, rather than alienate, their customers. Just me 2p Owen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 Mission, your comment reminded me of this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.