Store Sales

[smerchly]

I went to Home Hardware this a.m. to get a PAIR of outdoor porch lights . ...just got the flyer last night so I  "assumed"  there would be plenty in stock ....only ONE on the shelf , and I could get the other one in August sometime .  I have gone there for sale items before , like Seafoam for my motors but all was gone the first day of the sale . I was able to get some Black Knight roofing sealer, and that's all I bought .

 I think these stores put flyers out to get you in the store to buy other things since you're there . Some have very little stock while showing much more choice on line . If I am going to buy their stuff on line , I can shop at Amazon , Ebay or directly from China where it's all made anyway .....or buy used items. 

It's our time and gas to go to their stores ....about time to toss those flyers .

  Speaking of GAS .....   heard on the car radio today ,  in B.C. gas has reached $1.74 and going up  .....coming to your nearest dealer soon !  Oil is $72 a barrel...   

[genec]

Thats why I like to shop CTC instead of home hardware…I can check on line how many items in stock there BEFORE I waste gas driving!  And my Home Hardware is only 1/4 of the drive to CTC….I have pretty well quit shopping at HH because of lack of stock.

[Surf and Turf]

Yes, that is frustrating when that happens and they all seem guilty of it. That coupled with staff that don't care is a deadly combination. The older you get the less patience you have for that sort of BS too. I like to support local stores but too often these days they act like they are doing you a favour.

 

Yes gas prices are heading no where but up and that is exactly what the federal government wants, the higher the better!  By 2030 the carbon tax alone will add 38 cents per litre based on the governments own current targets, thats on top of all the existing taxes and new ones I'm sure they will come up with along the way. Plus that will get doubled down on as without pipelines all that oil has to get transported by rail and road all burning diesel that is going to get more expensive further driving up costs of producers and our gas prices (and everything else) even higher. 

[Surf and Turf]

13 minutes ago, genec said:

Thats why I like to shop CTC instead of home hardware…I can check on line how many items in stock there BEFORE I waste gas driving!  And my Home Hardware is only 1/4 of the drive to CTC….I have pretty well quit shopping at HH because of lack of stock.

The worst is when it shows as being in stock but they can't find it once you get there. Hmmm I see it here on our system but we can't find it. 

[smerchly]

When we spend more to run our vehicles , there's less money  to buy goods at the stores , including our outdoor purchases ( like fishing rods) . Everything we buy is transported by trucks so all prices go up . This is great news for our cash depleted government . We will bear the brunt of the losses over the last 2 yrs. I am fortunate , we don't drive much ...about  3 -4 k  average per year (both vehicles included)  . 

  On a good note ....I was surprised that I was able to get all my deck boards at H.H. before some lumber companies could get them . They have a good supply at the H.H. on fourth ave.(  alias Kala's Hardware) .

40 minutes ago, Surf and Turf said:

The worst is when it shows as being in stock but they can't find it once you get there

HA ....technology can be soooo   "technical"   

[мормышка]

Gas going up so they push you into electric cars.

[smerchly]

27 minutes ago, мормышка said:

Gas going up so they push you into electric cars.

Ev's will eventually be king of the road .  I may have one... if I live to 105  

The highways will be tolled ,or we pay for the roads by kms. ( recorded by satellite ) & of course electric rates will need to rise. 

The smart phone will be mandatory to pay for charging, paying for parking ,etc. 

Glad I lived in the dial up world.  As George said ..."There is no escape from big bro"  

[мормышка]

There is no benefit to owning an electric car. I've looked into it.

[genec]

I figure I have another 5 years left in my 2009 Grand Cherokee (my second Cherokee), and the next Cherokee I buy should last me the rest of my driving years, so I have NO interest in any electric vehicle!  Let the yuppies have them.

[smerchly]

I  have 2 vehicles ....97 Astro,  24 yrs old & 2006 G6 , 15 yrs .old . Both are in excellent shape . I hope they are both on the road in 2031 (if I'm still here ) ....

If gas goes to 2 bucks .....  I'll grow my own corn  ....       

[bigugli]

The problem with sales inventory is pathetic. The flyers for each sale are set up 6 months prior to each season. Every store manager/owner knows the schedule and list. It is up to the individual owner/manager to order ahead to beef the inventory before the sale..

That is where it falls flat. Management don't want to buy in heavy inventories because 1) not enough storage space 2) extra inventory costs money, 3) if it doesn't sell, it's a loss. 4) some franchisees don't buy into the ad program.

   Now, some stores will only honor a raincheck for 30 days, knowing full well that no new stock will be coming in. 

 

All of it sucks, but government no longer cares about protecting the consumer, and far too many business owners don't care about their reputation, because their family name is not the one being dragged through the mire.

[dave524]

When I first moved to Grimsby in '84 , Betzner's Home Hardware was great, a real old time hardware store . You wanted roofing nails , you put a few handfuls out of the barrel in a paper bag and they weighed it, washers , nails,  nuts , bolts, all in bulk, very little of the blister pack stuff that was always 1 short of the number you needed or far too many , they even sold farm type working guns, ammo and hunting licenses. There was a roof fire during roofing and everything changed to the prepackaged format, I stopped going there and now covid has put the final nails in the coffins and it is closed. We have a Rona now but it is a poor version of Home Depot IMHO.

 

[Snags]

15 hours ago, bigugli said:

The problem with sales inventory is pathetic. The flyers for each sale are set up 6 months prior to each season. Every store manager/owner knows the schedule and list. It is up to the individual owner/manager to order ahead to beef the inventory before the sale..

That is where it falls flat. Management don't want to buy in heavy inventories because 1) not enough storage space 2) extra inventory costs money, 3) if it doesn't sell, it's a loss. 4) some franchisees don't buy into the ad program.

   Now, some stores will only honor a raincheck for 30 days, knowing full well that no new stock will be coming in. 

 

All of it sucks, but government no longer cares about protecting the consumer, and far too many business owners don't care about their reputation, because their family name is not the one being dragged through the mire.

 

Why should a business care about their reputation when people will tweet them how wronged they were day in and day out.  We are in an age where people want the instant gratification of being comforted by strangers on social media when they post their sob stories about how they were wronged, regardless of the true story, the business gets abused, if it gets elevated to a corporate level they need to respond to the office as well.  I saw enough of that prior to the explosion of social media, now it is 100 times worse.  Large companies have people employed to review social media and hashtags to ensure they are not trending, or if they do trend, they can reply to the concern ASAP.

 

Majority of your businesses are not as successful as people would think, especially when it is a franchised operation.  Sure you have a name to rely on but there are a ton of expenses you shell out and you can wind up in the hole annually if you are not cautious with how razor thin your profit margins can be.  Chances are the owners are working a regular shift and paying themselves by the hour along with a dividend at years end after their accountant has reviewed everything and calculated what the business can pay them.

 

The government never cared outside of election time.  We also don't need more bureaucratic policies to make things more challenging for all.  If the government was to care about us, they would start with the CRTC and what the telecom industry has been allowed to do (pricing, packages, monopolies, etc) and not because you want a rain check to save $30 on a screw driver set.

 

[smerchly]

I find it " ironic" that we had better service "back in the day" before all the super fast technology took over . I don't remember coming home empty handed on many occasions because the store shelf was empty . I'll take living in the 80's to these high tech days anytime . We saw it coming as "the big fish eats up the small fish"  until one shark remains , then sets their own prices. 

Advertising on TV and radio is so bad I quickly change channels or hit the mute button ....love that technology ! 

 

 

[bigugli]

4 hours ago, Snags said:

 

Why should a business care about their reputation when people will tweet them how wronged they were day in and day out.  We are in an age where people want the instant gratification of being comforted by strangers on social media when they post their sob stories about how they were wronged, regardless of the true story, the business gets abused, if it gets elevated to a corporate level they need to respond to the office as well.  I saw enough of that prior to the explosion of social media, now it is 100 times worse.  Large companies have people employed to review social media and hashtags to ensure they are not trending, or if they do trend, they can reply to the concern ASAP.

 

Majority of your businesses are not as successful as people would think, especially when it is a franchised operation.  Sure you have a name to rely on but there are a ton of expenses you shell out and you can wind up in the hole annually if you are not cautious with how razor thin your profit margins can be.  Chances are the owners are working a regular shift and paying themselves by the hour along with a dividend at years end after their accountant has reviewed everything and calculated what the business can pay them.

 

The government never cared outside of election time.  We also don't need more bureaucratic policies to make things more challenging for all.  If the government was to care about us, they would start with the CRTC and what the telecom industry has been allowed to do (pricing, packages, monopolies, etc) and not because you want a rain check to save $30 on a screw driver set.

 

Those margins area lot larger than you think.  I spent 12 years in garden center wholesale to know exactly what the ratios are. Some mark ups being as high as the jewelry industry. Your $9.99 tub of fertilizer wholesaled at 1.99. Some of those trashy Xmas  trinkets that everyone seems to love whsle a 0.25, double that for shipping from China and retail at $3.99. 

 As for names.  Those firms still held by a family member, with a family name, are far better run than the faceless corporation.  Their name and reputation are on the line. People know who they are.  Whereas a big corporation, say Maple Leaf is faceless/nameless. They don't have to face personal recrimination when people get sick from tainted product. Or a corporation like Ford or Volkswagen. No one personally had to face the music when the cars with defective gas tanks started blowing up and killing people. Who went to jail after the Bopal disaster??? All but one were released on bail immediately after conviction. 

  As for the CRTC, they are managed and controlled by the major media outlets. Just like most regulatory and advisory bodies, membership comes from within the industry.Always have, always will. Ma and Pa kettle need not apply