Hmm. I think you must be referring to the Marks & Sparks or Walmart syndrome, but they are *not* monopolies. An over-dominant customer is a monopsony, not a monopoly. I still don't understand what point you are making. These outlets give the customers what they want at the price the customer will pay, or they're history. That is the way it's supposed to work.
There is no "field" to be tilted, just supply and demand, unless you think we should have state-owned model railway shops?
I see. So you actually have no idea why the local store closed, and no experience of their quality of service? Your point is that these model railway shops are totally failing to locate themselves where it would be most convenient to you at any particular moment? And you feel this should be dealt with by legislation?
OK, fair enough, I will mention it next time I am in number 10.
a) It was legislation in 1964 which abolished the right of manufacturers to set a fixed price for its products. Prior to that it was a purely voluntary arrangement. Reversing that legislation would merely be restoring the status quo.
b) It was high rents imposed by the city council which forced the locally owned business out of the city centre where it was formerly located.
c) I did once visit the shop in its final location to sample the service and was unimpressed. In spite of that I would have been happy to purchase from them had it been convenient. I was also a regular customer of theirs when they were located in the city centre under a differntn name.
d) I have a close working relationship with many shopkeepers in the area and so have a very good idea of why the store closed. As I stated previously it was combination of reasons. The closure of the local post offices alone was responsible for an immediate 20% drop in takings of all shops in the area. A pub and a grocers who had traded for over 100 years also closed. This pattern isn't unique to where I live and but repeated all across the country.
e) This isn't about what is convenient for me, it is about what is good for the country as a whole. Even when it was more convenient for me to use the hobby superstore I was in favour resale price maintenance.
The problem there is that you are not the founder of Tesco and you have not just made a huge donation to the government's re-election campaign fund as Jack Cohen did back in 1964.
I've had enough of this load of old bollocks. If the legislation was reversed, no-one would buy *anything* in Britain. They would just take free day-trips across to Calais and stock up with everything they wanted at the French hypermarkets. Are you on medication or something?
And this was down to Bachmann's pricing policy, huh?
And I care because....?
And I care because....?
Yes, but you are a misery-guts who is disengaged from the realities of consumer awareness and cheap travel. You have no idea what is good for the country, and even if you did no-one is buying into your idea. You are clearly unhappy living in our economic system and always will be. You should immediately emigrate to North Korea.
Obviously I am *not* the founder of Tesco, but how do you *know* that I haven't made a huge donation to the government's re-election campaign fund? As far as I am concerned, Tesco is the greatest success story in the UK. I now have a phenomal choice of quality food at prices unimaginable in 1964, in convenient locations, and available day and night. What's wrong with that?
I strongly suggest you get off your hobby-horse and find something more meaningful to fret about.
We would also hae to leave the EU, as you can just as easily (or are supposed to) buy things in any part of the union without disadvantage. So someone in the northern isles of Scotland could buy something dirt cheap from Greece if they wanted to.
Not if Britain withdraws from the EU, scraps VAT and replaces it with the purchase tax which was in force in 1964.
Readers can assess from the tone of your postings which if either of us is on medication.
Quite the reverse. It was an out-of-town garden centre which first stocked Bachmann products around here. The local model shop never did.
You made a false claim to the effect that I had no knowledge of the level of service they provided.
a) You made a false claim that I have no knowledge why the local business closed.
b) It is the independently owned specialist local model shops who are in greatest danger of closure due to recent economic developments.
I'm the owner of an independent mail order business which has flourished due to being in close harmony with my customers, often in the face of severe price competiton from much larger organisations.
The same economic system which has resulted in practically all RTR models now being manufactured in communist China do you mean?
I doubt you have enough knowledge of how a business is run to have made a huge donation to anything.
I suggest you ask the staff who are forced to work Sundays and evenings for your convenience, suppliers which Tesco have deliberately bankrupted by delaying payments and village stores which Tesco have put out of business by specifically targetting their customers. The price of food today was certainly unimaginable in 1964 as it has risen faster than any other commodity. Jack Cohen was one the greatest barrow boys Britain has even seen. The trouble is he should have stuck to his barrow in the east end - along with his crooked daughter - and stopped pretending to be a proper retailer. The trouble with model railways is they are not tins of baked beans or packets of soap powder. You cannot just "pile them high and sell them cheap". There is a lot more work involved. In order to survive the retailer must have a reasonable markup between the wholesale price and the retail price and this markup must be protected either by law or by the manufacturer.
John, John, and Mark, don't worry, several thousand enterprising white van drivers from the East End of London will go to France to do your shopping, and then whip up to Hull or wherever.
And anyway, the French retailers would *pay* Eurostar to transport you
Kim, just funk off you ignorant little twit, if can't stand the heat of the kitchen then piss off to North Korea (or were ever) and take your state controlled prices with you...
I should think readers can tell that you are not taking your medication.
Possibly very true, but I know enough not to waste my time arguing for the imposition of resale price maintenance.
The staff are *forced* to work Sundays? I thought they got paid for it.
Tesco have *deliberately* bankrupted their suppliers? You have some evidence for this?
The price of food has *risen* faster? Food is practically free these days in proportion to wages, compared to 1964.
"Stuck to his barrow in the East End......pretending to be a proper retailer"...?
Jack Cohen was the owner of an independent retail business which has flourished due to being in close harmony with its customers, often in the face of severe price competition from other organisations. That business is now a hugely successful PLC, rather like your own venture. In fact, the similarities are so uncanny, that I can see where you feel qualified to offer such a well-researched critique of their methods.
The trouble with model railways is they are not tins of baked
Yes you can.
No there isn't.
Not true. The markup is *not* protected either by law or by the manufacturer, and retailers are surviving. Exactly the right number of retailers are surviving to balance the equation between cost of goods, overheads, volume of demand, and the price people are willing to pay. That's called economics.
If the UK withdraws from the EU we would be bankrupt within the year, as all the international and EU businesses that have located in the UK relocate to either Eire or 'mainland' Europe...
":::Jerry::::" wrote in news:43e61091$0$64337$ snipped-for-privacy@authen.yellow.readfreenews.net:
...
ROTFLMBO ... and we all thought you had no sense of humour.
Such as?
Considering that those European businesses (read French) that do operate over here in the UK export their profits back to EU I can see no great loss.
Firstly we wouldn't have to subsidise European businesses.
Secondly we wouldn't be lossing billions of pounds a year to EU just for the privalage of being fleeced.
Thirdly British businesses wouldn't have to spend billions a year simply to comply with more and more often stupid EU regulations.
Forthly the UK would again be free to trade with the rest of the world on terms that are advantagious to the UK rather than the EU ... in essence that means cheaper and more variaty re imports and considering that even now we export very little to Europe our exports freed from EU regulation would take off.
Money saved by not paying French farmers and German pensions, not wasted replacing railways and motorways in Spain, developing industry in Eastern Europe could be spent on our own industries (remember those ... we used to build ship, aircraft, cars ... all sorts of things) getting them back in shape or even better slashing tax; encouraging development not only by our own businesses (heck even that vacuum cleaner chap moved to the far East as taxes and regulation were to high in the UK).
Less tax and regulation means greater inward investmwent from abroad, generating even more industry.
But no, I suppose you're right. It makes sense to tax own remaining industry more and more each year to keep a higher and higher proportion of the population on the dole and make work schemes whilst we pay mainland Europe enough money to keep themselves comfortable at no effort to themselves.
Retail staff may be paid for working on Sundays but yes they are forced to work. Refusal to work Sunday shifts would see a store assistant out of work in a flash.
Total rubbish, UK the law states that no one *has* to work Sundays, any employer who either made staff work or made life difficult would be defending their actions in either an employment court, law court or both PDQ...
A friend applied for a job at a large UK retailer and was told he would not be considered for a job unless he accepted their standard contract for new employees. This clearly stated that Sunday was regarded as part of the normal working week.
He queried this with the job centre which had recommended the job and was told that he had the option to accept the contract or not be considered, so in that respect your statement is true. No-one has to work Sundays, but refusal to do so can severely limit your job prospects.
Actually, if a retailer did this, they could be taken to tribunal for unfair dismissal. Any employee has the legal right to refuse Sunday work, by giving in writing 3 months notice.
So what you do is accept the job under their terms and serve out your probationary period (six months or whatever it may be), after which they can't sack you unless they've got a very good reason, then give your three months' notice.
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