Shop locally, we are told... I'm TRYING to GRRRRR!!!

[mentallywinnie]

I'm getting really frustrated now!
I've been trying to find 3 items for the past 2 weeks and have had REAL difficulties in Thurso.
First on my list was some white card.. doesn't have to be fancy, just stiff paper so I can print little business-type cards on. As I said nothing fancy!
Been in EVERY shop I can think of in Thurso and they are either out of stock, don't know when more is coming in, or they don't ever sell it.
I settled on a pack of coloured card yesterday that was the last in the shop!

Second item was a pair of Pinking Shears (you know, zig zag scissors!)
Tried all the usual places you'd think of, material shops, Woolies, Wotsits, even the 99p shop but nope unless I'm willing to pay £23(!!!!!!) for a pair then I'm stumped. I did try some kiddies ones a while back but I'm too heavy-handed and they broke! It's for card-making so I don't want to lay out a fortune on them!

Finally, I need a mouse pad WITH a gel pad on it.
My hand is getting sore from eBaying (I'm an addict lol) so I've been (again) to the usual places except the one place I'd probably get one.... the little computer shop down by the harbour.
Why not? I hear you ask...
I use a wheelchair and can't get up the steps to the actual shop!
I'm stubbornly independent (probably to my cost) and hate asking people to help me. I'm also worried that if I went there I had such difficulties either attracting someone's attention for help or I'd have to conduct my business out on the street if they couldn't help me in.



While I'm on my metahorical soap box (my wheelchair would fall of the edge of a real one!)
Can anyone tell me please what's wrong with the front door at Thurso Service Point?
They have spent months and probably thousands doing a nice new ramp but now there's a notice saying they have a problem with the door and to please use the back!?

I'll shut up now, thanks for listening to me rant!

[jac1791]

D.R Simpson newsagents in wick sell the white card and you would be able to get the scissors from the Reel Thing shop in wick too!!!! sorry but can't help out about thurso shops

[Rheghead]

There is a lot to be said about Internet shopping. Winnie, Loyalty to local shops is a temporary mental disorder. :)

[mentallywinnie]

There is a lot to be said about Internet shopping. Winnie, Loyalty to local shops is a temporary mental disorder. :)



You reckon it's only temporary then!?


(the little voices tell me I'm like it all the time though) [smirk]

[brandy]

weeeeeeeellllllllll.. have to admit we went to inverness to get our DIY stuff... we bought laminate and paint and doors.. the laminate cost a 100£ less than what it would have cost locally.. and only cost 15 pounds to get it all delivered... we bought 3 solid pine doors for 18 pounds a piece and a iron double bed for a 100... we paid only 200 pounds for out laminate and that was to cover nearly 30 m2 and that included the underlay.. and sealent for between the boards.. so was a really good price.. would like to shop locally but is it cost efficient?

[Rheghead]

Winnie. with the proper care and treatment you will get over it :D

Seriously though, I love shopping in Thurso for ma stuff, but for the niceties you have to go elsewhere. If you are not in a hurry for anything, they will order you whatever you want. It will be at their prices mind.

[Little Miss Naughty]

Hi

I know people say shop locally, but to be honest sometimes you just can't. :~( All off the items you were after, you would of got them at a fraction of the price on E-bay, seeing you are an addict and it would of been all from the comfort off your own home. You would of then not been so stressed trying to get it in Thurso. :lol: :lol:

Good luck bidding :lol:

[mentallywinnie]

I've looked on eBay BUT the P&P some sellers charge I could catch a train to Inverness for half that price lol :lol:

[myname1]

I get my card from Jim Bews...I also got my zig zag scissors there...im sure they were only £3.99...I also have difficulties in shopping locally, as im agoraphobic and caithness shops dont have websites that I can buy things from.

[golach]

Try www.pricerunner.co.uk before trying e-bay

Golach

[Riffman]

I get my office supplies here :http://www.viking-direct.co.uk

I have given up local shops for most of my shopping, ebay all the way!

[scorrie]

Shop locally? It would be more likely to happen if the shops were run to suit the customers and not the staff!! How many times have you gone into a local store at 4.50pm to find the staff putting their coats on, half the doors already locked or the shop may even be closed already? Others have a penchant for that dinosaur called half-day closing and/or closing for lunch. I see many have yet to embrace the concept of opening on a Sunday (not even near Christmas) and I think this has little to do with any religious obligations.
Of course everyone would like a day off and/or convenient working hours but the fact is that many potential customers can only access the shops outside their own working hours and in a service industry the customer's needs have to be addressed. I think if Homebase/Argos get established here then several local businesses can close their doors (at their convenience) for the final time, because these business "giants" will not be sneaking off for early lunches or pulling the shutters down ten minutes before their advertised closing times.

[307]

We live in a small community on the fringe of Northern Europe - what makes us think that we should have the benefits & facilities of the major conurbations ?
Why be so pompous & pretentious ?

Come on - get a grip on reality - the local economic infrastructure doesn't exist to support our demands for products & services. If you want to buy locally then accept that you will have to pay a premium price, call it a surcharge to keep local business alive. We're not unique, much as we would like to think so. All rural communities in Scotland experience the same "problem". On the positive side you will pay more but will get a personalised service with backup, follow-through and someone who remembers who you are and what you bought.

Stop for a moment & consider our local traders - they're all either essentials or niche markets. All the long established local traders are in the essentials sector. Most of the new businesses are niche market types. (if you've got the time, run through the local tel directory & categorise the entries into the two types)
Good luck to them all - it takes guts and determination to start up and run a business wherever you are.

I've been in business in Caithness for 35 years, my current enterprise is nearly 20 years established, & I'm just starting up a new service-based business which I hope will provide me with as much fun as the my original gamble has.

BTW - since Caithness Office Supplies shut down I buy stationery from Viking Direct via the telephone. The laser cartridge I bought was half the price I paid last year when buying locally. I buy ink cartridges from a company in the Channell Islands ( www.mx2.com) & its 1/3rd price of buying in Thurso. I buy all of the stuff I use on the internet now, ever since the "trade account" system was exposed as a sham.

I will buy locally however when they've got what I want & when I want it.
I'm happy to pay the surcharge, and have only very rarely found bad service locally.

[doreenhedgehog]

Shop locally? It would be more likely to happen if the shops were run to suit the customers and not the staff!! How many times have you gone into a local store at 4.50pm to find the staff putting their coats on, half the doors already locked or the shop may even be closed already? Others have a penchant for that dinosaur called half-day closing and/or closing for lunch. I see many have yet to embrace the concept of opening on a Sunday (not even near Christmas) and I think this has little to do with any religious obligations.
Of course everyone would like a day off and/or convenient working hours but the fact is that many potential customers can only access the shops outside their own working hours and in a service industry the customer's needs have to be addressed. I think if Homebase/Argos get established here then several local businesses can close their doors (at their convenience) for the final time, because these business "giants" will not be sneaking off for early lunches or pulling the shutters down ten minutes before their advertised closing times.


Totally agree - the half day closing is just crazy. Sundays most of the year probably are not practical for very small businesses, but as you say before Xmas it would be good to see them opening. It would surely be to their benefit.

I'm not sure if it would make a huge difference, but they have to try to make some effort to get peoples business instead of moaning about it.

[katarina]

BTW - since Caithness Office Supplies shut down I buy stationery from Viking Direct via the telephone. The laser cartridge I bought was half the price I paid last year when buying locally. I buy ink cartridges from a company in the Channell Islands ( www.mx2.com) & its 1/3rd price of buying in Thurso. I buy all of the stuff I use on the internet now, ever since the "trade account" system was exposed as a sham.
b]

I have been buying copy paper from Viking Direct. I have searched the net, but I cannot find copy paper as cheaply as i got it from Caithness Office Supplies. Any pointers?

[EDDIE]

Its crazy to follow the idea of shop locally what advantage is in that only for the shop owner so that person has a good lifestlye.
Its all about competition whos got the best deal the money is better in your pocket than in theres and at the end of the day of the local shops cant give better deals than products over the internet or supermarkets like tescos and so on then its bye bye to them

[Gogglebox]

I get all that kind of stuff , stationery and computer related, from Romart
Hes usually got everthing i need and if not orders it and it arrives in a day maybe two at most. Prices very favourable too Thurso 896879

Im sure if you phoned and ordered it he would drop it off iwhen hes out and about on computer repair house calls

If you havent heard of him I think he does a lot of the local warranty work for major retailers eg if you but a PC from PC world or the catalogue but does a lot of graphic design and supplies too

[Gus]

There's a woman at Clyth who has a craft shop. She does classes for cards and whatnot, so I guess she must sell all you might need. Send me a PM if you want her phone number and I'll try and find it.

[champagnebaby]

Can anyone tell me please what's wrong with the front door at Thurso Service Point?
They have spent months and probably thousands doing a nice new ramp but now there's a notice saying they have a problem with the door and to please use the back!?



I believe they were fitted the wrong way round

[Mr P Cannop]

i passed the service point Wednesday and the doors was open

[scorrie]

We live in a small community on the fringe of Northern Europe - what makes us think that we should have the benefits & facilities of the major conurbations ?
Why be so pompous & pretentious ?
.[/b]

Nothing pompous or pretentious here. While we are hardly the sprawling Metropolis, neither are we the frozen wastelands. I ordered a bike online last week and it was delivered from England within 26 hours, hardly the Trans-Siberian Express.

I do not expect local small businesses to be able to compete on price but they can at least compete on standards of service and convenience, something that is clearly not achieved by being closed 10 minutes before your advertised time or by having a "back in 10 minutes" sign up in the middle of your opening hours. This is reality and it is time many businesses got a grip on the fact that you cannot sell anything when you are sitting at home with your feet up. If it is uneconomical to be open on a Wednesday afternoon, or Monday all day then you have to question whether the business is viable at all. Clearly in many cases it is not judging by the boarded up premises in Wick.

We all have a choice as to whether or not to pay the local "surcharge", I would suggest that fewer and fewer will do so, as more and more people become au fait with the internet and it's many stores, none of which close 10 minutes before 5 'o' clock!!

[kat311]

I agree that some of the Caithness retailers prices are high. By buying my contact lenses in Inverness I will save over a hundred pounds a year. The £20 of fuel is well worth the spending.

[307]

Well Scorrie, whilst I agree with your observations re local trading practices, the flip side is the practical fall-out if everyone bought on the net/fae doon sooth/etc etc........ there would be no local businesses left at all !!! And then what an outcry there would be !! We would literally be a "frozen wasteland" in more ways than weatherwise. Looking at the amount of "economic regeneration" going on in Caithness perhaps thats the situation already ? Or maybe it's just a state of mind, even dare I say it "business as usual". :D

Most business people are pretty astute fowk, they've done the risk-assesment and jumped on board the entrepreneurs wagon - good luck to them all is what I say. If they don't succeed then they've (usually) only themselves to blame. If they don't look after the shop then they can't complain about losing trade.

Tell me how many businesses operate part-time in Caithness/Sutherland/Orkney ? There's a good few I can tell you. Modern-day "crofting" practice perhaps, but wi' the coos and the sheep and the contracting and the full-time jobbie, its a sustainable way of life for many.

Back to the original thread....... if I couldn't get the product or service that I wanted locally then I wouldn't hesitate to buy from the net, but at least I'd give the locals a chancey first of all ..... :D

[dgunn]

you could keep you eyes on the lidis and i noticed after i bought a gel pad (i got mine out of argos) myself i could have got one out of lidis for 4.99. watch you might pick them up from there.

[Fran]

Mentallywinnie......Im sure you could have got the items you needed from whatsits in thurso or Bews. The staff in Bews are very helpful and will go upstairs to the office shop for you if you wish.

[mentallywinnie]

Mentallywinnie......Im sure you could have got the items you needed from whatsits in thurso or Bews. The staff in Bews are very helpful and will go upstairs to the office shop for you if you wish.



Whatsits have no white card and don't do pinking shears.
Bews had black card and don't know when they will get white in and don't do P.S!

I've now been in contact with niknak on here and am getting the card but STILL no pinking shears!!!

Thanks for the help though everyone.

[Alli]

Try tooledup.com for pinking shears approx £9.00 + postage. :lol:

[mentallywinnie]

I gave in and looked on eBay again. :eyes
Pinking shears have now cost me (with 2 other craft items) £7.53 inc P&P
Ha well, I did try locally! :roll: