[AWSAWS]

Hi guys,
I'm sure most of you are noticing the closing of so many shops. Maplins and Toys R Us being some of the most recent.

With the overhead costs of renting a shop, employing staff and then paying upkeep and electric, water, gas, cleaning etc. it's not surprising that online shops win out alot of the time. Having the right things in stock as well must be challenging.

The thing I notice is that any time I want something for my car or pretty much anything in general, I can find it online after a few mins of searching. If I wanted many of these things then I wouldn't have a clue where to get it within 100 miles of me. OK alot of these things might not be very run of the mill but if I could buy them nearby I would.

Things like meth hose, compression fittings, replacement LED fog lights, brake pads, any kind of npt fitting. Most bsp fittings, a power bank, 3mm screws. Bearings etc.

The only PITA of this online ordering is not seeing what you've bought until it arrives and having to wait days or weeks. We live in the age of instant gratification. Now and again items don't show up as well. Sometimes lost completely. It's a bit irritating when they say they've failed to deliver and you have to pick up from a depo but it's far more annoying when you've ordered something that should be here in 3 days and it's been a week. If the item is cheap you can reorder and claim the original back. Of course you have the wait again and it feels dubious if you have to order from the same vendor again.

Oh well first world problems. The way I buy things I can't see there being any shops in the coming years apart from supermarkets and cheap stores such as B&M.

[AWSAWS]

oh and when they ship the wrong thing completely or forget an item!