Staples closing...

[JLives]

I'll be sure to get right on that.

[Gone_Fishin]

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I've always had good buying experiences at the Kelowna Staples store. Hope it stays open, 'cause I like browsing around that place.

[Dizzy1]

Possibly but is it worth the costs involved to collect tax on a $5 item. They would spend $1 to collect .60c.

It's the same reason you can drive across the border and spend $50 and they do nothing.

Hardly worth it.

You do realize we're talking about the Government here right? If they can squeeze an extra 50 cents out of you, they will, no matter the costs LOL!

"Self compliant"?? How many people here visit Alberta from time to time? Do you every buy anything when you're over there? And who do you report to and pay PST to? I know some people who continually come home with televisions, power tools, furniture, electronics, and clothing from Alberta. All bought on sale and with no PST added. It's just part of the whole visit with the family back there.

Oh don't worry about that, the BC Government has already tried "requesting" information from Costco on BC customers shopping in their Alberta stores ... its only a matter of time ...

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news ... a79b2966ed

[Gone_Fishin]

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[Dizzy1]

Those four $12 truck parts I bought from the US were $98 when all was said and done. :S

Probably still $80 cheaper than had you bought it "local".

[JLives]

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[Poindexter]

What's lacking more than anything is the art of salesmanship. Not sure when it happened but there is no denying it. Sales has somehow become a dirty word among most service employees and as a result they are screwing themselves out of work.

I can provide a personal example but it's pretty obvious that sales industry has begun to think they are the service industry. While the customer may leave with needs met the two are completely different mindsets.

The last time I was in Best Buy the product I wanted was a high theft item. So as a result was kept at cashier. The sales employee looked and looked, checked computer for inventory, looked somemore, then went to he back to double check then emerged letting me know it was at the cashier. 45 minutes of frustration could have been avoided if one second of thought was put into customer service. Their one and only advantage they have over the internet, their major competitor - completely wasted.

They take their advantage and manage to turn it into a cost. They take what should be profitable businesses are simply the product of their mismanagement.

So we come full circle. Small, product specific businesses that excel in sales. Which in my view is value add having good advice from a knowledgable salesperson.

Maybe box stores in some ways have met their match and small local businesses, with knowledgable sales people, can make a comeback.

[LoneWolf_53]

So we come full circle. Small, product specific businesses that excel in sales. Which in my view is value add having good advice from a knowledgable salesperson.

Maybe box stores in some ways have met their match and small local businesses, with knowledgable sales people, can make a comeback.

I think you may be right.

There's no substitute, for spending a few minutes with someone who really knows their stuff, and from my encounters, that isn't something I've come to expect at big box stores.

[Randall T]

I will shop locally if I find a store that works with me for my requirements. I'll even spend more if they can provide what I need, knowing I will always have their support. However, just because they are local, I will not support businesses that haven't a clue about customer service, good sales practices and adequate inventories. It's not up to me to prop up their lack of experience or incompetence. Successful businesses have to work for their sales. Retail is a difficult enterprise and requires commitment and hard work in order to rise above the competition. As this thread started regarding Staples, I will continue to support them as I've had nothing but excellent service from them, both in-store and online.

[twobits]

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[JLives]

What I specifically said was I'd get right on that. The next personal attack will be reported. The topic is Staples, not Jenny.

[Rwede]

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I believe online shopping will come under the microscope as cash-strapped governments look for "leakage." I also believe that PST audits will be happening in full force on businesses, especially those who might fail to pay PST on such things as shop supplies.

I think the big retailers like Staples have little to fear from PST audits, as their sales and purchases are relatively straightforward as far as the PST Act is concerned and they tend to follow the law rather than endure the bad press that evasion can bring. It's the smaller manufacturers with incompetent or devious bookkeepers that are going to get rapped.

[hobbyguy]

Actually Rwede, it isn't about evading the taxes. It is about the government not seeming to be able to get its act together. That's why I mentioned the Royal Mail example. They aren't perfect, but they have taken some steps to deal with the problem. We have taken precisely NO steps to deal with the problem.

The governments should be investing in Canada Post/Customs infrastructure to do something similar to what Royal Mail is attempting to do. Somehow, especially the feds, don't seem to have any appetite for investing in Canada Post/Customs to deal with the issue. Why not? It is baffling.

The Royal Mail stance is very small business friendly. If there is a market for "x" they can bring in say 100 pcs, where a consumer may only want one. That means their flat rate customs cost is about 15 cents versus the consumer's cost of $15. That's overstated, but there is an effect that benefits small retailers.

The service angle is indeed something that may be coming back full circle a bit. A good example is a local car parts company I deal with. Even though individually some of their parts could be purchased for less online, or from big box competitors, they have saved me so much money and grief by offering expertise and finding compatible parts, I don't bother. That's all about developing a customer - not "making a sale". That, I think, is where the big box retailers lose out. I will pay a little extra to a retailer that offers intangible value to me as a customer.

The problem for the "kiosk" model the big box guys, is that I can do that too. (In fact, I already wind up making online purchases on behalf of less tech-savvy friends and relatives.) Plus if I decided to do that, I would be able to access not just their individual inventory, but inventories around the world. So if they go that way, they would leave themselves open to another kind of competition.

Maybe we wind up with an old fashioned "market bazaar" type situation, with individual very small retailers???

Interesting to think about. Somebody will fill the "holes" left as these stores close, but in what way?

[LoneWolf_53]

I think things could no doubt be tightened up a bit, items from Asia come to mind, but then again those are usually dollar store type things, and as has been mentioned one can go across the border and shop up to a certain amount daily without consequence or expectation.

I've noticed that most of my shipments both PST and GST are being charged as well as a fee from customs which they no longer call a duty, now it's a "service charge."

All Canadian vendors I've dealt with online, charge the applicable taxes.

My point being it is being addressed, but remember Rome wasn't built in a day.

[hobbyguy]

Not my experience. Precisely zero of my foreign shipments incoming by Canada Post have been charged PST+GST.