OT: How to sew aspen pad netting for evap coolers?

when every one is just looking at getting the lowest price it's hard to compete with stores that is just a computer that forwards the order you make on a website to a warehouse that ship it

I think many stores have the problem that lots people just use them as demo room while browsing the internet for the lowest price on their smart phone

add to that places like amazon who seems to avoid sales tax by saying that computer is in a state without it

-Lasse

Thing is, I am not looking for lowest price. Just for plain old local availability. When a clerk says "Oh yeah, a lot of people have asked for that" and the store then doesn't carry it in time, to me that's incompetence at the management level.

For a lot of stuff people really don't want the hassle of mail order. Someone has to be there when it arrives, if you missed the carrier three times then it goes back, it's often a hassle.

But if stores don't carry what people want then there comes a point where people simply won't go to the stores anymore. Because driving for an hour only to be told "Sorry, we don't have that" is also a hassle. Happens to me sometimes when I need a spare part, where I don't even bother to drive over anymore.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

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stock cost money, so they are saving money by not doing pretty much the only thing they offer over online stores

I always try to get them to deliver it at work there's always some one there to receive it

and here if you miss the carrier they leave a note and you go pick it up you can have it delivered somewhere else

indeed, if the store doesn't have it so you get it right now, it just as easy to order online and get it tomorrow

-Lasse

They make more money selling junk like pottery and flimsy garden chairs.

When I involve myself in home improvement I order most of the stuff online. Hardware stores don't carry as much as they used to and they are expensive too. Whatever is too large to order I buy from stores which supply building contractors. Wood is about 3 times cheaper in such places.

--
Failure does not prove something is impossible, failure simply
indicates you are not using the right tools...
nico@nctdevpuntnl (punt=.)
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And then pretty soon they've "saved" themselves out of a job and the store must close. Seen it many times.

That is, if there is someone else they can deliver to. In my case I work from home but have to do business travel. Then either my wife has to stay home or we'd have to drive to the depot which is at least one hour round-trip. Or two hours plus in rush hour.

Sometimes it would be so easy to avoid. It can't be hard to automatically log whenever someone keys a particular term into the search window, and that it might be smart to carry at that item.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

Probably :-)

Different in the US. Wood is usually more expensive there and they often don't let you pick through. Picking through is essential if you build something highly visible such as a deck.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

You can't sell what you don't have. It's hard to profit on NO SALE.

Most of us don't have that option but so far, the shippers have been leaving most stuff. The little that they don't isn't too hard to pick up at the UPS place (as long as it's shipped UPS - forget FedEx).

Sure, as long as the carrier has a location within driving range.

...and cheaper. It's not just the tax. I just ordered a vacuum cleaner from Amazon for 80% of the best price I could find locally. SWMBO can deal with the cat hair until Monday. ;-)

Or is intended to be straighter than a pretzel.

Seasonal stuff is like that. The doofi that plan for it may not be local and they are also at the mercy of the weather. Even in AZ pads were not always available (even in mid summer!) so I always kept a new set or 2 on hand as they don't go bad. Same for a spare pump & float valve. Art

Sure looks like that'll have to be the drill. The millisecond they have stuff pounce and hoard it in the basement.

The planners at big store chains don't seem to be particularly clever. Small businesses are typically smarter, like clients with highly seasonal products who have that down to a science.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

We've adopted the policy of prepping for next season at the end of the *current* season. There's always a little "sprucing up" that still needs to be done at the start of the next season... but, everything major is already in place so there are fewer surprises!

They avoid collecting sales tax themselves with that line, although the consumer is legally still supposed to pay it. But I'm pretty sure that even most church pastors don't bother...

This little loophole isn't going to be around for much longer, though, IME...

Yes, it certainly is... although sometimes "the management" might not even be local anymore, unfortunately.

I believe it depends on the neighborhood you live in insofar as whether or not they'll leave "regular" packages without a signature or not. I order plenty of stuff from Amazon, and I've *never* had to actually be around to sign for it (although I've never ordered something like a big-screen TV from them either; I imagine things work a little differently there).

I've had Amazon Prime ($79/year) for ages now; it gets you no-charge

2-day shipping on most items or $3.99 for overnight shipping. Especially when we were down there in southern Oregon, you simply couldn't beat that -- driving to town and back alone was over $5 in gasoline.

---Joel

the EU found a reasonable compromise, as a default an online store in the EU pay the local VAT rate when selling to other EU countries, once a store reaches an annual turnover of 100000=80 to a country they have to register and pay the VAT rate in that country for customers in that country

-Lasse

I think if they have a "business presence" in the state, then they have to (?) collect it. OTOH, I can recall making purchases from folks like MS that collected the tax even though I was reasonably sure they did NOT have a presence in the state!

I actually remit my "use tax" when I purchase things for business. I figure I'm writing off the purchases (and the tax!) and its just not worth getting flagged in an audit... Anything that I might have to purchase for a client I *really* try to get the client to purchase. Less recordkeeping on my part!

(I also stop at stop signs in the wee hours of the morning when there is no one around -- and avoid "handicapped" parking spaces even at those similar hours! :> )

I think many states are now making "use tax" more visible in their tax forms. But, I don;t think many cities/municipalities have a "hook" for this. I.e., you pay the equivalent *state* portion of the sales tax on those "untaxed purchases" but not the city (?)

Some places require you to collect, report and remit "sales tax" on your "billable hours" (!)

r e

I remember getting something, from I think UPS, there was a weblink on the note they left when I missed them. on that link I could tell them to deliver at another address, or at my risk tell them where to leave it

-Lasse

What scared me was when UPS plopped down a package with $1700 worth of analyzer stuff in there and left. Without ringing the door bell.

Another time they didn't feel like walking up to the house and dropped a package in front of the garden gate where nobody goes much during the winter except maybe on weekends. Then, it rained, and nobody knew the package was there until the next weekend. I read them the riot act for that one.

Most of the stuff here I order ship-to-store. Walmart and Radio Shack do that, among others, it's free and you pick it up next time you are there for another reason.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

Sure you can beat that. Amazon free delivery only takes three days for most things (my 600lb table saw was ~5 days) and there is no $79 "membership" fee.

We still get the occasional package or letter dropped off at the wrong address down the street. Our number - 13887, theirs 68887. The main part of the street runs E-W, and has 68xxx numbers. Our end swings N-S, so has 13xxx numbers. If the mailman goes on vacation, his replacement usually gets it wrong... :-(

We have one $400 talking book player just disappear, never delivered here OR there!