Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption
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barefoot_boo
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Post OfficesAs you probably know (I do go on about it a fair bit - sorry! lol), we've just bought a Post Office and are moving in at the end of Sept. Now obviously, I'm limited in terms of what I can offer through the official PO counter, but as for the associated small shop I have free reign. The present owners haven't really had any interest in the shop at all for the last few years, so its basically just an empty space with a forlorn little rack of greetings cards stuck in the middle. Wee-hee! A clean slate! So, I'm looking for a few extra ideas as to what kind of products to stock.
What kind of things does your local PO sell?
What seems to sell well?
What seems to sell poorly?
Ideally, what would you like your PO to sell?
For reference, my PO is in a village (est. pop 2000) which already has a 'spar'type shop, tiny newsagent, a school, couple of pubs, church. About 4 miles from next large village and 7 miles from nearest town. Population fairly evenly split between retired/families with kids.
Should add that obviously I already have my own ideas as to what I intend to sell (all factored into the business plan), and I'm currently in the process of drawing up a questionnaire for my fellow villagers to establish what they'd like. I think a series of tick-boxes on the questionnaire, plus an 'any other comments' field would get a better response than a big blank space just saying 'tell me what you'd like' - would you agree? 
So help me work out what options to give them tick-boxes for!
Thanks in advance,
Boo 
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madmonk
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A special window for e-bayers who come armed with a thousand packages when I only want a few stamps'
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Bernie66
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What a great question, I need to ponder a while, you need to go into the spar and the newsagent and see what they sell alot of, and what they are missing.
I would also, as soon as you open and as part of an introduction of yourselves to the natives, leaflet drop key areas or all of the village and add a "tearoff and drop back in" slip with the residents wishlist of stocked items.
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barefoot_boo
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| Bernie66 wrote: | | ...and as part of an introduction of yourselves to the natives... |
No intro required, I'm as native as they come - me and mine have lived here for generations, and the PO is only 500yds from the house where I was born and grew up!  Its really lovely actually, as all the old-timers are behind us and seem pleased that its 'village people' back in the PO. Sense of community support is great. That said, the village has expanded alot since I was a kid, and the demographic has shifted considerably - hence why I want to do a survey to find out what the people I don't know want.
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Bernie66
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Sounds idylic almost.
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spanky
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post officemake a special case for contacting the oldies in the village ,, all to often they get told they have to use a post office in the town which makes it a PITA for them what you need to sell is a " oh i will just take a bottle of milk save me going down to spar " type things same as ours does here we have about 2000 folks as well. and late opening psot offices are a boon to any village
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RichardW
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Any thing not in packs so small a family need a dozen of them to get enough....
Sensible prices. We know you are small & cant bulk buy but you must compete or die. You might sell the over priced item today but tomorow I will buy a case full cheaper so I never run out again. Think long term customers (unless you have loads of tourists & can rip them off as you will never see them again, which is what I think the reason is for my last comment as we are in a tourist area).
food not very near its useby date all the time
ALL the correct forms
(why dont small PO's have a full form selection?)
Cards you actualy WANT to send to people
must do car tax
Be friendly most of our local PO's (funnily we have 4 in a 3 mile radius) have staff /owners that HATE customers.
(or perhaps its just me?)
Justme
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Penny
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| Justme wrote: | Be friendly most of our local PO's (funnily we have 4 in a 3 mile radius) have staff /owners that HATE customers.
(or perhaps its just me?) |
I don't think it is just you, Justme, the two small PO I use both have really miserable gits running them. I really wonder why they bother
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sean
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How much space have you got? And how well off is the population of your village?
Could you sell people's excess veg production on some sort of commission basis? You'd get some income with no outlay.
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marigold
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| Justme wrote: | Any thing not in packs so small a family need a dozen of them to get enough....
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Things in small packs so single people don't have to buy more than they can use  .
Really nice greetings cards at a range of prices - including lots of "handmade by local artist" types.
My local PO (albeit in a town) sells stationery, a big range of cards and quite a selection of children's toys and games. I don't know how well they sell, but it seems a good idea as no other shop nearby sells toys. It's in a small shopping area with a Co-op, butcher, charity shops, deli/cafe, kitchen showroom, small pine shop, newsagent/grocers, launderette etc.
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sally_in_wales
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I went past a small PO somewhere in darkest Wiltshire a few weeks ago and was very impressed to see in their porch a neat set of shelves with local garden and allotment produce on it. All priced up with little stickers, but a clear and easy incentive to buy local in season stuff. They had just a few things, some marrows and courgettes, tomatoes and I think onions, but all very tempting and it didnt look as if it was a big chore to maintain.
Other things that could be very nice if you had space for a shelf could be a bring a book, take a book service. Apart from a clear header board that explained how it works its just something to offer in the interests of community spirit.
How about a few seasonal services, like a jam pan hiring scheme with the option to buy jamjars (you buy a couple of cases and split them to make an appropriate profit, plus take a deposit on the pan and give most of it back when it comes home clean), add a few selected and idiotproof recipes and you are encouraging people to have a go at preserving.
Card blanks might be an idea, the ones you can get in craft shops where they have an envelope and a space for a photo or for the kids to colour a picture for granny. Someone has already mentioned how dire most post office cards are, this would be a bit different but still not too scary and they never date.
I remember a post office as a child that did a really great range of pocket money craft kits. They are still out there, I sometimes see catalogues at work and usually things that retail at £2-£5 these days but with really fun things to do, not the plastic beads and vanity sets often seen on post office shelves for some strange reason.
A small selection of crochet cotton, knitting wool etc? Depends on space really but knitting is currently 'in' and a lot of the older ladies find it hard to get basic haberdashery supplies these day.
Will be really interesting to hear what the survey shows people want
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Calli
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Drat! There was an article a few years back in country living which did a big survey of local PO's and %s of what people wanted from them - newspapers, fresh bread etc But in the move back copies got lost - or something.......
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LynneA
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How about setting up a book exchange?
Don't know what part of the county you're in, but how would dartboards with Madonna's piccy as bullseye go down? 
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gil
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Nearest rural PO sells meat from a local farm that has a butchery.
I only ever buy milk in there when passing. The bread is awful.
How about selling decent bread ?
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2steps
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our local post office is inside a co op sop so doesn't sell anything other than a bit of packaging, cellotape, glue etc and cards
How about selling some items made by local people? you could buy them from the maker and sell them on, rent out space for them to put their work in, say a shelf x size is £? a week (is a shop like that near here, you rent space per shelf and keep any money you make) or maybe use a sale or return type arrangement
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jamsam
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right...i live across the road from a similer set up. we are reasonably far from anywhere and have a lot of through traffic so there is a lot of spontaneous shoppers..
i would go for:
plenty of cheap kids art stuff (paint, brushes, paper, glues etc) for the holidays
the odd 'expensive' thing for emergency presents
cards & paper,ribbon, sellotape etc
magazines ( some harder to find country ones would be interesting)
nice selection of treats - seasonal too
but if you dont want to be a 'newsagent' there are plenty of other possibilities. i once had to use the local postoffice on a reallt rough estate every week and it was in a hardware shop, which always made me laugh.."my giro and three bolts please"
let us know which direction you are taking..it would be good to use all our collective 'village knowledge'!!!
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jamsam
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| sally_in_wales wrote: | I
Other things that could be very nice if you had space for a shelf could be a bring a book, take a book service. Apart from a clear header board that explained how it works its just something to offer in the interests of community spirit.
How about a few seasonal services, like a jam pan hiring scheme with the option to buy jamjars (you buy a couple of cases and split them to make an appropriate profit, plus take a deposit on the pan and give most of it back when it comes home clean), add a few selected and idiotproof recipes and you are encouraging people to have a go at preserving.
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genius
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