Death of the high street (9 Viewers)

[Grendel]

This is a common theme and it’s viewed as the great demand of the internet provider against the old ageing stores. Better value and better service.

It’s very clear today’s results show this is not the case. It’s unfair competition and it’s not a level playing field.

Tax avoidance on a gross scale and exploration of workforce on pitiful pay rates.

We get cheaper goods so I guess that’s all that matters. Of course when competition is eliminated and a company whose greed and obsession with margins is all that matters - don’t complain when the prices at Amazon rocket - after all there’s nowhere else to go is there.

 

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[wingy]

This is a common theme and it’s viewed as the great demand of the internet provider against the old ageing stores. Better value and better service.

It’s very clear today’s results show this is not the case. It’s unfair competition and it’s not a level playing field.

Tax avoidance on a gross scale and exploration of workforce on pitiful pay rates.

We get cheaper goods so I guess that’s all that matters. Of course when competition is eliminated and a company whose greed and obsession with margins is all that matters - don’t complain when the prices at Amazon rocket - after all there’s nowhere else to go is there.

Yes it's very sad watching it all unfold. What to do?

 

[Deleted member 5849]

This is a common theme and it’s viewed as the great demand of the internet provider against the old ageing stores. Better value and better service.

It’s very clear today’s results show this is not the case. It’s unfair competition and it’s not a level playing field.

Tax avoidance on a gross scale and exploration of workforce on pitiful pay rates.

We get cheaper goods so I guess that’s all that matters. Of course when competition is eliminated and a company whose greed and obsession with margins is all that matters - don’t complain when the prices at Amazon rocket - after all there’s nowhere else to go is there.

Almost lefty of you, that!

 

[Grendel]

Yes it's very sad watching it all unfold. What to do?

An additional tax on internet provided goods or elimination of business rates - or both

 

[Otis]

Yes it's very sad watching it all unfold. What to do?

Amazon have sold us up the river.

 

[Grendel]

Amazon have sold us up in the river.

It’s hardly a laughing matter. I’m sure their staff are pissing themselves.

Well actually they are - as toilet breaks can result in dismissal due to lower productivity.

 

[Otis]

Yep, heard that.

 

[wingy]

An additional tax on internet provided goods or elimination of business rates - or both

I saw the feature in the news
HOF paid roughly what 3 times amazons tax Bill of £1.7M.
And an American free marketeer Interviewed sees the elimination of heavy taxation or business rates as the solution .
Myself I can see part of that solution,however their avoidance scheme must be responsible for increasing the load on everyone else .
There are essentials to life and they need maintaining
Whatever all others are doing they have to partake too .

 

[Grendel]

I saw the feature in the news
HOF paid roughly what 3 times amazons tax Bill of £1.7M.
And an American free marketeer Interviewed sees the elimination of heavy taxation or business rates as the solution .
Myself I can see part of that solution,however their avoidance scheme must be responsible for increasing the load on everyone else .
There are essentials to life and they need maintaining
Whatever all others are doing they have to partake too .

Actually it’s worse than that. HoF pay 3 times more business rates in ONE store than Amazon pay in corporate tax - its a chilling thought. How can businesses operate in those conditions. It’s almost promoting Victorian values of the business owners against the hapless employees.

 

[Deleted member 5849]

It’s hardly a laughing matter. I’m sure their staff are pissing themselves.

Well actually they are - as toilet breaks can result in dismissal due to lower productivity.

Amazon's a truly awful company and it's a fair point that they need covering off. Better employment law would be a start as well. It's maybe not as simple as just taxing internet goods though. Do you tax *all* internet sales including second hand stuff on ebay? Maybe you do, but if you do that you probably need other measures tro compensate. If you eliminate business rates, where do you get that tax income from instead?

And much of the rush to shop at low-priced places such as Amazon and Primark (high street shops aren't exactly beneath undercutting to drive out competition, and engaging in dubious poractice) is also the drive to hold down wages. So, stimulation of wages would help also, and increase not just footfall, but a willingness to buy goods based on quality rather than price.

And then there's a cultural shift needed. We end up in a disposable economy where clothes are just thrown away, where we buy masses of needless stuff. Do we *have* to buy everything we do? Do we insist that there's a lower margin for the retailer, and some is ploughed into the economy where it's made? Do we take advantage of leaving the EU and adjust tariffs according to *where* goods are made?

Unfortunately every solution has a consequence somewhere.

 

[wingy]

Actually it’s worse than that. HoF pay 3 times more business rates in ONE store than Amazon pay in corporate tax - its a chilling thought. How can businesses operate in those conditions. It’s almost promoting Victorian values of the business owners against the hapless employees.

Yeah that's what I meant to say but wasn't clear enough.

 

[Grendel]

Almost lefty of you, that!

I don’t know if it is or not.

The funny thing is that I suspect many lefties love Amazon as it’s cheap

What I can’t abide us we are giving these great big multi national conglomerates a huge advantage against companies who have paid taxes and employed people with s decent wage.

It’s an obscenity. I heard it all day then saw the report in channel 4 and some smug wanker from America trying to claim that by offering the beleaguered Amazon workforce profit related shares they truly were a caring company.

Funnily I’d argue this is an argument if traditional conservatism - but real conservatism died in the 70’s anyway.

Either way it’s made me angry and I’m not shopping with Amazon again.

 

[Otis]

There was a documentary maybe 2, 3 or 4 years ago and they treated their staff appallingly.

 

[wingy]

I don’t know if it is or not.

The funny thing is that I suspect many lefties love Amazon as it’s cheap

What I can’t abide us we are giving these great big multi national conglomerates a huge advantage against companies who have paid taxes and employed people with s decent wage.

It’s an obscenity. I heard it all day then saw the report in channel 4 and some smug wanker from America trying to claim that by offering the beleaguered Amazon workforce profit related shares they truly were a caring company.

Funnily I’d argue this is an argument if traditional conservatism - but real conservatism died in the 70’s anyway.

Either way it’s made me angry and I’m not shopping with Amazon again.

Good lad, I'm with this !!

 

[wingy]

I don’t know if it is or not.

The funny thing is that I suspect many lefties love Amazon as it’s cheap

What I can’t abide us we are giving these great big multi national conglomerates a huge advantage against companies who have paid taxes and employed people with s decent wage.

It’s an obscenity. I heard it all day then saw the report in channel 4 and some smug wanker from America trying to claim that by offering the beleaguered Amazon workforce profit related shares they truly were a caring company.

Funnily I’d argue this is an argument if traditional conservatism - but real conservatism died in the 70’s anyway.

Either way it’s made me angry and I’m not shopping with Amazon again.

Oh and he was a smug wanker !!
Free market zealot, fully converted knobhead ,another who thinks the populace exists to be fully exploited with nothing or little responsibility resting on the exploiters shoulders, guess he's another who believes there is no Society.
We will be very Sorry when all these comfortable, traditional retailers no longer exist .

 

[Liquid Gold]

Facebook, Google and Amazon could pay 'fair' tax under EU plans

 

[Grendel]

Facebook, Google and Amazon could pay 'fair' tax under EU plans

I’m other words they’ll still be paying fuck all for a lot of exploitation - how reassuring

 

[Gazolba]

There used to be this really good used bookshop in Earlsdon (years ago).
I went in there quite a few times.
The last time I was in there, the proprietor said he was selling more books online than in the shop and it made no sense to keep paying rent on the property.
The shop disappeared shortly afterwards.
The sad thing is browsing for books the way you can in an actual shop, can't be done online.
I like to touch, feel, and yes even smell the books.

 

[Captain Dart]

Well the PR is definitely setting the case for Amazon & other online businesses to pay more tax on their premises.
If a warehouse turnover/profitability is massive then the taxes paid on that property must be massive too.
If they do their business in this country then they should pay taxes here. Bloody EU regulations bolloxing up local ecomonies. :finger:

 

[Otis]

There used to be this really good used bookshop in Earlsdon (years ago).
I went in there quite a few times.
The last time I was in there, the proprietor said he was selling more books online than in the shop and it made no sense to keep paying rent on the property.
The shop disappeared shortly afterwards.
The sad thing is browsing for books the way you can in an actual shop, can't be done online.
I like to touch, feel, and yes even smell the books.

Yeah, but wasn't it that, that got you barred in the end? Perv.

 

[Gazolba]

Yeah, but wasn't it that, that got you barred in the end? Perv.

Obviously you have a sick mind and are not a book lover.

 

[dutchman]

We get cheaper goods so I guess that’s all that matters.

One man's price cut is another man's job loss.

 

[Westendlad]

Obviously you have a sick mind and are not a book lover.

 

[Otis]

 

[fernandopartridge]

I don’t know if it is or not.

The funny thing is that I suspect many lefties love Amazon as it’s cheap

What I can’t abide us we are giving these great big multi national conglomerates a huge advantage against companies who have paid taxes and employed people with s decent wage.

It’s an obscenity. I heard it all day then saw the report in channel 4 and some smug wanker from America trying to claim that by offering the beleaguered Amazon workforce profit related shares they truly were a caring company.

Funnily I’d argue this is an argument if traditional conservatism - but real conservatism died in the 70’s anyway.

Either way it’s made me angry and I’m not shopping with Amazon again.

I agree. I made a similar anti Amazon argument on here before. I think generally though a lot of tree populice are so selfish / ignorant that they don't really think about the impact of Amazon. Abhorrent organisation.

 

[Otis]

I agree. I made a similar anti Amazon argument on here before. I think generally though a lot of tree populice are so selfish / ignorant that they don't really think about the impact of Amazon. Abhorrent organisation.

Same with McDonald's. Any negative story on their practices or environmental impact or quality of their product is just met with a 'well it's cheap and I like it' attitude.

People are very two faced. Happy to jump all over something that doesn't affect them personally, but have no moral compass when it comes to something that affects them personally and that they like.

 

[shmmeee]

This is a common theme and it’s viewed as the great demand of the internet provider against the old ageing stores. Better value and better service.

It’s very clear today’s results show this is not the case. It’s unfair competition and it’s not a level playing field.

Tax avoidance on a gross scale and exploration of workforce on pitiful pay rates.

We get cheaper goods so I guess that’s all that matters. Of course when competition is eliminated and a company whose greed and obsession with margins is all that matters - don’t complain when the prices at Amazon rocket - after all there’s nowhere else to go is there.

You know Amazon is a marketplace don't you? They don't set all their prices. You or I can sell on Amazon and undercut them. Amazon run ads for their competitors on their own site because it keeps them as the one stop place to go.

Same as eBay.

You're also aware that Bezos' motto is "your margin is my opportunity" meaning if you're taking huge profits he'll undercut you on price and/or convenience and take your profit. Same applies to Amazon and a competitor. Service stickiness is a thing but not insurmountable, as MySpace and Friendster found out. That's the point of the Internet.

And if you think Tesco and Walmart have great ethical business practices and pay all their tax Ive got a bridge to sell you.

 

[JulianDarbyFTW]

We all want to pay the most reasonable price we can for goods. That's why there's so many comparison sites on the interweb. A lot of people - and I include my past self in this - think most reasonable = cheapest, with quality of the goods being a moderator in the decision. But as I get older, I'd rather support local shops and vendors, even if I have to pay a few pennies more.

That said, if I want something specific - as a recent example, a replacement membrane for a Ps4 controller - where else am I supposed to go? Amazon can give me what I want within 24 hours. The alternative would be the yellow pages and hours on the phone.

 

[Grendel]

You know Amazon is a marketplace don't you? They don't set all their prices. You or I can sell on Amazon and undercut them. Amazon run ads for their competitors on their own site because it keeps them as the one stop place to go.

Same as eBay.

You're also aware that Bezos' motto is "your margin is my opportunity" meaning if you're taking huge profits he'll undercut you on price and/or convenience and take your profit. Same applies to Amazon and a competitor. Service stickiness is a thing but not insurmountable, as MySpace and Friendster found out. That's the point of the Internet.

And if you think Tesco and Walmart have great ethical business practices and pay all their tax Ive got a bridge to sell you.

You really haven’t understood any of this thread have you?

Still at least we now know you are an Uber capitalist who literally wants people to urunate in their protective nappies so you can have a cheap CD

I’ve just shown this post to a mate of mine and fascist c**t was the kindest thing he said about you

 

[Terry Gibson's perm]

The excessive car parking charges are also not helping either

 

[Covkid1968#]

Looking forward to seeing lots more people in the centre of our glorious City supporting the high street..........or people could carry on doing all their shopping online or worse still.....going to Brum or towns like Leam and Solihull.

 

[Nick]

Looking forward to seeing lots more people in the centre of our glorious City supporting the high street..........or people could carry on doing all their shopping online or worse still.....going to Brum or towns like Leam and Solihull.

Easier to go to a retail park, Arena / Central 6 / Airport / Gallagher etc.

 

[dutchman]

I was in town last Monday morning, saw no one except OAPs!

 

[Nick]

I went to town while the wife ran in a shop last night, saw about 4 homeless setups just driving from the ring road to by West Orchards.

It was before 6 so they probably hadnt finished their shift.

 

[Sick Boy]

An issue with a lot of these big name high street brands that are closing down is that they haven't moved with the times and have refused to change their business - House of Fraser is a classic example.

I agree that Amazon is an obnoxious company though, and people forget that if something is so cheap, it's likely someone has been exploited.