Not to buy anything from a retailer that doesn't stock spares/consumables.
Went to buy a pair of shoes earlier this year. Salesman had racked the shoes up, and I asked for 2 spare pairs of laces, only to be told they didn't stock laces. Just walked out.
Looking for a new bathroom bin, noticed a 3L jobbie in Tescos who - guess what - don't sell 3L bags to fit. No sale.
If they had sold laces, would probably be many times the price of somewhere like Timpsons.
I've had that with places like Carphone Warehouse, who are keen to sell you a new phone and contract, but want a spare battery? Forget it, they can't be arsed to sell anything like that.
I remember, many years ago, buying some Spur shelving in B&Q (well, not, as it happened).
They had a leaflet in a stand nearby - "How to fit Spur shelving". They suggested a particular length of screw for whatever they were (big ones, high loading). Let's say it was 3 inch screws.
Go the screws section. "3 inch screws?". "Don't stock them, sir".
I left.
To coin a phrase, I don't believe it. Do the buyers in these organisations actually understand what they stock I wonder?
In the case of laces specifically its surely obvious that if you stock shoes you need the accessories. Maybe the profit margin is too small. In the case of Tesco, what they do is grab stocks of stuff that is cheap and apparently nobody bothered to ask why they were cheap in that the bags were probably not widely available. It kind of reminded me of the old Sinclair designed microvision tv. It used odball batteries called polarpuse, made by polaroid. Very often you had a real search to actually find anyone who stocked them.
Brian
Contrariwise, we bought a minimalist glass shower cubicle in a odd size from Aqata
The problem is though that these days, laces as almost as individual in design as the shoes are and the stock of laces that a shoes shop would have to keep to match all their stock would be huge.
In practice I don't find it a problem as lace material is vastly better than it ever used to be and I can't recall when I last snapped a lace on an ordinary shoe.
Tim
Fitted a 'Basin in a box' for a lady once, she bought it in the local B&Q.
Not fixings in the box. Took her receipt & complained. 'They aren't included' was the reply.
OK, I'll buy a set - where are they?
'We don't sell them'.
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