Suggestions for a future club shop

[Graham C]

I noticed on the TSSC Facebook page a request for suggestion on the future of the shop.

Not sure I have seen a similar request on the forum. So let's have your comments and suggestion of how the shop can go forward.

Hopefully Chris will forward these to the shop working party.

Graham

[Sue Franklin]

Sorry Graham - been busy living a life and getting a year older so not had time to copy the FB post.

Question time....??

IF the TSSC was to re-open our shop offering.....

What would you like us to sell?

What do you regularly buy ?

Who do you currently use?

We value your opinion

#TSSC #Triumph

Andy Cook posted these suggestions in response -

The more popular Quality parts at a discount that's cheaper for members than buying from Paddocks Fitchetts, Canleys etc (Rimmers will always be dearer anyway!). Remanufactured rare parts. Quality parts that members have trouble getting as the stuff from the trade tends to be poor, like rubber components, brake parts, suspension parts, UJs etc. Parts for upgrade/improvements over standard like CV conversions for Rotoflex etc at a cheaper price for members than the rest of the trade. Paint and restoration materials. RE printed Triumph publications like parts books and workshop manuals and other Triumph books.Hoods and carpets held in stock.

[Graham C]

Sue, no problem. Just thought I would post.

Thanks for adding more information.

Graham

[KevinR]

When the Club shop first started in the mid/late 80’s, it was run by one of the Club members from their spare room at home.  I won’t name the member, but they were local to me.

I wrote the original software used to run the shop, long before the WWW was created, and was responsible for the stock code, many of which are still in use today

[AidanT]

I think Andys list is pretty comprehensive,  and it's the "hens teeth" parts that will be interesting although I can't see them  being a viable shop listing.  All stock will need careful consideration if we need to manage stock levels within the shop what ever format we finally end up with.

I did wonder if the club could expand the "purchase at a discount from other suppliers who then send the product directly to the member" method, but I have no idea if that could be done?

[Mjit]

I'm not sure I see the point in the club shop selling 'commodity' parts, parts you can inevitably buy from mark parts suppliers/eBay/etc, probably for a lower price than the club shop could achieve.  I'm thinking about things like fuel additives, fuel filters, etc (just items I remember seeing in the catalogue).

Where I think the club shop should focus is on hens teeth and superior quality parts.  Things like E10 fuel hose (where you can't be completely sure what you get on eBay is what it says it is - though I'd like this to be sold in "model-specific kits", rather than per-meter. Not too hard for us as a club to measure how much of each diameter each mark/model needs).  Or the chunkier UJs that can be hard to get from mark suppliers as they will tend to sell the 'correct' ones.  And parts everyone else lists as "No longer available" and from the commercial PoV aren't economical to reproduce - but as a car club we can focus on "need" rather than "economic viability".

[Pete Lewis]

Mick tried with a survey /poll  before any other ideas surfaced 

 

 

[Colin Lindsay]

The main issue is that it has to be an attraction that would make someone like me go to the Club shop and not elsewhere. This means significantly - and I mean significantly - lower prices, or rare car parts that no-one else stocks or remakes. If not, then we're up against sellers of NOS parts on places like eBay, or else other suppliers who can either sell in bulk and so reduce profit margins and therefore prices, or have a larger range of parts. If I'm already buying an order of necessary parts from them, I may as well buy all from them, even parts that the club shop can match on price, as it costs only a slight bit more for a larger order and probably saves postage costs. This was always the problem with the Club shop - I could save £5 on parts but pay £10 more on carriage, and while I regularly passed suppliers like Paddocks and could collect items, TSSC HQ was always too remote for me to call in and collect.

Incidentally - what about an online eBay shop?

[dougbgt6]

Specialist parts, I got a GT6 aluminium radiator cowl, Bern got a guy to manufacturer them. The original is more or less cardboard, sags in the middle and reduces airflow.

Bonnet struts, so the bonnet can be lifted without flexing and causing the dread spider cracks around the head lights. Struts are available elsewhere but club shop sold them as a kits for different models with instruction. 

The shop should be looking to add value to what it sells, for instance how about a 10 way fuse box with fitting instructions? There are several threads on here that could be adapted as instructions. 

Why didn't anybody film Pete Lewis's Twiddle Days? A gold dust money earner video that would have been.

But to achieve this we need someone at HQ with an intimate knowledge of the cars.

Doug

Edited November 25 by dougbgt6

[Pete Lewis]

4 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:

 HQ was always too remote for me to call in and collect.

and not open at weekends when many are free to collect , always been hard to cover 

Pete

[Paul H]

4 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:

The main issue is that it has to be an attraction that would make someone like me go to the Club shop and not elsewhere. This means significantly - and I mean significantly - lower prices, or rare car parts that no-one else stocks or remakes. If not, then we're up against sellers of NOS parts on places like eBay, or else other suppliers who can either sell in bulk and so reduce profit margins and therefore prices, or have a larger range of parts. If I'm already buying an order of necessary parts from them, I may as well buy all from them, even parts that the club shop can match on price, as it costs only a slight bit more for a larger order and probably saves postage costs. This was always the problem with the Club shop - I could save £5 on parts but pay £10 more on carriage, and while I regularly passed suppliers like Paddocks and could collect items, TSSC HQ was always too remote for me to call in and collect.

Incidentally - what about an online eBay shop?

An EBay shop makes sense as all potential buyers covered

Paul 

[Pete Lewis]

think you will find both bern and garth used the bay sometime ago  

its not a new idea

pete

[Colin Lindsay]

2 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:

think you will find both bern and garth used the bay sometime ago  

its not a new idea

pete

Problem is, Pete - you say it's not a new idea, but I didn't know, and how many others were like me?

It would have made payments, for example by Paypal, much easier for people like me. Very often what seems well known is actually limited to a few 'in the know' who all move in the same circles, and those outside rarely get to hear.

[Josef]

I’ve said it elsewhere but I’m on the same page as Andy (thanks Sue for the copy of those comments!). Particularly I think we should be thinking about manufacturing of unobtainable parts (gearbox gears are the things on my mind right now). Perhaps even pairing with someone like Rimmers, while they do tend towards expensive they do also appear to be investing in remanufacturing. I learned recently they’ve licenced the Stanpart branding. Or Canley’s, though I know some of the things they used to have made and stocked are no longer listed, so it’s possible this is not something they’re pursuing any more?

[Pete Lewis]

im sure the RBA ?   epos system we bought/pay for will if you know how to work it give a 

full spread  sht. of usage. turnover  costs  for each product, so you can see where sales are going 

this cost a fortune and should give anyone who can master it the heads up on where its all going 

Pete

 

[Andrew]

How about a volunteer on a rota basis at weekends. 

[Tom Hartley]

These are all great comments - thanks guys and gals!

I shall be feeding these back to the next shop working party tonight Tue 10th Dec.

Anyone who fancies joining the Zoom calls on these would be VERY welcome: email me tom.hartley@homepages.co.uk

[Tom Hartley]

1 hour ago, Tom Hartley said:

I shall be feeding these back to the next shop working party tonight Tue 10th Dec.

Anyone who fancies joining the Zoom calls on these would be VERY welcome: email me tom.hartley@homepages.co.uk

PS any points raised on this thread, going forward, should get noticed by the shop review team and taken into account, if we can, so keep the comments coming