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Or an email I sent out to Sara and Tom that really should have been a Hatrack rant. *grin*
Christy: I'm finding that there is a whole possy of women who make their living off of baby goods in Madison and they are great resources. I feel good knowing that these women have also been where I am and that they know the products they are selling and give tips and support. Very cool. More shopping should be done this way. How have we forgotten? Reputable people from the community used to stand behind businesses and you enjoyed seeing the same face behind the counter. I guess that becomes less important when you are working 40 hours a week and forget how to be social and just want to be home. Funny how the perspective changes when you are at home all day and are glad to have someone show up at your door with the product you want. It is a very cool way to shop.
Tom: *grin* As I was reading this, I started thinking: this should be a Hatrack thread. I wonder if this kind of economy really HASN'T been forgotten, but only stay-at-home moms and other people who benefit from delivery get to notice and/or benefit from it most of the time -- which explains why most of the services are in that vein. It'd be nice if, as delivery systems become more sophisticated, these services would broaden in scope -- but I think that would require more people working out of the home, which would in itself be a major change (although a good one, IMO.)
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I think the services are definitely not forgotten yet, but are dwindling and it is the stay-at-home moms and other niche-market groups that are keeping them alive.
Maybe they work best in this manner, but I sure was impressed with them and wondered how much nicer other shopping would be if it were conducted like this between two interested persons.
As I said previously, though, I guess there is the cost of time, but I have seen the light about the greatness of small businesses.
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I'm not sure I am knowledgable on the definition of "personal shopper" (don't think they have it around here), but regarding home delivery -- the Schwans man is a god-send to my mom. She won't go out of the house much at all, and she likes that Schwans has a service to bring food to the door, even way out in the country like we live..
And I can see it being of great benefit to the elderly.
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Farmgirl, it is a Christy-ism, but it wasn't personal shopper, but personal shopping. I just couldn't think of anything else to call it.
I guess what appeals to me are small family owned bsinesses, but its more than that. Its more like grassroots business. I like the fact that I can go to a website and get community support as well as products about breastfeeding. Then I can call a knowledgeable person who will come to my home with the products, show me how to use them and give me their number for any questions I may have following.
It just strikes me as a very personal and good way to do business and it seems to follow the old "general store" mentality and so I'm very glad to see it surviving when most stores seem to me to be pretty consumer unfriendly and very mass-market.
Trevor, it does rely on a pretty tech-savvy population and good advertising. I'm a bit unusual in that I actually search out these businesses. The diaper company I bought from actually was shocked I found her page on the internet and was trying to get higher ranked on search engines. Definitely, the internet is only a small boost in advertising for them right now, so I agree that you would have to have a good local base for your business.
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I think what Christy's missing -- and what I miss, too, to some real extent -- is a genuine, talented, and useful middleman. Americans are a very cost-conscious bunch, and pride ourselves on being able to root out the best bargains ourselves; consequently, big box stores that stock huge quantities of everything under the sun for rock-bottom prices -- but fail to train or educate their rapidly-churning staff, thus forcing the consumer to seek out the goods, deals, and services he or she requires without any professional advice -- have pretty much eliminated the specialty shop.
Small niches like childcare products -- particularly REALLY niche childcare products, like cloth diapers and second-hand breast pump accessories -- fly under the radar of those stores and thus maintain a middleman market. And it's no surprise, then, that these middlemen (and women, in this case) are better informed about their products and more willing to go the extra mile for a sale. (Of course, they also charge a bit extra for this extra service, which is why they vanish from every industry that can afford to eliminate 'em.)
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This type of service is perfect for a SAHM to earn some extra money. I have a friend who runs a weekly shopping service for residents of several nursing homes and senior assisted care facilities and group homes.
Once a week, she goes shopping at some closeout stores...Dollar Tree, Big Lots, etc. She takes large, nicly arranged baskets of stuff to these homes, and sells it to the people that can't get out on their own to shop.
Some of the items she buys are quality children's books and toys, lotions and personal care items, slippers, socks, puzzle books, playing cards, stationery , card, pens, postage stamps, picure frames and small gift and decorative items. She sells the $1 retail items for $2, which is reasonable value, since she shops for items worth much more whenever she can.
She takes requests for specific items from other stores, and will help package and mail gifts and cards to the residents family members.
As soon as school starts, she spends time helping wih catalog and internet (wireless laptop)shopping for Christmas gifts.
Another possibility would be buying and selling on eBay for people who don't want to mess with bidding or shipping. People ask me to do this a lot. I don't usually charge for it, but I could.
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