tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169740113013066976.post6609428003250161505..comments2024-02-10T12:12:06.028+00:00Comments on The Real Blog: Windmills, UKIP and growing thingsDavid Boylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11410159311875228620noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169740113013066976.post-80300824961205440152013-05-10T17:25:54.152+01:002013-05-10T17:25:54.152+01:00Thank you, Simon. Hive is exactly the kind of thi...Thank you, Simon. Hive is exactly the kind of thing we need and I'll start linking to that as well. <br /><br />As for Co-op, I wish I understood where they have gone wrong and suspect you are right about the mergers business - it can't all be about sending out statements with a couple of transactions on!David Boylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11410159311875228620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169740113013066976.post-286414105961930252013-05-10T15:37:48.649+01:002013-05-10T15:37:48.649+01:00I agree the alternatives on that page are not idea...I agree the alternatives on that page are not ideal, I just put up the link in-case you didn't understand what I was getting at. Here are a couple of suggestions that might be more to your liking.<br /><br />Hive<br /><br />This seems to me to be closest to the sort of 'ideal' competitor you suggest, a network of independent bookshops that have launched an on-line platform to sell books, music and DVDs. They do give reasonable discounts (although not as deep as Amazon), but they also charge P&P on orders under £15, unless you pick the book up from one of their stores.<br /><br />http://www.hive.co.uk/book/broke-who-killed-the-middle-classes/16749347/<br /><br />A store aggregation - like book butler<br /><br />this is the more pro competition option, giving the latest prices from lots of shops, including Amazon, so people can see what is out there and make their own choices about where to buy.<br /><br />http://www.bookbutler.co.uk/compare?isbn=9780007491032<br /><br />PS: I'm looking forward to reading your dissection of the cooperative bank downgrade. Personally I suspect it was the cost of sending out all those unnecessary statements each month, although it might just be further evidence that the right way to grow a business isn't through mergers and acquisitions. The fact that there was only one major player in the 'ethical' banking sector was always a bit suspicious.Simonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169740113013066976.post-40748931256213844672013-05-09T21:25:37.364+01:002013-05-09T21:25:37.364+01:00Simon, you are absolutely right - but here is the ...Simon, you are absolutely right - but here is the problem with monopoly power. I don't buy books from Amazon if I can help it, but when it comes to selling them - it has all my books available and Broke is on sale at £5 less than it is at the News From Nowhere bookshop you suggested. What am I to do if I want to sell my books effectively? I used to link to the Book Depository, but then Amazon was allowed to swallow them as well - an incomprehensible decision by our competition regulators. What we urgently need is a proper UK competitor for Amazon, and - if I had any influence - I would urge Ocado to gear themselves up.David Boylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11410159311875228620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4169740113013066976.post-70280033383553449872013-05-09T16:35:50.081+01:002013-05-09T16:35:50.081+01:00What's this David, still providing link throug...What's this David, still providing link throughs to Amazon? Surely they represent a great deal of what you spend your time disagreeing with - don't they?<br /><br />http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/boycotts/boycottamazon.aspxSimonnoreply@blogger.com