The government owned Australia Post shop opposite our newsagency at Forest Hill is offering 50% off all greeting cards until May 31. They are promoting this in the window and in-store. If this were any other retailer I would not be concerned. That it is the Government owned post office with access to various privileges associated with such ownership and that they are so blatantly targeting an independently owned small business is appalling behavior.
This 50% off card deal is not just at our location.
That sucks.
Maybe when the government say they care about small business, they’re actually referring to “their” small businesses???
Just an idea. Why not make the situation worse by putting a big sign out the front of your shop saying “FREE STAMPS”.
Whenever someone asks for one get your staff to stamp on the ground. One stamp for every stamp they ask for.
I’ve noticed a Michael Hill Jeweler store sells $1 diamond rings – which obviously isn’t the case but it must be driving foot traffic.
Michael,
you are genius.
yeah, buy 1 card get a stamp free. good idea!
It is not just a gov owned thing I have seen the same thing in a franchise store. It had 50% JS product just 5 shops away from a major Sands outlet. Crazy to see a supplier allow this to happen but then again Nextra stores have done the same thing before seasons.
Funny that consumers don’t buy cards because there is a discount.They will buy a dollar card and they will spend $20 on a card but a discount is not a motive.
No one wants to listen about this anti competative situations.
Government funds fit outs, spends millions of tax payers money and in return they provide the worst customer service in the whole small business industry. They put other business out of business.
If I had a lot of money I would sue the Government, I would spent a billion dollars if I had 2 billion to take on and bring down any government who supports this kind of unethical business behaviour.
Its just crazy…………
Derek,
Their behaviour is not illegal. Unethical yes, but not illegal.
The only was to ensure it doesn’t continue is to change the legislation.
Can’t say I’ve ever seen a LPO have this sort of sale. The local LPO near my house only sells a small range of random product (books, toys, couple of racks of greeting cards, small range of stationary/ink), never on sale, and always good service. As I’ve ranted about before on here.. any GPO always has staff that always look like they have something better to do/rude/upsell like no tomorrow. I’m not a newsagent but an electrical retailer, and having posters in their windows advertising external hard drives, mobile phones, software, etc is stealing what should be my business by the government, by employees who don’t know anything about these products. Very frustrating.
The idea that we pay taxes which goes toward supporting the PO which uses the power of a monoploy to cross subsidise their small business stinks. I have written to the Minister about this and should post the reply. It is basically a ‘Handle it’ reply by one of his cronies pointing out how strict their guidelines are etc…Yuk !!
Good feedback & insites here!
Has any previous been work done by any of the official channel representatives on this issue. Its like anything if the few thousand Newsagents action wrote to Ministers direct and Associations it can become a hot potato issue, however until we act together on issues like this one, they are here to stay. Mind you still using taxpayers money to fund “their” lifestyle and putting pressure on the small business industry and ultimately putting family business’s out of business.
We really need an influential supporter for this cause.
I wrote to the Liberal party while they were in Government on this one and got a simpering toady non answer. Now that the Labor party are in I get the same response. Quick summation, they (the Govt) don’t care, they need the money that the PO makes and they don’t want to give it up.
Eric suggested free stamps with each card purchased.
I hope he is serious and meant a free ‘postage stamp’.
That is a brilliant tactic.
There’s enough in card sales to pay for the stamps isn’t there ?
I’m not sure if that’s what he meant, or if he was siding with Michaels foot stamping.
Go with the postage stamps.