A representative from the Trading Post visited one of our newsagencies earlier this week, counted our stock and asked us to give away the remaining copies for free. They even stamped the stock with the stamp you can see on the photo below. The did the same for Things That Go.
I am not sure of what to make of this. While a free Trading Post is nice, what does this mean for the long term? Will our customers expect it again? Is this part of a bigger plan?
I’d have preferred to have been given advance notice and an opportunity for a discussion about strategy so we could make the most of the offer at our main counter – rather than leaving the stamped stock in the usual display unit.
If these publications are going entirely free, as I expect, then they ought to talk with newsagents about being part of the free model. I’m okay with that and would welcome people coming in to collect a free Trading Post as long as I have a say on how it is pitched and where it is located.