A new newsagent was shocked last week to discover that they could not order the magazines they wanted and that they had to bundle up and return magazines which had not sold.
No, I am not making this up.
I am shocked that such a fundamental part of the operation of a newsagency had not, apparently, been outlined prior to the purchase of the business and that the purchaser had not been tested before being allowed to take over the business.
Years ago, in the highly regulated and protected era of the Newsagency Councils, people wanting to buy a newsagency had to present to there Council and pass their interrogation about the business, their plans and their knowledge about how to run the business. While there were aspects of the old system that were wrong, there was no doubt that people being permitted to purchase a newsagency actually did know how to run the business before they took over.
Those trading under a shared shingle are only as strong as the weakest link. The fewer controls over who can trade under the shingle the greater the risk for the future of the channel.
WOW impossible he didn’t know about returning magazines , I think he is having a lend of you surely . That would be the #1 fundamental part of running a newsagency it goes for mags ,papers ,cards etc.i don’t think anyone is to blame but the new owner they obviously didn’t even look into newsagencys at all .
Genuinely did not know. Now whether it is because they did not listen or for some other reason I don’t know.
It could be true. Sometimes the training given to incoming newsagents by the outgoing owner leaves a lot to be desired. it certainly did in my case. We were basically left to find out information like that the hard way.
We were mandated by Network and Fairfax I think it was to attend a VANA course and do 4 weeks of training by the old owner. We nearly got breached a year later by News for processing returns the way the old owner told us to. Maybe a compulsory (or at least optional) national training scheme run by experienced newsagents for new entrants would not be such a bad thing. It could teach you the correct way to do things like magazine returns and use your point of sale, not the old owners shortcuts which may end up costing you a lot of money and time.
We did not understand that we could return early until a retired newsagent had a chat and told me many had gone broke from not tightly managing oversupply and early returning. The biggest problem in this industry is that we are so divided with no regular discussion as a group so we have no one to ask questions we may have. Regular discussion like on Facebook where people can ask questions is badly needed. It is no easy to survive with no support. its a bit like a marriage we enter into but only one side does the work. It is often hard to survive the marriage.
Carol at this place many people ask questions.
As this is your forum the subjects are yours. If I wonder how others do back to school, or want to find another supplier for headphones because GNS has not been able to supply etc, etc. Where do I go for help? Search the internet, but not sure where to look is usually my option.
Carol I open many topics people suggest. I’ll do one on Back to School.
On the issue of finding products – the best answer is join a group as that service is one they provide – sourcing products and getting them at below regular wholesale.
Hey Carol, you really should look into joining a group. Don’t have to join just look into it, speak to some other newsagents about what it costs and how much MORE money they have made, it doesn’t matter if you are trying to sell your business, I can guarantee you will have a better business to sell and that may just help you get a buyer!
Sorry for occaisionally nagging you but it’s quite frustrating reading what you want and it’s knowing exactly what I get!
We all need positivity if we’re going to survive.
That applies to all industries and businesses.
Fix the negatives and you’ll only have positive left in your bucket 🙂
Carol,
We are also frustrated with the headphone issue. Along with many other critical items in our BTS that GNS can’t supply. Also seems to be a problem with length of time between placing the order and dispatch of stock. Posted my concerns on the Newspower Facebook page. Received heaps of feedback from people with same problems. You are not alone.
Through newsXpress members have access to 140 suppliers, many of whom are not traditional for newsagencies. This is just one example of how one group provides newsagents with choice.
DRS Technology in Brisbane also have headphones like the Shintaro ones at similar prices.
Gary I have complained about length of time to dispatch stock too. I usually aim to get my orders in in time to catch the next magazine truck but it has been taking them days to do up an order. I wonder why they close between Christmas and New Year when it is probably their busiest time of the year. I also have to wait until the invoice is received to find out they are out of stock of something. Why can’t an email be automaticly sent so we can decide on a substitute item. Back to school deadlines have to be met and we can’t wait for another week or more for the replacement item to arrive with another order.
Mark, i have put my info to join newsxpress but no one contact me yet
Eric, I’m not sure where you expressed interest. The best contact is Peter Francis – National Sales Manager on 0423 298 020