Not another card shop!

[Tazzi]

I was in a shop this afternoon,and the shopkeeper and his collegues were talking about the possibility of Another card shop coming to Lordship Lane.I havent seen anything posted on here about it(This is where i look for rumours of new places)

I know there is a really nice card shop just by somerfields which i have used before and found really helpful.Wont another cardshop affect his business,does lordship lane need another card shop.What happened to blinking originality(am i going on a bit)

Needless to say the shopkeeper isnt too pleased either because all i could hear was copying,i mean even my locals in nunhead use the LL card shop(sorry still going on)

[shaman]

Not again ed is the replicant capital at the moment everybody copying, Greetings the shop you mention is excellent for service and is run by very friendly and humous family, plus already many places sell cards in this area not including all the newsagents, we have willow eds grace & favour anterior trading mrs robs, celestial etc. Please Please do something we don't have instead of redoing the same old Greetings is part of ED life hope nothing comes along to spoil its new success after it recent refit.

[Ko]

Greetings is fantastic. The couple who run it are very, very friendly.

[monica]

Why on earth do people assume we need 3 or 4 of the same thing.We are a local community,we have a great card shop and then there are cards being sold elsewhere.Origibloodinality please its not difficult

[karter]

Here here Monica. I think a good stationers with a good range of products would be a hit, something different to Ralons.

It seems that this card shop from Balham will be located near smbs foods at either the old unwins or the old sports shop. Greetings provides a great service and they are rather annoyed that many places have copied their range of cards in the area , now only to have another card shop open up across the road. Good job the guys at smbs are good friends with greetings, maybe they will scare off this new card shop and knock some sense into them, for their respectful friend across the road.

:)

[monica]

The guys at Smbs are pussy cats really,very sweet and loving purrrrrr.East Dulwich has become a great community with shops and locals all getting on so well.If there is someone out there reading this who wants to open a sushi bar please please open,thats 1 thing i know that will be welcome in Ed,not to mention a shop selling intimates and products of the adult nature:)-D only >:D

[Huguenot]

Blimey karter, I like to hope that existing local businesses will continue to flourish by offering great quality products and services at good value for money.

I'm disturbed that housing estate terrorist tactics such as 'knocking sense' into people and 'scaring' them away are considered so acceptable that they could be bragged about on a forum like this?

I must have misunderstood.

[*Bob*]

Huguenot, you seem to have forgotten that the traders on LL are very very special people and have a divine right to continue their business unopposed.

I always thought it would be the customers who decided which shops they might like to shop in?

And Karter.. if it's originality you want then why another stationers? Maybe because you're not so chummy with Ralon ('the stationer' - remember?) as you are with Greetings?

[karter]

Blimey Hugue

This forum is being monitored now and personal attacks and slating of shops and services are regularly deleted by good old admin, freedom of speech still exists though. The tactic you mention was not a housing estate physical attack. Those guys at smbs are nice and friendly and I speak tongue in cheek.

The shopkeepers and stall holders have a close bond and look out for each other and there is nothing worse then a gift shop or coffee shop or cafe' opening next door to another.Another card shop?? I just think its a waste of time and disrespectful unless of course its completely different. I have no problem with Ralon and I know the owner, however a stationers offering a wide variety of good services and different products to Ralon at good affordable prices for the community I think would work well.

(tu)

[snorky]

cant blame admin for getting on the case here - And we all know why and what is going on ( or do we? ) - anyway, some shops take the piss and dont deserve any right thinking perosns custom - I wouldnt go near them apart from to superglue their locks, but most are OK. I dont "do" cards, but dont have a beef there being a card shop in LL - apparently women like this type of thing - and it gives tem somewhere to go between cooking, cleaning and childcare

[Jeremy]

karter Wrote:

> It seems that this card shop from Balham will be

> located near smbs foods at either the old unwins

> or the old sports shop.

So does that mean the green shop is no longer taking over the sports shop? I was wondering whether there was a market for it, what with the new Karavan shop and SMBS.

[shaman]

no the green shop moving to crystal palace realised lots f shops already doing what they had planned so suitably decided on different area.

[monica]

Snorky so when us women are at the card shop wouldnt it take us away from looking after our menfolk,or would they be down the pub while we are shopping,cleaning and caring for their kids.

[snorky]

Im am sure most women can manage to spare a bit of time during the day for card shopping - after all, the Kids are in school, it takes 10 mins to tidy up and the menfolk are earning money for the family - that means about 5 hours a day is effectively " free" for shopping, poottling about, coffee etc

[*Bob*]

Application of make-up: half and hour.

Chatting on phone: 1 hour

Lazy lunch at Green and Blue: 2 Hours

Shopping for knick-knacks: 2 hours

Having more than one greetings card shop to choose from? PRICELESS

[tomk]

the green shop moving to crystal palace

hmmm...'scared off'? had sense 'knocked into them'? 'disrespectful'?

didn't know ed had its very own mafia!

[*Bob*]

Monica and-a Karter a-made-a themmanoffer they couldna refuse-a

[monica]

lol people have very vivid imaginations on here,the only mafia i have seen are the ladies who walk around east dulwich with forms asking if the locals would like to advertise with the met police magazine,asking for the money upfront then watching them get sloshed by food and wine with a can of specail brew,now thats what i call mafia lol

[Keef]

It's a peck shame if that shop isn't going to open, was looking forward to it :-(

[Domitianus]

I agree with the deep concern about having more than one of any type of outlet in East Dulwich. Consequently, I think we should all lobby to close down all the local pubs except one (a vote could perhaps be taken as to which one can be permitted to remain open), all the local Indian restaurants but one (again a vote to be arranged), all kebab shops but one, all newsagents but one, all coffee outlets but one, all florists but one, all off-licences but one, all dry-cleaners but one, all Chinese restaurants but one, all banks and building societies but one (after all, everyone can shift their accounts to the one allowed to remain open), all chemists but one (if we include the one opposite Dulwich Library, we have FIVE in the area - way too many!!!! How many deoderants, paracetamol, sanitary towels and prescription medicines do people need???), all the shops selling over-priced s**te but one, etc, etc. In addition we should lobby to prevent Somerfield selling fish, meat, alcohol, toiletries and just about everything else, as they are almost certainly in competition with some other business on Lordship Lane. Let's also try to close down eith Dulwich Life or SE22, adter all, why should we have two local free magazines??

What's that, you say? There is demand for more than one pub? Demand for more than one Indian restaurant? Well, perhaps there will be sufficient demand for more than one card shop. If not, then the newcomer is unlikely to get much commercial traction. I just don't understand this griping about new businesses that compete with existing incumbents. No-one has the right to metaphorically assign themselves an exclusive territory to run a certain type of business just because they were in the area first. A key feature of a free market economy is that people have the right to establish businesses and compete against others, as long as it is done in a lawful manner. If it was not for that principle none of the incumbent traders who object to the newcomers would have been entitled to set up their own business in the first place. It is funny how quickly people who establish their businesses amidst a flurry of capitalist, entrepreneurial spirit suddenly become completely protectionist once they have a foothold in the local economy.

It would seem that

[SeanMacGabhann]

D

Was your post curtailed - it stopped mid sentence. But we got the point... And a very well put one it was too

I am very fond of certain shops along LL and were they to suffer I would be upset but I have to say I'm not always convinced that the opening of a competitor is a bad thing - and not just from a "ooh the consumer always wins" perspective

As I have said in a previous post about a therapy centre opening, it may benefit other therapists - if an area is known to have more than one of any type of shop it is more likely to appeal to casual trade and so build up a reputation

Regarding the eco-shop - I think some of the comments bandied about did give an intimidating impression and I agree with Keef that it is a shame it is now not opening in ED.... Remember Field of Dreams... build it an they will come

When I moved to ED and most of the pubs looked to be dying on their a*** I did wonder as each one converted where the punters would come from... but lo and behold each pub flourished (well, from numbers of people at least - I imagine rents have put a dent in things) The place is now a destination not just a dormitory...

[monica]

We have Karavan,the dulwich eco shop,so i cannot understand why this thread as gone of tangent,can we go back to the original thread of the card shop thanks

[*Bob*]

The thread has not gone off-tangent, Mon.

You say 'not another card shop'

Dom says 'why not another card shop'?

Personally I could do without a card shop at all. A small carousel stand in a petrol station will suffice for the occasional must-send (wealthy relatives, the recently bereaved you're too lazy to speak to, book tokens for nieces/nephews you never see etc etc). However, if someone's happy to splash down a sackful of cash opening a new one, then they must be sufficiently sure there is a demand. If not, they'll go down the pan.

[Domitianus]

I would welcome a range of cards designed to communicate various good wishes to goldfish and other aquatic dwellers. I have dificulty in finding ways to communicate my profound feelings to my little fishy chums. Anyone know of a good local stockist?

[*Bob*]

I would welcome a range of certified organic greetings cards, woven by native Bambuti Pygmies - using only the finest fairtrade pulp from sustainable African Blackwood trees.