The Little World

AKA the shelf queen. The styrene albatross. The kit that has sat on the hobby shop shelf ever since the place opened. The Unsold Undead…

It may be worse than this. There are items in stock in many retailers that have been delivered from other shops that have previously failed; I saw it several times in the retail photographic trade. The goods were evidently anything but good, or were always offered at prices that no-one ever wished to pay. Occasionally that price was ” free ” and they still sat there untaken.

For a retailer, discovering that they are harbouring a dud is tantamount to suffering shoplifting but without being able to claim it on insurance. The article hasn’t been stolen – it’s still siting there using up space, light, heat, and staff time. What has been stolen is opportunity, and the insurance company won’t pay out on that.

A wise retailer conducts a cull every year, at least. The dead goods are hauled out and thrown into a bin – the paperwork for their funeral done – and the empty shelf space dedicated to better sellers. If the dreck can be given away as prizes or charity or cynical revenge, all the better.

A foolish retailer hangs on for one more Christmas. The kit that cost $ 40 to stock eventually costs $250 in extra space, light, etc. and can never be sold for anything at all. If it is a fixture in the minds of regular customers it may also become a laughing stock…and not in a good way.

Moral? Sweep through the shelves every twelvemonth and keep the customers happy with fresh goods. Their money is fresh every day.