The Co-op has certainly changed a hell of a lot since I first started shopping there in the late 70’s. It was a place where you could buy equipment that wasn’t readily available elsewhere. Back then there was no internet. Only catalogues and mail order and you read about stuff in magazines. I think in more recent years members were asking for more name brand things. The membership has changed and the Co-op responded to that change. That change was inevitable but the damn business people getting involved turned the Co-op into a growth for growth sake enterprise. Friends of mine that worked there started to get worried when The Co-op started to sell bikes. They thought that was an area where the Co-op had zero expertise and was going to be an expensive loss. The Co-op seems to have become a place for members to purchase Gucci outdoor clothing for cheap. It is no longer where you go to get stuff you can’t get elsewhere. You don’t go there for expert advice. It’s not often cheaper either because distributors don’t want to alienate their existing clients so limits are imposed on the Co-op in terms of what they have to sell things for and what stuff they can actually sell. Regular retail shops can’t compete with a shop that sells for cost plus expenses. The Co-op was not supposed to be for profit but for members. Capitalism does not even begin to understand that.
Sept. 29, 2020, 7:47 a.m. - Andy Eunson
The Co-op has certainly changed a hell of a lot since I first started shopping there in the late 70’s. It was a place where you could buy equipment that wasn’t readily available elsewhere. Back then there was no internet. Only catalogues and mail order and you read about stuff in magazines. I think in more recent years members were asking for more name brand things. The membership has changed and the Co-op responded to that change. That change was inevitable but the damn business people getting involved turned the Co-op into a growth for growth sake enterprise. Friends of mine that worked there started to get worried when The Co-op started to sell bikes. They thought that was an area where the Co-op had zero expertise and was going to be an expensive loss. The Co-op seems to have become a place for members to purchase Gucci outdoor clothing for cheap. It is no longer where you go to get stuff you can’t get elsewhere. You don’t go there for expert advice. It’s not often cheaper either because distributors don’t want to alienate their existing clients so limits are imposed on the Co-op in terms of what they have to sell things for and what stuff they can actually sell. Regular retail shops can’t compete with a shop that sells for cost plus expenses. The Co-op was not supposed to be for profit but for members. Capitalism does not even begin to understand that.