The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin • Hacker News Board

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#61

Post by pbhjpbhj » Wed, May 01, 2019, 1:36 PM UTC

Iv wrote: post #25

Myrmornis wrote: post #13

Surely the obvious question is: is the high street shop really a justified expense? Surely all the sales are online? The more specialized the shop, the less one can hope to fulfill ones sales volume from people in physical cruising distance. The article doesn’t seem to address this, except for acknowledging that most sales are online.

In theory it does not make a lot sense. In practice, I am amazed at how much crap most online webshops are. In a shop I can browse through the wares much easier. I can examine them, look at the size and specs, feel the weight and texture, get ideas. More often than not, crucial specs of the product I am looking at are not available. Dimensions and weights are often missing, I often can't look at more than 5 or 6 arti…

Just trying to find things like washers online had been a nightmare for me before -- how can they list the external diameter and not internal, how can they not say what material it is, or the thickness!??

I ended up trawling a few local plumbing supply stores and was really surprised how few washers they had, about the fourth store had a few random open boxes they let me rummage through and we agreed a price. It was unexpectedly difficult.

I've found similar problems getting screws I want (for a ceramics kiln). Gave up and used the best thing I could find in Screwfix (which aren't that good).

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#62

Post by 1337biz » Wed, May 01, 2019, 1:36 PM UTC

legulere wrote: post #42

weinzierl wrote: post #10

Several hyper-specialist shops I know in Munich: - balloon shops seem to do really well because we have several here and every major city seems to have one - foam shop for when you need to fix your upholstery - venetian blind store which only sells the vertical kind - Ketten Wild was a chain shop that only sold chains but chains in all forms and sizes - la porcelaine blanche's slogan is "only china, only white" and t…

Even the 75000 inhabitant city I live in has a balloon shop, but also one for brushes. Also in the neighboring city there used to be a shop just for rubber.

I imagine the margins for balloon shops incredibly good.

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#63

Post by danohuiginn » Wed, May 01, 2019, 1:46 PM UTC

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #54

gjm11 wrote: post #24

In Cambridge (UK), on an out-of-the-way side street, for many years there was a shop called "Roll On Blank Tape". I never understood how they could possibly do enough business to stay _in_ business, and always suspected that if you asked in just the right way they might sell you some ... not-blank tapes. Boringly, the available evidence suggests that actually it's just that the person who ran the shop was really inte…

Like, just audio cassette or all types of blank magnetic tape, or blank tape in general? Like masking-, sello-, elephant-tapes?

Just audio cassettes, though they weren't too pure to also sell blank minidiscs and the like.

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#64

Post by pbhjpbhj » Wed, May 01, 2019, 1:47 PM UTC

emteycz wrote: post #20

simongray wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't seem that factual, accepted and well-researched when this article directly contradicts your statement: > In such a skewed retail landscape, many small shops found they could compete by specialising in goods neglected by generalist department stores, especially since retail space was cheap and in plentiful supply behind the Iron Curtain. So while you may be right, you may also be wrong. Maybe it's not as bl…

I think you are misunderstanding the article. Going to the east, these specialised shops directed by the communists, put in place of previous, private ones, have in no way anything to do with the small family businesses you're trying to compare them with. They often literally shot the whole owner family. Everything of this is documented and taught in primary schools all around eastern Europe. All the small businesses…

Do you, or does anyone, know enough to give an example of a specialist shop in the East; a button seller, say; that existed prior to the Berlin Wall, that was "destroyed" and what system took it's place to fill the particular need? Like, people still needed fabric and buttons??

Did all single goods-type shops close, like butchers, bakers, etc.. How was supply managed?

Presumably those killed refused to give up ownership to the state?

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#65

Post by mywittyname » Wed, May 01, 2019, 1:49 PM UTC

tw1010 wrote: post #52

This doesn't really make sense to me. On the internet hyper-specialisation is obvious since space is virtually unlimited. But in real life, I mean, real estate is limited so why wouldn't darwinian market forces make a shop with product diversity + epsilon out compete a shop with a more niche spectrum of products, until only walmart and such remains?

Product differentiation is much easier in person since you see & can touch the product. Plus having a specialist available to speak with regarding your needs is often valuable.

With online purchases, you're limited to pictures, price, technical specs to make decisions.

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#66

Post by ivl » Wed, May 01, 2019, 1:50 PM UTC

weinzierl wrote: post #10

Several hyper-specialist shops I know in Munich: - balloon shops seem to do really well because we have several here and every major city seems to have one - foam shop for when you need to fix your upholstery - venetian blind store which only sells the vertical kind - Ketten Wild was a chain shop that only sold chains but chains in all forms and sizes - la porcelaine blanche's slogan is "only china, only white" and t…

> la porcelaine blanche

Not only is their slogan descriptive, the name alone suggests as much as well.

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#67

Post by fyfy18 » Wed, May 01, 2019, 1:53 PM UTC

gjm11 wrote: post #24

In Cambridge (UK), on an out-of-the-way side street, for many years there was a shop called "Roll On Blank Tape". I never understood how they could possibly do enough business to stay _in_ business, and always suspected that if you asked in just the right way they might sell you some ... not-blank tapes. Boringly, the available evidence suggests that actually it's just that the person who ran the shop was really inte…

I imagine the premises for a lot of these types of businesses must be inherited. You can probably make enough to live pretty ok from a small business like this, especially if you aren't the sole bread-winner for your family.

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#68

Post by asymmetric » Wed, May 01, 2019, 1:54 PM UTC

paublyrne wrote: post #23

ricardobeat wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wording. Your comment feels more like vitriol than fact statement, regardless of being correct. It’s an interesting point. Is there a perceptible difference for Berliners between E/W shop types?

Several of the shops mentioned in the article are in Kreuzberg which was in the west before the wall came down but now has more in common with other eastern districts like Friererichshain or Neukolln than ones like Charlottenburg in the west. These kind of quirky workshop shops or independent shops are more common in those eastern districts I think than in the west now, which has more of the usual sorts of big high s…

> with other eastern districts like Friererichshain or Neukolln

Neukölln was in West Berlin, although it’s geographically to the (south-)east of the city.

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#69

Post by pbhjpbhj » Wed, May 01, 2019, 1:54 PM UTC

dvh wrote: post #11

emteycz wrote: post #8

Yeah, the communists have destroyed this in the eastern part of Europe nearly perfectly EDIT: Why am I getting downvoted for a factual, accepted, well researched and well known statement?

Coming from commie part of Europe I feel ya. I've recently saw documentary about Japanese family that makes same product for third generation, this would not be possible here as communists didn't allowed private business, people get separated from soil during collectivization and the link got broken. It will take many years to get restored, if ever...

If you have a family running a bakery, then you have a communist revolution, surely you still want the family to run the bakery? Under federal planning, for example, you just now supply them without charge and receive the needed goods; ensuring the family have what they need. It doesn't seem it's a necessity of communism, rather a specific thing that happened in this case?

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#70

Post by fyfy18 » Wed, May 01, 2019, 1:57 PM UTC

emteycz wrote: post #8

Yeah, the communists have destroyed this in the eastern part of Europe nearly perfectly EDIT: Why am I getting downvoted for a factual, accepted, well researched and well known statement?

In my post-Soviet city that doesn't seem to be the case. I know of a shop that just sells car batteries - literally nothing else. They have maybe 30 products in stock, and can order it if you need something else. I don't think they have a web store.