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| ▲ | seanmcdirmid 2 days ago | parent | next [-] |
| Oh Service Merchandise was a thing in the USA also, where I was living at in Mississippi at least. It was basically catalog focused store with a showroom. IKEA is kind of like that also, but you have to get everything yourself after picking it out upstairs. And Sears might have been like this at some point before I was born. |
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| ▲ | chairmansteve 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Argos in the UK was similar. You would go into the store and look up the product in a catalog. Then go to counter and order it, wait 2-5 minutes and they give you the product. I found it quite convenient. |
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| ▲ | georgefrowny a day ago | parent | next [-] | | Screwfix do this too. Just a counter with a handful of staff who go and get your items. If you pre-order it's waiting at the desk. Very handy for people who can order from the job site on the account and send the lad round to grab it. And a (relatively) unshittified website too because if jobbing tradies can't use the damn thing because it's too loaded down with ads and bullshit, they just won't. | | |
| ▲ | walthamstow a day ago | parent [-] | | Screwfix is an all-round excellent consumer experience, for DIY or trade. The reviews on the website are often hilarious as well. |
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| ▲ | rsynnott a day ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | They're still there. Was surprised to run into one recently when I was in London (they pulled out of Ireland a while back, and I'd assumed they'd just closed totally at that point, because it _does_ feel like an increasingly marginalised business model.) | |
| ▲ | lmm 2 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | They still exist. Tend to be pretty competitive on price, although they must be losing out to online shopping in a lot of places since they don't offer any showroom advantage. | | |
| ▲ | adaml_623 2 days ago | parent [-] | | In my experience because you're picking up from the Argos you can do an instant return if you realize you ordered wrong (or the item is rubbish). Not perfect but a good way to get your hands on the product with an easy refund option |
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| ▲ | lytfyre 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Little bit more specialized, but Lee Valley Tools [https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca] stores seem to still operate this way. Showroom (and a few computer kiosks) and order forms up front, then line up for them to pull the items from the back. |
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| ▲ | markus_zhang 2 days ago | parent | prev [-] |
| Reading the history of Consumers (thanks, I never knew this existed): >In the 1990s, Consumers Distributing struggled to compete with Zellers and then Walmart Canada. Consumers Distributing sought bankruptcy protection in 1996. And Zellers went under just a few years ago... |
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