Places closing in Minot

[3Roosters]

Me thinks small town, rural ND is getting hammered even more than the so called big cities. Folks are getting older and dying and no youngsters are moving back..or not enough of them.

 

[Chas'n Tail]

Adapt or die. We're in a technology driven world and amazon was the one who capitalized on it. These other retail stores are now either playing catchup or they're dying off.

 

[eyexer]

Me thinks small town, rural ND is getting hammered even more than the so called big cities. Folks are getting older and dying and no youngsters are moving back..or not enough of them.

one contributing factor to that also is farms employ far less people than they used to.

 

[Weekender]

Minot is better than any town in ND other than Bismarck, Fargo or Grand Forks. My wife grew up in a small town and all there was to do there was drink. Minot has things to keep a family occupied and not too big that we see the crime of little Minneapolis. The variety of hunting and fishing opportunities surrounding Minot is one of the best assets of the town unless you talk to my wife......

This post really has me scratching my head.

 

[drivenmarine.net]

Online shopping is really hurting local businesses. I realize everyone works damn hard for their money and needs to save where they can, but choosing to buy online to save $20 on a $1000 purchase seems crazy to me. Who do you go to when you have issues. What happens when you need a product today, but nobody in town has it because the internet has taken a lot of their business. I think the state charging sales tax on online purchases will create a more fair playing field for local stores. I have worked damn hard in the past to sell product, but ended up loosing sales to online retailers that I could not compete with. I can't blame the customer, but there is risk in those purchases too. Customer service doesn't come free.

 

[JayKay]

Amazon is hurting every brick and mortar business. Whether in a small town like Minot, or a major metro like Chicago or NYC.

I get it - it's really hard to beat.

My family-run company has been in Bismarck for 30 years. With Amazon, whatever you buy, for the most part, is a couple days away. We had to buy another shipping point in CT, just to be close to the huge NE population. Fortunately, it has worked out well for us.

But, time and time again, I spend time on the phone helping someone figure something out, and then they buy on the internet. When they spend $2K on a pump, and it flames out, who do they call?

Anyhow, I'm from Minot, and it will always have a slight draw for me. But it seems that the population just isn't there, to support the infrastructure that has sprung up in the past 10 years.

 

[Reprobait]

It is amazon and other online retailers. We also have an aging population that is getting to the years where they are not spending like they were.

 

[Fisherman25]

Online shopping is really hurting local businesses. I realize everyone works damn hard for their money and needs to save where they can, but choosing to buy online to save $20 on a $1000 purchase seems crazy to me. Who do you go to when you have issues. What happens when you need a product today, but nobody in town has it because the internet has taken a lot of their business. I think the state charging sales tax on online purchases will create a more fair playing field for local stores. I have worked damn hard in the past to sell product, but ended up loosing sales to online retailers that I could not compete with. I can't blame the customer, but there is risk in those purchases too. Customer service doesn't come free.

I think one of the reasons people go online versus local on a lot of product is customer service in so many stores is so bad that there isn’t any benefit to buying local. I don’t want to paint it with a broad brush like that but there’s a lot of that. To me, on anything less than a vehicle, warranty is worthless in most cases. It’s a damn fight every time you have something that a retailer should warranty. So the consumer has went the way of buy cheaper and just replace.

 

[Captain Ahab]

What’s interesting is the sheer amount of Dollar Generals popping up in almost every smallish town.

 

[Bfishn]

Online shopping is easier, cheaper, more convenient and is here to stay. The only way Brick and Mortar can survive is by being unique and or having excellent customer service. Brick and Mortar took customers for granted for way too long and now it has come back to bite them in the backside.

Another perfect example of this is taxi's vs. Uber/lift. Taxi's have been so terrible for so long, it was only a matter of time before somebody came up with something to replace them.

There are still some good local stores out there, but they are few and far between. Part of it just seems like the next generation doesn't want to do that kind of work, so as grandpa and dad retire, the store goes bye-bye.

 

[bronco]

I've found that when I look for something local they either don't have it in stock or its at a much higher price then online. I would rather buy local but with that said amazon gets a lot of my money.
I've lived in the Minot area for a long time and blame both the flood and boom for the over building. during the time of both the rest of the USA was in tough shape, we had a lot of out of state builders that rolled in for a quick kill and then left as soon as the economy improved at home.

 

[ndlongshot]

18% tax increase is tough to absorb.....especially on top of last years tax increase! Ol' Sipma is pressing too hard too fast to dig out of the hole.

 

[Migrator Man]

18% tax increase is tough to absorb.....especially on top of last years tax increase! Ol' Sipma is pressing too hard too fast to dig out of the hole.

Oh Shawn Simpa is a true typical politician, just likes to hear himself talk. At least someone bothered to run against him unlike the last titty bar owning mayor.

 

[johnr]

I like to look at a product, pick it up, size it up, ask a salesman about it, look and feel the competitive products, then get the sales guy or store owner to tell me about the difference between the products, maybe demonstrate the features, then I barter on price, I then run home and buy it on Amazon... Because fuck my friends and neighbors that are part of my community, saving 2% is much more important than that store, his employees, and my community.

 

[guywhofishes]

^ same - want to see my local economy burn

 

[ndlongshot]

Is it bad that I ask my local store to price match?

 

[Kurtr]

I like to look at a product, pick it up, size it up, ask a salesman about it, look and feel the competitive products, then get the sales guy or store owner to tell me about the difference between the products, maybe demonstrate the features, then I barter on price, I then run home and buy it on Amazon... Because fuck my friends and neighbors that are part of my community, saving 2% is much more important than that store, his employees, and my community.

We have a fucking shopco and runnings and they run away as soon as you walk in the front door. Dont know jack from shit and are about as help full as a wasp. So even though i try and buy shit here it just cant be found so i dont even waste my time looking when i know its not here and buy on line and have it here and at 15-30% cheaper if they do per say have it.

 

[Jigaman]

I don't know what is going on in Grand Forks either. First we lost Macy's, then Sears, Pier 1, Hornbachers, and now K-mart is closing in a couple months.

I was very disappointed when Hornbachers closed. Hugo's is sucky and needs some competition.

 

[Riggen&Jiggen]

I believe it is a combination of things. First over built when the oil boom was going, 2nd - corrupt or incompetent city leaders wasting millions on city projects, 3rd -property taxes, 4th - online shopping, 5th - Canadian exchange rates. One of my daughters plays on a traveling basketball team. Almost all the tournaments are in Bismarck or Mandan. Every time we go there the hotels are full of families for some sporting activity. The people who are in charge of bringing events to Minot need to pull their head out of their asses. There is big money in youth travel sports now a days. Visiting families tend to spend some cash at the local stores, restaurants and hotels.

 

[BRK]

When I can save $130 on my ice house (last year) from L&M supply buying online I'm going to take it. Get within $50 locally and i'll support them.... Til then, I have four mouths to feed other than my own, or I can take that $130 and invest it towards more ice fishing gear.