Stuart wrote:

I get what you are saying but I wasn't so much thinking of cross
country shipping .I was meaning having a web presence where they could
display all that they sell so that local people could see their stock
on-line and order it for local delivery ....It was timber,sheet
,aterial and the like I was thinking of . I suppose if you know what
you want tho' it's easier just to order by phone and pay by card or
pay the driver .

While this approach might be workable for the larger chains, it would be
totally unworkable for smaller merchants. The cost of having a
suitable website developed, and the subsequent cost of maintaining it
would be too great given the relatively small area which it would be
serving. It just wouldn't make financial sense to do it.


--
Grunff