In article ,
Theo Markettos writes:
Trouble is, if you sell 3 nails at 3p each, you don't even cover costs for
the time to count them.

One way to do it might be clever use of price breaks. How about:
(for some item where the packet price might be 99p for 10)

1-5: 12p
6-20: 8p
21-50: 5p
51-100: 3p
101+: 1p
(numbers completely made up and untested)

That encourages people to buy more in bulk, but only if they need to.

Then use supermarket-style weighing scales and recognition chart at the
checkout to price them. Then you don't have to have anyone manning the
pick'n'mix desk (apart, I suppose, from worrying about people slipping them
in their pockets).

B&Q used to - I still have some of the bags of loose nails in
the garage. That, and drums of cable you cut the length you require,
drums of hose you cut the length you require, etc enabled them to
keep a much larger range than they do today, which is why they no
longer meet my requirements. For example, they used to keep a drum
of 6 core mains flex to cut off what you want. It probably wasn't a
fast moving item, but they only needed a couple of drums in the store.
There won't be enough sales of it to justify shelf space for pre-cut
bundles, so it's gone.

Conversely, many electrical wholsalers will now cut you a length of
the more exotic things like this, and have taken trade from B&Q.

--
Andrew Gabriel
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