Things Must be Tough

[pbelarge]

I know this is not the proper forum, but most people frequent here. I am curious if they are experiencing what I am in regards to the economy.

I am not interested in politics here, just the economic situation.


I am getting a lot of emails from the vendors I have allowed to send them to me.
I am seeing "free upgrade through the rest of the year", "90% off", etc...

Locally the construction industry is at an all time high in unemployment, much higher than any other sector.

Local stores are closing faster this summer than in the winter - this is alarming!!

A County bank has closed it's doors, and there is a big Auction sign plastered across the front of the building. (I know, this is a record year for bank closings)

The small guy seems to be taking the brunt of this economy...what do you guys see out there?

 

[Ron Evers]

Folks in the US selling camera gear on eBay do not seem hungry as most will only ship within the US, excluding many potential buyers.

 

[Stormchase]

I think I'm pretty lucky, I live in a smaller town here in Florida. They claim we are #2 in unemployment. Best buy is always packed. Photo stores always have a wait for customer service. I'm makeing the most money I have ever made to date. When I started this position I had 4 other offers for employment. I know some people the have business in the services field and the are booming. Not to say Its all media because it happening but like I said maybe lucky...

 

[shmne]

From what I have seen small business is taking the majority of the hits. I have watched multiple small delis and privately owned restaurants close their doors over the summer, while multiple bigger chains open. I don't know how the big chains are doing, but from what I've talked about with a few of the smaller businesses (almost all food) they are hurting very bad right now.

However on the flip side I have been seeing media based companies doing decently. Print shops around here haven't been doing amazing but they also aren't hurting. The couple of sign vendors I use are doing better than normal ( I would assume this is due to an influx of places going out of business ).

To be honest, I have seen both sides all over the place. Some small business are doing just fine and others are drowning, and a select few doing better than ever! I can't really put my finger on what is going on, but that could be because I only know about the food industry and print based media. As far as photography, the luxury photographers are hurting very bad while the commercial ones are having little problem. The wedding photographers I know have noticed a slight decline in business but nothing threatening.

 

[flyingember]

Folks in the US selling camera gear on eBay do not seem hungry as most will only ship within the US, excluding many potential buyers.

you're more likely to be talking to a scammer if you sell outside the US

 

[rusty9]

all i have to say is:
that's what people get for voting for obama

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Hmmm...I opened my business 10 months ago.
I can't keep up with the work flow, working 70 hours a week.
I hit the ground running and am now having to turn away potential clients.
:thumbup:

The economy certainly is an interesting beast.
I make/sell/repair a purely luxury item. Go figure.

all i have to say is:
that's what people get for voting for obama

Good job in not making this political. :er:

 

[bigtwinky]

I work for a company that gives loans and business consultation for small and medium sized companies. While we had to review our risk policies, we have never had more people knocking at our door.

And generally, the economic crisis hasn't hit Canada as hard as the US

 

[rusty9]

all i have to say is:
that's what people get for voting for obama

Good job in not making this political. :er:

i just want to stir people up :mrgreen:

 

[benlonghair]

I'm in the building industry, sheetrock specifically.

Three years (?) ago, about this time of year, the floor dropped out. Our output dropped 60% over the course of two weeks. WEEKS, not months. I went on vacation and we had been shipping about 2000 sheets of 'rock a day, when I got back there were 3 trucks sitting and we were shipping less than 1000 a day. I've never seen anything like it.

We're currently sitting at 6 delivery people, prior to the crash, we were running 17.

We're seeing some pick-up this summer, but it's mostly summer pick-up, nothing of substance. The few houses that are going up are 80 sheeters versus the old 200-250 sheet houses we used to see. Thank god for basement remodels, in-law apartments, bonus rooms over garages and additions, or we and all our contractors would be out of business.

It won't get better this year, and I really don't see much hope for next year. Maybe the year after that, but I don't know what will bring that on. People who have the money already have what they want and nobody else can afford anything.

Avoiding the political aspect of the discussion, the policy direction of the past 50 to 70 years of concentrating wealth at the top may just come back to bite us in the ass.

 

[bigtwinky]

all i have to say is:
that's what people get for voting for obama

Good job in not making this political. :er:

i just want to stir people up :mrgreen:

Lame

 

[Steve01]

Hmmm...I opened my business 10 months ago. ........
........... I make/sell/repair a purely luxury item. Go figure.

You're breaking all the usual rules.
A new business is usually struggling the first 12 to 18 months and like you said, you're selling a luxury item in a near recession.

I was an electrical contractor and even before this economy tanked I started to see problems in the construction industry.
It was cutthroat then with contractors getting cheap labor, I can't imagine what it's like now competing for even less work.

But I retired three years ago and couldn't be happier.
Now I read and take pictures.

 

[benlonghair]

I was an electrical contractor and even before this economy tanked I started to see problems in the construction industry.
It was cutthroat then with contractors getting cheap labor, I can't imagine what it's like now competing for even less work.

It's terrible. Guys trying (and failing) to get work at prices unthinkable even 25 years ago.

But I retired three years ago and couldn't be happier.
Now I read and take pictures.

So you got out before you had to start keeping your company afloat on saved cash. And you (and most other contractors that were smart) made a killing (give or take) from '98-'07.

 

[pbelarge]

i just want to stir people up :mrgreen:

Rusty
Do me and the others a favor - lets keep it on topic.:thumbup:
Thanks
Pierre


P.S.
I was an electrical contractor 10 years ago. I made the move into technical training - self employed. I now train in the electrical field, including building codes...
The ECs and supply houses are working hard to stay afloat around our neck of the woods.
I also consult. My consulting business has swung in the last 2years to helping people in the industry to stay afloat. It has become grinding and I am not as successful as I was prior to this mess.

 

[Derrel]

all i have to say is:
that's what people get for voting for obama

You mean voting for Obama after two terms of Bush/Cheney, ran the economy into the toilet, right???

Cutting taxes while fighting two wars for seven years or so was Bush's genius plan, and it backfired, since no other President in the history gave massive tax cuts to the rich while fighting a war, let alone two,separate wars. But Bush was smarter than any other President (nyuck,nyuck,nyuck) ever, and managed to sink the economy to new lows by allowing the banking and financial industries to cause a huge mortgage and lending collapse by making bogus loans to millions of unqualified buyers, and Bush, being an oil man, allowed the gas and oil companies to charge whatever they wanted; under President Clinton, the oil companies were required to justify their wholesale and retail gasoline and fuel prices to the GAO on 12 separate occasions, which kept the price of gasoline around $1.15 a gallon for eight years. Under Bush, the President did NOT exercise this gasoline/fuel industry price regulation and justification power even one time, so the gas and oil companies were allowed to jack up the price of fuel from around $1.15 per gallon to upwards of $3.25 per gallon, which caused a simply MASSIVE ripple from the poor guy driving a beater car and commuting to a job, to the trucking companies, farmers, and airline industries, ALL of which were suddenly faced with fuel prices that were immediately twice, then three times their historic prices.

The price of gasoline and diesel and jet fuel were allowed to go, UNREGULATED and unchecked by simply not invoking Federal regulatory authority, by Bush, for eight years in a row. Clinton made the petroleum industry justify their prices 12 times in 8 years, and did NOT allow unregulated, predatory fuel pricing hikes. This one,single key component of the economy under GWB has done more to hurt businesses, farmers, AND lower- and middle-income workers than almost any other single thing,and it has caused HUGE upticks in the prices of delivery, shipping, and wholesale and retail food and commodity prices. Under George W., the US economy went to hell, while the oil companies and the Haliburton Corporation and a handful of other Texas cronies made a killing. That's what happens when big oil runs the government of the US...so yeah, things are tough out there...the bill for eight years of unregulated predatory pricing, tax cuts during two wars (first time ever!!!) has come due...and when bills come due and the public is being raped on fuel prices, the entire economy suffers, from workers, to producers, to delivery companies...