tigerbeer Posted Today, 2007-03-18 20:31:59 i think we need more competition in the used books business in chiang mai. any monopoly/oligopoly is not healthy for the city.

I can think of about 14 used book stores other than mine in downtown Chiang Mai - off the top of my head - and they are all complaining that they are losing money hand over fist and that they don't make enough money to pay the rent.

As far as book prices going down, it would help a lot if customers would sell the popular ones for a decent price, but they want as miuch as possible. They go around to every store trying to get as much as they can and the highest bidder gets the books and passes on the cost to you.

More book stores just means more people trying to earn a living off of the same number of customers and prices for the popular books go up!

Calm down UG........you know they are only ribbing you.

I am sure I speak for all when I say that we want to see your Empire flourish

exactly UG. in that case, you don't want too big of an empire do u now ? might work against u.

True Blue will end up as a bank. The competition can't let TMB have the upcoming market of well-to-do tourists, accommodated on the new hotels that are about ready in the area West of Moon Muang, South of Ratchadamnern, for it self. Actually, that area is about to be turned into a deluxe resort area where the low end rooms will be only 5,000 Baht a night ... Check out the facts about Bodhiserene here: http://www.bodhiserene.com/facillities.html --- (If you don't recognice the place - click "Map" to locate it).

What's the length of lease? It must be for a fair while if you are paying 3000000 baht to take it over.

What about a "Mikes" pizzeria for the true blue site..??

Edited March 18, 200719 yr by Austhaied

tigerbeer Posted Today, 2007-03-18 20:31:59 i think we need more competition in the used books business in chiang mai. any monopoly/oligopoly is not healthy for the city.

I can think of about 14 used book stores other than mine in downtown Chiang Mai - off the top of my head - and they are all complaining that they are losing money hand over fist and that they don't make enough money to pay the rent.

As far as book prices going down, it would help a lot if customers would sell the popular ones for a decent price, but they want as miuch as possible. They go around to every store trying to get as much as they can and the highest bidder gets the books and passes on the cost to you.

More book stores just means more people trying to earn a living off of the same number of customers and prices for the popular books go up!

Calm down UG........you know they are only ribbing you.

I am sure I speak for all when I say that we want to see your Empire flourish

exactly UG. in that case, you don't want too big of an empire do u now ? might work against u.

That is correct.

If I want to continue to expand, it probably wouldn't be in Chiang Mai. One or two more stores away from where we are concentrated now and then I would probably concentrate on another city with more growth potential.

What about a "Mikes" pizzeria for the true blue site..??

Mike has been talking about doing a pizzeria for some time and I think that he already has an oven and the equipment for making pizzas. He also feels that there are no decent submarine sandwiches in Chiang Mai, so that would be a sideline.

However, I have also heard that a bank will be taking over the spot where True Blue is now and they are pretty difficult to outbid.

Edited March 19, 200719 yr by Ulysses G.

A bank indeed makes the most sense.

As for turning it into a restaurant, either Duke's/Mike's : WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO PARK!? That alone would stop me from going.

I heard it's going to be Chiang Mai's new airport.

Or maybe use the true blue site for this.... Sorely needed in CM.

Or maybe use the true blue site for this.... Sorely needed in CM.

ATE, is that the big mall in Edmonton or is it mall of america? we surely need a nice water park in chiang mai.

West Edmonton Mall, Alberta, Canada. Top 10 biggest malls in the world. Could do with a Mikes Mall in CM.

Mike's Mall of Pattaya fame?

What's so good about it? Other than attracting tour buses like dung beetles to, well, dung?

Anyway, we have Huay Tueng Thao don't we? Who needs a covered water park here?

What's really needed is for the government to knock down the shops built illegaly in front of Thapae gate. I think Taksin actually bought the ones at the end and had them knocked down. High time the rest were flattened.

I believe David is being bankrolled by someone from Phuket for the second Duke's. I'm sure the split is to David's liking or he wouldn't have done it.

I spoke with the last "paid" employee of True Blue today. She was serving beer at the food court at Airport Plaza. If you go there she is the beer girl that is cute and slim.

She said that the owner (Aussie) & manager (Thai) drank away the profits in marathon beer drinking binges and had not paid the rent for 5 months (all the other bills as well) but it was her opinion that the customer base was sufficient to keep a going concern.

She also said customers complained there were never darts available for the dart board (one of my pet peeves)

Warning: Second hand news.

NG

I spoke with the last "paid" employee of True Blue today. She was serving beer at the food court at Airport Plaza. If you go there she is the beer girl that is cute and slim.

She said that the owner (Aussie) & manager (Thai) drank away the profits in marathon beer drinking binges and had not paid the rent for 5 months (all the other bills as well) but it was her opinion that the customer base was sufficient to keep a going concern.

She also said customers complained there were never darts available for the dart board (one of my pet peeves)

Warning: Second hand news.

NG

I thought Scottish John was the owner and manager, according to another TV poster anyway..

I spoke with the last "paid" employee of True Blue today. She was serving beer at the food court at Airport Plaza. If you go there she is the beer girl that is cute and slim.

She said that the owner (Aussie) & manager (Thai) drank away the profits in marathon beer drinking binges and had not paid the rent for 5 months (all the other bills as well) but it was her opinion that the customer base was sufficient to keep a going concern.

She also said customers complained there were never darts available for the dart board (one of my pet peeves)

Warning: Second hand news.

NG

What a load of crap.......

She said that the owner (Aussie) & manager (Thai) drank away the profits in marathon beer drinking binges and had not paid the rent for 5 months (all the other bills as well) but it was her opinion that the customer base was sufficient to keep a going concern.

I thought Scottish John was the owner and manager, according to another TV poster anyway..

Is 'Scottish John' and 'scottie dog' (a TV member) the same person? ... In case the latter should be the (former) owner - it does make a bit of sense that I now for 3 days in a row have seen a pick up truck ripping off the place for sell-able items ... Which must mean nobody found the business worth buying as it was ... (or someone bought it, but didn't find it worth continuing as it was) ...

Edited March 20, 200719 yr by Cyberstar

I heard that the manager who ripped off the owner is the one who is selling everything in the store to anyone passing by. However, he doesn't own it.

Supposedly, the Mafia moneylender that HE owes a lot of money to, is keeping an eye on everything.

I heard that the manager who ripped off the owner is the one who is selling everything in the store to anyone passing by. However, he doesn't own it.

Supposedly, the Mafia moneylender that HE owes a lot of money to, is keeping an eye on everything.

Oh dear... Do they have a pizza oven for sale ???

I heard that the manager who ripped off the owner is the one who is selling everything in the store to anyone passing by. However, he doesn't own it.

Supposedly, the Mafia moneylender that HE owes a lot of money to, is keeping an eye on everything.

Oh dear... Do they have a pizza oven for sale ???

Are you looking to set up a Mountain Mike's Austthaied?

I heard that the manager who ripped off the owner is the one who is selling everything in the store to anyone passing by. However, he doesn't own it.

Supposedly, the Mafia moneylender that HE owes a lot of money to, is keeping an eye on everything.

Oh dear... Do they have a pizza oven for sale ???

Mike went to Phuket and bought a REALLY good pizza oven last year, however, I'm not sure if he still has it.

I heard that the manager who ripped off the owner is the one who is selling everything in the store to anyone passing by. However, he doesn't own it.

Supposedly, the Mafia moneylender that HE owes a lot of money to, is keeping an eye on everything.

Oh dear... Do they have a pizza oven for sale ???

Are you looking to set up a Mountain Mike's Austthaied?

No mate. Just for my kitchen...

... It might be too late to grab such obvious assets as e.g. ovens. Today I saw them loading the pickup with what looked like wood panels torn off the wall ... By the way - the electricity bill still sits unnoticed in its box ... Deadline would be tomorrow ... (Just wanted to mention it, in case someone should want to do due diligence before paying for this "excellent business on a prime location") ...

I am also interested in obtaining a GOOD oven for breads and pizzas etc, if anybody has one. I truly covet the one in the ew Rimping. I am told it cost over a million, but have no evidence to back that up.

I helped my dad buy new ovens for his bakery a couple of years ago - next time I am in I will take a look. I have only been in once and was in a hurry - I saw them making bread, but I never noticed the oven.

It seems like the shoplifting has all been accomplished (sorry, if spelt wrong - too late for spell checking) to the shoplifters' satisfaction ... No more pickup trucks outside and no more posters of what's for sale ... The electricity bill still seems to sit unattended in its box ...

I see the Chiang Mai Mail are still advertising for the True Blue quiz nights..<deleted> ?? It's good to know we are getting our 25 bahts worth with this paper..

It seems like the electricity bill has been taken care of - at least it has been removed from its box ... Well, all jokings and irrelevant side effected issues - such as where to get decent pizza ovens and Marmite - aside ... The whole True Blue Story (assumed TV-posts have any resemblance with reality) most of all looks like a farlang adventurer's worst nightmare come true (blue). Below is what I see as a possible real-life realistic reply to the title of this thread: "True Blue, What REALLY happened?"

First off all: I REALLY don't know what happened - To me True Blue never was anything but a pest that spammed me with their eye level canopy whenever I walked by - I've never even been inside (due to the personal pest their canopy constituted).

However, here's my guess on what might have happened: Some farlang guy, married to a Thai, bought himself the business called True Blue. He got himself a yearly extendable visa of the married-to-a-Thai kind (who knows, - he might even have bothered to get a work permit). The business was doing reasonably well - at least well enough to call for a refurnishing and well enough to hire a Thai manager.

Everything was perfectly lined up for a perfect, lifelong, dreamfullfilling life in Thailand .... All basic requirements puth forth by immigration office (and maybe even labour dep.) were perfectly arranged to be met ... Then the wife was killed in a car accident --- and the farlang's perfectly set'ed up lifesituation was reduced to zip ... And he himself - devastated by his loss of loved one - was an easy victim of predators ...

Edited March 24, 200719 yr by Cyberstar

It seems like the electricity bill has been taken care of - at least it has been removed from its box ... Well, all jokings and irrelevant side effected issues - such as where to get decent pizza ovens and Marmite - aside ... The whole True Blue Story (assumed TV-posts have any resemblance with reality) most of all looks like a farlang adventurer's worst nightmare come true (blue). Below is what I see as a possible real-life realistic reply to the title of this thread: "True Blue, What REALLY happened?"

First off all: I REALLY don't know what happened - To me True Blue never was anything but a pest that spammed me with their eye level canopy whenever I walked by - I've never even been inside (due to the personal pest their canopy constituted).

However, here's my guess on what might have happened: Some farlang guy, married to a Thai, bought himself the business called True Blue. He got himself a yearly extendable visa of the married-to-a-Thai kind (who knows, - he might even have bothered to get a work permit). The business was doing reasonably well - at least well enough to call for a refurnishing and well enough to hire a Thai manager.

Everything was perfectly lined up for a perfect, lifelong, dreamfullfilling life in Thailand .... All basic requirements puth forth by immigration office (and maybe even labour dep.) were perfectly arranged to be met ... Then the wife was killed in a car accident --- and the farlang's perfectly set'ed up lifesituation was reduced to zip ... And he himself - devastated by his loss of loved one - was an easy victim of predators ...

I reckon you guessed wrong on all accounts there CS.

BTW I'm 6' 4" tall and still walk unstooped, I have never had a problem walking past True Blue.

Edited March 24, 200719 yr by Blinky Bill