A lot of service type businesses are doing it really tough. A friend of mine who has been in the refurbishing of Washing machines and fridges has just shut up shop 2 weeks ago. He claims business since January this year has just gone south and he still needs to find $500 each week to pay the rent on the workshop before he gets a cent in his pocket. He's been in this industry for 30 years now and he's never ever seen it so bad.
I feel that as we have a second hand dealer or two in every street now selling on Gumtree this has had a severe impact on the secondhand / repair industry. It's also happening in the vehicle industry as many car yards are shutting on a weekly basis due to cars being listed and sold on Gumtree for nothing, mind you most car yards are also using Gumtree now, either free or with an account.
Sadly the Internet is a lot to blame but that was always going to be the case, that's evolution I guess in a rapidly changing world.
Cheers,
BB.
