4 ms·

Cheaper and better? That defies efficient markets theory. I guess any sufficiently advanced social network is indistinguishable from magic.

penpapersw 10y ago
Could it be that they just don't have the cruft & boilerplate & inefficiencies that traditional retail has? Having been in several types of workforce, I've seen plenty of missed opportunities that continued indefinitely because of management incompetence, so I wouldn't doubt it if they're able to have high quality & cheap produce just by cutting out the middleman and by being competent.
- thesuitonym 10y ago
  Calling it management's incompetence is probably unfair, although certainly there is a lot of incompetence in the retail sector. I think it's more accurate to call it corporate inertia. It's easier to build such a network for a single stall on a busy street than it is for 500+ retail locations that all have to be exactly the same to keep the brand image.
  - bcaulfield 10y ago
    Or perhaps management competence? If goal is to sell more product to more people for more money, then perhaps the traditional grocery store model is better. They're just optimizing for different things.
makmanalp 10y ago
Ah yes, the efficient markets theory - never before debunked ;-) Jokes aside, the truth is that with the original definition, there are so many barriers to markets being efficient and behaving in that idealized way that in reality I think it's a unicorn that can't exist, or at least rare enough to take with a huge grain of salt. It's a simplified model of how things might work, and perhaps if you squint a little it does seem to work that way, but not when you look closer. People behave irrationally all the time, there are all sorts of factors and incentives, social, political, and game-theoretic, that prevent actors from operating in certain desirable ways. I think it's hilarious that Chinatown may have out-capitalisted the capitalists, and cut out many middlemen to deliver better product for cheaper. Sad that they probably won't get much recognition for it, perhaps only some lobbying to block it.
drabiega 10y ago
You know what they say about models: all of them are wrong, some of them are useful.
Spooky23 10y ago
Who says the market for groceries is efficient? It's consolidated and segmented, so less competitive action = lazy retailers and high prices. Why do you think Amazon is sort of price competitive with delivery?
jandrese 10y ago
Maybe the economics don't factor in the fact that the more efficient marketplace reeks of rotting fish all day long.

penpapersw 10y ago

Could it be that they just don't have the cruft & boilerplate & inefficiencies that traditional retail has? Having been in several types of workforce, I've seen plenty of missed opportunities that continued indefinitely because of management incompetence, so I wouldn't doubt it if they're able to have high quality & cheap produce just by cutting out the middleman and by being competent.

thesuitonym 10y ago
Calling it management's incompetence is probably unfair, although certainly there is a lot of incompetence in the retail sector. I think it's more accurate to call it corporate inertia. It's easier to build such a network for a single stall on a busy street than it is for 500+ retail locations that all have to be exactly the same to keep the brand image.
- bcaulfield 10y ago
  Or perhaps management competence? If goal is to sell more product to more people for more money, then perhaps the traditional grocery store model is better. They're just optimizing for different things.

makmanalp 10y ago

Ah yes, the efficient markets theory - never before debunked ;-) Jokes aside, the truth is that with the original definition, there are so many barriers to markets being efficient and behaving in that idealized way that in reality I think it's a unicorn that can't exist, or at least rare enough to take with a huge grain of salt. It's a simplified model of how things might work, and perhaps if you squint a little it does seem to work that way, but not when you look closer. People behave irrationally all the time, there are all sorts of factors and incentives, social, political, and game-theoretic, that prevent actors from operating in certain desirable ways. I think it's hilarious that Chinatown may have out-capitalisted the capitalists, and cut out many middlemen to deliver better product for cheaper. Sad that they probably won't get much recognition for it, perhaps only some lobbying to block it.

drabiega 10y ago

You know what they say about models: all of them are wrong, some of them are useful.

Spooky23 10y ago

Who says the market for groceries is efficient? It's consolidated and segmented, so less competitive action = lazy retailers and high prices. Why do you think Amazon is sort of price competitive with delivery?

jandrese 10y ago

Maybe the economics don't factor in the fact that the more efficient marketplace reeks of rotting fish all day long.