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Specialization and comparative advantage are fundamental to human progress. Not that long ago, most ppl on Earth grew their own food. Now, only a few percent f

Specialization and comparative advantage are fundamental to human progress. Not that long ago, most ppl on Earth grew their own food. Now, only a few percent farm and the rest buy it from them. Why is it better for 100 people to each do their own laundry, vs paying a shop that does it efficiently, in bulk? > well-paid young urbanites who haven't matured into basic life skills yet > life skills that everyone has to learn after you leave home This is condescending. People make different choices with their time and money and that's fine. > It's a nice alternative interface to Yelp. As a business, though, I'd look for a bigger problem to solve. This is the Middlebrow Dismissal, my least favorite pattern on HN. Local search is a totally reasonable challenge, and Just Get Me Food is a nice prototype. What bigger problem are you solving?

CompelTechnic 8y ago
I disagree with your premise that specialization is much more efficient. In many cases, it is, but in the sort of services that have historically been in-sourced to the domestic sphere, it isn't. Once you account for capital investment, labor, overhead, profit margin, taxes paid by the customer, and taxes paid by the business, services such as these are priced high enough to be luxuries. If they were efficient, the price would be so low that they would be considered commodities, and they would be the default choice for most families just from a pragmatic perspective. Keeping a cow for milk is not usually economical, and that is why most people dont do that. Doing your own laundry, cooking, and cleaning are economical. Some things are more marginal- tasks such as doing your own car maintenance and taxes require enough investment of tools and skills that many people should not do them themselves, but many people should, too. The special case where it is in your best interest to outsource everything other than your own career best applies to people that have a high income, are very busy, and can easily adjust their working hours per week. These folks are relatively rare. Cost is king.
solarkraft 8y ago
Super markets fall into the vanishingly large set of services aimed entirely at well-paid young urbanites who haven't matured into basic life skills (growing food) yet. :hmmmm:

CompelTechnic 8y ago

I disagree with your premise that specialization is much more efficient. In many cases, it is, but in the sort of services that have historically been in-sourced to the domestic sphere, it isn't. Once you account for capital investment, labor, overhead, profit margin, taxes paid by the customer, and taxes paid by the business, services such as these are priced high enough to be luxuries. If they were efficient, the price would be so low that they would be considered commodities, and they would be the default choice for most families just from a pragmatic perspective. Keeping a cow for milk is not usually economical, and that is why most people dont do that. Doing your own laundry, cooking, and cleaning are economical. Some things are more marginal- tasks such as doing your own car maintenance and taxes require enough investment of tools and skills that many people should not do them themselves, but many people should, too. The special case where it is in your best interest to outsource everything other than your own career best applies to people that have a high income, are very busy, and can easily adjust their working hours per week. These folks are relatively rare. Cost is king.

solarkraft 8y ago

Super markets fall into the vanishingly large set of services aimed entirely at well-paid young urbanites who haven't matured into basic life skills (growing food) yet. :hmmmm: