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A lot of people in the retail space don't seem to realize this. I know several locally that maintain only their best sellers in stock (and only hire people will

A lot of people in the retail space don't seem to realize this. I know several locally that maintain only their best sellers in stock (and only hire people willing to put in hours for the lower wages), and aren't even maximally using their shelf space despite having the capital to keep that much product on hand if they thought it was worth it. If I go into a store and they neither have what I'm looking for nor can answer any questions about their products, I just don't see any reason to stay there. They'll offer to order what I'm looking for for me, but if they don't have meaningful advice to offer about exactly what I should get, I don't see why I wouldn't walk out of the store while reading online reviews for a cheaper vendor. Maybe it really isn't worth it to keep more product in-store or pay for better qualified sales reps, I don't know. But if it's not worth it, then yeah: I don't see why I should buy from a brick & mortar store except just to keep them in business for when I do need them.

bluGill 7y ago
Note that auto parts stores have exactly the business model you want. Thousands of obscure parts in stock. Not too far away is a large warehouse with tens of thousands more obscure parts which they can get in just a couple hours at no cost. Most of the time the people working know their products well and can give useful advice on your problem.
- autoexec 7y ago
  I wonder if the business model is only viable because auto parts tend to be much more expensive. It's probably easier to justify shelf space for an item that's $50-$200 than using that space for several $0.03-$0.50 components.
  - axaxs 7y ago
    In part. I used to work parts. They are absurdly marked up, but protected almost in a cartel like manner. New parts typically had a 100 percent markup, others much more. A rebuilt alternator, for example, cost us around three dollars. Depending on the vehicle, they sold for between 30 and 100 dollars.
  - bluGill 7y ago
    I think it is viable because there is a lot of demand for parts. There are a lot of cars around and they all will need fixing at some point in their life. This large demand ensures it will be filled well. Radio Shack used to have a similar markup: charging $.70 for a $.03 part.
- rasz 7y ago
  And lets not forget - they will even lend you tools needed to swap the part you are buying. Just one example of many https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/o/loaner-tools https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/o/loaner-tools

bluGill 7y ago

Note that auto parts stores have exactly the business model you want. Thousands of obscure parts in stock. Not too far away is a large warehouse with tens of thousands more obscure parts which they can get in just a couple hours at no cost. Most of the time the people working know their products well and can give useful advice on your problem.

autoexec 7y ago
I wonder if the business model is only viable because auto parts tend to be much more expensive. It's probably easier to justify shelf space for an item that's $50-$200 than using that space for several $0.03-$0.50 components.
- axaxs 7y ago
  In part. I used to work parts. They are absurdly marked up, but protected almost in a cartel like manner. New parts typically had a 100 percent markup, others much more. A rebuilt alternator, for example, cost us around three dollars. Depending on the vehicle, they sold for between 30 and 100 dollars.
- bluGill 7y ago
  I think it is viable because there is a lot of demand for parts. There are a lot of cars around and they all will need fixing at some point in their life. This large demand ensures it will be filled well. Radio Shack used to have a similar markup: charging $.70 for a $.03 part.
rasz 7y ago
And lets not forget - they will even lend you tools needed to swap the part you are buying. Just one example of many https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/o/loaner-tools https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/o/loaner-tools