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I don't feel like I benefit from a new brand of jerky brand with razor thin profit margins every week. It makes me wonder about what kind of crap is in the jerk

I don't feel like I benefit from a new brand of jerky brand with razor thin profit margins every week. It makes me wonder about what kind of crap is in the jerky, in fact. Consumers might benefit if mass retailer accumulates liability when it does this but the mass retailer shoves it right on to the party with the razor thin margins.

SpicyLemonZest 7y ago
There are plenty of retailers that go out of their way to fight against the race to the bottom, charging a bit more and taking a bit more care to ensure they only stock good stuff. Amazon even owns one such store, Whole Foods. If other people would prefer to buy dirt-cheap jerky from whoever can offer the lowest price this week, I don't see why it's bad to have stores catering to them too.
- jcoffland 7y ago
  > Amazon even owns one such store, Whole Foods. The quality at Whole Foods has gone down fast since Amazon took over.
  - jhall1468 7y ago
    Whole Foods sold itself to Amazon because they were starting to see a market that prefers alternatives. Prices had to come down for it to survive, and you can't lower prices on expensive product. And that's assuming product quality is really lower. The only evidence of that I've seen is anecdata.
  - tzakrajs 7y ago
    The stores look nicer at least. Great lighting!
castlecrasher2 7y ago
>I don't feel like I benefit from a new brand of jerky brand with razor thin profit margins every week. Then find a brand or local business that makes what you want. You'll pay out the nose online probably, but I've found a modestly priced local place that makes great jerky because as you said the store stuff is...not great, and questionable.
lonelappde 7y ago
Competition in commodities is great for consumers. The huge problems appear when the "commodity" isn't -- when some offering is inferior in some usually hidden way (including externalities). Keeping prices high doesn't protect against that - a counterfeiter will happily sell at a high price, and a traditional supplier might cut quality in theory supply chain to increase profit. The only solution is to have vendor and supply chain transparency (buying local, and supply chain offering video monitoring of their operations, maybe some Blockchain for tracking shipments end-to-end?), and to be willing to pay for the monitoring and for the quality you ask for. But at the end of the day must consumers talk a good game and then would buy whatever is cheapest or slickest marketed regardlesss of inherent quality or externalities, so it's more efficient to skip the charade.
- mooreds 7y ago
  > But at the end of the day must consumers talk a good game and then would buy whatever is cheapest or slickest marketed Totally agree. Talk to your local CSA farmer if you want to hear about the difference between what people say they want and what they actually spend money on.

SpicyLemonZest 7y ago

There are plenty of retailers that go out of their way to fight against the race to the bottom, charging a bit more and taking a bit more care to ensure they only stock good stuff. Amazon even owns one such store, Whole Foods. If other people would prefer to buy dirt-cheap jerky from whoever can offer the lowest price this week, I don't see why it's bad to have stores catering to them too.

jcoffland 7y ago
> Amazon even owns one such store, Whole Foods. The quality at Whole Foods has gone down fast since Amazon took over.
- jhall1468 7y ago
  Whole Foods sold itself to Amazon because they were starting to see a market that prefers alternatives. Prices had to come down for it to survive, and you can't lower prices on expensive product. And that's assuming product quality is really lower. The only evidence of that I've seen is anecdata.
- tzakrajs 7y ago
  The stores look nicer at least. Great lighting!

castlecrasher2 7y ago

>I don't feel like I benefit from a new brand of jerky brand with razor thin profit margins every week. Then find a brand or local business that makes what you want. You'll pay out the nose online probably, but I've found a modestly priced local place that makes great jerky because as you said the store stuff is...not great, and questionable.

lonelappde 7y ago

Competition in commodities is great for consumers. The huge problems appear when the "commodity" isn't -- when some offering is inferior in some usually hidden way (including externalities). Keeping prices high doesn't protect against that - a counterfeiter will happily sell at a high price, and a traditional supplier might cut quality in theory supply chain to increase profit. The only solution is to have vendor and supply chain transparency (buying local, and supply chain offering video monitoring of their operations, maybe some Blockchain for tracking shipments end-to-end?), and to be willing to pay for the monitoring and for the quality you ask for. But at the end of the day must consumers talk a good game and then would buy whatever is cheapest or slickest marketed regardlesss of inherent quality or externalities, so it's more efficient to skip the charade.

mooreds 7y ago
> But at the end of the day must consumers talk a good game and then would buy whatever is cheapest or slickest marketed Totally agree. Talk to your local CSA farmer if you want to hear about the difference between what people say they want and what they actually spend money on.