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If pervious economies were so well functioning, why couldn't I easily order pretty much any food from any restaurant within a 50 mile radius with a click of a b

If pervious economies were so well functioning, why couldn't I easily order pretty much any food from any restaurant within a 50 mile radius with a click of a button before Uber and DoorDash came along?

maedla 5y ago
One could always just call
tempest_ 5y ago
There existed many companies/people who would collect whatever you wanted and bring it where ever for a fee with a phone call. People would not be willing to pay the price however.
ska 5y ago
> If pervious economies were so well functioning An efficient economy doesn't mean you can do anything you can imagine is technically possible; it means that market rates with everything priced in properly will discover whether or not enough people value it enough to pay for it.
onemoresoop 5y ago
50 miles radius? I bet you weren't only not tipping the delivery guy but also complained your food was cold. Local economies were functioning well before for years, you were getting food from around your area, which is perfectly acceptable and efficient.
compiler-guy 5y ago
Because those economies functioned in a relatively closed system of finance, and the actual cost of delivery was covered within that system. The actual cost of delivery is reflected in the price of getting the delivery. Or, if no delivery was easily available, it was because the cost of keeping such a system up, running, and easily available was higher than could be managed profitably. Doordash works today because venture capitalists are throwing millions of dollars at it, and dramatically subsidizing the cost of the delivery. In other words, you can do that today because someone else is willing to pay. The VC's money won't last forever though. The question is if the economies of scale it creates will be enough to reduce the cost of delivery such that it is a sustainable business. Most available data says "Probably not."
Marazan 5y ago
Concierge services have always existed. You weren't willing to pay the unsubsidised price.
tw04 5y ago
Because most people weren’t willing to pay more for the delivery than their meal, so nobody bothered.
SonicScrub 5y ago
You absolutely could do that before. The average person just couldn't afford the prices until it became heavily subsidized by VC money.
JulianMorrison 5y ago
Two things can be simultaneously true - delivery was under-served and over-priced, and taxis charged too much, often because of viciously expensive auctions for limited legal taxicab slots, with the city raking it in and the drivers having to recoup it from fares - Uber and friends are exploitative dumping schemes that tighten the screws on their gig workers even while they firehose money at customers

maedla 5y ago

One could always just call

tempest_ 5y ago

There existed many companies/people who would collect whatever you wanted and bring it where ever for a fee with a phone call. People would not be willing to pay the price however.

ska 5y ago

> If pervious economies were so well functioning An efficient economy doesn't mean you can do anything you can imagine is technically possible; it means that market rates with everything priced in properly will discover whether or not enough people value it enough to pay for it.

onemoresoop 5y ago

50 miles radius? I bet you weren't only not tipping the delivery guy but also complained your food was cold. Local economies were functioning well before for years, you were getting food from around your area, which is perfectly acceptable and efficient.

compiler-guy 5y ago

Because those economies functioned in a relatively closed system of finance, and the actual cost of delivery was covered within that system. The actual cost of delivery is reflected in the price of getting the delivery. Or, if no delivery was easily available, it was because the cost of keeping such a system up, running, and easily available was higher than could be managed profitably. Doordash works today because venture capitalists are throwing millions of dollars at it, and dramatically subsidizing the cost of the delivery. In other words, you can do that today because someone else is willing to pay. The VC's money won't last forever though. The question is if the economies of scale it creates will be enough to reduce the cost of delivery such that it is a sustainable business. Most available data says "Probably not."

Marazan 5y ago

Concierge services have always existed. You weren't willing to pay the unsubsidised price.

tw04 5y ago

Because most people weren’t willing to pay more for the delivery than their meal, so nobody bothered.

SonicScrub 5y ago

You absolutely could do that before. The average person just couldn't afford the prices until it became heavily subsidized by VC money.

JulianMorrison 5y ago

Two things can be simultaneously true - delivery was under-served and over-priced, and taxis charged too much, often because of viciously expensive auctions for limited legal taxicab slots, with the city raking it in and the drivers having to recoup it from fares - Uber and friends are exploitative dumping schemes that tighten the screws on their gig workers even while they firehose money at customers