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>Dealerships are a middleman much more deserving to be ruthlessly demolished by "tech disruption" than, say, journalism Why are you inserting a moral position

>Dealerships are a middleman much more deserving to be ruthlessly demolished by "tech disruption" than, say, journalism Why are you inserting a moral position here? The world economy runs on middle men. I know of no-one that goes to the local ore mine to build their own car. The industry is literally built on middle men. If you want to make the argument that there are laws protecting their middle man position that are now out dated that's one thing, but absent that they are obviously providing a service people find valuable.

kangalioo 4y ago
Most middlemen are useful, but some are not. The article explains this: > They had to work through dealerships as middlemen [...] largely as a way of spreading risk. [...] Those conditions are, arguably, gone today.
- listenallyall 4y ago
  There's no explanation there, just a declaration without evidence, or much thought. For example, someone still needs to deliver the keys, and the vehicle itself, of your online order. UPS might be able to deliver the keys, the car itself, probably not.
- benj111 4y ago
  Ok, if they aren't useful, the market can decide that. If the market can't decide because of laws in place then the blame should more properly be placed on the laws. Personally I would say car companies are manufacturers. They should concentrate on manufacturing and let the dealerships concentrate on the customer, so I don't really accept the thesis that they're useless.
fallingknife 4y ago
That's not a middleman. A middleman buys and sells the exact same product. In this case, the steel mill buys ore from the mine, turns it into steel, and sells it to the car company. The "turns it into steel" part is what differentiates them from a middleman.
- benj111 4y ago
  I'd disagree. A dealer buys an unregistered car. Registers, checks, sorts finance, offers after sales support. That is their value add.
  - serf 4y ago
    >A dealer buys an unregistered car. Registers, checks, sorts finance, offers after sales support. That is their value add. their 'value-add' is mandatory and driven by regulation. it's akin to talking about the TurboTax 'value-add' while failing to mention their anti-consumer efforts.

kangalioo 4y ago

Most middlemen are useful, but some are not. The article explains this: > They had to work through dealerships as middlemen [...] largely as a way of spreading risk. [...] Those conditions are, arguably, gone today.

listenallyall 4y ago
There's no explanation there, just a declaration without evidence, or much thought. For example, someone still needs to deliver the keys, and the vehicle itself, of your online order. UPS might be able to deliver the keys, the car itself, probably not.
benj111 4y ago
Ok, if they aren't useful, the market can decide that. If the market can't decide because of laws in place then the blame should more properly be placed on the laws. Personally I would say car companies are manufacturers. They should concentrate on manufacturing and let the dealerships concentrate on the customer, so I don't really accept the thesis that they're useless.

fallingknife 4y ago

That's not a middleman. A middleman buys and sells the exact same product. In this case, the steel mill buys ore from the mine, turns it into steel, and sells it to the car company. The "turns it into steel" part is what differentiates them from a middleman.

benj111 4y ago
I'd disagree. A dealer buys an unregistered car. Registers, checks, sorts finance, offers after sales support. That is their value add.
- serf 4y ago
  >A dealer buys an unregistered car. Registers, checks, sorts finance, offers after sales support. That is their value add. their 'value-add' is mandatory and driven by regulation. it's akin to talking about the TurboTax 'value-add' while failing to mention their anti-consumer efforts.