2 ms·

Sure it’s nice when the VCs are buying market share but there’s not a profitable business here. Best case you still have some legacy delivery shops when the VC

by mulmen 3y ago

Sure it’s nice when the VCs are buying market share but there’s not a profitable business here. Best case you still have some legacy delivery shops when the VCs get tired of burning cash. In my area both DoorDash and UberEats are ridiculously expensive. GrubHub seems to be the most reasonably, fairly, and transparently priced, but even then it’s a significant premium for a worse experience. I could just have Amazon, Safeway, or WalMart deliver me frozen microwaveable or stovetop dinner with the rest of my groceries. I would get better food for less money with similar effort at the price of a little planning ahead. When delivery apps charge what it actually costs alternatives become far more appealing.

mytailorisrich 3y ago
They are not "buying market share", they are enabling a service that did not exist before. Everybody wins expect perhaps eventually the investors...
- mulmen 3y ago
  Food delivery existed long before these companies. They’re literally spending money to buy market share in the hope they can then increase prices and turn a profit. This is exactly what Uber did to cabs. And what these companies have already done in existing markets.
  - daveoc64 3y ago
    The vast majority of the restaurants on Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Just Eat etc. in the UK did not (and still do not) offer delivery themselves. I would say that in the UK it was really only pizza places that offered delivery. Now with these apps you can get virtually any type of cuisine delivered from a wide range of restaurants.
    - mulmen 3y ago
      Right but the food is bad when it’s delivered. That’s why delivery wasn’t offered in the first place.
      - mytailorisrich 3y ago
        Considering how popular those services are, I think people are fine with it. The issue really is only profitability: a single delivery is expensive in labour cost while consumers do not want to pay a lot for it.
        deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
        mulmen 3y ago
        Exactly. People are only fine with it when prices are subsidized by venture capital.

by mulmen 3y ago

mytailorisrich 3y ago

They are not "buying market share", they are enabling a service that did not exist before. Everybody wins expect perhaps eventually the investors...

mulmen 3y ago
Food delivery existed long before these companies. They’re literally spending money to buy market share in the hope they can then increase prices and turn a profit. This is exactly what Uber did to cabs. And what these companies have already done in existing markets.
- daveoc64 3y ago
  The vast majority of the restaurants on Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Just Eat etc. in the UK did not (and still do not) offer delivery themselves. I would say that in the UK it was really only pizza places that offered delivery. Now with these apps you can get virtually any type of cuisine delivered from a wide range of restaurants.
  - mulmen 3y ago
    Right but the food is bad when it’s delivered. That’s why delivery wasn’t offered in the first place.
    - mytailorisrich 3y ago
      Considering how popular those services are, I think people are fine with it. The issue really is only profitability: a single delivery is expensive in labour cost while consumers do not want to pay a lot for it.
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
      - mulmen 3y ago
        Exactly. People are only fine with it when prices are subsidized by venture capital.