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It turns local businesses into showrooms for Amazon, and that is a failing business model. I do not patronize Amazon. But f I did, I would pick a margin - let'

It turns local businesses into showrooms for Amazon, and that is a failing business model. I do not patronize Amazon. But f I did, I would pick a margin - let's say 20% - and resolve to buy locally when the price is at least that close to the online price.

krisoft 2y ago
> But f I did, I would pick a margin - let's say 20% - and resolve to buy locally when the price is at least that close to the online price. Focusing on the price is a complete misunderstanding. Just looking at my recent amazon purchases. I have bought 3mm and 2mm thick brass sheets, 0.8mm endmills, a set of dwarven miner minis, and a highlander cow shaped slipper. I have no clue which shop would even hope to have these things. I could get on my bike and go to all the hardware shops around me in the hopes that maybe they have endmills, or all the department stores and walk up and down to see if they have the slippers I'm thinking about. And I would be still without brass sheets and dwarven miners. Or I can from the comfort of wherever I am browse a wild selection of things and get them for reasonable price. I bought the miner minis while physically situated in a coffee shop waiting for my friend to return from the washroom. Just because I happened to have a minute to think about what I need for our next DnD session. That is insanely convenient.
- euroderf 2y ago
  You do have a pretty niche use case tho. Aany issues with inferior product quality ?
bufferoverflow 2y ago
That's equivalent to you making 20% less money. Not many people will choose that.
- euroderf 2y ago
  Behold! Neighborhood businesses wither and die.
  - therealdrag0 2y ago
    When all the business does is order from the catalog shipped from China and stock a shelf it’s not that worrisome when they die. Businesses that should be able to sustain themselves are things that have additional experiences and services. Food, coffee, sports shops with fittings or lessons, bike shops with repair rooms, art galleries that are fun to browse, clothing stores that you can touch and try on, stuff crafted locally that is tangibly better than something mass produced, etc.
    - euroderf 2y ago
      Multibrand retail should be about curation, and a shop that does little more than open boxes is not worth supporting, I'll grant you that. Your list is good, but how many are vulnerable to competition from online ?

krisoft 2y ago

> But f I did, I would pick a margin - let's say 20% - and resolve to buy locally when the price is at least that close to the online price. Focusing on the price is a complete misunderstanding. Just looking at my recent amazon purchases. I have bought 3mm and 2mm thick brass sheets, 0.8mm endmills, a set of dwarven miner minis, and a highlander cow shaped slipper. I have no clue which shop would even hope to have these things. I could get on my bike and go to all the hardware shops around me in the hopes that maybe they have endmills, or all the department stores and walk up and down to see if they have the slippers I'm thinking about. And I would be still without brass sheets and dwarven miners. Or I can from the comfort of wherever I am browse a wild selection of things and get them for reasonable price. I bought the miner minis while physically situated in a coffee shop waiting for my friend to return from the washroom. Just because I happened to have a minute to think about what I need for our next DnD session. That is insanely convenient.

euroderf 2y ago
You do have a pretty niche use case tho. Aany issues with inferior product quality ?

bufferoverflow 2y ago

That's equivalent to you making 20% less money. Not many people will choose that.

euroderf 2y ago
Behold! Neighborhood businesses wither and die.
- therealdrag0 2y ago
  When all the business does is order from the catalog shipped from China and stock a shelf it’s not that worrisome when they die. Businesses that should be able to sustain themselves are things that have additional experiences and services. Food, coffee, sports shops with fittings or lessons, bike shops with repair rooms, art galleries that are fun to browse, clothing stores that you can touch and try on, stuff crafted locally that is tangibly better than something mass produced, etc.
  - euroderf 2y ago
    Multibrand retail should be about curation, and a shop that does little more than open boxes is not worth supporting, I'll grant you that. Your list is good, but how many are vulnerable to competition from online ?