Comment by danparsonson

Comment by danparsonson 18 hours ago

> ...it was well understood that people were still visiting stores so that they can inspect items before purchase.

You have all the pieces but you're not putting them together.

Bricks and mortar stores cost money just to exist - rent, rates, staffing, etc. - and that's why they can't compete on price with online stores, which can just be giant warehouses with shipping. The online arms of some physical stores can benefit from the same economies as totally online businesses, leading to cheaper prices online even for companies with a physical presence.

How can a physical shop make any money if they are just treated as a gallery for browsing before the buyer heads to Amazon to get the item 10% cheaper? It's not bean counting, it's basic economics.

How the fuck are you supposed to know what you're buying, indeed - patronise physical businesses because you recognise the value in their existence, and understand that that's worth paying an additional premium for.

godelski 18 hours ago

  > Bricks and mortar stores cost money just to exist

I understand this. I'm not sure why you think I don't. I thought it was a pretty obvious thing...

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danparsonson 9 hours ago

Because you said this:
> I've constantly wondered why this doesn't really exist.
and if you understand that real stores are more expensive to run than online stores, then the rest seems obvious?
Places like that did exist in the past - they were the places we had to go to buy things. Online prices are lower so people bought online instead and drove most of them out of business.
Perhaps I'm missing something?

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- godelski 4 hours ago
  
  > Perhaps I'm missing something?
  Is that you're being extremely insulting, I'm just not sure who you're insulting more. Me, believing I missed the most widely discussed and obvious component of cost. Or you, for thinking such a low level addition makes an actual contribution to the conversation. It's a conversation killer either way because you call me a moron and over value your analysis.
  You are missing that I've talked about how there's more business value than direct sales. You can easily infer from here that this means "the value outweighs the costs". What costs would those be? I think we all know the location costs money as well as the people who work there. These costs are such a universal experience it only makes me wonder about you? Do you not have a job or employ people? Do you not rent or pay a mortgage? Watch the news? Be on HN? Did you ever have a parent that worked, rented, or bought property? Family? Friend? These costs are literally at the core of our economy that people become failure with them as young children.
  Yes, you have to infer some things. I'll have to write so much more if the only message that can be conveyed is the direct literal translation of my words. Which I don't think you expect because you're using natural language and expecting me to do the same with you.
  
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