The Real Costs of Amazon, Mail Order, Etc.?

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: doitmyself
Do you guys think about this when ordering online vs. local purchases? Can there be an up side to the mail order future? Some here boast of saving sales tax shopping on line. Others preach to support the U.S. and local economy, which taxes are all about, not to mention jobs, local business support of the community, etc..

I get the buy local thing and am onside. There are some qualifiers, though, too. Certain brands or products simply won't be available here. Then, of course, there's no reason not to buy online or by mail. Of course, if the local price is absolutely out to lunch, I'm not buying local. When the dealer wanted $1200 a headlight for my old Audi 200 assemblies, and OEM was $625 for the pair from the States, you can guess what I chose.

Of course, people living in smaller towns think about this, too, supporting local versus buying online. A town of 1000 people may not (almost certainly won't) have a good bookstore, so they travel or buy online.

As for taxes, don't worry, the government will catch up.

 

[Kira]

Just an add on to ONE feature mentioned:

When a brick & mortar shop provides:
A) services like machining, pressing
B) GOOD FALLBACK QUALITY (the A/C compressor I bought at a moment's notice was good stuff)
C) fetching parts in a "look alive" manner
There's a place for them in my book. My NAPA store is like that. The population is dense here.

As above, I buy on sale everywhere. Planning ahead and buying online saves a buncha money.

Apps do take jobs. Don't "app order" McDonald's, and the like. Cook at home and plan.

Marginalize the robot world as best you can. NOT "Hippy Economics".....people scale the world....Too big to FEEL = BAD.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I’ve noticed mom and pop shops always give horrible customer service. That keeps
me buying from the chain stores. Mom and pop shops imo are putting themselves out of business.


Didn't used to be this way. Hard to be super happy and helpful when all you see is decreasing revenues and there's not really much you can do about it. Not enough people willing to shop local to keep little places going. Price is the most important thing for most.


So true! It definitely used to not be that way. Mom and pops were the friendliest and gave the best service,even would come to your house at no charge to pick up defective items and/or fix them. Seems every mom and pop I go into nowadays they give you an instant bad attitude as soon as you walk in,are unprofessional,treat you as if you're a pita and just wasting their time,or they just flat out ignore you and act like you're bothering them. And they'll always have their worthless lazy kids working there.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Amazon is making a killing in Government spending where price drives all. Millions of $$ per month go to Amazon and people selling on Amazon. About 50% of sales is through 3rd part vendors. All Amazon does is provide the means to sell and cash those checks. The 3rd party vendors satisfy the “getting quotes” requirement as well.

 

[02SE]

I buy local when I can. One thing I tend to buy a fair amount of, is tires. I've found that tires have issues often enough, that I want to be able to deal with a local supplier face-to-face, with any issues that come up. Dealing with some online seller over a defective tire, is a hassle I don't need.

 

[Leo99]

Originally Posted By: Win
I hope you guys that do ordinary things like engineering, accounting, draftsman, IT, web design, etc., realize that the same outsourcing that killed much manufacturing, and the online technology that has gravely wounded local brick and mortar, will take you guys down the same drain hole.

Unless you are a hands on guy doing something that just cannot be done somewhere else, or automated, like, say, a doctor, or a lawyer, or a refrigerator repairman, your days are simply numbered. Even truck drivers and ( probably ) airplane pilots will be unemployed. Enjoy it while you can.

There are billions of smart people in other countries that can do your job, for a lot less, and send the intellectual property / work output back here.

Your time is too valuable to go to a parts store across town? How valuable will your time be when some guy in India is doing your engineering, IT., etc., for one third the cost? Think Mom and Pop will want to pay more for something to support your job? Why should they?


It's a changing global economy. You had better plan for the future or go down the drain hole. Trying to stop the future by paying more for the same things at a local business won't change the future. There are huge opportunities in vocational areas in the USA. Mike Rowe has some excellent thoughts on the future of employment and where we go wrong in the USA in educating our youth and shaping their attitudes towards employment.

 

[Andrew1972]

All my shopping and yours on Amazon has transformed many businesses to adapt. Target,walmart, Lowe’s , Home Depot all have on line ordering so you know item actually exists and pickup at store. Walmart and local grocery allow outside pickup which makes me so gleeful no setting foot in there.

Even our local toy shop allows phone orders with gift wrap and curb delivery in an area pressed for parking. Price is higher but if you forget the kids bday present done so quick!!!!

I am happy with results.

 

[Win]

OTOH, it looks really easy to set up as your own online retailer.

I was setting up a wholesale account last week to get some machines I needed, and when I got to the part about authorizing drop shipping or not, I realized all or part of their business was as an online wholesaler and shipper for online retailers.

Net 10 or 30 with a letter of credit from a bank would keep you from having to tie up your own money, your existing sales tax exemption, a website from a kid after school, or someone from East Burpistan if you're in a hurry, a paypal account, and it looks like you're in the online retail "business". What am I overlooking?

Anything you "sell" is basically free money.

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: doitmyself
Do you guys think about this when ordering online vs. local purchases? Can there be an up side to the mail order future? Some here boast of saving sales tax shopping on line. Others preach to support the U.S. and local economy, which taxes are all about, not to mention jobs, local business support of the community, etc..
I used to but not any more. I still catch myself in the habit of 'looking locally', which is usually a huge time waster & frustrating. Been doing it too long I guess.

Why? Clueless employees in 'customer service'. Poor selection. Local retail is not at all what it used to be. Even my favorite local old-school hardware store changed owners, and they're now stuffed with packaged but more expensive products. They do carry more Craftsman stuff than the local Sears however. Odd that....

I miss the old-school counter guys who knew exactly what the thing you brought in was, if they had it or not and provided excellent service. If they didn't have it, they called "Joe" at another place, checked for you, had them hold it for you and sent you on your way.

Now-a-days I get dude instead, who is clueless, incapable of critical thinking, much less problem solving and checks his phone instead.

The World's Changed.....

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

Sales tax will catch up with everyone eventually... a lot of the big players already charge sales tax. Its only a matter of time, I'm sure states are loosing large amount of $$.

That said, I try local... as sleddriver says, but I'm usually disappointed.

 

[SeaJay]

Depends. If it is a commodity that you do not need today or tomorrow, if the picture & description of the product is all you need to be sure that it is the correct product, and if it is no more expensive with shipping included -- then it is a no-brainer to get it online.

Otherwise, a retailer is the place to be.