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