General Discussion

cthulu2016

(10,960 posts)

11. And the Amazon case is even more pointed

Thu Nov 22, 2012, 02:31 PM

Nov 2012

One of the great joys of any book or music lovers' life used to be browsing in real-world stores... feeling a sense of community in your passion. Getting out... exploring.

But the only reason the small store survived was on the sale of Madonna albums, Tom Clancy best-sellers, Harry Potter movies.

And most people wanting those few popular things were happy to buy them for cost at Best Buy.

And then the aficionado turned on the stores also. Listen at Tower, order from Amazon. And since Amazon wasn't a real space it had a bigger selection than any real-world store could.

Next thing we knew, Tower was gone.

People will take a lower price today... they just will. (I should say, we just will.)

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The heart of the problem is that most People like Walmart [View all] cthulu2016 Nov 2012 OP

Paying starving wages isn't villainous? lunatica Nov 2012 #1

Unless one is expecting a hero to set things right, villainous is not a useful category cthulu2016 Nov 2012 #2

"The whole horrible thing operates from the collisions of human nature and material reality" iemitsu Nov 2012 #18

Classic Blame the Victims post. If you don't like villain, try predator. That's quantifiable, leveymg Nov 2012 #38

Thanks for pointing out so many truths about Walmart's business plan. iemitsu Nov 2012 #60

"the walmart customer is equally culpable" = false equivalency because of the HiPointDem Nov 2012 #45

Walmart Would Be Able To Sell USA rsmith6621 Nov 2012 #3

oh, baloney. 'customer demand' isn't responsible for walmart's move to foreign HiPointDem Nov 2012 #47

A lot of people like Walmart. I'm not sure about most... Little Star Nov 2012 #4

Fair enough. Substitute "enough" for most. cthulu2016 Nov 2012 #5

Not us cyclezealot Nov 2012 #30

Short-term thinking is cancerous in cases like these. Liking WalMart because you like ... Scuba Nov 2012 #6

And the Amazon case is even more pointed cthulu2016 Nov 2012 #11

I've spent more hours in used book stores than I can count. When I die, my ghost will haunt one. Scuba Nov 2012 #13

IMO amazon didn't kill Tower, iTunes did tularetom Nov 2012 #40

But what about the small sellers who sell on Amazon? BuelahWitch Nov 2012 #41

Small bookstores used to be filled with crappy fiction FarCenter Nov 2012 #48

Excellent point... OneMoreDemocrat Nov 2012 #49

Even that is changing nadinbrzezinski Nov 2012 #7

Or it's simply the fact that Walmart's corporate strategy is predatory Democracyinkind Nov 2012 #8

1 corporation to rule us all Laochtine Nov 2012 #9

Reminds me of my Sig :) Democracyinkind Nov 2012 #10

re: walmart's pricing leftyohiolib Nov 2012 #12

They are cheaper, though Democracyinkind Nov 2012 #16

Yes. A de facto monopoly always has high prices on some things. cthulu2016 Nov 2012 #17

All of your points are correct in a world that assumes iemitsu Nov 2012 #14

This! Democracyinkind Nov 2012 #15

That is almost opposite to what I said cthulu2016 Nov 2012 #19

Where do you think the laws of the market-place come from if not from mankind? iemitsu Nov 2012 #26

Excellent post laundry_queen Nov 2012 #50

Thank you. It really drives me when iemitsu Nov 2012 #59

Sorry, but you are mistaken about the nature of markets. cthulu2016 Nov 2012 #63

The ones who don't work there Bombtrack Nov 2012 #20

I don't like WALMART underthematrix Nov 2012 #21

The solution is that they need to grow the fuck up, face that they're feeding the predator... ancianita Nov 2012 #22

Amen and hallelujah! I urge all to comparison shop. I say this because I've snappyturtle Nov 2012 #39

Reading "To Serve God and Wal-Mart" right now BeyondGeography Nov 2012 #23

Most people I know can't stand to shop there. GoCubsGo Nov 2012 #24

I have only shopped there once in my life, and my friends cthulu2016 Nov 2012 #28

Just about everyone I know shops there. GoCubsGo Nov 2012 #33

What would a Wal Mart look like rrneck Nov 2012 #25

If these corporations were making use of overseas labor but still allowing us to maintain brewens Nov 2012 #27

But those low prices and the "lack" of profit thereby caused Lionessa Nov 2012 #29

I agree. But that is because of the system, not because of Walmart. cthulu2016 Nov 2012 #31

George McGovern, ca. 1972, propsoed a Guaranteed Annual Income (aka coalition_unwilling Nov 2012 #32

+1 cthulu2016 Nov 2012 #35

Love them or hate them, CheapShotArtist Nov 2012 #34

Cheap prices for shitty products. 99Forever Nov 2012 #36

The same could be said of the entire "corporate culture" market dominance bhikkhu Nov 2012 #37

Local stores don't carry the variety of amazon or other online stores johnd83 Nov 2012 #42

You're Forgetting: Our Economy Stinks in General Iggy Nov 2012 #43

Walmart took off during the best economy since the 1960s. cthulu2016 Nov 2012 #64

Correct, However, New Businesses Survive Due to Specific Iggy Nov 2012 #65

"like"? compared to what? most people earn less than $16/hour, that's why they HiPointDem Nov 2012 #44

I'm wondering PETRUS Nov 2012 #46

I am often dismayed that I cannot convince otherwise SheilaT Nov 2012 #51

I grew up in suburban NY, but in many small towns and rural marybourg Nov 2012 #52

OP is pretty close sigmasix Nov 2012 #53

Some will attack you on grammer nadinbrzezinski Nov 2012 #54

The heart of the problem lbrtbell Nov 2012 #55

OP nicely states the premise of the South Park episode 0rganism Nov 2012 #56

It's a race to the bottom until we unionize Wal-Mart. nt rDigital Nov 2012 #57

On the other hand, with Amazon AlexSatan Nov 2012 #58

Some items can't be purchased online efficiently and high volume sellers can't handle bluestate10 Nov 2012 #61

I hate Wallyworld too,but I live in a rural area with no choices. Manifestor_of_Light Nov 2012 #62