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Post by rom on Apr 12, 2017 21:45:25 GMT -5
I agree that it's always terrible when companies go out of business & people lose jobs. However, the bottom line is that people want to save money & also like the convenience of online shipping. I myself am one of these many people. I used to shop at LCS's & places like B&N to get my novels & some CE's. But, now it's pretty much strictly online only for these items. Also, there is the time factor as well. When I was younger I had more time to go shopping at these brick & mortar stores. In recent years, however, my job & other issues have resulted in my having less free time; I also hate driving. So, online shipping is a godsend - given that the items are delivered right to your door without much effort on your part. However, even if you want to frequent brick & mortar stores for items, you can't always find them around anymore. For example, I used to be a huge music fan & would buy CD's on a regular basis. And, I would go out of my way to frequent a particular store that carried both used & new CD's; their prices were comparable to Amazon re: new CD's. However, this place closed down a couple of years ago & so there are now very few places around that carry the older CD's I want (i.e., music from the '60's - '90's). So, in some cases you have to go online to buy this material. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 12, 2017 22:09:46 GMT -5
Basic cause and effect, though. You don't support local and it dries up. Also, you don't support that merchandise, they don't stock it because it doesn't sell.
I have nothing against on-line shopping, as it is just an extension of mail order, which goes back as far as retailing. However, the more local business dries up and the less competition there is, the more you see the on-line people dictate the market. In the long run, the effect is not beneficial to the consumer; But, that is whole 'nother argument. In the case of Amazon, it has led to some draconian acts to subvert copyrights and some standoffs with publishers and authors; not to mention shell games to avoid taxes that local businesses paid. There is likely to be a hefty price to be paid for "convenience," somewhere along the way.
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Post by MDG on Apr 13, 2017 9:26:30 GMT -5
Basic cause and effect, though. You don't support local and it dries up. Also, you don't support that merchandise, they don't stock it because it doesn't sell. I have nothing against on-line shopping, as it is just an extension of mail order, which goes back as far as retailing. However, the more local business dries up and the less competition there is, the more you see the on-line people dictate the market. In the long run, the effect is not beneficial to the consumer; But, that is whole 'nother argument. In the case of Amazon, it has led to some draconian acts to subvert copyrights and some standoffs with publishers and authors; not to mention shell games to avoid taxes that local businesses paid. There is likely to be a hefty price to be paid for "convenience," somewhere along the way. I don't disagree with this. However, one downside of the amount and diversity of comics coming out today is that a small LCS won't be able to stock a lot of it without great financial risk. |
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Post by brutalis on Apr 13, 2017 10:33:16 GMT -5
Basic cause and effect, though. You don't support local and it dries up. Also, you don't support that merchandise, they don't stock it because it doesn't sell. I have nothing against on-line shopping, as it is just an extension of mail order, which goes back as far as retailing. However, the more local business dries up and the less competition there is, the more you see the on-line people dictate the market. In the long run, the effect is not beneficial to the consumer; But, that is whole 'nother argument. In the case of Amazon, it has led to some draconian acts to subvert copyrights and some standoffs with publishers and authors; not to mention shell games to avoid taxes that local businesses paid. There is likely to be a hefty price to be paid for "convenience," somewhere along the way. I don't disagree with this. However, one downside of the amount and diversity of comics coming out today is that a small LCS won't be able to stock a lot of it without great financial risk. To circumvent this issue i know that 2 of the local long term LCS (been around 20-35 years) here in Phoenix advertise in their store that they will accept pre-orders listing from Previews for ANY customer with a current working telephone and identification and credit card. If it is a majorly expensive item(s) they will sometimes ask for a down payment in case the person doesn't ever pick up the order. Many of their subscription box holders utilize this regularly and quite a few parents have used this to order some of the specialty toys/collectibles rather than shopping stores or hoping to find on store shelves. The one store does a really big gaming business and has lots of folks ordering up game cards by the box to insure they can get all the cards they are looking for and then will sell the extra cards back to the store. The 2 shops keep a current Previews copy at the check out counter and even have a sign posted in the window/front door for everyone seeing as they walk in. |
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Post by rom on Apr 14, 2017 12:45:40 GMT -5
I have nothing against on-line shopping, as it is just an extension of mail order, which goes back as far as retailing. However, the more local business dries up and the less competition there is, the more you see the on-line people dictate the market. In the long run, the effect is not beneficial to the consumer; But, that is whole 'nother argument. In the case of Amazon, it has led to some draconian acts to subvert copyrights and some standoffs with publishers and authors; not to mention shell games to avoid taxes that local businesses paid. There is likely to be a hefty price to be paid for "convenience," somewhere along the way. I understand what you're saying. However, nothing beats the convenience of having something delivered directly to your door. As I mentioned in my last post, my LCS wasn't that close to me so I couldn't get there too often, and it was a hassle to get there to begin with anyway. I tried to support them as long as possible, however - but, when I stopped collecting floppies cold-turkey in late 2014, my need for the store evaporated. Plus, the customer service there wasn't always that great - i.e., sometimes they wouldn't hold something I had asked them to, etc. & so I didn't get all of the books I wanted. It's not just LCS that are feeling the effects of people shopping online more, however. It's all across the board - shopping malls, dedicated CD stores, bookstores, home video rental stores, etc. are closing (and in many cases have already closed) because of both online shopping & streaming video, etc. But, again, the convenience factor can't be underestimated. For example, earlier this week I had to go shopping for food in the evening, and had to stand in line for quite some time at the register (it was an especially busy night). Though there's no real easy way to shop for food online (especially if it's perishable), it's a hassle & so I'm glad I've been able to cut back on having to shop at other brick & mortar stores - due to being able to shop online. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 14, 2017 13:09:23 GMT -5
After careful calculation, the answer to the original question is 42.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Apr 14, 2017 15:08:16 GMT -5
I have not seen anyone read a floppy comic out in public during this century.
And that's a city whose population is 8 1/2 million
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