81–90 of 212 posts
Many people go to physical stores, look for a product they like, then search it on Amazon.
Had a parent that worked in an independent bookstore. The store couldn't match box stores in price. They had selection and the willingness to order obscure books for people, but once the Internet came to homes, they weren't the only ones that did that. Eventually that bookstore got bought out by Borders. Ironically that store was one of the first customers of the distribution network Borders set up for their stores.
> by siphoning business from the real world and replacing it with internet commerce. I've got news for you, people want to order on a whim and have it arrive at their home the next day. If you don't offer that then people won't buy from you. In many parts of the world overgrown local busybodies have destroyed "high streets" in attempts to monetize drivers and pad their CV; driving people away.
*have it arrive the next day, realize they sold you a misprint as new, go and return the book, write an angry return text. Get the promise they will send you a new one, get another misprint, write an angry review Seriously, Amazon really was good once. Now I'd rather order a book from any competitor that cares about their customers. Much less hassle.
Of the last 10 books I bought on Amazon 4 were faulty prints with miscut pages, misaligned pages, misprint pages. Two of them had misprint covers. All of them were sold as new by Amazon itself. I am done with buying books from them
80% of the time I buy something from Amazon what I get feels very much like I went to a garage sale. Defective products, opened packaging, mismatch with what was on the site, etc.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why not buy from bookdepository.com ? They even have free shipping if I remember correctly. Honest question - I don't buy books often.
I don't know it, I live in Europe, not sure of this is a thing here
> by siphoning business from the real world and replacing it with internet commerce. I've got news for you, people want to order on a whim and have it arrive at their home the next day. If you don't offer that then people won't buy from you. In many parts of the world overgrown local busybodies have destroyed "high streets" in attempts to monetize drivers and pad their CV; driving people away.
Many people go to physical stores, look for a product they like, then search it on Amazon.
I genuinely want to support local businesses, and I make the effort to buy local from Waterstones whenever possible. But it's not always feasible with the amount I buy. I have many thousands of books, including those on Kindle. I don't have physical space for them otherwise.
The problem is not Amazon, the problem is local rents. If we encourage mixed-use zoning, ie. 3-5 storey apartment blocks with the ground and first level for commercial and office use, we'll lower rents and reduce commutes.