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Uber, DoorDash and similar firms can’t defy the laws of capitalism after all

economist.com

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Re: Uber, DoorDash and similar firms can’t defy the laws of capitalism after all

#41

Post by fumar »

xyzzy21 wrote: post #30

Ultimately you can NOT "magically" negate "Last Mile Costs" in cities and towns where the Last Mile path distance is enormous. Did my MBA thesis on this subject with the benefit of 20 years of engineering experience. The numbers simply do not work unless you change how cities and residences are built, which would cost far more than you'd ever gain from solving Last Mile costs - the breakeven time is of the order of 1…

What do you think about last mile delivery robots? https://www.kiwibot.com These little bots don't require the same level of human physical presence as Uber or DoorDash.

Re: Uber, DoorDash and similar firms can’t defy the laws of capitalism after all

#42

Post by ska »

fumar wrote: post #41
xyzzy21 wrote: post #30

Ultimately you can NOT "magically" negate "Last Mile Costs" in cities and towns where the Last Mile path distance is enormous. Did my MBA thesis on this subject with the benefit of 20 years of engineering experience. The numbers simply do not work unless you change how cities and residences are built, which would cost far more than you'd ever gain from solving Last Mile costs - the breakeven time is of the order of 1…

What do you think about last mile delivery robots? https://www.kiwibot.com These little bots don't require the same level of human physical presence as Uber or DoorDash.

> What do you think about last mile delivery robots?

I suspect these will need truly significant infrastructure changes to actually function as last mile.

Re: Uber, DoorDash and similar firms can’t defy the laws of capitalism after all

#43

Post by ska »

batshit_beaver wrote: post #28
mstipetic wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And previous well functioning economies get destroyed in the process

If pervious economies were so well functioning, why couldn't I easily order pretty much any food from any restaurant within a 50 mile radius with a click of a button before Uber and DoorDash came along?

> If pervious economies were so well functioning

An efficient economy doesn't mean you can do anything you can imagine is technically possible; it means that market rates with everything priced in properly will discover whether or not enough people value it enough to pay for it.

Re: Uber, DoorDash and similar firms can’t defy the laws of capitalism after all

#44

Post by colinmhayes »

xoa wrote: post #19

A core aspect seems to come at the end as a tossed in aside but gets disappointingly little consideration: > Real business flywheels do exist. Software makers have managed to lock users in and thus generate gross margins typically above 70%. No, it's not just "lock in" it's the magic of minimal to zero marginal cost, near zero "stocking" cost, instantaneous reaction to demand, etc. Software and digital services firms…

The only way to consistently have margins above 70% is a strong lock in effect. All the other reasons who listed don't matter when a venture capitalist with a couple billion dollars can come in and rebuild the software. At 70% margins they absolutely would do that. The reason they don't is because consumers wouldn't actually switch to their product, even if it is cheaper, because they're already locked in.

Re: Uber, DoorDash and similar firms can’t defy the laws of capitalism after all

#45

Post by onemoresoop »

batshit_beaver wrote: post #28
mstipetic wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And previous well functioning economies get destroyed in the process

If pervious economies were so well functioning, why couldn't I easily order pretty much any food from any restaurant within a 50 mile radius with a click of a button before Uber and DoorDash came along?

50 miles radius? I bet you weren't only not tipping the delivery guy but also complained your food was cold.

Local economies were functioning well before for years, you were getting food from around your area, which is perfectly acceptable and efficient.

Re: Uber, DoorDash and similar firms can’t defy the laws of capitalism after all

#46

Post by bennysomething »

roystonvassey wrote: post #38

If there was any time to be skeptical of Uber's longevity, it is now (at least for me). My experience is anecdotal but I visit my home country every year for a few months and I can clearly notice the declining quality of Uber's services: 1. Vehicles, on average, take at least 10-15 mins longer to get 2. Even if you find a vehicle, 60% of these rides are canceled (either by the driver because they call me and find out…

There's a shortage of drivers (in the UK at least) https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59158230

It's actually getting really noticeable. It used to be easy for me to hail a taxi or get an Uber from a pub, it's next to impossible now

Re: Uber, DoorDash and similar firms can’t defy the laws of capitalism after all

#47

Post by ska »

bdcravens wrote: post #32
coldcode wrote: post #23

All of these companies may have a functional business and can stick around, but they are not worth the valuation present in their stock. Even Tesla is not worth anywhere near $1T. In the end you have to eventually earn enough to support the price (once all the Fed support goes away from the market) but none of these companies will ever make enough revenue or profit. For now unreality keeps the market high.

Tesla is profitable. The profit is propped up a bit by subsidies, but it seems strange to include the company in a discussion about service providers that are battling in a war of attrition.

> The profit is propped up a bit by subsidies, b

Does this mean that Tesla would have a smaller profit margin without subsidies, or that Tesla would not be profitable in real terms without the subsidies?

Re: Uber, DoorDash and similar firms can’t defy the laws of capitalism after all

#48

Post by jjulius »

moolcool wrote: post #22
alphabettsy wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The companies exist because there’s a value in a middle-man handling things like vetting drivers, tax and regulatory compliance, and handling disputes like “my food is partially eaten”. You could use the blockchain in some ways, but I don’t see how the companies themselves could be easily replaced.

It would serve as a neutral platform on which clients could be built though. Like instead of a restaurant listing on the existing apps, they'd list their menus on the blockchain and third party clients could exist and race-for-the-bottom in terms of fees. It's like the difference between Twitter and Email

> Like instead of a restaurant listing on the existing apps, they'd list their menus on the blockchain...

... or just a database?

Re: Uber, DoorDash and similar firms can’t defy the laws of capitalism after all

#49

Post by bostonsre »

roystonvassey wrote: post #38

If there was any time to be skeptical of Uber's longevity, it is now (at least for me). My experience is anecdotal but I visit my home country every year for a few months and I can clearly notice the declining quality of Uber's services: 1. Vehicles, on average, take at least 10-15 mins longer to get 2. Even if you find a vehicle, 60% of these rides are canceled (either by the driver because they call me and find out…

Do they still lose money on every ride they give? I've been skeptical for a while now, it's a ponzi scheme.

Re: Uber, DoorDash and similar firms can’t defy the laws of capitalism after all

#50

Post by goodpoint »

WitCanStain wrote: post #20
goodpoint wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Capitalism should be defined by free markets, among other things. What we are seeing is an unprecedented combination of quasi-monopolies, rent-seeking, and an economy disconnected from real production of goods and services. It has been called neofeudalism.

But all that is the natural and inevitable consequence of capitalism. It's baked into the structure of the system.

Indeed.
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