I have always wanted Amazon to have a store so I can play with their kindle products before pulling the trigger. Hopefully this deal can make that happen.
Amazon Is in Talks to Buy RadioShack Stores, Report Says
131–140 of 142 posts
Re: Amazon Is in Talks to Buy RadioShack Stores, Report Says
#132Earlier quoted context omitted.
On the other hand, consider the chain store "Tacoma Screw" around here. They sell what you would expect - screws, nuts and bolts, of every description, type, grade, hardness, length, head, etc. It's a marvelous place for an engineer like me. The prices are, of course, high, but when I break a bolt or lose one for my car or other project, Tacoma Screw has an exact (or better) replacement. The hardware store sells bolt…
Or, for the online, next-day delivery version of this, McMaster-Carr. For example, here's their catalog for one type of (rather expensive) screw: http://www.mcmaster.com/#socket-head-cap-screws/=vrc2nx
McMaster-Carr's fulfillment services are truly top-notch. There have been times that I've specifically ordered from them because I knew that I'd have it the next day. They've never failed to impress me with their service.
Their physical catalog is one hard catalog that I really miss! Despite the fact that the website undoubtedly offers more product than the multi-thousand paged hard edition, I remember many projects in my college days inspired by simply flipping through it's pages.
Re: Amazon Is in Talks to Buy RadioShack Stores, Report Says
#133I have always wanted Amazon to have a store so I can play with their kindle products before pulling the trigger. Hopefully this deal can make that happen.
Are you aware you can do exactly that at Best Buy?
Re: Amazon Is in Talks to Buy RadioShack Stores, Report Says
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
Radio Shack isn't 1) too big to fail and 2) doesn't have an entire ecosystem dependent on it (hobbyists included).
"Too big to fail" is a term with only political meanings. Best not to let it cloud one's thinking.
No, systemic risk and global financial collapse are not "only political".
But that said, your assertion, your burden of proof. Convince me.
Re: Amazon Is in Talks to Buy RadioShack Stores, Report Says
#135Oh no I sure hope not, the tax will be back and that is enough to move me to other sites in several cases. Edit: To clarify, no sales tax was one of the first things Amazon and other online retailers had on their side. They could sell things cheaper, even by a little, and the rest would be made up by not having to pay sales tax. If they have a presence in a state though they have to collect sales tax. If you buy a lo…
IIRC, aren't you supposed to calculate your owed taxes for your state and then pay when you filed? Of course not many people do this, and the IRS (or state equivalent) has no hope of enforcing this.
In Louisiana, they don't let you register your out of state car unless you pay use tax on it.
Re: Amazon Is in Talks to Buy RadioShack Stores, Report Says
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Too big to fail" is a term with only political meanings. Best not to let it cloud one's thinking.
No, systemic risk and global financial collapse are not "only political". But that said, your assertion, your burden of proof. Convince me.
Well of course one cannot prove that global financial collapse would not have followed from a decision not to "make whole" some of the various counterparties of AIG and some other failing institutions. (Perhaps some would say that we got something of a GFC even with those heroic efforts?) Neither can one prove that pension and other benefits defaults on the part of two of the fourteen automakers with factories based in USA would not have had some knock-on effects beyond the retirees of those two companies. We don't get to react to the same economic situation twice. Those who staked their reputations on the interventions aren't going to publicly regret them. Likewise, those who at the time worried more about the long term have seen nothing to change their minds.
But that is just my point. There is no empirical reason to believe or disbelieve in 2B2F. There are myriad political reasons to do both. Not all questions must be answered, and if this is the only sort of answer available, I'll pass.
Re: Amazon Is in Talks to Buy RadioShack Stores, Report Says
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, systemic risk and global financial collapse are not "only political". But that said, your assertion, your burden of proof. Convince me.
Well of course one cannot prove that global financial collapse would not have followed from a decision not to "make whole" some of the various counterparties of AIG and some other failing institutions. (Perhaps some would say that we got something of a GFC even with those heroic efforts?) Neither can one prove that pension and other benefits defaults on the part of two of the fourteen automakers with factories based…
Proving a counterfactual is of course difficult, but there's no need to. There are numerous financial panics which have been precipitated by the failure of a single firm, or an interconnected set of firms.
The loss of Lehmann in 2008 very nearly precipitated this, and in multiple histories of the 2007-2008 crisis, it's cited as the reason that a bailout was created.
The most notable instance in the past century was of course the Great Depression precipitated by the Great Crash of 1929. If you've not read John Kenneth Galbraith's book on the topic (short, comprehensive, and highly readable), I very strongly recommend it. It was precisely a case of general financial contagion brought about by grossly excessive moral hazard, and spread throughout the world.
There's a long list of financial panics caused by the failures of single firms, generally financial or with a significant financial impact:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stock_market_crashes_a...
In the sense of creating regional depressions or declines in economic vitality, there's a long history of manufacturing first entering, then departing, various locales. This happened in many of the former factory towns of England, then New England, the Steel Belt extending from Pennsylvania through Ohio and Michigan in the U.S., the garment and furniture industries in the southeastern U.S., and the aerospace and defence industries in Southern California following the 1990s defence budget cuts. Or pretty much any extractive industry boomtown anywhere.
Some of those have left lingering poverty, others simply resulted in a former golden age which has never fully recovered.
Re: Amazon Is in Talks to Buy RadioShack Stores, Report Says
#138Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well of course one cannot prove that global financial collapse would not have followed from a decision not to "make whole" some of the various counterparties of AIG and some other failing institutions. (Perhaps some would say that we got something of a GFC even with those heroic efforts?) Neither can one prove that pension and other benefits defaults on the part of two of the fourteen automakers with factories based…
Proving a counterfactual is of course difficult, but there's no need to. There are numerous financial panics which have been precipitated by the failure of a single firm, or an interconnected set of firms. The loss of Lehmann in 2008 very nearly precipitated this, and in multiple histories of the 2007-2008 crisis, it's cited as the reason that a bailout was created. The most notable instance in the past century was o…
As the example of manufacturing shows, nothing can last forever. There is no principle of morality that says all steel must be forged in Bethlehem PA forever. Self-described "capitalists" (not a shot at you, but I'm sure you know the type) wax poetic about competition and creative destruction, right up until the moment when their complicated financial instruments are rendered worthless by bankrupt counterparties. But this discussion is still a political one. If the government hadn't had the money to spare for these purposes, we would never have heard of 2B2F.
Re: Amazon Is in Talks to Buy RadioShack Stores, Report Says
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
Eh I doubt that the issue is brick and mortar representation. The worlds best selling smartphone family, Android, has next to no dedicated stores outside of a handful of Samsung and Sony experiences. It seems to me that the trick to getting more sales at network stores like AT&T is simply paying off AT&T to get it's representatives to push your product. Many buyers go in and ask for recommendations or allow network s…
> The worlds best selling smartphone family, Android, has next to no dedicated stores outside of a handful of Samsung and Sony experiences. Every wireless store is a 90% dedicated Android store.
More like 80% Samsung 10% everything else.
Because Samsung pays for it.
Re: Amazon Is in Talks to Buy RadioShack Stores, Report Says
#140Earlier quoted context omitted.
Eh I doubt that the issue is brick and mortar representation. The worlds best selling smartphone family, Android, has next to no dedicated stores outside of a handful of Samsung and Sony experiences. It seems to me that the trick to getting more sales at network stores like AT&T is simply paying off AT&T to get it's representatives to push your product. Many buyers go in and ask for recommendations or allow network s…
you really need to acknowledge that B&m stores have been critical to apple becoming the worlds most profitable company.
Why do I need to acknowledge that? That's not a knowable thing.
In fact, I'd argue that they're the most profitable company IN SPITE of B&M stores.
My evidence is clear: ALL OTHER BUSINESSES on the "most profitable list" do not have B&M stores. Proof is in the pudding, the list of most profitable companies is a list of no store companies, and Apple is an outlier not a rule.