The general (oversimplified) gist tho, is this:
In the 1950s you could invest your family’s fortune and open an ice cream shop. You’re selling someone else’s ice cream.
Today smart money say to brand your own ice cream and have Walmart or Amazon sell it for you.
Same deal with tech. You are more likely to make $ if you develop an app and distribute it via the app store.
Opening your own app store, competing with the existing ones (Google and Apple) and selling someone else’s apps is probably going to fail.
I am not trying to pull on heartstrings. Hopefully, I was able to convey that mom and pop stores are not necessarily trying to price gouge as is so commonly thought.
People have a tendency to think if I can buy it “here” for this price, then that should be the price everywhere.
Which goes to your point about negotiating prices: You have different price points based upon how many widgets you buy. Price points are absolutely not negotiable for small businesses.
Actual boutiques are doing just fine, maybe even thriving.
There are still advantages in a brick and mortar store over big box or online. One is product discovery. If your store sells something unusual or difficult to find online, especially if your staff is skilled and knowledgeable. The second is that some people, myself included, want to see and touch an item before using it. Big box stores will stock fewer luxury products because they won’t move many units as compared to some smaller boutiques. Last is customer service. I’ve paid substantially more for better customer service, especially when it comes to furniture.
I don’t buy exclusively from local businesses though. If it’s commodity items, something that is basic, always the same, doesn’t make a big difference where you get it, I’ll go to the lowest price. I think the economy doesn’t do as well unless we try to make the most rational financial decisions.
it is true that price of the widget is a big factor. But the mom and pop and adapt some other way than lowering price. Lowest price is not the only reason people choose one store or another.
It’s not that they’re gouging-I haven’t read anyone making that argument. What we’re arguing is that their inability to compete with prices and variety of products/services is often why they go out of business.
I think the more common line of thinking is "if I can buy it here for this price, why pay more elsewhere?
Then they’re going to have to try to get a better deal with a different widget manufacturer, or stop providing widgets and try to compete on other products.
I’ll never buy some products online due to the necessity of ease of local customer service. Some products I want to be able see/feel/try before buying. Some products just aren’t feasible to order online.
You would be surprised at the number of people who think locally owned businesses are more expensive because they are price gouging. No, that wasn’t mentioned in this thread, but as I said, is commonly thought.
You would also be surprised at the number of people who think prices are universal or that everyone can price match. There are factors that preclude the ability to do that. If a product is manufactured in California and weighs a ton, freight alone precludes price matching (as an example).
The “why” is largely irrelevant, though. Most people aren’t going to think “hey, they’re only charging more because they have to in order to stay in business.” Most people are going to think “I can get this cheaper somewhere else, so I will.”
Again, not relevant to the point that if mom and pop can’t compete, then it doesn’t matter what people think about price matching or that prices are universal. All that matters is whether mom and pop can compete.
That’s business. Like I said, if mom and pop can’t compete on the price of widgets, or other products and services, then they’re going to go out of business eventually. And that’s economics 101.
Small business is doing very well but that does not mean small stores are. Perhaps true boutiques with low rent in fashionable shopping districts are doing well.
But right now, the small businesses that are making money are construction, plumbing etc. small tech companies, mechanics etc…
As brick and mortar goes different story.
Restaurants maybe, esp. a ma and pa owned McFranchise. A skillfully sited liquor store, in the areas only shopping plaza without one can work too.
In general tho you are better off branding your own ham and having the local SUPER DUPER Mart. The old model, spending the family fortune so you may have the privilege of selling someone else’s product is not doing well right now.
So now you realize that those free loaders working at Amazon not only don’t pay any taxes or contribute to the country, but that they also are even worse scumbags that suck at the government teat!!
So naturally, the guy to fix this type of thing is one who became obscenely rich while not paying contractors who did work for him causing them to go nearly bankrupt and also abused financial laws to avoid paying his debts to the point that U.S. banks refused to do business with him.
Yeah, that makes sense.
Or maybe you just don’t fully understand the problem with that yet?
The boutiques were I do most of my shopping (in our high priced outdoor mall) are doing incredibly well and rents are very high. High rent is the norm in fashionable shopping districts. Where rents are lower for boutiques etc are in neighborhood where gentrification is just beginning.
The locally owned stops in my town’s center are also doing very well. We have a lovely bookstore, coffee shop (not a franchise,) gourmet market, independent pharmacy, several restaurants (expensive and inexpensive) two spas, gift stores, jewelry store, etc. There isn’t a chain to be found.
It’s also true where I am that the small businesses are doing very well. I had to wait 6 months last year for my contractor to start remodeling work on my bathrooms.
It also appears that the tax bill which took away our deductions for state and local taxes is not having any effect on the real estate market. Homes in my town are selling mere days after going on the market and there are bidding wars. I’ve lived here 28 years and that has never been the case before. It’s always been a steady market due to being in the best school district in the area, plus an inner most suburb, but it’s gone crazy.
