Expensive Mom & Pop stores need to die

[tokie]

So, here in Southern Ontario it is currently 31 degrees with high humidity. As a result, my ass is sweating in my leather chair and I decided I needed to do something about it.

Since I live in a house with no A/C and I don't own a car, I walked to the local store to pickup a fan. A little 12" fan cost me $30. If I had a car and could get to the big box stores, it would have cost me $10. I had no other option since this was the only store downtown that would sell fans.

Now don't get me wrong, I like mom & pop stores. At least the ones that do what they do well, like organic food places etc where they try to rip you off as little as possible. But these other types that have such high cost structures need to die off ASAP.

tl;dr got ripped off by paying 3x as much for a fan

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Yet you purchased the fan.

 

[sdifox]

It is obviously the store's fault that you don't have a car.

 

[yh125d]

Buy a car

 

[Deeko]

Dude, 31 degrees? Get a space heater.


(wait for it......wait for it......)

 

[Brainonska511]

You shouldn't bother with those stupid little fans. Get a large box fan or two and stick them in the windows (to either exhaust air or pull air in).

 

[Firsttime]

The free market at work.

 

[mooncancook]

Actually a lot of them are already dead, or at least dying. I remember back in the 90s there were quite a few local computer and software/game shops, I kind of miss them, but agree their price is not competitive.

 

[AFurryReptile]

Mom and Pop stores have no choice but to charge you more. Walmarts get bulk discounts, they don't.

 

[MotF Bane]

31 is kinda cold.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

31 is kinda cold.

That's 88 degrees in dinosaur units.

 

[rivan]

I rather think the opposite needs to happen. The megacorporations who by sheer size first drive mom & pops out of business, then dictate working poor wages to the community they're in, while reaping obscene profits are the ones who need to die.

By driving their prices to such low levels, they either drive manufacturing out of the country or dictate terrible pricing schedules or sweetheart deals to suppliers who either acquiesce or are given no shelf space and are thus driven out of markets.

A close friend worked for a company who manufactured a regional fertilizer brand; Wal-Mart put forth terms where in exchange for shelf space for their product, the company had to manufacture the store brand product at a loss.

This business climate is terrible for entrepreneurs, bottom-rung workers, and the community at large.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Most of the time this happens because you're buying something they don't specialize in. Like buying perfume from a hardware store. They may have it, but the markup will be high to justify the counter space and they don't really give a shit if they don't sell a lot because they're making most of their money on something else anyway.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I rather think the opposite needs to happen. The megacorporations who by sheer size first drive mom & pops out of business, then dictate working poor wages to the community they're in, while reaping obscene profits are the ones who need to die.

By driving their prices to such low levels, they either drive manufacturing out of the country or dictate terrible pricing schedules or sweetheart deals to suppliers who either acquiesce or are given no shelf space and are thus driven out of markets.

A close friend worked for a company who manufactured a regional fertilizer brand; Wal-Mart put forth terms where in exchange for shelf space for their product, the company had to manufacture the store brand product at a loss.

This business climate is terrible for entrepreneurs, bottom-rung workers, and the community at large.

Summary: You hate big businesses.

Look, mom and pop stores are nice if they have specialized goods... however if you're selling the same toothpaste that Target carries for $3.29, but you're selling it for $6.99 you should go DIAF. You need to figure out a better distribution channel because honestly I'm not gonna pay up the ass for toothpaste just because I'm too lazy to drive.

Mom and pop food stores are nice too. They don't deliberately rip you off, but I've been to mom and pop pet shops where they have specialized goods, but the typical bedding can run you 25% more than Petsmart. Sorry. That's just too much.

If you want to keep the protectionist movement up, you'll only drive prices up and inefficiency up. What's the point? I'm not for poor working conditions, but this is a market based economy. Highly regulated communities where megacorporations aren't allowed in often suffer. I take Berkeley as a primary example. They always talk about reviving Telegraph Ave because a lot of shops lack business. The minute they finally let Walgreens open shop across campus, business went crazy. Always long lines there. Thank goodness there's a place to buy decent daily needs goods instead of the stupid mom and pop stores that used to rip you off.

 

[SandEagle]

doesn't the canadian government offer free air conditioning handouts?

 

[rivan]

Summary: You hate big businesses.

More specifically, I hate cutthroat business.

I don't dream for a utopia, but I think as a society we could do better than the vicious circle of self-serving greed that seems to drive everything today. Yes, I resent the idea that my job depends purely on this quarter's (and then, next quarter's, then next quarter's) stock price.

Noone gives a flying shit about "the other guy" any more, and that's really pathetic.

 

[rivan]

If you want to keep the protectionist movement up, you'll only drive prices up and inefficiency up. What's the point?

When did I advocate protectionism? I see this as a societal problem. They're rarely well-solved with government intervention.

Thank goodness there's a place to buy decent daily needs goods instead of the stupid mom and pop stores that used to rip you off.

Mom and pop stores might have slightly higher margins, but also have higher costs. Almost every cost per unit is higher on a smaller scale, and those costs have to be passed on to the consumer. But in paying more for their goods/services, more of those goods and services were procured locally or inside the US, keeping more money in the local economies.

Now, vast amounts of cash are siphoned from local economies and redirected to corporate headquarters and sometimes to stockholders. Good for the people at the top, terrible for entire community at the bottom.

I'm not a socialist. I'm not a fan of big government. I'm just also not a fan of greed run amok.

 

[ElFenix]

That's 88 degrees in dinosaur units.

better than frog units

 

[BoomerD]

If you want to see the mom & pop stores die...stop doing business with them

Drive, walk, hitchhike, take a bus to the nearest big-box store and buy your products there.

Otherwise, kwitcherbitchin.

 

[tk149]

doesn't the canadian government offer free air conditioning handouts?

At least one AT'er believes that the government should.
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=312128&highlight=air+conditioning

OP, maybe you'll plan ahead next time.

 

[shortylickens]

So, here in Southern Ontario it is currently 31 degrees with high humidity. As a result, my ass is sweating in my leather chair and I decided I needed to do something about it.

Since I live in a house with no A/C and I don't own a car, I walked to the local store to pickup a fan. A little 12" fan cost me $30. If I had a car and could get to the big box stores, it would have cost me $10. I had no other option since this was the only store downtown that would sell fans.

Now don't get me wrong, I like mom & pop stores. At least the ones that do what they do well, like organic food places etc where they try to rip you off as little as possible. But these other types that have such high cost structures need to die off ASAP.

tl;dr got ripped off by paying 3x as much for a fan

I will assume you've never taken accounting, business, or economics. Theres a whole supply/demand thing going on here that you clearly dont understand.

YOU BOUGHT THE FUCKING THING! Obviously it was not too expensive for you. And why do you think it hasnt died off?
I'll let you go to college and figure it out yourself.

 

[Iron Woode]

So, here in Southern Ontario it is currently 31 degrees with high humidity. As a result, my ass is sweating in my leather chair and I decided I needed to do something about it.

Since I live in a house with no A/C and I don't own a car, I walked to the local store to pickup a fan. A little 12" fan cost me $30. If I had a car and could get to the big box stores, it would have cost me $10. I had no other option since this was the only store downtown that would sell fans.

Now don't get me wrong, I like mom & pop stores. At least the ones that do what they do well, like organic food places etc where they try to rip you off as little as possible. But these other types that have such high cost structures need to die off ASAP.

tl;dr got ripped off by paying 3x as much for a fan

just for you

 

[Gibson486]

That's 88 degrees in dinosaur units.

what about sidewall units? PV=nRT?

 

[Mike Gayner]

How exactly would the OP be better off if the store had closed down?

 

[shortylickens]

How exactly would the OP be better off if the store had closed down?

He'd have cried about not having a convenient local place. Of course, even though thats also a good supply/demand lesson, he'd still not have learned anything.