i guess my point is that 70-80% of net shopping now is value based. that will shrink as folks that will risk buying something without seeing it when they save $200 will not take that risk if they save $10.
You are 100% correct. There are a few exceptions which are those people that live in low density populated areas and do not have a lot of stores with selection. This is a factor in my case. There are many items that I buy on-line due to it not being available here off line. That has to be a really small group of people by defintion of the cause to buy on-line.
so, i see the net market actually shrinking. amzn proves this point to me daily. more naive types say, "just raise prices 10%, no big deal." goodness, amzn can't even get rid of shipping w/o losing GONZO business
This is a fact. Amazon trained their customers to expect free shipping and there is no way out now.
i think your business will do much better than books or cds or dvds. diamonds are unique. customers need an education and they are spending enough that they will value trust and a relationship. dvds? who gives a rats but where you buy a new dvd as long as the retailer doesn't rip you off (and that info is available).
The margins in my business will fall some too. Margins in jewelry have always been higher than margins in commodity items such as DVDs, books, etc. It is the value of the service provided by the retailer. Soe proucts need no service beyond being inventoried and having the ability for the consumer to obtain it. Does one really care as tho where they buy a DVD, a book or almost anything that has a certain model number which makes it identical in all respects. How much help do you really need buying something from a a Wal-Mart?
btw, just bought an olympus c-3000 for over 50% off retail + tax. in this case, it was refurbished, but quite nice savings since it has a warranty and will work just fine. in this case, the net worked to both company and consumer advantage. however, i WILL NOT pay retail now and that hurts somebody's margins. thank you internet. :-)
Very good:-) I just payed $70 too much buying a digital camera the Cannon Sure Shot 100 from officemax. Not only was Officemax $70 higher than Outpost.com but I had to pay the PA sales tax too. I admit to not having researched the net for the best price on this product but this brings up another issue the states are starting. I was recently audited by the PA Department of Revenue at one of my stores. They were really looking for no taxable sales we made that should have been taxed. There were none of those. They did find some products bought for the store that were not for resale that the vendors did not chage me sales tax. For example, Dell did not charge me tax on two computers and it is my responsibility to voluntarily request a sales and use tax form and send the 6% into the state. Outpost.com does not charge sales tax so I would have had to pay the tax in the event of another regardless. These audits will never be done for every individual but for a businesses the state has something to gain. It is not a big deal but would be if I was caught again and the paper work is a nuisance for a sales and use tax filing. PA is auditing all businesses that sell on-line. Their assumption is if you sell on-line you likely buy on-line. Good assumption. Let's look for sales tax changes soon too for on-line sales. It will happen soon. |
