<< Look at their quick buys, with shipping and taxes, you are not getting a lower price. >>
Not necessarily true. I bought a modem using quick buy the other day. Final cost was still 30% lower than the exact same item at the local CompUSA.
However, my point was that shipping is only part of the price for the customer. Too many people look at just the price or just the shipping and then complain (or boast). The final cost to the consumer is what they should be looking at.
However, from ONSL's point of view, all they should care about (long-term) is maximizing the profit for their total sales. Sometimes that means losing money on some items in order to attract new business, sometimes it means jacking up prices on supplies (or shipping). A good company charges what it can get away with, while still meeting its goals for customer retention and growth.
<<ONSL does not have the resources of Costco or Walmart to buy in large quantity for new items.>>
True, but irrelevant. ONSL is not competing with either Costco or WalMart. ONSL is primarily an auction house, not a mass-market retailer. People use the quick buy concept because they are already at ONSL - they don't go to ONSL hoping to find a quick buy bargain. Therefore, ONSL can charge more than WalMart or Costco, since they are selling the quick buy items more on the basis of the convenience than the price. |
