@drewrico wrote:
@thom02099 wrote:
@js0319 wrote:
If you want to get a store card - Amazon is the way to go. All of these businesses that are failing are doing so because they cannot react fast enough and create a strategy against Amazon. All of the stores mentioned are "showrooms" for Amazon.
+1 Amen to that !
What WalMart did to Mom-and-Pop shops all over the country, Amazon is doing to the "big box" retailers that don't have a strong on-line presense...which is most of them. Best Buy? Fugitaboutit! They are toast, it's just a matter of time. Like you said, they are the showroom for Amazon.
Its sort of shocking and sad to see how some american citizens can sit there and watch companies that have been around for years (sears- over a hundred years).
Lets look into the future. Amazon puts best buy, sears, radioshack, etc out of business. everyone buys their electronics online. walmart; who is still carrying tvs, computers, phones, shows no profitability in the electronics departments so as a company stops carrying electronics. at this point, no one has a choice but to buy electronics on amazon/other online retailers. now amazon, as a company, sees that everyone is buying from their website and as a smart company raises all the prices of the electronics. no more savings on electronics. a couple years go by now amazon is carrying groceries, they mark groceries down to dirt cheap prices. now grocery stores who have more overhead than amazon cant compete with amazons grocery prices. kroger, piggly wiggly, others go out of business. now american citizens have no need to leave their house so everyone starts gaining weight and becomes obese. now that amazon owns the electronics and grocery markets they can jack the prices up on the groceries now. at this point, america is just a sad sad country and with everyone obese, no one can leave their house. this is where the movie wall-e starts.
either way, american citizens need to get their heads out of their asses. its severely annoying. i dont know if everyone knows this but when amazon annoucned their q4 financials, they showed a 22% gain in sales, but yet a 45% drop in profits. they are not making money, they will not be able to do what they are doing anymore. either way best buy alone has 150,000 employees. if they go out of business, thats 150,000 people without jobs. is that good or not? i dont think it is but some of you may think its ok.
post.
Such a positive post! (Irony, just in case you didn't realize it!) Some of us don't want things online just so we can sit at home and become obese! Some of us want it because it saves us time we can then later use for better things. Some of these things could be; spending more time with our friends or families, going to sporting events, studying, and we can now insert any other reason which makes our quality of life better here as a reason!
150,000 people without jobs? This means that Amazon gets more business and doesn't have to hire new workers to take care of such a demand?
Mom and Pop stores are great! But what about costs? Can a Mom and Pop store buy in a larger quantity to offer us a good price? By paying more there it means we put less people to work through the savings we could get and simply buy more goods and put other people to work! Having more money to spend on things we also want to buy is an advantage! It means we spend more and our quality of life becomes better! Spending more means more people are put to work; means this is also better for the economy! Not all Mom and Pop stores are entrepreneurial and only exist as a matter of themselves making money. They will always exist where there is a market for them and in that spirit they will find a place to be! But many of them simply were the forerunners of big stores, it is just a natural progression!
What happened to Wards, which many people liked? What was the beginning of Sears, which many people still like? Do we claim that Sears put Mom and Pop stores out of business or do we claim they provided a catalog which had lower prices and gave us more money to spend?
Besides the fact that now the online stores will have a lower price in most situations and as demand increases they will need add more employees, there are other effects. The delivery companies will need more employees to handle the increase in business, which means hiring. These people who get hired will have an opportunity to shop and spend and increase jobs again. You might state that they will be paid less, but in turn the products will be less, so they would be able to afford the same at a lower salary.
Does it help the planet? It means we have to drive less and can spend more time within our community doing things. Less driving means less pollution. Yeah the delivery vehicles will increase, but per capita the pollution will decrease, so don't even try and claim that as a pollution factor! Less cars on the road to go out and go shopping means less congestion and less accidents. (This will save injury or death costs.)
I see this as a win-win situation. Even if it means in many instances we still want to touch our products, that avenue will exist. It might mean we have to pay more for it and for those that want to pay more, sure go ahead and do so! I know in some situations I will want to still touch more and have the shopping experience, but I also won't force that personal opinion on others. If they are happy not touching thier product, fine by me, more power to them! If the product is crappy and they return it, it will mean that the company will respond or lose out. Returning becomes easier and easier. Now all we have to do is drop it off at a mail box, not go out to do so! We don't have to sacrifice as much time to do so! Ever make the excuse that you simply didn't want to have the hassle of going back to the store to do so because you didn't want to waste the time? Now that excuse does not exist as all you have to do is put it in the mail! Ever just simply go back to the store anyway taking time out of your day to do so? Been late to your sons game because of it?
I will take the approach that my time is valuable and if I can buy it online and save time which I can devote to other things more enjoyable I will. I will spend it in my community, doing things that means my community becomes better! Go ahead and be unhappy about Mom and Pop stores closing! As I spend more time in my local community I will let the other Mom and Pop stores come into existence to service my local needs better!
It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.....
Always follow these rules: Only take a HP for a new account. Always use the best rewards card for that reward category. Don't close a card unless you know you really should. Never use more than 35% of a credit limit. Recon as much and as best you can. Use the introductory period to the best advantage. Get the signup bonus. Whenever possible PIF or balance transfer so you pay less in interest. Never give an excellent rating when it is actually the norm. Always look for a discount as more is always better.
Always accept candy from strangers because they have the best candy or from people you know have good candy.
Start (Sept 2011): low-mid 600s. NOW: TU FICO: 801, EQ FICO 808, EX FICO 798 (PSECU). Goal: Achieved! Now Maintain!
Starting Score: TU: 566
Discover IT $2,600- First Premier MasterCard $1,000- Dillards Store Card $300- Fingerhut Advantage $200