lordargent: groppet: Im the same way. The only problem I had was the big difference in price on amazon. I paid 30 something for a box set for my dad I got next day shipping for 11 bucks and it was still $20 cheaper than at the stores.

So, one of the reasons Amazon has low overhead costs is that they can keep products in giant warehouses.

So, why doesn't somebody just open a store that's just a giant warehouse? I mean even more than frys (IE, don't put shiat on display, it should just be rows and rows of shelves lined with nothing but boxes, throw in a kiosk where you can search for products and find where it's shelved).

That is word for word exactly how IKEA stores operate their retail locations.

TyrantII: Walmarts probably spent more on inventory tracking and logistics then on employees over the years.

Hmm, did Kohl's (I think) ever finish their plan to tag everything with RFID chips? I remember hearing about this back when Mervyn's was still around ... when people were still trying to figure out what the hell to do with RFID chips.

I know that they already have the automatically updating LCD price tags (so they don't have to retag for sales and the like), but RFID would allow them to do inventory via scanning.

// or do the tags just fall off and result in missed counts :D

Weenie_Boy: she does a LOT of business through Amazon.

Out of print books will go for a pretty penny.

EX: I was trying to get a friends son a copy of Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were ... hardcover ... new. Somehow, I don't remember paying $176 for my copy (Ended up finding some other gift, $176 is a bit much for a present for a subteen.).

// And I can't figure out what the hell is up with the pricing for Malefic, why are people selling it for $75+ when amazon has it new for $30? And that's for the 2010 version (Meanwhile my 1997 version is also $30 new? Makes no damn sense.

Axel_Gear: That is word for word exactly how IKEA stores operate their retail locations.

Yep, that's where I bought my computer desk.

But they still have a lot of floor space dedicated to displays (the whole 2nd floor in my local ikea).

I think for electronic stuff, you could whack even more of the display part as well and rely more on kiosks/phone apps/web apps.

Do people really look at video cards in the store? Do they need one out on display? Or am I just too analytical of a shopper (I go into the store with the model number of the card I want, and I don't have to think about alternates because this store has an inventory system that works).

// speaking of which, is the fry's electronics store still an unforgiving mess, do they even know what the hell they have in inventory?

Enormous-Schwanstucker: I recall someone else at BB mentioning their inventory system is atrocious but they won't spend the absurd amounts of $$ to fix it, i.e. it was designed/built before web based inventory systems became prevalent. Either way it's a crap excuse for a company of that size.

BB is a body shop, they very few IT people on staff and rely on contractors for everything.

Outsourcing solves everything.

wildcardjack: Oh, and selling a product you bought wholesale THAT AMAZON CAN GO BUY WHOLE SALE isn't a great move. Even if Amazon doesn't go out and buy a load some other jerkoff can say "Hey, I can buy that product wholesale too!" and that dick undercuts you. And then some dick undercuts him.

Concentrating on difficult or expensive to ship items is one way to compete with Amazon.

SpikesCafe: I know nothing about how Amazon treats sellers, but they are wonderful to their customers. I had a package stolen off my doorstep. Called Amazon, and they over-nighted a replacement that arrived the next day, free of charge. I appreciate a seller who does not assume I am a thief.

/May I see your receipt?

I am in the US, but amazon.co.uk had a really good deal on a blu-ray a year ago or so and I ordered it. About a month or so later I hadn't gotten it and asked them if they knew where it was (no tracking number). They said they weren't sure where it was, sent me a new one, and told me not to send the first one back if it did show up. It did show up- a couple of weeks after the replacement. I have amazon prime, my mom does too, and I pre-ordered a Kindle Fire the first day they were offered (my cousin is on the dev team). If it's eligible for Prime, I'm willing to pay a couple percentage points more to get it from there.

My last 3 purchases from Amazon- my kid's multivitamin (on subscribe & save), sanyo eneloops for my 360 controllers, and a used copy of Harvey Birdman for the Wii.

HempHead: wildcardjack: Oh, and selling a product you bought wholesale THAT AMAZON CAN GO BUY WHOLE SALE isn't a great move. Even if Amazon doesn't go out and buy a load some other jerkoff can say "Hey, I can buy that product wholesale too!" and that dick undercuts you. And then some dick undercuts him.

Concentrating on difficult or expensive to ship items is one way to compete with Amazon.

Amazon has mastered shipping. They get a rate from UPS down around 35 cents a pound. I know that because I buy UPS shipping from Amazon at that rate.

Nah, I figure the real way to compete would be to actually own the product outright, so if Amazon goes to buy wholesale they're buying from you. Marketing on the internet is cheap enough to pull this off today, and using Amazon as your fulfillment agent might cost a little more than some fly by night fulfillment house but you get Amazon's full reputation for delivery and customer service.

And yes, I'm working on coming up with such a product.

cheetahsaresexy: I wonder how many things you could buy from Sears or Montgomery Ward. Let's see. You said "general store." Sears and Montgomery Ward didn't sell the things that "general stores" sold. General line of merchandise. Yeah. You're completely right. Why were my grandparents going to the grocery when they could have just ordered food from Sears!? A General Store is a store for general things.

General stores sold nails, tools, knives, all kinds of durable non-food items. Sears CERTAINLY put a deep hurt on them.

JonZoidberg:
My last 3 purchases from Amazon- my kid's multivitamin (on subscribe & save), sanyo eneloops for my 360 controllers, and a used copy of Harvey Birdman for the Wii.

Oh - so you're the farker who took the last used copy of Harvey Birdman for the Wii! Damn you! :P