Comments on: Who Goes to the Store Anymore?…. Confessions of an Online Shopaholic

By: Syl

Syl — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 01:23:42 +0000

There are specialty shops too and online communities that frequent them. Not all internet commerce is general merchandise.

Online commerce did not meet expectations in the ’90’s and that was a big factor in the dotcom crash. It took two things before commerce reached a tipping point: easy and secure methods of payment became more centralized and the quantity of people already participating in online commerce branched out to more generalized merchandise. The people already enthusiastically buying stuff gave newbies to the ‘net and commerce a boost.

BTW, Roger, you spent way too much for that rug. I got a rug for 1.99 and the package included a table, chairs, corner stove, bed, pillows, four walls, a ceiling, and a floor.

But it was for Poser and is only virtual. My shabby apartment is real, but I spend more time in Poser than in my own living room so it’s okay.

By: lindenen

lindenen — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 00:02:10 +0000

I’ve read that a large chunk of Ebay’s revenues comes from selling used cars over its website. Also, Amazon.com does rock.

By: Dean Douthat

Dean Douthat — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 23:52:09 +0000

Roger, is there a 12 step progam available yet?

By: Terrye

Terrye — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 23:35:43 +0000

I do still go to stores. In fact I just bought a book on Amazon and it has never gotten here. Now I have to try and get my money back. I should have bought it in Walmart when I went in for kitty litter.

By: Katherine

Katherine — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 22:23:18 +0000

Amazing, how things changed.

If I am in a need of an item ñ a book, a light fixture for the house, a digital camera, window drapes, wine carafe, special single malt, even a new car, the first stop for me is always the Internet. If Amazon does not have it, then somebody else will (I have not gotten to buying cars online yet, but the information available on the Internet makes things so much easier!). I personally hate non-online shopping. Itís a waste of time.

By: JeremyR

JeremyR — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 22:12:27 +0000

On the downside, though, it’s something of a case of the rich get richer. Many internet sellers only accept credit cards. If you don’t have one, or have bad credit, well, you’re out of luck. (Amazon.com does take money orders, but then you have to spend a decent amount of effort to get one).

And some websites are just impossibly slow if you don’t have broadband. Not amazon.com, but ebay is getting to be so slow these days, I can’t really use it. It takes 3-4 minutes to load the main page.

By: Knucklehead

Knucklehead — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 20:16:38 +0000

Dale Gribble,

The internet was invented so that men can shop too.

You had to say it, dincha! You couldn’t just let us go on pretending that we were driving something, couldja! Shopping – patoouey! You just set the whole process back a decade.

By: Doug S.

Doug S. — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 20:07:11 +0000

Jeez, has it been 10 years already? Hard to believe.

I bought a little bit of stock in Amazon back when it was selling for about 1/5 of its current price. Through all the ups and downs, the wild-eyed hyper-optimism and the equally unrealistic chants of doom, I’ve always felt that the company was based on a pretty good idea, and my experience as a customer said that they were executing it pretty well. So far, so good, and I feel like my quiet confidence has been validated.

So I guess at the end of the day, I’ll leaf through a book or pop in a DVD that I bought on their site and drink a toast to Jeff B. and company. May they continue to prosper and fund my retirement!

By: Silicon valley Jim

Silicon valley Jim — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 19:11:35 +0000

E-commerce has the effect of making the whole country (whole world?) into a competitive market. The effect is, I’m sure, much bigger for somebody who lives in, say, Elko, Nevada, than for somebody who lives in a major metropolitan area. Somebody in Elko probably has only one place to buy hardware, one place to buy clothes, etc. He’s buying in a monopoly market, and, therefore, probably paying a high price, whereas I, in Silicon Valley, experience competition for my money. E-commerce provides even more competition for me, with the attendant advantages of lower prices, better selection, etc.; I can only imagine what it’s like for somebody who’s nowhere near a major metropolitan area – not that there aren’t some other advantages from that.

As for Miller Hats, Roger, I’m awaiting delivery of my “Virginia” hat (style 433B) from them. It should arrive tomorrow. Check it out in the cowboy hats section (telescope hats). I’m getting it in gunmetal grey.

By: ahem

ahem — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 16:42:46 +0000

I’ve been shopping at Amazon–and other wonderful places–since day two and I’m still relatively unenlightened about the possibilities of e-commerce: I was shocked to learn a friend bought his car on line. And I was even more flabbergasted when a busy attorney told me he bought his house online based only on the realtor’s photos! What a world, what a world….