[LINK] Kogan on Online Retail....

[Kim Holburn]

On 2011/Jan/08, at 3:53 PM, David Boxall wrote:

> On 7/01/2011 3:54 PM, Tim O'Leary wrote:
>> ...
>> Harvey predicted online retailing will not make any money for
>> entrepreneurs ...
> The profit from each online transaction is far less than that from an 
> otherwise identical bricks-&-mortar transaction. That's why Harvey wants 
> nothing to do with it. It's also why purchasers are abandoning 
> bricks-&-mortar.

How can you say that?  Having to buy or rent a property, do it up, employ lots of staff in business hours with public faces.  Apply the local taxes and VATs and GSTs.  Apply local Australian consumer laws - maintenance and warrantees.  Compared with a website, warehouse and a shipping operation, local warrantees - ha, ha!  How can it possibly be that an online operation is less profitable?

It is true though that Americans have always bought clothes by mail using catalogues and buying clothes online is one step better.  Australians, not so much.  Personally I can't really imagine buying clothes online or through the mail.



> It seems to me that Gerry Harvey is, like many (perhaps all) free 
> marketeers, in favour of free markets until they find that they can't 
> compete.

-- 
Kim Holburn
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