Online Shopping Raises Ethical Dilemma

Free Market System

The definition of the Free Market System is defined as giving the consumer "the best possible quality product for the lowest possible price through competition". If viewing as a competition then Nader Iskandar is a sore loser (sorry if that seems mean). But Nader Iskandar has every right to go online and find out the prices that he is losing to and try and match or beat those prices. Because of double shipping (once to the retail and again to the consumer), he should be able to compete. Even items that qualify for "free shipping" still have shipping cost calculated into them otherwise the online retailer would not be making money. ("Free Shipping" is usually used to motivate buyers to buy more stuff.) In fact, Nader Iskandar probably doesn't even have to beat the online price but just get close enough to make consumers realize they are wasting time doing both in store and online shopping. If Nader Iskandar's business is still unable to match the price of the online sites even with shipping and this is because he has to go through some middle supplier, which the online sellers don’t go through, then the middle supplier is the problem. If Nader Iskandar cannot go around the middle supplier and therefore cannot offer a competitive price then he needs to sell something he can compete on such as used books or rare books.

The two basic keys successful business are finding the competitive and profitable balance in pricing and identifying when this is not possible (preferably before you go into business in the first place).

This is how business has been done since the dawn of time it is not magic or theory it is simply human nature.

Linds of FL @ Jan 01, 2009 01:20:55 AM

I agree with Erik Sandall. Like it or not, the internet is changing the way we do business, and people are going to need to modify their business models in response to it. Bricks-and-mortar bookstores do provide services that internet booksellers just can't: the browsing experience, maybe an interesting and funky environment, and a warm and comfortable place to sit down. Plenty of people are probably willing to pay for those services, but maybe they're not willing to pay the full cost of a book. So how about this: Have a tip jar near the cash register, and have signs throughout the store saying "Feel free to browse our collection for as long as you like. But if you decide not to buy anything today, please consider donating a dollar or two to help us pay the rent and keep the lights on."

It's like how many people look at coffee shops: When they pay for their coffee, they're buying not only the caffeine fix, but also the experience of sitting in the coffee shop for an hour or so. Coffee shop proprietors don't generally stop people from getting a free cup of tap water and sitting around anyway, but most people are decent enough not to do that. They know they're receiving a service, and they're willing to pay for what they receive.

Johanna of MD @ May 04, 2008 20:46:05 PM

I often browse bookstores, write down interesting titles, then put them on hold at my library. I'm guessing others do this, too, and don't just buy them online.

Beth of CO @ Jan 10, 2008 13:06:50 PM

Local independent bookstores

Another librarian here. I usually borrow from the library first and often purchase books after test-driving a library copy. I happen to live on a ferry-only island with a public library branch and two great independent bookstores, so I rotate my book purchases among the two shops and online vendors (generally avoiding the powerhouses).

Andrea of WA @ Jan 02, 2008 15:04:41 PM

As the daughter of a small business owner (a camera shop), I can tell you this behavior didn't start with the internet. My dad OFTEN had people come to his store to learn how to use the new camera they had just bought at Walmart or K-Mart!! People's expecations of service are high, but they don't want to pay for it. As a small business, he had to deal with Walmart selling film for less than he paid WHOLESALE to buy it for his store. The only way he had to compete was through service and personal relationships with his customers. His visibility in local service organizations like Rotary helped establish and maintain relationships that brought him business. It's never easy to run a small business.

Diane B. of GA @ Jan 02, 2008 11:24:41 AM

I go to bookstores and either write stuff down, or lately just take pics of interesting books I might want to read. I'll then go see if my library has it. If it proves to be good, then I'll buy future books at the bookstore.

Jae of TX @ Dec 31, 2007 16:10:38 PM

As someone who no longer lives in a city that has an independent bookstore, I can tell you that it is something I greatly miss. I am a librarian who goes to the pretty teen book display at Barnes & Noble to write down titles that I want to order for the library's collection, but I'm also someone who will gladly pay full price to get interesting titles at an independent bookstore (when I find myself in one of those rich cities that has one - Skylight Books in L.A., Powell's in Portland, and Third Place Books in Seattle, to plug a few).

Dee of CA @ Dec 31, 2007 12:08:46 PM

I'm a bookaholic and a librarian, and I grew up with a great indie bookstore near me-- then moved to a place where the big-box bookstores were an improvement on the small-box and Christian-only bookstores that preceded them.

If I like the bookstore, I try to pick out one or more things to buy. But I'm not always flush with cash, so sometimes I write things down for my wishlist or to Interlibrary loan, or even to buy used. I feel guilty if I don't buy books in an independent bookstore, and also guilty if I don't buy them from the big box store where I have a 10% off membership, but only if I'm buying enough to get free shipping. *Shakes head * It's a no-win situation.

Unfortunately, most independent bookstores don't have a lot of things that I look at and *have to have*, because my tastes are esoteric and not in a mainstream way (I went to City Lights bookstore in SF and didn't find a single thing I wanted to own permanently). Unfortunately, I can't justify buying something I don't really want to own just to keep a place in business if they don't stock the sort of things I like!

But I really don't know what other people do. It's also possible that people who don't speed-read go into bookstores and write down titles for their reading list, ones that they hope they will get to later when they finish the books they are reading.

Jenne H. of PA @ Dec 30, 2007 13:08:56 PM