Oppo, You Say? Okay. Opposite. As In Non-Car Related, But Interesting

"pauljones" (pauljones) 10/03/2013 at 12:57 • Filed to: FullOnOppo

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France has passed a measure intended to protect independent book retailers from the likes of Amazon. In essence, the reasoning behind the bill is that Amazon is capable of price dumps, combined with things like free shipping, that no other retailer is capable of matching. As such, the bill essentially prevents Amazon in France from offering combination deals like price reductions on combined orders and free shipping. From what I understand, they can still offer one or the other - but not both. Doing so, it is reasoned, will allow independent retailers to compete on a more even playing field.

Amazon, of course, is less than thrilled about this. They're biggest argument against this thus far is that the law reduces the spending power of French consumers by forcing them to pay artificially higher prices from Amazon.

There is a certain ring of truth to that, but that very much leads me to my zen koan of the day - what is ultimately more important: how much you can buy with your money, or whom the money that you are spending is ultimately going to?

In the case of your average French consumer, they may be able to buy the same book that is sold at a local, independent retailer from Amazon, and buy it for ten percent less. However, they know the owners of that local, independent retailer, and they like them. They know that the prices that they charge aren't out of a desire for more profit, but a need to pay the electrical bill.

If you were said French consumer, where would you choose to purchase the book?

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For Sweden > pauljones 10/03/2013 at 12:59

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The French don't like their local, independent retailer. The French don't like anyone.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > pauljones 10/03/2013 at 13:16

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The where the money goes argument is one I've had for a very, very long time and it correlates to cars very well (even if it's unexpected).

I've had countless arguments with people amount how Toyotas are built in America and employees Americans so they are supporting the American economy buy buying one and it's on the same playing field as a Ford or Chevy. Now I agree that it helps the workers at the Toyota plant (and it's surrounding community), but it's really short sighted. That profit margin above paying the workers and production costs goes straight across the Pacific to Japan. Sure it gets re-invested here sometimes but the profit is going straight over to Japan, no questions asked there.

Where as for example, the Ford Focus is built in Wayne, Michigan (my town actually) and supports the workers, the community (barely it has massive tax breaks....like $260 million in tax breaks and our city is broke, but that's another discussion) and re-invests in it. BUT this is where it changes. The profit from the Ford Focus rolls right down US-12 (Michigan Avenue) to Dearborn, Michigan employing 1000's upon 1000's of Ford employees and supporting that community as well.

That's always been my argument for buying American cars, because I want to support the country's economy.

Formula4speed > pauljones 10/03/2013 at 13:21

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I'm wondering if the main street revival and the slow death of big retail are signs that eventually social opinion will shift back to supporting local business enough to give the small businesses an effective competitive advantage regardless of the economies of scale the web brings.

I'm not saying we don't have a long, long, long way to go, and I'm aware that anecdotal evidence is worth its weight in air, but among people I interact with regularly there is a huge push for local food, and it's starting to bleed over to other markets as well (a local clothes store opened across the street from me) It'll be the dinosaur vs mammal effect—some market shift will come and the little guys will be able to adapt very quickly, while the big daddies will be wiped out.

Given that, will a local boost be "better"? Well, better is incredibly complicated in this case. I do know that I've worked for a multinational corporation and it was a nightmare because of it, and I've worked for a local, small business and it was a nightmare because of it. So I feel like we can leave the moral and ethical parts of the argument to their own devices and focus on the financial—in which case, I believe preserving purchasing power is probably wiser. In general, I find protectionism and other fear-based legislation to be generally short-sighted.

pauljones > Formula4speed 10/03/2013 at 13:32

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I, too, have been noting a resurgence in small business in the DC area, and I find it interesting and encouraging.

Teasing out the difference between the moral/ethical aspect of the argument and the financial aspect of the argument is an interesting perspective, and along the lines of what I wanted to hear people's thoughts on.

For myself, all things being equal (including the fact that working for both multinational mega-corporations and local small businesses can be a nightmare), I think that the more important thing to me is where the money goes. All other things notwithstanding, I like when I can see exactly where my money is going. When I can see that the money that I'm spending, even if it's a bit more than I technically have to spend to get what I need, is going directly to a little local business run by a couple of honest and hard-working people, I'm a lot happier than I am spending less money and not having any idea what impact my money is actually having.

So, in that sense, I guess it very much does come down to a question of ethics (in that it's easier to know what I am supporting when buying local) vs financial sense (in the sense that I could make my money go slightly farther). In my case, within reason, I would choose ethics over cold financial logic.

pauljones > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 10/03/2013 at 13:35

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That is, essentially, my stance as well. By buying something at a local business, I can see precisely what my money is supporting and being used for. I find that to be a more compelling argument than the assertion that I could buy an extra few dollars worth of whatever by choosing a cheaper and less transparent alternative.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > pauljones 10/03/2013 at 13:37

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Yep. I try to buy local if I can but I'm not crazy intense about it except cars because they are typically your 2nd largest purchase in your spending cycle behind your house.

Now that the American cars have come back to life and aren't as hard of a sell anymore I have much easier time convincing people to give them a shot!

DasWauto > pauljones 10/03/2013 at 13:43

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I care who my money goes to in certain cases and less so in others. For most mass produced products (electronics, media and such), the convenience and price benefit of large scale and online stores is worth it for me, shallow as it may be.

On the other hand for things that can be made [food, some other products] and done locally [services], I enjoy and appreciate the quality and experience that comes with that. I enjoy [supporting] local breweries, bakers, butches and farms mostly for the freshness and quality of the products but knowing that the money supports the local economy definitely doesn't hurt.

I'm no saint, I still go to grocery stores and a lot of my food comes from abroad but I make the effort where I can. If I finally settle somewhere, I'll get all that more settled.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > pauljones 10/03/2013 at 14:20

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Preserving purchasing power is way more important. Those with money can decide where to spend it across ALL goods and services. Yes, I buy books and music and movies through amazon. I also shop at the farmer's market down the street and go to the local non-chain bars and restaurants. But I also do additional shopping at Meijer because of prices/selection for things I don't necessarily care about and I visit my local buffalo wild wings because I enjoy the service and their bar has a lot of local brews on tap at a better price than other places. Lesson here is as follows - I can support a good local business with money I saved from going "corporate" when the big-name alternative was the better business. A bad business that is local does not get a free pass for being local.

This is why I have a problem with a law like this. This isn't about protecting the "independent" book store. This is about protecting the entire book store retail market in general. That, to me, is pointless. That business model is failing. Having a dedicated store just for books works for some people. But, as I said in an earlier comment, a lot of used book stores have become antiques and used book stores to have a healthier business. Any store with some shelves for stocking goods can sell books. I think dedicating a whole store to them is a model that has to shrink and get smarter to survive. Attempting to hamstring the new model is only delaying the inevitable and cultivating contempt from the consumers.

therotaryisdeadlonglivetherotary > pauljones 10/03/2013 at 16:18

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I'd like to think that where, or whom, I get something from is just as important as how much money I spend on things, and to a certain extent that has played out in my life. But, where I currently live we have one bookstore and it is useless, ugly and stocks boring books. Now I realize they are just as much people as the people running the interesting bookstore in my parents' city, but I am more inclined to go to the interesting bookstore regardless of price than I am to even stick a foot inside the boring store. I think part of it is that the boring bookstore shows just as much zeal for the written word as Amazon, which is to say none (except what money they can get out of it).

Formula4speed > pauljones 10/03/2013 at 17:16

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ohhhhhh you meant THAT "where the money goes". I thought you meant geographically.

That's exactly what I think we will see more and more of as time passes—a sense of social consciousness about what we buy and how it affects the people around us as a priority over pure straight bottom dollar savings. Free trade/fair trade and organic are already early signs of this. Consumers are, in a sense, short-circuiting the free market (of course, the free market is notoriously based on a lot more than pure bottom dollar) and actually voting with their dollars like we all should.

I thought about this some more once I got off work, and realized that I actually prefer that small business continue to succeed as it leaves the market highly fractured and therefore keeps it evolving more rapidly, eliminating bad businesses and rewarding good ones. Their naturally smaller scope keeps them from building up so much of the momentum associated with large scale companies. I think the big companies are slowly beginning to realize this as they stratify and give the individual subgroups more and more control over their own destinies.