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Originally Posted by ApK
I don't see anything unethical with it at all, not unless the market economy is an inherently unethical construct.
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Just because you (or I, as I said) don't necessarily agree with it doesn't mean it's not a reasonable position. Neither your opinion nor mine is worth more than anybody paid for it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ApK
Fact is, if the shopper's decision to buy online was already set in stone, there would be no reason for them to visit the showroom at all.
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The scenario in question that many people consider unethical, is one where the shopper has decided they're going to buy
something, and they're pretty sure (or completely certain) they're going to buy it online, but they haven't decided precisely which particular something. So they go to a local store, and quiz the sales staff, possibly taking a considerable amount of their time away from potential actual customers, with no intention of buying there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ApK
They would just order online. They may EXPECT that they will buy it online, but if they are showrooming, they are shopping, and if a merchant is lucky enough to have them shopping in HIS retail store, he has the chance to sell to them, which he'd not have had if the person had made up his mind and clicked Buy Now.
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That's obviously the case for you, but it isn't a universal truth. There are a lot of people who do, in fact, go in to stores, take up sales people's time, and have no intention whatsoever of buying there. It's a dishonest attitude, in its core. It's part of the business in retail, and any retailer that isn't ready to accept that is doomed by their own incompetence, but that doesn't make it any less dishonest on the part of those people.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ApK
A tangentially related anecdote: A few years ago, a local Mercedes dealer send out invites: Come in for a free test drive and get a fairly high-dollar-value Amazon gift card (I can't remember the amount, but it was generous). I brought the invite in and said "I'm here in response to this bribe."
They laughed and said "Do you really want a test drive or can we just give you the gift card?" I took the gift card. That left me feeling pretty good about the place. As I was walking out, I looked at the cars. They were very nice. And some were really not as expensive as I thought they'd be. I'd never considered getting a Mercedes before, partially because of the perceived cost, and until then, I would never have stopped in when I was really car shopping.
But now I was thinking about it. Because they got me in the door, treated me well, and showed me some value I wasn't expecting.
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And that was precisely according to their plan, in that case, I suspect. A more on-topic anecdote would be my camera. I knew I would be buying a camera, and had picked out a particular model Nikon from their pro line. I shopped it online, and found that Amazon had the best price for anyone that I'd do business with (lot of fraud in camera sales online, gotta be very careful), but I wanted to go by the local pro shop to see what they thought. First thing the salesman told me as "Only opinion I have on that model is I'd never buy one." We spent two hours talking cameras, with him showing me what he'd done with the Canon he recommended, and why. Ended up selling me a camera that cost half as much as what I'd come in to buy, but even at that, for at least $100 more than I could have gotten it online. (Bought an upgraded lens, too, and ended up spending what I'd planned to, but with a much better camera for me.)
I knew full well when I pulled out the credit card that I could beat their price online, but I'm quite willing to pay for the expertise as well as the goods.
Not everyone is. The trend lately is for people who do exactly what I did, then buy online, after wasting two hours of the salesman's time with no intention whatsoever of buying.
Whether you agree or not, a lot of people do find that unethical.