Quote:
Originally Posted by thewitt
I get it.
You guys who do this don't consider it unethical, and guys like me won't change your mind.
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I don't think you do get it. It's not a "
you guys who do this don't consider it unethical situation. I don't do it. Not because I think it's unethical (I still don't), but because going to a store to lay hands on a book I'm going to go buy online anyway is inconvenient as hell and a waste of my time. There's nothing special I can learn about a book by picking it up in a store that I can't learn about it online. So in addition to not thinking it's unethical, I believe it to be a ridiculously trivial small number of people who "do this" with books.
For every "true" showcaser out there, I believe there's probably several people who do it "in reverse" in the manner described by twowheels (scanning the barcode to check online prices/reviews and buying instore anyway if the price difference isn't huge). But of course no one thinks that's unethical (and rightfully so).
For all but the rare situations (perhaps golf-club fitting), I think the idea that showcasers are contributing (in any appreciable way) to the demise of B&M stores is laughable. People willing to inconvenience themselves enough by going to a B&M store to lay hands on something before going back home to order it online were NEVER going to buy anything from you in the first place.