France approves law stopping Amazon from shipping discounted books for free

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by afv011

Nothing really, tongue-in-cheek - just a reminder of my experience while I was in France.

Well, I am not going to tell you about my experience in Vancouver, Vancouver Island and Whistler, you'd cry

[Istvan diVega]

Originally Posted by David Marseilles

How delightfully dismissive! Should all outside comments on US laws be dismissed as sweepingly?

Very probably. Not mine though, of course.

[piperclassique]

Quote:
Originally Posted by joehunt
Google translates "pas cher" to "inexpensive" (I've edited the post to indicate that these words are a foreign language).
Funny that there is no word for "cheap/inexpensive" in French, and you have to revert to "not expensive". I guess it says it all.

Or there is bon marché, économique, occasion (which means something closer to bargain) or you could say that something is good value for money, un bon rapport qualité prix. That's just off the top of my head without going to the thesaurus.
Don't you like France? Or has a french person upset you?
Think I will pour another glass of wine while I contemplate the quality of life in a civilised and literate country.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by joehunt

So Amazon just has to raise its shipping price to €1

http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/03/a...usaolp00000589

Amazon may just apply a shipping price, and then give a "discount for repeat customer" coupon on the next purchase. (I have seen that many places.)

[frahse]

Originally Posted by piperclassique

Or there is bon marché, économique, occasion (which means something closer to bargain) or you could say that something is good value for money, un bon rapport qualité prix. That's just off the top of my head without going to the thesaurus.

Don't you like France? Or has a french person upset you?
Think I will pour another glass of wine while I contemplate the quality of life in a civilised and literate country.

We would just translate "pas cher" as "not dear" where dear in USA lingo can mean expensive.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by aceflor

Well, I am not going to tell you about my experience in Vancouver, Vancouver Island and Whistler, you'd cry

Not really, I'm just another immigrant here, though I'm very happy of the welcome I've had in Vancouver.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Apache

So France would have forced Henry Ford to fix his prices to keep Buggy Manufacturers in business?
Apache

That sums it up nicely

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by aceflor

We, as many other countries, are plagued too by bad journalists. Most of them work for tech blogs...

LOL - so true. The poor grammar used by many US bloggers drives me up a wall.

[dwig]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Trouble is, people will only go to bookshop if :
- they know it's there
- it's close enough
- they know they will find the book they are looking for

...

You fail to list and even bigger issue:

- they want a printed book and not an ebook.

Artificially keeping the price of printed books higher (after all this new law doesn't seem to impact ebooks as "free shipping" isn't an issue) will only speed the decline of neighborhood book shops by making ebooks an even more desirable option.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

That sums it up nicely

To be fair, nostalgia for the 1880's is not limited to the French:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_and_Again_(novel)

Plenty of those trying to turn back the clock on this side of the pond.

[Mivo]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

It doesn't bother me in the least if indies go out of business. If they can't compete against new business models, then adios.

Where does it lead, though? Instead of a variety of small stores in the neighborhood, there will only be a handful of large online stores. Major supermarkets will only be found in larger towns, and more and more jobs will be outsourced to India, China, etc.

We are almost there. My village, when I moved here twenty years ago, had a bakery and a grocery store. Both closed down years ago already because they couldn't compete with the malls in the nearby town. How could they? They can't match the prices and they can't offer the same selection. The post office also closed, since it wasn't "economical". Now the village has no stores anymore at all, and no one will open one because it would be financial suicide.

Protection of small business isn't different from government aided health care, welfare payments, unemployment money, etc, and I feel that these are core responsibilities of a government. But maybe people who don't cut it, like small businesses, should just die in the streets. It might lead to tax reductions and save money, too.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Mivo

Where does it lead, though? Instead of a variety of small stores in the neighborhood, there will only be a handful of large online stores. Major supermarkets will only be found in larger towns, and more and more jobs will be outsourced to India, China, etc.

We are almost there. My village, when I moved here twenty years ago, had a bakery and a grocery store. Both closed down years ago already because they couldn't compete with the malls in the nearby town. How could they? They can't match the prices and they can't offer the same selection. The post office also closed, since it wasn't "economical". Now the village has no stores anymore at all, and no one will open one because it would be financial suicide.

Protection of small business isn't different from government aided health care, welfare payments, unemployment money, etc, and I feel that these are core responsibilities of a government. But maybe people who don't cut it, like small businesses, should just die in the streets. It might lead to tax reductions and save money, too.

The goods are not being manufactured in France, no matter who sells them --- a big box store or a small store. The small store will still buy and sell the same items, if only through a number of middle men. In the end it is the customers who have to decide if the benefits of having the small stores around (service, convenience) is worth paying more for it. Why should it be up to some politicians to decides who succeeds against the clear will of the people (and I mean real support of shopping there rather than just lip service)?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Mivo

Where does it lead, though? Instead of a variety of small stores in the neighborhood, there will only be a handful of large online stores. Major supermarkets will only be found in larger towns, and more and more jobs will be outsourced to India, China, etc.

Businesses in jeopardy of closing down need to find another model to stay afloat. You can't prop up buggy whip makers forever.

We are almost there. My village, when I moved here twenty years ago, had a bakery and a grocery store. Both closed down years ago already because they couldn't compete with the malls in the nearby town. How could they? They can't match the prices and they can't offer the same selection. The post office also closed, since it wasn't "economical". Now the village has no stores anymore at all, and no one will open one because it would be financial suicide.

I've seen where a Walmart will move in and a nearby grocery store (from a chain) will close down. Why? Low pricing of course. But then, that store overcharged to begin with and is now paying the price for doing so.

Protection of small business isn't different from government aided health care, welfare payments, unemployment money, etc, and I feel that these are core responsibilities of a government. But maybe people who don't cut it, like small businesses, should just die in the streets. It might lead to tax reductions and save money, too.

This is starting to get political. Suffice it to say that I don't believe in propping up failing business models. I despise subsidies. Businesses that compete in their current model need to find another one or perish.

[Istvan diVega]

I have no problem with subsidies. Without them Norway wouldn't have publishers, agriculture or anybody living above the 65th parallel except a handful exceedingly stubborn fishermen and a bunch of oil workers.

You'd no doubt be fine with that, but most people here wouldn't.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Istvan diVega

I have no problem with subsidies. Without them Norway wouldn't have publishers, agriculture or anybody living above the 65th parallel except a handful exceedingly stubborn fishermen and a bunch of oil workers.

You'd no doubt be fine with that, but most people here wouldn't.

Different cultures; different expectations.