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Comment by rb808 | Hacker News Reader

>Every time I find something unique that I would have never looked for on Amazon, and often I'm hooked by the tactile act of playing with something that couldn't be fully replicated online.

You're absolutely right. The result usually is though that the kid finds a toy they like then puts in on their Birthday/Christmas wishlist from where the Santa buys from Amazon. I like to think I never do this, but if the price is much higher even I have a limit.

I think that manufacturers should sell to physical toy stores at a lower price, and actively make sure online price is the same or higher than instore. but I dont how easy this is to police or even if is legal in some countries.

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>I think that manufacturers should sell to physical toy stores at a lower price, and actively make sure online price is the same or higher than instore. but I dont how easy this is to police or even if is legal in some countries.

These days, many brick & mortar stores are a market inefficiency. It's simply cheaper to store & ship out of centralized warehouses (as it goes when you order online) than to ship merchandise to individual stores, which themselves have limited floor space and storage space (resulting in less variety of products) as well as a smaller potential customer-base (only those who live nearby). I don't see why manufacturers should be punished by selling at a lower price in order to sustain outdated business practices.

Stores that provide additional value, having unique goods that can't be found online or have cool atmosphere or such, will be fine.

What do you think of Amazon's retail outlets? They're little bookstores with a café and a display for a few electronics. They don't provide anything unique. In fact, they only sell what's popular on Amazon.

> The result usually is though that the kid finds a toy they like then puts in on their Birthday/Christmas wishlist from where the Santa buys from Amazon.

Well, it's also that when you walk in there looking for a present for the kids birthday party you are about to take your child to attend, you end up buying something there, and possibly even paying them to wrap it for you. I'm not sure I've ever ordered a present online for a friend of one of my kids. I have enough trouble remember the party is that day and getting there on time, much less ordering ahead of time.

Absolutely. For any parent with no time and a bit of money, the toy store is far faster for a just-in-time present purchase. I have yet to find a worthwhile price difference for merchandise on Amazon.

Former electronics manufacturer sales here. Manufacturers usually set the pricing steps with volume generally at the lowest price they can accept. The venue of goods sold often does not play a role in manufacturers' price structure.

Now when it comes to channel cost, physical stores are already taking more margin out of retail price and for manufacturers, there is simply rarely large enough incentive to sell to physical toy stores at a lower price.

It's possible to enforce MAP pricing (minimum advertised price) online that matches in-store prices, but if you're a small player you'll lose out on the business of some of the larger buyers who are used to getting their way, and then you run the risk of getting yourself put out of business by trying to help out the little guys.

MAP is really hard to enforce, in practice.

When your largest reseller is even 1-2% under MAP you you really can't do anything about it. Especially if they are over half your income - it's a game of chicken that isn't worth playing.

MAP really only works when your resellers are fairly diverse and fairly even-sized. But if that were the case, we wouldn't have online behemoths undercutting everyone else in the first place.

In many European countries, the prices of books are fixed [1]. Sometimes it's arranged by law, sometimes by publishers. Toy publishers could try to achieve the same.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed_book_price_agreement

I think you'd struggle, with the sort of toys ToysRUs sell, to make an argument for cartel-style pricing based on cultural benefit.

Arguably "big box" toy stores work against cultural value in toys.

> I like to think I never do this, but if the price is much higher even I have a limit.

Really? You rationalize going to a brick and mortar international franchise simply because it is physical, instead of going to an online international franchise?

Thats the biggest stretch of "buy local" that I've ever been exposed to.

OP is talking about a small toy store, but regardless - an international franchise that has a location in your home town employs people from your home town, whereas Amazon (for the sake of argument in this case) does not. That's the core argument of 'buy local'.

Pretty sure the person who delivers my packages doesn't live in another country.

A tiny fraction of the alternate, yes. Though of course much of the logistics planning an operations is easily outsourced.

Though it may be an international franchise, it still provides local jobs.

Amazon provides salaried jobs at their regional warehouses, and revenue to the resellers, and revenue to affiliates.

Perhaps the only thing missing is a way to sort results on Amazon by locale.

Amazon may be local to my state but the small toy store is local to my _city_. The warehouse four hours away means less to me than someone who pays taxes in my city and lives two miles away.

If there were an Amazon warehouse nearby would that change things for you?

I live about 2 miles from both amazon and jet warehouses, and that doesn't make it feel any more like a local business.

I don't think the size of the warehouse matters - that's like caring how a big the kitchen is at a great restaurant. It's the experience of finding the thing you spend money on, and then getting whatever value it is you hoped for.

There is a physical constraint aspect to local businesses that create an inherent diversity. Being next to a huge store curated by one entity is much different.

Would you rather live next to a Wal-Mart or a thriving strip/block with a dozen or so various options? It depends on your needs and desires I suppose.

They offer a service that can be consumed for free: physical interaction with product on the show floor.

If you consume this and then buy on Amazon, Amazon is effectively unloading the marginal costs of running show floors to the brick-and-mortar stores.

A slight price increase can be more than worth getting an item immediately instead of waiting for it to ship, while 1 to same day delivery would be generally much more expensive.

Perhaps the end game is that customers will pay $10/family to enter the bricks and mortar store) - not unreasonable, if it has entertainment value/ a cool vibe.

Then the $10 is rebated off anything they buy in-store.

I'd love to see a toy store with a cover. But I feel like I might have to hurry.

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