Do you typically purchase a beverage when you order take out? I know I don't (just take the food home and drink whatever we have there). If and I don't think I am mistaken on this restaurants have a higher margin on beverages than food would this explain at least part of your question?
Lynn -----Original Message----- From: Bryan Caplan [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, July 22, 2002 12:25 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: take-in/eat out Is it just me, or does the discount for take-out dining seem way too low? You avoid paying a tip, yes. But you save the restaurant the cost of waiters, tables, space, etc. You might say that space is not really scarce except at peak times, but still, most dining is down during those peak times, no? The same goes for mail order vs. brick-and-mortar stores. The Internet crash makes it seem like mail order can't afford to discount 40% below brick-and-mortar. But why not? It sure seems like a website must be vastly cheaper to run than a physical store, especially when one website can do the work of thousands of local stores. -- Prof. Bryan Caplan Department of Economics George Mason University http://www.bcaplan.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] "He wrote a letter, but did not post it because he felt that no one would have understood what he wanted to say, and besides it was not necessary that anyone but himself should understand it." Leo Tolstoy, *The Cossacks*
