In a message dated 9/8/05 5:14:53 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> Just look what the Walmart Super Stores and the Home Depot's have done to > the local grocery stores and hardware/lumber yards. And what Mc Garbage has > done to the local burger joint. It's the power of advertising. > > I disagree! It's the power of people's buying habits, plus the economies of scale, plus competition. Wally World et al survive and flourish because people - customers - take their business from the established stores and bring it to WW. The short-term gain is that WW can offer lower prices and a bigger selection. The long-term consequence is that local businesses are wiped out. And it's not just local businesses. The big chains dominate the manufacturers, forcing them to cut costs or lose the contract. (Look what WW did to Rubbermaid). They go "overseas" for products, forcing US manufacturers out of business. And then folks wonder where the good jobs went... Also in order to keep costs down, quality is sacrificed. Also serviceability, so that you have to buy a new one because the old one wasn't meant to be fixable. -- We saw a version of this happen in amateur radio 30-odd years ago. The old-line US ham radio manufacturers were mostly pushed off the shelves by imported rigs from Japan. The same happened in "consumer electronics". Fortunately a few US ham mfrs. survive, like TenTec. The success of Elecraft is proff that at least part of the market looks beyond the price tag, at things like simplicity, performance, serviceability, etc. We don't just vote at the polls - we "vote" economically every time we buy something. 73 de Jim, N2EY _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
