"TeamCasa" wrote in message
...
Amazon takes stuff back w/o question.

I'm glad both exists.

I have trouble returning a (insert long story) product from Amazon. It
took
weeks to fix.
I do however, still do business with them when it makes sense. I too am a
great believer in competition, we all benefit in some way. However,
companies like Lee Valley could not exist if their product line was not
suited for a small market. How long do you think they would last if the
BORG sold everything Lee Valley did and at lower prices? People in
general
will put up with bad customer service to save a buck.

Dave

PS: Keep up the good work Robin!
snip

Hi Dave -

The BORG can't have our line...they'd have to buy our patents first... -
and about 25% of our sales are things we actually make...

In business, there are few absolutes though... price isn't everything, but
it's certainly important where there's no value added by the seller. The
quest for low prices has driven many businesses offshore, and has
consolidated a lot of product under large roofs....entire manufacturers have
dissappeared as companies are acquired by comglomerates to service box store
business...

Really - it's all the fault of the internet.... economics is a much more
exact "science" today than it ever has been - consumers are much closer to
having "perfect knowledge" than before.... all that ECON 101 theory has a
lot more real world direct relevance than it did a decade ago....

I'm sure there's a good paper in all this somewhere......

Cheers -

Rob

(and thanks for the kind words)