this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2023
109 points (95.8% liked)

Explain Like I'm Five

14750 readers
3 users here now

Simplifying Complexity, One Answer at a Time!

Rules

  1. Be respectful and inclusive.
  2. No harassment, hate speech, or trolling.
  3. Engage in constructive discussions.
  4. Share relevant content.
  5. Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.
  6. Use appropriate language and tone.
  7. Report violations.
  8. Foster a continuous learning environment.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
109
ELI5: How is Amazon able to sell me books so much cheaper than brick and mortar book stores in my area (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 years ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
26 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I like shopping in book stores. There's something about wandering the aisles and waiting for a book to jump out at you that I can't get shopping online. Unfortunately, whenever I compare the price of a book Amazon has every in-person store beat, often pricing their offerings 30%-50% lower (or around $10/book in my experience) even when I go to a large chain like Barnes and Noble.

How is it that Amazon is able to afford to offer the books so much cheaper and also support all of the infrastructure involved in shipping it to my doorstep compared with in-person stores?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] someguy3 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

That brick and mortar store is what's expensive. They might be 6 Barnes and Nobles in a city. Each paying expensive rent, each has their own full inventory (expensive), full staff that idle (watch how many sales are processed in the time you're there), etc.

Compare that to one cheap warehouse out in cheap land. Which can cover the entire western coast. One inventory, which turns over quickly. Doesn't have to be displayed nicely, just leave them in boxes. Orders coming in all the time (it's covering an entire coast remember) so staff doesn't idle. It's simply far more efficient.

I skimmed the other answers and most of that stuff came later. The fundamentals is that it's a warehouse that's more efficient.