DOT.NOT

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), March 26, 2000

Answers

this is great. little bit of sanity amidst the insanity of dot.com houses of cards.

-- tt (cuddluppy@aol.com), March 27, 2000.

I agree partially. I do not need to order my toothpaste from -----dot.com, either.

Recently a friend of mine said she was going to call Amazon.com for a book. I said why don't you try the used book stores first, if they don't have it call the local Barnes and Noble, or Walden Books and see if they have it. If they do, you will have saved $$$ in postage. She did, and found the book for half price at a used book store.

I don't intend to pay postage as long as I can buy locally. OK, so I have to use some expensive gas to pick up the product. I do all my shopping at one fell swoop, once a week at most, for I hate to shop.

-- gilda (jess@listbot.com), March 27, 2000.

Bravo Gilda!

We need to support "real", "old economy" businesses so that they are still there for us when the balloon.com bursts.

By the way, can anyone provide a rationale for why Amazon.com has a market capitalization of $24.771 billion, while Barnes and Noble is only worth a measly $1.217 billion by the same measure? Doesn't Barnes and Noble have some tangible assets, such as stores?

I see that as of last Friday, Barnes and Noble had a loss of $-0.77 per share, while Amazon managed to lose $-2.20 per share. OK, so let's all throw some more money at the bigger loser.

Tulipmania? Most certainly!

-- Avid Reader (avidreader@avidreader.commm), March 27, 2000.

There's something about walking into Barnes *& Noble, browsing and sipping a cup of Starbuck coffee. I love sifting through all the magazines and seeing before buying. I also hit the used bookstores and thrift stores for "best-sellers," and I can take it home right then and there! Plus, I don't have to put my credit card number out on the internet - there's something to be said about feeling what you get first!

-- browser (browserrr@lovetobrowseee.xcom), March 27, 2000.

Comparing a leisurely browse through a pleasant store and making a purchase on the internet is apples and oranges. They are just different things, and I am glad I have the option of doing both. Online I can find items that are not available to me locally, and sometimes I am happy to spend a few extra bucks to save me the hassle of the traffic, the parking, and the lines.

E-Commerce is not going away, and neither is point-of-sale retail. They both have a place.

-- semper paratus (here_with@my.pals), March 27, 2000.

Myself, I just love e-commerce.

I love the way it takes 15 minutes to fill out all the forms. I love the way I get a notice that a problem occurred and I have to re-enter all of my data. I love the way I get two confirmation emails, so I can worry for a while whether I've been charged on my credit card twice for one airline ticket.

Time to get best price airline ticket by phone: 5 minutes. Time to get best price ticket via e-commerce: 30 minutes.

Yeah buddy, give me that slooooooooooowwwwwwwDOTcom anyday....

-- FactFinder (FactFinder@bzn.com), March 27, 2000.

There are somethings I will order on dot.coms and most I will Not. There are some hard to find things I may order but not many. I will say I have good luck with Buy.com I like their servest.

-- ET (bnevile@zebra.net), March 28, 2000.