Adventure Ausrama Blog

For the first time economic theory is being challenged by the Internet. Economics has always put forward the premise that the consumer was all-knowing, in that the "going price" for products was known. Of course, in the past this has been a lie. The demand curve was absolutely false. Buyers did not know where they could get the best price. Now, potential buyers can go to a store, try on a particular brand of clothing to find the correct size, then go and buy it on the Internet. Some shops are charging for such browsing. This will only drive consumers away to another store. There isn't much doubt that there are too many stores in the market selling the same goods. This is a problem caused by local councils allowing shopping center development even when it is contrary to local planning laws. Councils are too easily influenced by cashed-up big business. As chain stores move into populated centers of rural areas the future looks bleak for the corner store. The da...

People want dogs. They really do. Apart from pit bull crosses used for fighting, pedigree and cute dogs are also being taken by "admirers". There was a time when you just tied your dog up outside a shop and when you came back the pet was still there, but not today. Do this and you may never see your beloved friend again. When thieves in the UK break in to steal your car keys they are likely to take the family dog as well. In the US dogs are stolen from parked cars and when they go for a run in the park with their owners. Microchips are no deterrent. The new owners never take dogs to places where chips can be scanned. Unchipped dogs are resold. Some are held for ransom money to be paid. Introducing laws making microchipping compulsory only works when dogs reach a shelter, and this only happens when the new owners have lost interest in them. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/A...

Australian retailers are in a corner with people turning to the Internet to make purchases. With rents near zero for Internet sellers and high rents for retail shops the odds are stacked against local stores. Travel agents are the ones hit the hardest. It is so easy to buy an airline ticket online. Next are bookshops. They cannot compete with Amazon, though some Australian bookshops are selling online as well. Pharmacists are up against large cut-price online sellers in the US. However, chemists can still rely on the highly subsidized cash cow called the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Some Australian businesses are becoming paranoid. A woman was accused by a bookshop proprietor of making a list of books to buy on the Internet. A sports retailer asks for a deposit before customers try things on. Things are changing so fast. Major stores in the US are allowing goods purchased online to be returned at city outlets. Australian businesses must make the move to the Internet now, o...