Political Crossfire Forums

[LeopardPM]

ubikk wrote: gavnook wrote:
ubikk wrote:
Plus, they're buying power is so big that they've affected the supply-side of the equation. Now, if i want to start a competing store, I'm going to be stuck trying to sell a lot of the same products walmart has forced everyone to make for them to their specifications.

If I'm a small supplier, with a new product, walmart has no interest in me because I can't make a bazillion units. Only I've got no small businesses to try and sell my new product at because they're gone.

:cry1:

I notice you didn't comment intelligently on that statement. You just made fun of the author. What do you think about that concept? Is that or isn't that an example of a less than free market?

that is an example of the thinking of someone who feels they are 'owed' a market to sell to. Try this on for size: Instead of thinking like that, how about developing products which are better, have more features, are better designed, or even cheaper than what Walmart 'forces' its suppliers to do - then you won't need to find a market, it will come to you! Walmart sells donuts, but there are billions of independent donut shops around. Wlamart sells clothing but there are billions of small-scale clothing stores around, in addition to the growing second-hand stores (Dollar stores and such). Walmart doesn't sell lumber, or puppies (yet), or cars, or a billion other things - why don't you let walmart do what it obviously does BEST, and other folks can figure out, for themselves, how to do other things 'best' - THAT, my dear friend, is how progress is made, how 'society' grows its wealth, how people are brought out of poverty. Sitting around a blaming someone for doing a great job, so good that other people find it very hard to compete, is totally unproductive, and, in my own humble view, very selfish and lazy. To go a step further, and recommend that government do something about walmart's success, well, that is just downright immoral and unjustifiable - irresponsible.

Dang it! Get the guns out! We got us some socialists to defend our property from, Bob!

[ubikk]

LeopardPM wrote: . Sitting around a blaming someone for doing a great job, so good that other people find it very hard to compete, is totally unproductive, and, in my own humble view, very selfish and lazy.

Clearly, you're either not reading what I write or you don't understand it.

In the example I gave, I'm not "sitting around blaming people". I'm trying to start a small business and be productive sell into a market that, in my opinion, is being dominated by people who don't want competion from small busiensses.

Look at what Coke and Pepsi did to small bottlers. 30 or 40 years ago there were small independent bottlers all accross the country. You could get different kinds of soda pop in different places. Coke and Pepsi started using predatory tactics against small bottlers. By sighing exclusive agreements with vending machine companies, buy deliberately buying up all the sugar from some local bottler's supplier causing production delays and losses. By demanding minimum amounts of shelf space in grocery stores so there was less room for competition. Etc. Etc. This was all covered on 60 minutes back in the late 70s. I also knew somoene who worked at one of these small bottlers in Cassandra, PA and he would tell me stories about how the big bottlers shut them down.

The result is that now I can drive from New York to San Francisco and pretty much every place I stop I can get either coke or pepsi soda products. Neitehr of which I like. I like the old fruity pops, like Black Cherry and Birch Beer and Moxie. Those are few and far between now.

Quote: Dang it! Get the guns out! We got us some socialists to defend our property from, Bob!

Now there's an intelligent response. Someone sticks up for small, independent businesses trying to make a go and you call them a socliaist and call for their deaths. That sounds kind of fascist to me.

[LeopardPM]

ubikk wrote: LeopardPM wrote: . Sitting around a blaming someone for doing a great job, so good that other people find it very hard to compete, is totally unproductive, and, in my own humble view, very selfish and lazy.

Clearly, you're either not reading what I write or you don't understand it.

In the example I gave, I'm not "sitting around blaming people". I'm trying to start a small business and be productive sell into a market that, in my opinion, is being dominated by people who don't want competion from small busiensses.

Look at what Coke and Pepsi did to small bottlers. 30 or 40 years ago there were small independent bottlers all accross the country. You could get different kinds of soda pop in different places. Coke and Pepsi started using predatory tactics against small bottlers. By sighing exclusive agreements with vending machine companies, buy deliberately buying up all the sugar from some local bottler's supplier causing production delays and losses. By demanding minimum amounts of shelf space in grocery stores so there was less room for competition. Etc. Etc. This was all covered on 60 minutes back in the late 70s. I also knew somoene who worked at one of these small bottlers in Cassandra, PA and he would tell me stories about how the big bottlers shut them down.

The result is that now I can drive from New York to San Francisco and pretty much every place I stop I can get either coke or pepsi soda products. Neitehr of which I like. I like the old fruity pops, like Black Cherry and Birch Beer and Moxie. Those are few and far between now.

Quote: Dang it! Get the guns out! We got us some socialists to defend our property from, Bob!

Now there's an intelligent response. Someone sticks up for small, independent businesses trying to make a go and you call them a socliaist and call for their deaths. That sounds kind of fascist to me.
lol! sorry, it was the wee hours of the morning

[Free Thinkr]

ubikk wrote: Look at what Coke and Pepsi did to small bottlers. 30 or 40 years ago there were small independent bottlers all accross the country. You could get different kinds of soda pop in different places. Coke and Pepsi started using predatory tactics against small bottlers. By sighing exclusive agreements with vending machine companies, buy deliberately buying up all the sugar from some local bottler's supplier causing production delays and losses. By demanding minimum amounts of shelf space in grocery stores so there was less room for competition. Etc. Etc. This was all covered on 60 minutes back in the late 70s. I also knew somoene who worked at one of these small bottlers in Cassandra, PA and he would tell me stories about how the big bottlers shut them down.
There's still tons of smaller bottlers. Coke and Pepsi were able to gain a larger share of the market simply because they were better at doing so. No one "wants" to compete with other businesses; the point of the exercise is to gain a larger share of the market.

Quote: The result is that now I can drive from New York to San Francisco and pretty much every place I stop I can get either coke or pepsi soda products. Neitehr of which I like. I like the old fruity pops, like Black Cherry and Birch Beer and Moxie. Those are few and far between now.
Well, good for you. Obviously, most people don't agree with you, or Black Cherry and Birch Beer and Moxie would be the dominant players.