XPost: rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.sf.science   
   From: rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com   
      
   Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)  wrote   
   > Bernard Peek wrote   
   >> Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote   
      
   >>>>> Not even vaguely close. I do my shopping in person because there is   
   >>>>> no way I'm trusting some guy I don't know to check every piece of   
   >>>>> produce and make sure it's in good shape, and even if I did, do I   
   >>>>> trust   
   >>>>> the shipping company or delivery people? No. The remote location   
   >>>>> ordering approach is great for things like books, or gadgets, but not   
   >>>>> for fresh food.   
      
   >> It's only a few years ago that people said shopping for books online   
   >> wasn't possible because you had to be able to browse the shelf and read   
   >> the contents.   
      
   > Big difference: I can quite literally sample the book. I can tell how it   
   > "tastes". I cannot do that with an online grocery. Also, delivering me an   
   > electronic copy of the book is, with a good reader, nearly identical to   
   > getting the physical copy, only quicker. Electronic copies of red bell   
   > peppers are not the same as actual red bell peppers, and I have no way of   
   > picking *THAT* particular bell pepper from the grocer's current shelf,   
   > rather than the one in the corner that maybe should've been removed last   
   > week.   
      
   But when the buyer has the option of refusing the goods   
   when they show up and are not what he ordered, there is   
   a real incentive for the online retailer to deliver what was   
   ordered because they get to wear the return.   
      
   >> Internet shopping for groceries has taken off in a big way   
   >> in the UK. It's perfectly normal to have a complete stranger select your   
   >> fresh food for you.   
      
   > But not for me, and I doubt it ever will be.   
      
   Sure, but that's true with all technology. Some refused   
   to ever have a phone, continued to write letters etc.   
      
   > If I'm in a restaurant, I'm paying a rather steep premium for someone to   
   > pick my food ingredients... and I have an IMMEDIATE ability to tell them   
   > if they've screwed up and get it fixed.   
      
   You get the same thing when you can refuse the delivery   
   and you don't have to pay any steep premium at all.   
      
   > Not so with remote order and delivery.   
      
   Fraid so when done right.   
      
   >>>> Same with clothes. I have bought clothing on line, but I much prefer to   
   >>>> be able to feel the material and to try the garment on.   
      
   >>> Indeed. Exacerbated by the fact that a lot of clothing companies   
   >>> have non-standardized their sizes over the years, so an XXL in one is an   
   >>> XL in another, and a 36 waist in one is a 38 waist in another. (yes, one   
   >>> of them's effectively lying)   
      
   >> In the UK the Distance Selling Regulations give online shoppers the   
   >> absolute right to reject almost anything they buy online.   
      
   > Which is still useless if I order a pair of pants and expect to wear them   
   > that week, and they turn out to be the wrong size and I have to return   
   > them.   
      
   You order the size you expect will fit, and both on either side of it   
   and return the two you don't find fit as well as the one you keep.   
      
   >> You can order both sizes and return one, or both.   
      
   Or order 3 and return 2.   
      
   > That's putting MUCH more work on my shoulders.   
      
   It's a lot less work than going to the store and finding what will fit.   
      
   > I don't WANT to return something. That's a significant pain in the ass.   
      
   When done properly it's a lot less effort than going to the store.   
      
   > I have to get the thing packaged up again, I have to print out a return   
   > label,   
      
   Not when its implemented properly. The goods come in packaging   
   that can be opened and reused for the return, with a label that you   
   just rip off the top off that has your address on it, with the return   
   address under that.   
      
   > and at least here I have to go to the post office myself to send any   
   > significant size package out.   
      
   No, just tell the delivery monkey that delivered it to   
   pick up the return. That's how warranty returns are done   
   now, the new one shows up and the return goes in the   
   box the new one came in and the ape takes it away with him.   
      
   > Doubly useless for delivering food; food spoils,   
      
   Not when you can specify when it arrives when you know you will be there.   
      
   > and generally I want my food NOW.   
      
   I never cook the food as soon as I get back from the store.   
      
   > I don't know what I'll be using in two weeks.   
      
   I just replace the stock I have used.   
      
   > I know what I'll be using tonight, and maybe a couple days from now.   
      
   I get that food from the fridge or freezer or shelves and   
   the shopping just replaces that stock however I shop.   
      
   > When I go shopping,I get exactly what I want, including getting *that*   
   > apple instead of *this* apple, and I get it right away, and control the   
   > delivery thereof.   
      
   Many find it much more convenient to order it online.   
      
   > Now, give me a matter replicator (a 3D printer capable of nanoscale   
   > manufacturing from any materials) and designs for top-quality food, now   
   > you're talking.   
      
   Don't need that to be a significant improvement   
   on personally shopping for food daily or weekly.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)