Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

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handdrummer
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

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Name Taken wrote: Mon Apr 10, 2017 1:52 pm
hhfarang wrote: Sun Apr 09, 2017 7:53 pm There is talk of a guaranteed basic living wage going on in several countries now as people lose jobs to automation. I'm just afraid if something like that becomes the norm very few people will choose to work. If the folks on the dole become larger than the working ones paying taxes to support them...???
I think the U.S. would have no problem at all paying a 'guaranteed basic living wage' if they stopped giving away free stuff to all of the illegal aliens (free college tuition, free healthcare, free mobile phones, free housing/apartment vouchers, free food stamps/EBT cards)
the u.s. would also have to reduce it's military budget & foreign aid by billions of $.
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

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WAY off subject.
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

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handdrummer wrote: Mon Apr 10, 2017 10:19 pm
Name Taken wrote: Mon Apr 10, 2017 1:52 pm
hhfarang wrote: Sun Apr 09, 2017 7:53 pm There is talk of a guaranteed basic living wage going on in several countries now as people lose jobs to automation. I'm just afraid if something like that becomes the norm very few people will choose to work. If the folks on the dole become larger than the working ones paying taxes to support them...???
I think the U.S. would have no problem at all paying a 'guaranteed basic living wage' if they stopped giving away free stuff to all of the illegal aliens (free college tuition, free healthcare, free mobile phones, free housing/apartment vouchers, free food stamps/EBT cards)
the u.s. would also have to reduce it's military budget & foreign aid by billions of $.
:thumb:

Absolutely, that's a great idea! The U.S. should not be giving away any money at all to foreign countries, instead of helping other countries citizens the U.S. should be helping its own citizens that reside both in the U.S. and internationally.
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

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Bristolian wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 8:35 pm 4.0 is here and hard for retailers or manufacturers to ignore. If they do ignore it they are history. Thailand is not well placed, educated or driven to accept this.

Anyone who has spent any time in China recently will start to see what the future will bring. Staying at a friend's condo they had run out of shampoo. A simple online order for one item at 22:00 resulted in the product outside the door of the apartment, the next morning at 07:00. Price was the same as a normal store retailer.

Thailand has relied on low labour costs and more recently low labour costs of migrant workers. Outside of some pretty specific industries the LOS is really so far behind and pays only lip service to becoming a hub of everything.

There is no real substance in any government planning that truly addresses the changes that are immenent or encourages industry, retailing, education etc.

:agree:
I think a lot of small and medium(and maybe large ones too) sized businesses are going to get hit hard by this new surge in online/internet shopping.
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

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hhfarang wrote: Sun Apr 09, 2017 7:53 pm There is talk of a guaranteed basic living wage going on in several countries now as people lose jobs to automation. I'm just afraid if something like that becomes the norm very few people will choose to work. If the folks on the dole become larger than the working ones paying taxes to support them...???
The solution to that is taxing the robots.
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

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the shopping centers may not take the samehits here. teenagers all love going to the mall and thais rarely advance beyond teenage developement, so the mall experience may trump on-line shopping.
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Re: RE: Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

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oakdale160 wrote:the shopping centers may not take the samehits here. teenagers all love going to the mall and thais rarely advance beyond teenage developement, so the mall experience may trump on-line shopping.
Factoring in the free airconditioning, you can see the mall experience sustaining here for sure.

Just trying to park sometime at Bluport or MV tells you that footfall is high.
Name Taken wrote:
hhfarang wrote: Sun Apr 09, 2017 7:53 pm There is talk of a guaranteed basic living wage going on in several countries now as people lose jobs to automation. I'm just afraid if something like that becomes the norm very few people will choose to work. If the folks on the dole become larger than the working ones paying taxes to support them...???
I think the U.S. would have no problem at all paying a 'guaranteed basic living wage' if they stopped giving away free stuff to all of the illegal aliens (free college tuition, free healthcare, free mobile phones, free housing/apartment vouchers, free food stamps/EBT cards)

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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

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I am one of those in the 'other' camp. I like to walk around and interact with people. And shop. Except with my wife. That is on a totally different planet.

While there is a trend towards online shopping here in Thailand, until more people get enough credit rating to actually qualify for a credit card, it will be limited to transactions over social media and bank transfers.

I have looked (and looked and looked) for some stuff on Lazada and other online websites and have wasted many agonizing hours going through page after page and not finding exactly what I want.

I have also spent a lot of time looking for things in HomePro and Boonthavorn and other places and still find your local hardware shop is the place to go to.
Failing that, I love spending a sweaty afternoon in the small lanes around Klongthom Plaza, Worachak, Chinatown and Little India. Apart from interacting with people, you get great (if sometimes diferent) food which you will not find in your average mall.

I can understand the frustration for some of the expats and the appeal of the namelessness and facelessness of online shopping but I find it is a good way to improve my Thai language skills. And getting lost in the maze of backlanes.

Yesterday was such a day. Took a combination of public buses and minivans to get there. Smiled at the bus conductor. She smiled back. Got another smile from a policeman when looking for the correct bus stop. And directions on which bus to take from the motorsai rider. (My gps app gave me many alternate routes but his suggestion was the best one).
Walking around the shops I got what I wanted by asking, and even cheaper than online shopping.
Passed by a rather exotic stall and had some pig's organ soup that included a healthy helping of the grey matter.

All in all, a good day. It got me out of the house, away from the wife, out of my car, and some exercise. Would I do it every day? No. But I will still try to patronise the little shops as I feel the online sellers and the mall sellers only stock what they feel will sell.

YMMV.
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

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When I'm working back in Luxembourg, I just get "this address not available for delivery" when trying to order online. I work six days a week and the shops close on Sundays, so I just get essentials from what they sell at the gas station.
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

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I have to say that I also enjoy wandering around Chinatown, Klong Thom, Yarowrat and Warachak. I have spent many hours just browsing and looking for items that interest me. The interaction is fantastic and very occasionally there is a bargain to be had.

However it isn't very efficient if you are looking for specific and maybe items that are unusual. I have my goto sellers but it's usually cheaper, and for my needs, better availability and choice using aliexpress. Bangood or, occasionally, Lazada. It depends what you are looking for and how much time you have available.
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

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VincentD wrote: Tue Apr 11, 2017 11:27 am I am one of those in the 'other' camp. I like to walk around and interact with people. And shop. Except with my wife. That is on a totally different planet.

While there is a trend towards online shopping here in Thailand, until more people get enough credit rating to actually qualify for a credit card, it will be limited to transactions over social media and bank transfers.

I have looked (and looked and looked) for some stuff on Lazada and other online websites and have wasted many agonizing hours going through page after page and not finding exactly what I want.

I have also spent a lot of time looking for things in HomePro and Boonthavorn and other places and still find your local hardware shop is the place to go to.
Failing that, I love spending a sweaty afternoon in the small lanes around Klongthom Plaza, Worachak, Chinatown and Little India. Apart from interacting with people, you get great (if sometimes diferent) food which you will not find in your average mall.

I can understand the frustration for some of the expats and the appeal of the namelessness and facelessness of online shopping but I find it is a good way to improve my Thai language skills. And getting lost in the maze of backlanes.

Yesterday was such a day. Took a combination of public buses and minivans to get there. Smiled at the bus conductor. She smiled back. Got another smile from a policeman when looking for the correct bus stop. And directions on which bus to take from the motorsai rider. (My gps app gave me many alternate routes but his suggestion was the best one).
Walking around the shops I got what I wanted by asking, and even cheaper than online shopping.
Passed by a rather exotic stall and had some pig's organ soup that included a healthy helping of the grey matter.

All in all, a good day. It got me out of the house, away from the wife, out of my car, and some exercise. Would I do it every day? No. But I will still try to patronise the little shops as I feel the online sellers and the mall sellers only stock what they feel will sell.

YMMV.
:agree:

I have found that the selection of items for sale on Lazada and Alibaba is extremely dismal when compared to Amazon.com, and generally speaking the selection in 'Brick and Mortar' stores such as BigC, Tesco-Lotus etc. is also extremely dismal when compared to similar 'Brick and Mortar' stores in the U.S. such as Target, Wal-Mart etc.
:(
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

Post by hhfarang »

^ Absolutely. I've been stunned by the incredible selection and ease of shopping here (U.S.) now after living in Thailand for ten years. I can literally find anything I want in a couple of minutes without leaving my keyboard, and have it in my hands in no more than 2 days without leaving home, but if I feel like going to a store, there is also a Walmart Supercenter 5 minutes from my home, Lowes, Home Depot, and Costco less than 10 minutes away. Even anything I want from those places can be ordered online and delivered if I don't feel like going there. I rarely have to get anything from any place other than these choices.
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

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Bristolian wrote: Tue Apr 11, 2017 1:09 pmHowever it isn't very efficient if you are looking for specific and maybe items that are unusual.
Agree. Try finding dark brown eyelash dye, a rubber 'bumper' for a YotaPhone, or something to make a new thread on the crank of a tandem in Nakhon Pathom.

VS ;)
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

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Vital Spark wrote: Sat Apr 15, 2017 11:25 pm
Bristolian wrote: Tue Apr 11, 2017 1:09 pmHowever it isn't very efficient if you are looking for specific and maybe items that are unusual.
Agree. Try finding dark brown eyelash dye, a rubber 'bumper' for a YotaPhone, or something to make a new thread on the crank of a tandem in Nakhon Pathom.

VS ;)
I can't say that I have much experience in looking for brown eyelash dye or rubber bumpers for a YotaPhone but I do buy a lot of tooling for my hobby machine shop. I probably do have the tooling to cut the thread on the crank of a tandem and I would be prepared to wager that I bought the tooling online because it's simply too difficult to find in shops in Thailand.
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

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Bristolian wrote:I can't say that I have much experience in looking for brown eyelash dye........................
So, wot colour do you use????? :rasta:
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