....if you need something RIGHT NOW, you may be willing to pay more for that, and that is why West Marine can charge a premium for some of their items, they have them there right now, on the shelf, ready to go. You pay for that convienience. And if you want to compare Harken Blocks, they have a wall full of them, you can look at them all up close, make a better decision than you can looking on line, but again, you will pay a premium for that. Same with most of their other products.
Correct. Immediate availabilty, many alternatives to compare, possibility to touch, feel, smell and hear the product and geographic proximity are features that add value to the merchandise. Their West Advisor also adds value: pre-purchase advice.
A block may be worth more to you in a store next door than in an online store in certain circumstances. But those things are relative. If you are not in a hurry and already know what you want, an online store may add more value: no need to drive, no lines, delivery to your front door...
It is difficult to determine how much value is actually added to goods by a merchant. Ultimately, the market determines what is fair or unfair. A regulation could increase the effectiveness of this process, but at the cost of more government intervention.
Conclusion: I favor markup regulation only under a fair government. But as a second thought, this probably means "almost never"...
