Unpopular opinions.

[Derry Alli]

There seems to be more and more online retailers not bothering at all with returns slips. You've to go online into your account and just electronically tell them what you're returning and why then print off a postage returns label and hey presto. 

Shite of you've nae printer right enough. 

[NotThePars]

f**k knows, but the people want what they want. Someone is always going to offer it. It's going to have to get easier to shop online, not harder. I mean, peoples perception is already that it's out of line to have to pay for returns. That's only going to go one way. Someone will just find a profitable way to facilitate that, whether it's the retailer or some sort of delivery mob. Think how things have moved on already, with collect+ in all the cornershops etc.

The FT alludes to it here https://www.ft.com/content/fcb6f720-d8f5-43b6-88f3-2a12567187bb

I see what you’re saying but, and I’m more thinking about Uber here, “someone will just find a profitable way to facilitate that”, isn’t necessarily true at least not without completely smashing things like labour protections. I think Uber is still haemorrhaging billions across the globe and is completely unsustainable as a business model but it’s being propped up because it will disrupt troublesome established taxi firms and weaken the position of drivers.

[Derry Alli]

Brioche rolls are pish. 

[Hedgecutter]

8 minutes ago, Mr. Alli said:

There seems to be more and more online retailers not bothering at all with returns slips. You've to go online into your account and just electronically tell them what you're returning and why then print off a postage returns label and hey presto. 

Shite of you've nae printer right enough. 

"It was advertised as black but upon inspection I have discovered that it's actually just very, very, very, very, very very dark blue.  For such false advertising, I demand a refund"

[NotThePars]

"It was advertised as black but upon inspection I have discovered that it's actually just very, very, very, very, very very dark blue.  For such false advertising, I demand a refund"

I don’t even think places like Asos actually ask for a reason. I bought a fitba top off Asos that was slightly too small and sent it back without an explanation as I got another elsewhere much cheaper and a week later I had 70 odd quid refunded.

[Shandon Par]

4 minutes ago, Mr. Alli said:

Brioche rolls are pish. 

Always gutted when ordering some pâté starter or a burger and it turns up with a brioche roll. 

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

1 minute ago, Shandön Par said:

Always gutted when ordering some pâté starter or a burger and it turns up with a brioche roll. 

I had breakfast at the Dolphin in Peterhead once and was gutted that my bacon and egg rolls came on a sesame seed bun instead of a breakfast roll.

[101]

5 minutes ago, Shandön Par said:

Always gutted when ordering some pâté starter or a burger and it turns up with a brioche roll. 

You're in Fife now ffs, if this happens in the Kingdom Jim Lieshman has a special team to burn anywhere selling brioche rolls to the ground.

[Shandon Par]

5 minutes ago, Zen Archer Esq. said:

I had breakfast at the Dolphin in Peterhead once and was gutted that my bacon and egg rolls came on a sesame seed bun instead of a breakfast roll.

Still pretty decent for prison food though. 

[DiegoDiego]

The FT alludes to it here https://www.ft.com/content/fcb6f720-d8f5-43b6-88f3-2a12567187bb

I see what you’re saying but, and I’m more thinking about Uber here, “someone will just find a profitable way to facilitate that”, isn’t necessarily true at least not without completely smashing things like labour protections. I think Uber is still haemorrhaging billions across the globe and is completely unsustainable as a business model but it’s being propped up because it will disrupt troublesome established taxi firms and weaken the position of drivers.

Absolutely this. I was mentioning to someone a few months ago how Uber were losing ridiculous amounts of money and her reply was "Why? They're so cheap!"
Not just uber though, Just Eat are losing more during a pandemic than they were before. Doesn't matter though, they sold out for £6 billion.

I understand things are a lot more nuanced than simply looking at the bottom line and if venture capitalists want to chuck their money at it then it's none of my business. It seems to me though that many of these companies are simply trying to out-endure the opposition while those who lose the most money gain the biggest market share, hoping they'll end up the winner and can start raising prices and turning a profit.

I'm not sure it's a particularly healthy business ecosystem.

[vikingTON]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/16/home-wood-burning-biggest-cause-particle-pollution-fires

Not sure if this is an entirely unpopular view or not but this wood-burning stove shite needs to be severely restricted. Either develop and use a mechanism that limits particle emissions or get a truncheon in the face for poisoning everyone to pursue your middle-class lifestyle choice. 

Edited February 16, 2021 by vikingTON

[coprolite]

26 minutes ago, DiegoDiego said:

Absolutely this. I was mentioning to someone a few months ago how Uber were losing ridiculous amounts of money and her reply was "Why? They're so cheap!"
Not just uber though, Just Eat are losing more during a pandemic than they were before. Doesn't matter though, they sold out for £6 billion.

I understand things are a lot more nuanced than simply looking at the bottom line and if venture capitalists want to chuck their money at it then it's none of my business. It seems to me though that many of these companies are simply trying to out-endure the opposition while those who lose the most money gain the biggest market share, hoping they'll end up the winner and can start raising prices and turning a profit.

I'm not sure it's a particularly healthy business ecosystem.

That's what Google did with search isn't it, crowd out the competition and monetise market share. 

I think that an expectation of future profits is actually quite low on the list for most of the proprietors. They usually just want a big exit or flotation which they can get without ever having got in the black. 

So long as someone can see a way to monetise their tech or market share the actual entrepreneurs don't have to. HP paid £8bn (eight billion pounds-£8,000,000,000) for Autonomy, which had never made profits. 

In many ways that might be quite healthy, in that encourages more blue sky innovation and lets people and firms specialise in different parts of product or company life cycles. In many others (ploughing capital into unproductive investment) it isn't healthy. 

[D.A.F.C]

Voting in the SNP was a reaction to how badly the Labour Party had performed and let down scotland.

Scotland will not vote for independence and ultimately this status quo and lack of a alternative or way out will ruin scottish politics further.

Its similar to trump, brexit it was a chance to press a f**k you button without realising what the consequences were. I'm not saying that independence couldn't work but that the snp got there as a protest.

[19QOS19]

Voting in the SNP was a reaction to how badly the Labour Party had performed and let down scotland.
Scotland will not vote for independence and ultimately this status quo and lack of a alternative or way out will ruin scottish politics further.
Its similar to trump, brexit it was a chance to press a f**k you button without realising what the consequences were. I'm not saying that independence couldn't work but that the snp got there as a protest.

[NotThePars]

That's what Google did with search isn't it, crowd out the competition and monetise market share. 
I think that an expectation of future profits is actually quite low on the list for most of the proprietors. They usually just want a big exit or flotation which they can get without ever having got in the black. 
So long as someone can see a way to monetise their tech or market share the actual entrepreneurs don't have to. HP paid £8bn (eight billion pounds-£8,000,000,000) for Autonomy, which had never made profits. 
In many ways that might be quite healthy, in that encourages more blue sky innovation and lets people and firms specialise in different parts of product or company life cycles. In many others (ploughing capital into unproductive investment) it isn't healthy. 

I think a lot of the super wealthy are just stupid and/ or malicious. Look at Silicon Valley people talking about Uber but for scheduled pick ups of multiple people and they’re either unaware buses exist or are trying to make buses but only for rich people.

[Jambomo]

3 hours ago, Bairnardo said:

3 hours ago, NotThePars said:

Aren’t ASOS haemorrhaging money partially because they offer free returns?

f**k knows, but the people want what they want. Someone is always going to offer it. It's going to have to get easier to shop online, not harder. I mean, peoples perception is already that it's out of line to have to pay for returns. That's only going to go one way. Someone will just find a profitable way to facilitate that, whether it's the retailer or some sort of delivery mob. Think how things have moved on already, with collect+ in all the cornershops etc.

It’s not that I think it’s out of line to pay for returns as such, only that it becomes expensive if they are high value items that need sent back special delivery (like £200 walking boots).

I ordered a backpack last year from an online store that turned out to be some kind of franchise, I ordered from the UK site but they only accepted returns to Germany. It cost £35 to return as it turned up broken. 

People don’t have that kind of money to basically chuck away on nothing - it’ll stop people from buying online, which can’t be much use to companies either.

[jimbaxters]

Posting in numerous threads about returning goods bought on the internet needs to be addressed by mods.

[coprolite]

3 hours ago, Shandön Par said:

I tend to just buy a summer wardrobe then a winter wardrobe, in the stores. Watching The Clothes Show as a nipper was good training. 

My winter clothes are my summer clothes plus a coat. A wardrobe is where clothes are kept. 

[Bairnardo]

9 minutes ago, Jambomo said:

It’s not that I think it’s out of line to pay for returns as such, only that it becomes expensive if they are high value items that need sent back special delivery (like £200 walking boots).

I ordered a backpack last year from an online store that turned out to be some kind of franchise, I ordered from the UK site but they only accepted returns to Germany. It cost £35 to return as it turned up broken. 

People don’t have that kind of money to basically chuck away on nothing - it’ll stop people from buying online, which can’t be much use to companies either.

Sample size of 1 here obvs but I preferentially order stuff with the returns policy in mind 

[Jambomo]

33 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

Sample size of 1 here obvs but I preferentially order stuff with the returns policy in mind 

Yeah, I am not saying i shouldn’t have looked at that better, and I wasn’t complaining about that.

Only that if returns are expensive, you are going to stop using those services so long-term it would be something for businesses to think about.