Many sellers I know were able to keep their physical locations afloat by using the internet to supplement their businesses, so maybe that will be the case here.

rather than give up their dreams, they re-crafted them and jumped into the world of e-commerce

Which is what the guy who owns the card shop says he might do. But it still doesn’t cushion the blow of losing a physical location where the regular patrons had built a community, including kids keeping themselves out of trouble after school.

I tried to figure out why I had such a strong reaction (after all, I read stuff everyday that I don’t agree with, and I don’t feel compelled to say anything), and I think it’s because I started my business on eBay and that gives me a unique perspective.

I spent several years running an eBay store, and in the process became a part of the eBay community - posting in forums, answering questions in the answer center, etc.

Along the way, I encountered droves of people just like the ones you mention in your article - small business owners who found themselves losing business, or having to close their B & M store altogether - because of competition with larger businesses. But rather than give up their dreams, they re-crafted them and jumped into the world of e-commerce.

They - like me - found themselves getting a crash course in web design, marketing, photography, copy writing, and SEO just to make their eBay businesses viable. Those are difficult subjects to master, and most people vastly underestimate how much work it is to run an online business. (Only my husband and God know how much time I’ve spent on mine…)

I like what you say here (see, I can be positive!): “Let’s look below the surface a bit, where I believe we’ll find that not all small businesses are appreciative of the “opportunity” that the internet presents.”

You’re right, not everyone finds it easy to leave one dream behind and latch onto another one. It is a ton of work and success can be elusive. But in that case, wouldn’t the true enemy be the fear of change, not the internet? I think that was the point I was trying to make in my ramblings.

The gist of your post, as I read it, is that the internet can be an enemy of small business. But that’s not really true, is it? Small businesses have always been at the mercy of larger ones, even when they were all brick & mortar. You’re blaming the venue, which is a misdirection.

Well, I’m not blaming anything - the business owners are. But if you don’t think the internet can be the enemy for some, I’d again suggest the examples used in my post — small bookstores, small music shops, etc. I’m a music fan and grew up frequenting independent record shops. I still try to to this day, 20-25 years later. But it’s tough, because many of them are long gone. I think it would be naive to think the early popularity of CDNOW and then the rise of Amazon had nothing to do with those shops shutting down.

That’s not a knee-jerk reaction, that’s a fundamental principle of business that applies to everyone, small businesses and large businesses alike.

I agree it’s fundamental, and perhaps “kneejerk” wasn’t the best word choice. My point there was to say, essentially, let’s not just turn our eyes and dismiss these kinds of stories, let’s not just stay on the surface. Let’s look below the surface a bit, where I believe we’ll find that not all small businesses are appreciative of the “opportunity” that the internet presents.

This is so misleading:

With all due respect, I don’t appreciate the suggestion that I’m misleading my readers. The sentence I wrote which you quoted is not misleading; it’s an accurate summary of the newspaper article. If you’re referring to the article as being misleading, then I apologize for this part of my comment. But it appears you’re suggesting that I’m misleading people.

First of all, to agree with you, I would have to accept the premise that change is bad for business. You say, “I think the kneejerk reaction would be something like, Hey, if you can’t adapt, you won’t survive.”

That’s not a knee-jerk reaction, that’s a fundamental principle of business that applies to everyone, small businesses and large businesses alike.

Second, there is simply not enough information given (even in the article you link to) for me to know exactly why people would choose Amazon over a local bookstore. “Shoppers are lazy and just want to look for a deal”? Come on, what kind of preschool-level analysis is that?

For all we know, the buyers in question had been to the small bookstore before and didn’t like it. Maybe they get gift certificates for Amazon from their credit card company. Maybe they were buying more than just books, since as we know, Amazon sells just about everything. There is no justification given for the assumption that purchasing a book at a bookstore is
“better” (or less lazy) than buying it online.

The gist of your post, as I read it, is that the internet can be an enemy of small business. But that’s not really true, is it? Small businesses have always been at the mercy of larger ones, even when they were all brick & mortar. You’re blaming the venue, which is a misdirection.

Have the small business owners you mention even started to research what the internet could mean to their businesses? Or are they just assuming that they can’t compete in the internet arena because they can’t compete in the brick & mortar arena?

This is so misleading: “Our local newspaper had one such story today, about a local comics, cards, and games shop closing its doors, and in the process, leaving a lot of kids without a place to hang out after school with friends. They say the Web is a big part of the problem.”

What exactly does “problem” refer to? The fact that the store had to close? The fact that kids in this town have nowhere else to go? The fact that business is always, has always, and always will be changing?

All of these issues are different, and whether any of them is a problem (or a problem that can be blamed on the internet) is not a foregone conclusion.

Normally I really enjoy your posts, so I was surprised by my reaction to this one.