People always talk about how the Internet brings the world to our fingertips, and all that sort of thing. I’m not about to deny that, because it’s certainly true, but I’d like to point out that much overlooked facet of the economy of online shopping. The wealthy have always had the ability to track down and buy whatever they want. The Internet doesn’t make that possible, it just makes it affordable. Say you need something for your car. You can always find a shop that will sell you Toyota parts.
The old way even allowed you access to obscure and outdated supplies. The shop owner could order what you’d need; you’d just have to wait for his next shipment to get in. But of course that shop keep would be another middleman to your Toyota accessories, and they’d cost that much more. Now you can get genuine Toyota parts directly from the Toyota factory-or whatever else you might ever want to buy. Instead of a supply chain, where the cost increases significantly at each link (since the person in that link needs to make a living), there’s a web that connects each potential buyer and seller directly. And that makes it relatively inexpensive to order obscure things.