LogFAQs > #882029862

All else the same, it should go down. They'll be spending less on plastic bags, because the cost to the consumer is higher, which drives down demand, so the store needs to stock less of them. (Plus, maybe they're actually making a profit on the ones they sell now, as opposed to an inherent loss when they were giving them out for free? Probably not but in theory it's possible.)

So, foolmo highlighted a cost, and then asked what happens when you remove that cost. Sure... this eliminates having to pay for that cost. But the answer doesn't end there; it's pretty shortsighted to view it that way.

Why did the cost exist in the first place? Has the need for that disappeared? No, it hasn't. People still need something to carry their shit home in. The store offered a device to make things easier for the customer. If they don't replace it,shopping is now more difficult. This will result in less sales. So the store needs to come up with something else,like paper bags, which are more expensive and take up more space. This is an increase in cost for the store. Or maybe the consumer has to buy reusable bags or bins now. This is an increase in cost for the customer. Overall, it's just an increase in cost.


If a furniture store was banned from offering free delivery. Would this make this cost go down? Sure , since they can't pay delivery drivers and suplpy trucks to deliver anymore. But then they lose sales. Some customers have trucks or friends with trucks, so they might still come buy. But some just have a tiny car. They can't do anything with what they buy unless they rent a uhaul or something, or if the furniture store figures out some other (probably more expensive) method of filling this gap. It just increases the costs for somebody.

Plastic bags are a smaller scale version of free delivery. It's just a cost of doing business.
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Cly at Work
So more power to North Korea for this one. Good show. - MWC