My 2004 Toyota Camry hit 200,000 miles recently, and I didn't feel like dealing with the potential problems that could occur with a car of that "experience level", so I was in the market for a new car.  Obviously buying a new car is a unique process.  You can't go to a car store and simply try out the various product offerings from different car companies.  You have to do research to figure out what you want.  Or alternatively you could simply drive to the nearest car dealership and talk to a salesperson whose sole objective is to charge you as much as he/she possibly and legally can while making you believe you didn't just get robbed. 

So naturally I did my research.  I figured out what I wanted, which happened to be a combination of all-wheel drive and good gas mileage.  There's really only one choice for those things, and that's a Subaru.  I decided on the mid-sized Legacy, and chose the trim level and color I wanted.  I got some price quotes from places like Cars.com and Edmunds so I would know what I could expect to pay.  Then I priced out my trade-in at Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds.  I even downloaded an app on my phone that calculated a monthly payment for a car loan given a purchase price, trade-in value, tax rate, down payment, APR, and loan term. 

The next step was visiting dealerships, which is arguably the most unpleasant part of the car-buying process.  Seriously.  I already went through the selection process and the options pricing and whatnot.  The only thing missing from these websites is a "Buy It Now" button.  I'll drive to a dealership; I don't care.  Just don't make me deal with salespeople.  Anyway, the few dealerships I went to did the same sort of spiel: 

1. Here are the options we have in stock.
2. We can order whatever options you want, but it'll take 6-8 weeks.
3. Here's the MSRP and here's what we want to charge you.
4. Here's a somewhat crappy offer on your trade-in.
5. Your monthly payments will be [X], though we won't tell you the APR or loan term up front.

I realized quickly that salespeople are sociopaths who manipulate buyers with a few tried and true techniques: 

• "We're barely making any money on this deal."
• "Let me go in the back to talk to my sales manager."
• "No other dealership will give you this price."
• "This offer is only valid right now."
• "All other dealerships are terrible except ours."

I was astute enough to recognize when these tactics were being used on me, but I wasn't powerful enough to avoid getting sucked in.  I drove away from one dealership feeling a little bad that I didn't buy anything, because it was a good offer and I liked the sales guy.  But then I felt stupid that I felt anything at all; it was a potential financial transaction, not a hug. 

I finally happened upon what amounted to a volume dealer that paid their salespeople a salary and had a very simple pricing formula:  Invoice plus 2%.  After lowering my expectations a little by suggesting they might not be able to get me a good deal on my trade-in, they got me a good deal, and I bought from them with no hassling or stupid salesmanship. 

Bottom line:  Buy cars from volume dealers like Bill Kolb. #business

One of the ways my employer tries to save money is by doing phone conferences where people call in to a central number and conduct their meetings as if all the people were in the same room.  The problem is that for whatever reason, my co-workers like to emulate a typical chaotic meeting environment by leaving their phone on speakerphone.  That way, everyone in the cubicle farm can hear that person pretending to do work.  It's like wasting your time sitting in a meeting, except you don't even have to show up. #business

Armand Hammer was a guy who owned Occidental Petroleum for many years.  His name sounds suspiciously like Arm & Hammer, the company that makes baking soda and other household products.  Wikipedia sums it up thusly: 

In the 1980s Hammer owned a considerable amount of stock in Church and Dwight, the company that manufactures Arm & Hammer products; he also served on its board of directors. But the Arm & Hammer company's brand name did not originate with Armand Hammer. It was in use some 31 years before Hammer was born.

Slightly mind-blowing. #business

It seems that nationalism inherently conflicts with capitalism.  Capitalism is sort of about making and selling things for maximum profit, independent of location and people groups.  Nationalism says, "Buy American."  But it's fairly obvious either through rational thought or personal experience that any one country can't possibly make all the best products.  For example, America might've been the best at making cars at one time, but their status has been pretty much replaced by other countries.  By being a nationalist, you're not being a capitalist.  And when the crowning achievement of your country is its economic system which it tries to export to the world, it's kind of ironic to be nationalistic. #business

The Everything Store brought up a few more ideas that have been swimming around my head lately: 

1. Amazon's sole purpose for existence is to make their customers happy.  As a customer of Amazon and a customer in general, I reap the benefits of that purpose and enjoy them immensely.  Almost any practice that leads to my paying less for an item I desire is a win for me.  Unfortunately there's a hidden side to all this, which is the low wages and hectic working environment Amazon creates, as well as its considerable pressure on manufacturers.
2. Manufacturers have an idea of how much they think their products should cost, but merchants are under no real compulsion to conform to that idea.  This gets back to value and cost, and how something is really only worth something if someone is willing to pay for it.  It's interesting that manufacturers are sometimes so attached to the perceived value of their products that they're willing to exclude merchants like Amazon.
3. I have absolutely no compassion for manufacturers who feel bullied by Amazon to provide their products at a lower cost or in a somewhat different configuration.  The option in a free market is always in the manufacturer's favor.  You don't want to sell your widgets to Amazon for less than $10 a piece?  You absolutely have the option to walk away.  But don't whine and cry that Amazon wants too much of your business and it'll force you to cut costs.  By selling to Amazon, you're making a profit.  Don't want a profit?  Don't sell to Amazon.  End of story.

I'd say Walmart is a similar company in terms of prices, and Zappos is a similar company in terms of customer service. #business

I'm not impressed by companies that make a profit yet fail to pay their employees a livable wage or somehow otherwise keep employee compensation and perks to a minimum.  In a book about Amazon, it was talking about how Google was able to easily steal a bunch of Amazon employees by opening an office nearby and offering better pay and a few simple perks.  It would be one thing if Amazon was barely scraping by, and perhaps it's a low-margin business, but when the CEO and investors are all making billions of dollars in profit, where's the justice in that?  In a direct corollary to the debate on whether to raise the minimum wage, it's at least a little ridiculous that a company like McDonald's can make billions of dollars in corporate profit each year, yet in the same breath say they can't afford to pay their employees more.  Bull to the shit. #business

At some point in my 20s, shopping became difficult.  It was harder to find shoes that fit and felt good, jeans that weren't too tight, and shirts that didn't make me look like a teenager.  As a result of this, two things happened:  One is that I started buying in multiples.  When I find something I like, I buy a second pair or a different color.  I have such a hard time finding things I like, I'd rather have two of something than none of nothing.  The other thing that happened is that price is (almost) no longer a consideration.  Everything in moderation of course, but a price tag that used to make me lose interest is now the new norm.  But since I buy fewer things, the cost sort of evens out. #business

I was at a small conference for a software company, and they started things off by announcing their corporate profits from recent years.  As a user of their software, I wanted to kindly remind them that their ridiculous profits come as a result of the ridiculous amount of money they charge for their product.  If anything, they should leave that part out. #business

I read this website called Not Always Right, which is a collection of stories from store owners and employees about their routine interactions with horrible and stupid customers.  A standard story is about a customer ordering a meal at a restaurant, eating the whole thing, then complaining about it and expecting a free meal. 

I have this dream of starting a business for the sole purpose of counteracting these people.  They would come in my store, fail to read my signs properly or treat my employees disrespectfully, and I would walk up to them and say, "Get out of my store.  I don't want your money."  Simple business ethics and capitalism would suggest that these tactics might not help my bottom line.  But I would argue that there are enough intelligent, rational, reasonable consumers out there who would realize how dumb it is to expect store owners to cater to stupidity and rudeness, and they would come buy my things at full price and with kindness. #business

I get more paper junk mail from the credit card company I already have an account with than from all other sources combined. #business