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Amazon.com Retail Stores: Another Threat to Small Businesses?

This article was written by Flexo in Consumer. 17 comments.

I was torn when Amazon.com, the online-only retailer for books, music, and movies, became popular. I liked the convenience, but it was clear that local brick-and-mortar bookstores would have difficulty competing with Amazon’s prices in the long term. I was swayed enough to the side against Amazon when I participated in a boycott of the company when they filed for a patent for the 1-Click ordering system.

Over the years, though, I’ve come to accept Amazon.com as a part of my life as a consumer, and I shop using Amazon.com for more than just books, music, and movies. I gave into my desire for speedy delivery and joined Amazon.com Prime, as well.

Books Amazon.com’s aggressively competitive tactics has extended recently to book publishing. With a book publishing arm, Amazon.com has the right to sell its own published books exclusively. With the new tools Amazon.com is offering authors, traditional publishers are having a hard time competing.

This week, I saw that Amazon.com is planning to open a physical, brick-and-mortar store in Seattle. It could be the first step to bring storefronts to more locations throughout the country, but that depends on the results of this one Seattle location. The purpose doesn’t seem to be to keep an inventory of books, movies, and other media on hand to sell, but to focus on Amazon.com’s own electronics, like the Kindle.

I was recently reminded of why I was wary about Amazon.com in the first place. I’ve seen what has happened to local book stores, some of which have gone out of business, and what has happened to Borders, with large, empty stores left in the wake. There are several local book stores that remain, but I can’t say whether the stores are thriving and predict how long they’ll last. I spoke with a book-lover who was mortified that I rarely shop in independent book stores and that Amazon.com is changing the landscape for consumers and hurting small business owners.

If Amazon.com extends its new store front model beyond one location in Seattle, the primary competitive target seems to be Apple, not local book stores. Yet, if the e-book, and particularly Amazon.com’s proprietary version of the e-book, becomes the preferred method of reading for more consumers, and these e-books could be purchased only from Amazon.com, local bookstores will be in danger.

What will a book store look like in the future? Will locally-owned book stores continue to exist as viable businesses?

Photo: shutterhacks
O’Reilly, The Globe and Mail, New York Times

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Unemployed Lawyers Sue Their Law Schools

This article was written by Flexo in Career and Work. 15 comments.

A group of fresh, unemployed lawyers have banded together to sue law schools. 73 alumni have filed at least fifteen class-action lawsuits, alleging the schools inflated employment figures and salary data to attract students and increase rankings. The real goal of the lawsuits seems to be to effect systemic change in the education industry and associations that accredit law schools, like the American Bar Association.

Schools are in the business of generating alumni, and to a great extent, use as many marketing tricks that any company uses in order to influence public opinion. It’s true that a 90% graduate employment rate looks better than a 75% rate on paper, and I’d be more inclined to choose a school with a higher employment rate, with all other factors being equal. But a 90% graduate employment rate doesn’t guarantee that I would receive the job I want after graduation, even if I were in the top 10% of the class.

Furthermore, I’ve come to the conclusion over the years that any statistic used for marketing purposes is subject to manipulation in an attempt to further the goals of marketing. Hard numbers give the impression of fact. From an early age, we’re trained to believe that one plus one equals two, in all circumstances, and numbers are truth. Statistics can be misleading in many ways, and are used more often to try to convince others of a point of view rather than quantify facts in reality.

Law school graduation The group of lawyers probably can’t prove that the blame for their unemployment situation rests with the law schools. There are many factors that contribute to unemployment, including the overall economy, local job markets, and the effort, skills, and self-marketability of each alumnus. It doesn’t appear as if the former students are suing to have the schools compensate them for the lack of expected income from working, but they are suing to enlighten the public to the issue of misleading statistics throughout the educational industry.

Mutual funds must advertise that “past performance does not guarantee future results.” Even if a graduate employment rate were perfectly measured and accurately reflected exactly what a potential student understood the number to be, a good rate today is no indication that the rate will continue to be high by the time the school awards a degree or certification. If my index mutual fund returned 12% last year and lost 8% this year, I can’t sue the fund manager or the stock market for not providing the dividends I was hoping for. If fraud was involved, it might be a different situation. Perhaps misleading statistics like graduate employment rates are somewhat fraudulent, but I don’t see a parallel as schools do not typically promise that students will be employed at the level they’d like after graduation — and in the case of lawyers, after passing the bar exam.

There might be better ways of raising the issue of misleading statistics in the marketing endeavors in which institutes of education engage. Using the courts to make a point is only one tool that’s available to increase awareness of an issue. When you’re a hammer, though, everything looks like a nail.

Several years ago, while I was completing my Masters in Business Administration degree, I considered attending law school. Ultimately, I decided not to pursue a law degree and to focus my energy on my business instead. I think I made the right decision.

Photo: CubanRefugee
WNYC

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Debt Collections: Do You Have To Pay?

This article was written by Flexo in Debt Reduction. 6 comments.

People who borrow money generally understand that they will eventually need to pay borrowed money back to the lender. This understanding, whether codified in a contract or not in any particular case, makes lending and borrowing money work as an economic mechanism. It’s interesting that regardless of what’s written in a contract, most debt can be legally ignored. Borrowers may feel bound by their pride to honor commitments, but every state in the country has laws that prevent lenders from chasing after deadbeat borrowers after a certain amount of time.

Time-barred debts are subject to a statute of limitations. After a certain amount of time passes with a borrower unable or unwilling to pay back a loan, the lender will no longer be able to sue the borrower for uncollected debt. The lender can still contact the borrower and try to convince him or her to pay back the loan, but the lender’s legal rights to the funds are limited.

This doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea to wait for the statute of limitations to pass on all your debt in order to avoid your obligations. There are consequences if you don’t pay back debt. Most importantly, the three credit reporting bureaus will significantly decrease your credit score, and it could take a long time for that number to return to normal. This will affect your ability to qualify for more loans, mortgages, and credit cards in the future.

This is a dilemma many homeowners have considered recently; with the market value of houses sharply decreasing in the last few years, and the resulting financial reality of owing the bank more on the mortgage than the house is worth, some in this situation have considered walking away from the house and mortgage. In some cases, this could be a tactic that is more financially responsible than continuing to sink money every month into a depreciating asset. Families considering this option have to weigh the consequences, including not being able to qualify for a mortgage again for many years, against the emotion-based drive to honor financial commitments.

Although lenders are legally barred from suing borrowers after the statute of limitations for a particular debt has passed, they might still try. If you’re able to show a judge that the debt is time-barred and no longer legally collectible, you have nothing to worry about other than the consequences.

Credit cards and other open accounts like home equity lines of credit, written contracts, oral agreements, and promissory notes may have different statutes of limitations, and each differs by state, as well. Here’s a list by state of time-barred debts.

The clock starts ticking on the statute of limitations from the day you miss your first payment. The moment you send a payment to the lender, no matter how small, the clock resets. For example, if the statute of limitations on credit card debt in your state is seven years, and it’s been six years since you’ve made a payment, you may determine that it makes more financial sense to refuse to make a payment for one more year rather than negotiate with the lender. If you are in financial difficulty and don’t expect to ever be able to pay off the debt, paying even a small amount means you’ll need to wait another seven years after making the small payment before you’ll be legally protected from paying back the debt.

Not all debt is time-barred; student loans backed or issued by the government have no statute of limitations. Anything you borrow under any of the loan programs that qualify in this category can never be ignored. The lenders are often willing to negotiate the terms in order to help you make payments you can afford, but these students loans are, for the most part, legally stuck with borrowers until the lenders are satisfied.

A few questions for discussion:

Do you think it’s right that borrowers can avoid agreements by patiently waiting for the statute of limitations to pass?
Have you ever been sued for debt you didn’t need to legally pay back?
Have you inadvertently restarted the clock by paying a small amount to a lender when it might have been better to wait?
Are you dealing with the credit consequences of letting a debt expire?

Note: I am not a lawyer, and nothing written on Consumerism Commentary constitutes legal advice. Always check with an attorney before making any decisions regarding the law.

Photo: Dave Stokes
Federal Trade Commission

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Podcast 146: Buying a House In Your Early 20s

This article was written by Flexo in Podcast. 2 comments.

Today on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast, Tom Dziubek talks to MD, founder of the personal finance website Studenomics.

MD talks with Tom about topics such as his inspiration for Studenomics, how he got through college without having to pay off student loans, and also about things that people in their early twenties need to consider if they’re thinking about buying a home.

Consumerism Commentary Podcast
Buying a House In Your Early 20s: S06E16 / 173

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[00:00] Introduction from Tom Dziubek
[00:36] Interview with MD
– [00:53] MD’s inspiration for Studenomics
– [02:22] The focus of Studenomics
– [03:14] MD’s college years
– [03:53] Starting off at a community college
– [06:00] The start of the blog
– [08:31] Paying for college
– [13:32] Buying a home in your early 20s: Income considerations
– [15:26] Considering your savings
– [16:37] Taking into account your relationship status
– [18:42] The need to be somewhat handy
– [20:51] MD’s current projects
[23:53] End

We always welcome feedback from listeners. If you have any comments for this episode or for any other, or if you have suggestions for future episodes, please leave us comments here or email us at podcast at this domain name.

Theme music by Mindcube.

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Podcast 145: Protecting Individual Finances in a Marriage

by Flexo

Today on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast, Tom Dziubek talks to Jenny Kerr, founder of The Jenny Pincher. Jenny talks with Tom about how married women can better prepare themselves financially for a divorce. Some of the items she discusses are keeping individual checking accounts, knowing where the money is and being prepared to start a ... Continue reading this article…

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The Role of Money in Choosing a Relationship

by Flexo

Do people have any kind of control over whom they fall in love with? Perhaps Cupid’s arrow strikes randomly, and there is no choice but to obey the heart — or chemicals in the brain — or sexual urges. But once that initial response has subsided, if you and your partner are headed for a ... Continue reading this article…

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Improve Your Child’s Cognitive Ability for Income Potential

by Flexo

There’s a chance you could become a multi-millionaire after repeatedly slamming your head into other people and suffering through the resulting mini-concussions and minor brain damage, but not everyone can be a professional football player in the NFL. There’s a safer and less harmful path toward financial independence. Cognitive ability is an important part of ... Continue reading this article…

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Buy Airfare Six Weeks in Advance

by Flexo

Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), a company that processes airline transactions for travel agents and consumers, has analyzed 144 million transactions for domestic flights in 2011 to better understand airlines’ pricing schemes. The study found the lowest fares were available six weeks in advance of the departure date. I’ve always been under the impression that the ... Continue reading this article…

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