there are no clear ethical boundaries here; morality is hardly universal.
I'd like to stay focused here on the so-called immorality. kgermino's choice of words to "steal the stores time" implies theft. I'm not sure if I see eye to eye with this description.
[edit: I'm curious to know why i'm being downvoted here without any followup reply. nothing that I've stated is factually inaccurate - morality refers to personal values, which vary between person to person.]
Does it help to turn it around - you are paying a (probably marginally) higher price in the brick and mortar store in gratitude for the service (advice, time, hands-on experience with the gadget) they are providing. Nothing stolen, but fair compensation provided for information obtained.
> advice, time, hands-on experience with the gadget
Only if I can trust that the advice, time are all beneficial to me and not the store, which I can't, especially if I'm not dealing with a specialty store. More to the point, does the higher price justify the less then trustworthy advice provided?
If brick and mortar stores are only offering questionable advice and a hands on experience in exchange for the same product at a higher price then the online store with lower cost, then they have to compete with that. If they are providing real value, then they'll do fine.
The problem is, no one wants to pay for advice.
The assumption here is that this is just with online stores. Offline stores also compete as well, and not just using price, but real value-added services. If I got to store-x to learn about a product, an then end up purchasing at store-y because they provide greater value, am I doing wrong?
I'd like to stay focused here on the so-called immorality. kgermino's choice of words to "steal the stores time" implies theft. I'm not sure if I see eye to eye with this description.
[edit: I'm curious to know why i'm being downvoted here without any followup reply. nothing that I've stated is factually inaccurate - morality refers to personal values, which vary between person to person.]