Personally, I feel like it’s a question that comes up for me a lot.
For example I was walking through a mall recently and it had two “Lids” stores in it; i.e. a brand store that appears to only sell hats. And that just seemed like oversaturation of the local market.
Another example are those mystery box services where they claim to get you a grab bag of stuff that’s worth twice as much as you pay for the subscription.
Or basically any service that bills itself as “free”.
21 comments
Aldi
I used to live in a town that had a vacuum store. How many of those are you actually selling?
Edible arrangements. Who actually buys those?
All the diamond stores that exist in shopping malls.
There’s like half a dozen in every mall… How much business do they realistically do??
Starbucks. They sell hot, caffeinated milkshakes.
I always pass this store on my way upstate that sells tropical birds. Is there truly that big a market in north jersey for tropical birds that that’s the only thing they sell? Has to be a front.
Mattress stores.
Literally. They have to be money laundering sites. There’s no other reason as to how their could be so many mattress stores.
I don’t remember the name of it but they sell used collectible sneakers. I know people collect sneakers and I could understand buying them new. But used for hundreds of dollars? Nope.
In my old neighborhood, there was an (unlicensed) Lego hobby shop with a cutesy name like “The Brick House”. It was open ~11am-7pm 7 days a week, appeared to have only one employee who was always there, and in the 3 years I lived there, I *never ever once* saw a single customer inside.
I assumed the storefront was either a warehouse for a business that did most of its sales online… or a blatant front for some other kind of bricks.
Nail salons. How many freaking nail salons are needed?
Mattress firm
Mattress stores. I think they’re money laundering businesses
Pretty much any “high end” retail store in malls. I think the clothing stores do good business, but the other ones, like cooking ware, candles, soaps, etc. I wonder, who is buying enough of their shit to ensure they stay in business?
My girlfriend likes this bookstore that takes donated books and sells them for $7 each (flat pricing). How many $7 books do you have to sell every day to cover your rent, your employees, utilities, etc. I’ve never seen anyone else in there and they don’t sell anything else!
Boutiques in low income towns with ridiculously priced clothes.
Those stores in tourist trap locations that sell a bunch of random ass junk, and there’s a competing store selling the same random shit two doors down, and another identical one 5 doors down, and so on.
Mo’s Pizza on Mercer Island, Washington. It’s the worst tasting pizza on the island, one of the most expensive options, and I never saw more than two tables occupied during the whole four year period I worked on the island and walked past it every day during what should have been the lunch rush. It’s in a building with high rental rates and can’t possibly be making any money yet it’s been there for over a decade. How???
Bargains in a Box. They take overstock, unsold, damaged, or almost-expired inventory from other stores and just throw it in bins, like a thrift store for unused housewares, school supplies, and shelf-stable snacks.The average transaction seems to be a couple bucks. How are they making enough in revenue to pay employees, much less rent in the strip mall?
Anyway, today I bought six pairs of tongs, four bottles of glue, and fifteen rolls of Christmas wrapping paper for $8.
All the fraudsters from India who constantly call me at my job at a bank. I really wonder what their success rate is calling a bank that has a bunch of layers of security. Especially when it’s a dude with a heavy Indian accent telling me he is Nancy from Ohio
GoodRx
Car washes. There’s so many already and they keep popping up everywhere around town. It honestly makes me think that they’re all money laundering schemes just like in Breaking Bad.