stirring the pot local B&M vs big internet

[BlackIrish]

You know, the idea of sitting around with some buddies and doing a B&M vs internet herf seems fun. Not because it would have any statistical significance (I deal with surveys and statistical data for a living, and the amount of care that you'd need to take in designing a proper study is enormous), but because it would just be fun.

I'm actually curious about the premise: doesn't it make more sense for manufacturers to send their better product to their biggest and most powerful customers (the internet retailers) rather than the highly dispersed local B&Ms?

Please understand that I'm not disparaging B&Ms -- many of the proprietors are enormously knowledgeable and very influential in customers' purchasing decisions. But they probably sell only a fraction of the volume of the big internet outlets. I'd think that if the internet outlets were getting lower quality stuff, they could throw their weight around a lot more.

Just a question . . .