Aside from advertising they have probably made nothing off you personally, however your contribution has in a very tiny way been to bring lots of other people here. Enough that Pistonheads has the critical mass to run a very successful (Has more listings for sports cars than Auto trader) classified adds service which newer users and the trade actually pay for.

..Excess leverage for a start..
However problems such as gross debt, unfunded pensions, medical liabilities etc all existed before the recession, people just stuck their heads in the sand. Politicians were and still are retarded and finally these things are on the radar.


I agree its not the internet that caused the recession. But it is most definitely transforming business.
Margins are wiped out for most goods. The ability to compare prices and gather information on products from the internet has helped immensely.

You have to be extra efficient or add significant value in order to exist. This is all good. This is all negative for physical shops, especially with business rates and council thrashing parking charges. Pound shops do well as their goods don't lend themselves to distance selling. People are going to have to be a lot more inventive on what they do and sell because just making margin on retail or distribution is going to get even harder as more and more people get online and have access to fast internet with smartphones etc.

Its all positive, but very disruptive in a short amount of time.

All true. I based my positive solely on my belief in the free market and the goal of ever increasing efficiency.
So when argued from a point of efficiency I believe its positive.
Tax take is largely irrelevant. Consumers win by wasting less money, which can then be put to other uses. Perhaps more leisure time?

http://www.aeonmagazine.com/living-together/john-q...

Paying tax is not efficient, nor is parking fee's and rates. Taxes are designed to punish behavior or at the very least discourage it. So on that basis they are working well. They are accelerating the move away from city center retail.

Its easier to get an unbiased view by aggregating feedback across a number of sources, than just a single point. Also driving around the place is less efficient than locating a seller and buying online. The bottom line is people get more cash in their pocket for spending elsewhere. Like a nice new Gen5 dodge viper, or a Mp4-12C etc

There are always losers when the economics change. Look at the old steam engine firms, chimney sweeps, typewriter manufacturers, hell even PC makers now. We live in rapidly changing times. Fighting change is a recipe for failure. It's all been seen before aka the Luddites. The solution is to be proactive identify new industries reskill and embrace the future.

The is the exact problem the economy has, ask yourself why governments are fighting over each other to create tech hubs and national broadband availability etc.

Some make good margins, most don't, as if that was different from the more physical businesses... It's more efficient and cheaper this way though and benefiting the consumer (at least in this case).

The U.K. is heavily over-taxed, its public sector wasteful and its property over-priced - that's negative and contributing to the prolonged depression (rather than just recession). The internet and other technology based business is a bright spot here.