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Comment by meritt | Hacker News Reader

Uhh, wouldn't it be a lot easier for the restaurant owner to simply not partner with Grub/UberEats/Caviar/etc. Delivery cos can't charge a commission to the restaurant if you don't have an agreement with them.

Do they want the free advertising on networks but then disintermediate those same platforms in an effort to work directly with the customers who may have never found them in the first place? I'm all about supporting local businesses but me deleting GrubHub isn't going to stop other people from ordering on it from their restaurant.

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This is a thieves paradox problem, if every other restaurant is on GrubHub, are you going to go out of your way to order from the one that isn't?

Edit: The solution would be transparency in delivery fees, Amazon has made it pretty clear that "free shipping" will always win though.

Compare the price of the item online versus in store, you will easily see the actual cost of "free shipping".

I was shopping for vanities (very heavy furniture) selling for $300 online as "free shipping". The same item down the street was $150 with no markdown.

People keep saying that, but I paid the exact same price in restaurant and with delivery, since both have people that require a tip and delivery is free over a certain amount

You'd think it'd be easy, but GrubHub at one point was making sure that didn't happen: https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/28/19154220/grubhub-seamless...

Agree. Many of the restaurants around here only deliver through those apps.

Perhaps they could form a coöp which allowed members to use the app for a nominal not for profit fee that keeps the lights on. ‘Course easier said than done.

I don't get it. It's not like all other food ordering apps a very complicated, they are quite simple in fact -- and they are still operating at loss, as a businesses, not even able to "keep the lights on", as you propose. It's not like they are scrooge mcducks swimming in millions of profits. From what I understand, they still depend on VC money, mostly.

If there is a way to simplify app without serious UX damage, and dramatically lower costs, why it wasn't done already by the same players?

I think order+delivery adds non trivial costs to the service but order for pickup is different but restaurants still have to pay a significant fee.

Don't some of the apps mark up prices themselves and get the money from the customer?

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