MrHard - 10:18 pm on Oct 21, 2009 (gmt 0)

Offline businesses seem to go for an all or nothing approach, while online you can see what works, start slow and grow from there. The successful online sites probably dropped many things before they found what worked but did not get hammered financially like an offline store would.

By the time you figure out what works offline you have a lease, a business loan, a bunch of staff, and are in the wrong neighborhood. When you have to do bankruptcy it's hard to get up again.