For all of the justified ire directed at certain online retailers for their anti-competitive practices, tax evasion, labor exploitation, and so on, one fact often goes unremarked upon since it seems to fall outside the usual narratives.
The explosion of online retail gave purchasing power to people locked out of certain markets because of income or geography or disability, etc.
Moreover, it gave people outside of traditional market demographics the opportunity to experiment with new interests in judgment-free zones.
These changes have allowed a generation of musicians access to instruments they would never have been willing or able to find in the past.
The ability to buy gear online without a hassle may be one significant reason why so many more women have taken up the instrument.
Which brings us to Sears...
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