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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Felix" data-source="post: 3616508" data-attributes="member: 3929">Transportation costs, for one thing.Wal-Mart is successful because it saves money by buying and shipping items in bulk, establishes itself where the land is cheap, and relies on its customers' willingness to travel a distance to get there.In a Mideval world transportation costs would be much higher, both on the buying and the selling side. Teleportation, though fast, is costly. Goods would be shipped there by land, which would take a while. Travel routes would likely not be as safe as they are in the US, so there is that cost. Similarly, there would be the associated costs of protecting the Magical Wal-Mart; so many valuable items inventoried at one central location is a tempting target for anyone; you'd have a bevy of thieves, both mundane and magical, attempting to make off with the treasure within.There would also be costs associated with the people who want to buy items at this Magical Wal-Mart. For an average member of society, it would take much longer to travel a distance than it does now; even traveling across a moderately-sized city could take all day for one on foot; this Wal-Mart couldn't rely on a large number of customers from the population, or sell to a very large demographic. It would have to be more of a specialty store than a bulk store. Which is precisely not what Wal-Mart is.So while it would be possible for conditions to exist that would encourage a Magical Wal-Mart's existance, each of those conditions themselves would be extraordinary. Legendary, perhaps?</blockquote>

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