The economics of cheap drone delivery

Let’s say 30-minute drone delivery to your home were legal, well-run, and, for purposes of argument, free or done at very low cost.  You would buy smaller size packages and keep smaller libraries at home and in your office.  Bookshelf space would be freed up, you would cook more with freshly ground spices, the physical world would stand a better chance of competing with the rapid-delivery virtual world, and Amazon Kindles would decline in value.  Given that the storage costs for goods would fall (more storage by specialists, accompanied by later delivery), expected inflation would more likely be converted into price hikes today.  The liquidity premium of money (NB: not currency) would rise and the liquidity premium of goods would fall.  Some drug markets would be taken off the streets and the importance of gang “turf” would fall.

Addendum: What do we know about network economies in drone delivery systems?  FedEx and UPS and USPS, taken together, dominate the market for physical delivery of parcels to homes.  How much room would there be in the market for “lone drone” operators?

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