I know what your getting at.
In RL, you can order it from an on line shop/auction, and (probably) get it cheaper than from a real shop, but you have to wait for it
OR
you can go down to the real shop, and get it (probably) more expensive than on-line, but get it instantly.
You have the choice "quick and expensive" or "slow and cheap".
In
EU there is no distinction. The auction may be cheaper than the shops, or it might not. The auction might take a few hours before it ends, or it might take a few hours to find it in a shop.
The one defining difference I think is not the lack of a shipping delay though, I think it's the lack of the ability to check a shops stock without having to physically visit the shop.
In RL it's not just the ability to get it instantly from the shop that makes people pay more for it from the shop, it is also the ability to find out which shop actually has it without having to visit many shops first. If it took 4 hours to find a shop that had what you want because you had to visit every shop in town,
and the shop was more expensive, I think many people would opt for "cheap and slow".
In
EU:
I go into auction, and buy & get it instantly.
Or I can:
I can spend ages visiting shops before I find it.
Then I have to go into auction to see if there is a cheaper one.
Then I can buy it from wherever.
Most people (or at least me) can't be bothered trying to save 20 peds (£1.00UK) because it might take an hour to save. They (I) will just buy from auction.
In RL:
I can visit an on-line auction/shop, and buy it. But it takes a week to arrive.
or I can
Spend a few minutes visiting the web sites of shops/auction (or phone the shops) to get price/availability.
In a few minutes I will know which shop/auction has it, and who's cheaper.
Then I can make the choice.
Local shop, get it instantly, pay £50.00 more.
Buy on-line, wait a week.
I think shops/booths would do better if there was an in game way to check shop's/booth's stock remotely.
Then ti would be worth visiting an
EU shop, as I knew it had what I wanted, at the right price.
This might be a bit rambling, but I had a busy day...