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Local stores - did you source any gifts from them?

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Mai72

Lifer
Sep 12, 2012
11,562
1,741
126
This 2017 holiday season did you buy any gifts at your local brick & mortar stores?
Just wondering how relevant they are to your holiday shopping habits.

Myself, no. I bought from Etsy, King Arthur Flour, Shutterfly, and Amazon.

We will limit the scope of this thread to holiday gifts, not any Christmas decor or food. Less to recall.

Nationally, I hear spending this year was up 5% across online/offline retail.

Not really.

Amazon and online makes it pretty easy to purchase my gifts via phone and laptop. Yea, I know I'm missing out on the shopping experience. It's not like I'm a recluse. I like meeting and talking to people. It's just that I'm busy and online is so much easier.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
51,610
7,257
136
I was not aware Amazon will even wrap gifts for you - how much does it cost to do that? I too hate wrapping and I'm not very good at it lol.

First, click on your Amazon cart icon in the top right corner. Under the Subtotal in the top right corner, check the box "This is a gift order" and then click the yellow "Proceed to checkout" button. This will hide the prices on the delivery receipt.

Second, under each item, there is a little tiny gift box icon that says "Add a gift receipt". Click on that button & a "Choose gift options" box will appear. This is where you can write a note for each item (ex. "From purbeast0 to my favorite nephew").

Third, in that same popup, check the box "Gift Bag/Box". Prices vary based on the size of the gift (I think some stuff can't be wrapped, like if it's particular huge or heavy), but the small stuff is usually like $3.50 per wrap (or bag) & goes up from there. I sent some R/C monster trucks to my nephews & it was $4.50 to wrap each one, and those were like 18" boxes. So about the cost of one nice roll of wrapping paper per item...not cheap, but otherwise I would have had to have them shipped to me, wrap them, then re-ship them to them on the other side of the country, or just ship them directly in the box, which would have been kinda lame for little kids haha. Never thought I'd be paying for convenience, but here I am :D

The funny thing is I've started to do it in other aspects of my life too. I've got a ton of family in town & I ended up hiding all of the plates & cups & stuff and just using disposable paper & plastic everything...throw it all away afterwards (hey, we have a good recycling program here! haha) & have had zero dishes to do lol.
 
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Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
51,610
7,257
136
Hehe, I only got it at the store only because it was next to the Popeyes chicken. Otherwise I would have bought it from. Amazon.

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Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
13,140
138
106
Everything given by my family as a gift for Christmas this year was purchased at a local retailer.
 

Starbuck1975

Lifer
Jan 6, 2005
14,698
1,909
126
restocking fees and photo verifications, just a guess.
What if I want to sample the audio quality of three different headsets or compare the color quality of several different big screen televisions?

Amazon built their empire by cost cutting the competition through sales tax loopholes and loss leader squeezing of their supply chain, and exploiting existing brick and mortar infrastructure to be their showrooms and customer service.
 
Jun 18, 2000
11,208
774
126
Other than stocking stuffers, no everything came from a few online sites. Next year I'll do more local shopping. A couple things I got from Amazon were garbage and I wouldn't have gotten if I saw them first.
 

ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
39,756
20,330
146
What if I want to sample the audio quality of three different headsets or compare the color quality of several different big screen televisions?

Amazon built their empire by cost cutting the competition through sales tax loopholes and loss leader squeezing of their supply chain, and exploiting existing brick and mortar infrastructure to be their showrooms and customer service.
once youre left with no choice, too bad. u play by their rules or shop somewhere else....if you can find somewhere else
 
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Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,353
10,876
136
Step 1: Eliminate the competition.

Step 2: Profit. *(BIG profit in this case)
 

Starbuck1975

Lifer
Jan 6, 2005
14,698
1,909
126
once youre left with no choice, too bad. u play by their rules or shop somewhere else....if you can find somewhere else
I deliberately excluded Amazon from all of my shopping this year, and it ended up being one of my most fun and successful shopping seasons in years. I even helped a grandmother pick an Optimus Prime figure for her grandson.
 

DigDog

Lifer
Jun 3, 2011
14,652
3,011
136
no.

i wish i still had a proper butcher like i did last year in Scotland. Boy do i miss them.
1 Kg 4-week aged steak, locally raised, all-natural grazing n stuff .. £11.50 ($16 in queen-hating money)
also tripe, oxtail, homemade beef pies, omg.

i do visit my local asian supermarket / cash&carry for tasty asian treats like dumplings and sauces and stuff. otherwise it's all corporate, brand supermarket. I think the only privately-owned businesses i give money to are pubs.

i buy most stuff from amazon too, which is cheap and convenient, but it does raise the moral issue of the quasi-slavery working conditions there.
 

sportage

Lifer
Feb 1, 2008
11,492
3,163
136
MORONS FROM OUTER SPACE from a local ota tv station COMET TV.
Spoofs abound, satire galore, totally crazy.
1985, British.
Monty Python couldn't have done this better.
So offbeat I had to order the DVD.
 

ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
39,756
20,330
146
I deliberately excluded Amazon from all of my shopping this year, and it ended up being one of my most fun and successful shopping seasons in years. I even helped a grandmother pick an Optimus Prime figure for her grandson.

I shop amazon, but pick up locally...not just big box b+m, but locally owned as much as possible. its not easy shopping for everyone like that. i found for the kiddos, its toughest, but for adults its not so tough.

cant let amazon become to big to fail!