Support local or go online?

[HannibalX]

I buy computer parts almost exclusively online. The reason being no corner computer store I have ever been in has the variety of products offered by online vendors like Newegg. Most of the corner computer stores I have been to seem to prey on stupid people and have been less than honest with me, so I avoid them. The last one I was in I witnessed the "tech" (probably a former car salesman) trying to convince some middle aged woman she needed to pay them $3k for a custom PC because Dell and HP use cheap parts made in Chile and will stop working in six months.

For other things, I typically go local and avoid chain stores if I can. So, for fishing gear I would probably hit up the local bait & tackle store before going to Walmart or an "outdoor" chain like Gander Mountain or Bass Pro Shops.

 

[Pollock]

in your specific case I would go local because the only reason you're not paying sales tax on your online order is because you're stealing from your local government.

Your local government is stealing from you.

Buy wherever it's cheapest. If it's a toss-up, do whatever's more convenient. Sometimes that may be just going to the store to get it, other times it may be easier to let it come to my house.

 

[Farang]

Buy online. Donate 80% of money saved to charity. Save $10, buy yourself a steak. Everyone wins.

 

[James3shin]

Gosh darn it, I went online and purchased. The overall price difference was $130 after taxes and promotions. I actually feel really bad about this, but I just could not pass up more then $100.

 

[JS80]

Gosh darn it, I went online and purchased. The overall price difference was $130 after taxes and promotions. I actually feel really bad about this, but I just could not pass up more then $100.

lol

 

[nageov3t]

Gosh darn it, I went online and purchased. The overall price difference was $130 after taxes and promotions. I actually feel really bad about this, but I just could not pass up more then $100.

now I assume you're going to pay your state government sales tax on the items you purchased just like you're supposed to?

 

[StageLeft]

"supporting local" is so fvcking stupid, I'm surprised people do it. In this case you're talking about $50. You can either "support local" and give that $50 away to a stranger for his wallet or you can "support local" and keep it in your wallet. Guess which one I do? That's another $50 you could spend on somebody who ACTUALLY gives you something for your money instead of relying on your charity, be it a restaurant or mechanic's services or whatever.

 

[zinfamous]

I'm interested in buying a new fly rod and have the choice of going online or supporting my local tackle shop. I want to (and do) support my local tackle shop with this purchase but I could save ~$50 if I buy online by not having to pay tax. Which would you do? I am pretty new to this shop and they are really helpful and friendly but the extra dough would be nice in my pocket - GAH!

spend the $50 you save online at the local tackle shop.

you both win.

 

[zinfamous]

No such thing as local anymore.

pretty much true.

I can understand if this store has been around for decades, but it seems to me that anyone trying to open up a small niche B&M store, anywhere, is somewhat clueless as to contemporary consumers.

Sucks though for merchants that have been successful for generations, and now tough to compete today--unless they set up a nice online ordering system some time ago.

 

[StageLeft]

I buy computer parts almost exclusively online. The reason being no corner computer store I have ever been in has the variety of products offered by online vendors like Newegg. Most of the corner computer stores I have been to seem to prey on stupid people and have been less than honest with me, so I avoid them. The last one I was in I witnessed the "tech" (probably a former car salesman) trying to convince some middle aged woman she needed to pay them $3k for a custom PC because Dell and HP use cheap parts made in Chile and will stop working in six months.

For other things, I typically go local and avoid chain stores if I can. So, for fishing gear I would probably hit up the local bait & tackle store before going to Walmart or an "outdoor" chain like Gander Mountain or Bass Pro Shops.

I was into PC hardware in the late 90's. I built my first one in 1997 and got all the parts locally. A think about 1-2 years after that it started becoming obvious that online was the way to go and since then "computer shops" have been a joke, like a $80 online CPU will be $115-130 in a local shop, utterly non-competitive. It's not really their fault, but they are dinosaurs.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

pretty much true.

I can understand if this store has been around for decades, but it seems to me that anyone trying to open up a small niche B&M store, anywhere, is somewhat clueless as to contemporary consumers.

Sucks though for merchants that have been successful for generations, and now tough to compete today--unless they set up a nice online ordering system some time ago.

Depends on the business really. Anything retail seems to diminish quickly here in my city but it's the restaurants and bars that seem to flourish. Guess we love to eat and get drunk here

 

[mugs]

"supporting local" is so fvcking stupid, I'm surprised people do it. In this case you're talking about $50. You can either "support local" and give that $50 away to a stranger for his wallet or you can "support local" and keep it in your wallet. Guess which one I do? That's another $50 you could spend on somebody who ACTUALLY gives you something for your money instead of relying on your charity, be it a restaurant or mechanic's services or whatever.

There can be intangible benefits to "supporting local." If the owner of the shop is knowledgeable, the information and advice you can get out of him could be worth $50. $50 is a lot of money though... I'd be more inclined to support the local store with smaller purchases.

One example from my personal experience is a bike shop owner who helped me find local trails. That was in the 1990s, that kind of information is easier to find on the Internet now. The Internet is a great source of information, but if you don't know what to look for it's not always easy to find.

I'm a board gamer, and buying local vs online is debated a lot among board gamers. The games we like to play are not sold at big chains. Online stores are ~30% cheaper. But local stores usually have tables where you can play games, and they often have a collection of games that they let you play, so you can try before you buy. Being able to try before you buy can save you more money than buying online based on reviews, because you can't always tell if you'll like a game based on reviews and reading the rules.

Of course you could try the game at your local game store and then buy online... but if everyone did that the store would go out of business. Game stores are not very profitable, they often go out of business, and many people don't have the good fortune to have a local store. I live in central NJ, a very densely populated area, and I don't have a good local game store. There is a local game store that I tried to support a few times, but they're almost entirely focused on miniatures and collectible card games (e.g. Magic: The Gathering) and they really don't serve my needs at all. I WISH I was able to support a local game store.

 

[StageLeft]

There can be intangible benefits to "supporting local." If the owner of the shop is knowledgeable, the information and advice you can get out of him could be worth $50. $50 is a lot of money though... I'd be more inclined to support the local store with smaller purchases.

One example from my personal experience is a bike shop owner who helped me find local trails. That was in the 1990s, that kind of information is easier to find on the Internet now. The Internet is a great source of information, but if you don't know what to look for it's not always easy to find.

I'm a board gamer, and buying local vs online is debated a lot among board gamers. The games we like to play are not sold at big chains. Online stores are ~30% cheaper. But local stores usually have tables where you can play games, and they often have a collection of games that they let you play, so you can try before you buy. Being able to try before you buy can save you more money than buying online based on reviews, because you can't always tell if you'll like a game based on reviews and reading the rules.

Of course you could try the game at your local game store and then buy online... but if everyone did that the store would go out of business. Game stores are not very profitable, they often go out of business, and many people don't have the good fortune to have a local store. I live in central NJ, a very densely populated area, and I don't have a good local game store. There is a local game store that I tried to support a few times, but they're almost entirely focused on miniatures and collectible card games (e.g. Magic: The Gathering) and they really don't serve my needs at all. I WISH I was able to support a local game store.

It is kind of depressing. I'm just waiting for my favorite hobby store to go out of business. I have no idea how their business is doing, though, hopefully well. FWIW they seem to have a decent number of customers but who knows.

 

[zinfamous]

Depends on the business really. Anything retail seems to diminish quickly here in my city but it's the restaurants and bars that seem to flourish. Guess we love to eat and get drunk here

ummm, well....there isn't much of an online bar scene to compete with, you know.

that's the kind of thing you can't experience online.

:hmm:
...except maybe the anti-social dweebs who have no fucking clue anyway.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

ummm, well....there isn't much of an online bar scene to compete with, you know.

that's the kind of thing you can't experience online.

:hmm:
...except maybe the anti-social dweebs who have no fucking clue anyway.

Was thinking that after I pressed Submit. Oh well..

 

[zinfamous]

Was thinking that after I pressed Submit. Oh well..

:beer:

 

[marketquotes]

No such thing as local anymore.

Sure there is, typically it's better quality than the mass produced products which values volume over all else which in turn leads to lower quality and inferior products in order to keep the price attractive to the masses. We've been trained to think that price is the most important aspect of a product. How well it works, how it's made, and how the production of said product effects society and the environment is often an after thought.


That said, online stores can have a local mentality on the way the produce their product(s). If you have the means it's worth going local if for nothing else but to support the business in your community.

 

[nageov3t]

Sure there is, typically it's better quality than the mass produced products which values volume over all else which in turn leads to lower quality and inferior products in order to keep the price attractive to the masses.

If you have the means it's worth going local.

it's all shipping out from the same factory in china, regardless of whether it lands on your local store's shelves or an amazon warehouse.

 

[kalrith]

The local guy said he couldn't get it for Neweggs price (not what Newegg gets them for, the price we pay Newegg for the item). Retailers generally know what things go for online and they are not nieve enough to think they are competitive, and wouldn't be surprised at Newegg's prices.

I would say this is correct about the owners or whoever's head over the whole place, but not for the employees. I bought some tires from Tire Rack and had them installed at a local tire place. One of the employees really liked the tires and asked where I got them and for how much. When I told him, his eyes got really big and he quickly wrote down tirerack.com

"supporting local" is so fvcking stupid, I'm surprised people do it. In this case you're talking about $50. You can either "support local" and give that $50 away to a stranger for his wallet or you can "support local" and keep it in your wallet. Guess which one I do? That's another $50 you could spend on somebody who ACTUALLY gives you something for your money instead of relying on your charity, be it a restaurant or mechanic's services or whatever.

I think supporting local can be good to a certain degree, but only if you actually like what the local place offers compared to the big businesses. I mainly support local restaurants and coffee shops, because I like what they offer compared to the boring chain restaurants and Starbucks. If I liked the chain restaurants more, then I'd go there.

ummm, well....there isn't much of an online bar scene to compete with, you know.

that's the kind of thing you can't experience online.

:hmm:
...except maybe the anti-social dweebs who have no fucking clue anyway.

So, you're saying that when I went drinking with my "friends" on Ventrilo last night, it wasn't the same as going to a bar?

 

[kalrith]

dp

 

[Alienwho]

Protip:

The evolution of business is crushing local stores. Anybody who currently owns a local store and are not taking steps to incorporate an online presence are zombies. They're already dead, they just don't know it yet.

Anybody who starts up a brand new local business with no online presence are utterly stupid and deserve to fail. These people are pre-zombies....they're like pre-aborted fetuses. They'll never even have a chance to become a zombie.

Obviously restaurants and the like don't fit into the above.

You can't just go out and start a business the way your daddy did. The market will not allow that to happen. Buying/Renting a property and trying to get wholesale items to create your own fishing gear shop is a 99.9% guaranteed failure at this point. Seriously you have to be really stupid to want to go this route.

Take a hint at current trends and open your eyes. Consumers don't care about touching the equipment before they purchase anymore, all they care about is reviews and what other people have to say about the gear. Anybody who does care about this will be dead in the next 10 years anyway, and you don't want to build your business framework on the soon-to-be-dead.

It's all about specialization and a slim streamlined process for new business owners. Instead of spending a ton of money on a bunch of crap to fill your expensive new rental property and trying to make a profit, cut a deal with a flyrod company directly to purchase bulk flyrods directly from them and have it shipped to a bigass shed you build in your backyard. Build a decent website with comment/review system and sell your crap for a few dollars less than cabelas to the entire country (instead of the few thousand people who live nearby). Invest in some SEO to get your website to number one when people search for the specialized term such as "flyrod". Don't worry about the generic "fishing" and other terms cause you can't compete with the big boys, so don't even try.

You do it this way and your expenses will be far less than the way your daddy did it and your target audience will be a million times larger than your daddy's.

I'll bet this is what the online store you purchased the flyrod from did. These people deserve to be rewarded with your business so don't feel bad about it.

PS if your potential customer still wants to hold the flyrod before they purchase, they can still go to cabela's and see if they like it, then go back home and order it from you for less and not have to pay taxes. I know I'm not the only one who does this.

 

[gophins72]

for almost all/any product i can buy from newegg and pay for overnight delivery and still come out ahead rather than buying local.

 

[zinfamous]

So, you're saying that when I went drinking with my "friends" on Ventrilo last night, it wasn't the same as going to a bar?

I don't really know what Ventrillo is, but I'm just going to say "no. no it isn't."

 

[Soundmanred]

Reminds me of the guy who makes custom fit cowboy style boots.
His business (all local) was flailing and almost shut down. His nephew came in and opened a generic webstore for him, advertised through Google and now they can't keep up with orders and have a 6 month waiting list.
I would love to support local businesses, but the knowledge and attention to detail generally isn't there anymore. The last local store I was in was a model train shop and they treated me like I wasn't going to buy, so I didn't.
They are digging their own graves and are too stubborn to change, only they are to blame.

 

[nick1985]

Amazon.com > local