Save a Buck, no Matter the Cost.

[DocHeb]

I went to my favorite paint store yesterday and they were ripping out all the wallpaper sample racks. They're getting rid of all their wallpaper samples. The owner said they had a full time employee working wallpaper who would spend hours helping people pick out their paper, only to have the customers leave and order it off the Internet once they made their choices. Which store owner wants to be the "last man standing", serving as the display unit for the Internet companies? I know you can save a few bucks, but we'll pay for it in the end when our local stores and salespeople are gone. Isn't the local service worth something? I don't know where my wife will drag me when she wants to look at wallpaper samples for hours on end.

Support your local stores, your neighbors are working there.

 

[dourobob]

Great post Chris.
I agree whole heartedly that you get what you pay for and when you pay a discount price up front you can probably expect to get a discount service. On the other hand, if you are a regular customer at the "local" store, it is just as likely you will earn a discount for your customer loyalty over the years. The discount may not always be $$$$ but may be reflected in that extra mile of service and support. Like wroughn_harv said in a post on buying welders, the few extra bucks you might spend up front can result in big savings later on from people who really care about your satisfaction.

Bob

 

[tc35dforme]

Hey DocHeb,

I hear what your saying, but I'm guilty of being an internet shopper and see it as a part of the normal evolutionary process of our society. Wow...that sounds wordy !!

It does kind of stink that the small locals are suffering, but everthing rolls on.

I know that I am not in any way, manner, or form doing the same job I did 15 years ago. If I was, I would be suffering bad. I had to throw away the drafting table and pencils, and invest in computers, CAD programs and the like. The guy I used to buy drafting supplies from now sells electronic printing supplies and the like.

Opportunities exist, but the days of a lifetime of doing the same job, the same way you always did it are gone....for better or for worse ?!

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

I'm a big internet shopper/catalog shopper for clothes but, in my defense, I'll say I don't know anywhere locally where I can buy something so simple as a pocket t-shirt to work around the barn. I wear a 3XLXT (three extra large, extra tall). Getting the length is the problem buying locally.

I try to support local stores when I can and find sometimes it's even cheaper and seldom a lot more money. I recently bought two light housings. I thought I was going to have to order them from AWDirect ($3.95 ea. plus $6 shipping). I found them locally and paid $6.58 for the pair.

Around Christmas time, though, the idea of sitting at my keyboard sure sounds a lot more relaxing than fighting crowds at the mall. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Spencer]

We had our kitchen wallpapered in the beginning of summer. My wife stripped all the old stuff off and collected wallpaper sample books from three different stores in town. When she had decided on a pattern she got a reference from the store on a person to hang the paper. When the lady came over to measure and give us an estimate she said that she would not tell us how much to order or even hang the paper unless we bought it from the local store. We had no intentions of buying it elsewhere and didn't even realize that you could save that much money by buying it on the internet. We assured her that we were going to buy it from the local store and everything turned out fine. I do buy a lot of merchandise on the internet but I would never use a local store in the way you described to figure out what I wanted and then buy it online.

 

[TBone]

I agree Chris. I admit I have purchased several things off the internet and am fairly hooked on EBay. However, I would never use a local merchant like that and will buy from him/her whenever possible.

Back in the 60's - 70's my Dad had a Shell gas station, one of those that $1 worth of gas bought you clean windows (all the way around), a complete fluid check and the offer to check the air in your tires.

Around 1970, the "self service" stations were just coming into the picture in the rural south and when one went up offering gasoline for 3 cents per gallon less, we lost several customers who preferred the cheaper price over the "full service" that we offered. No problem with that.

The problem was that one or two of our old customers would buy gas at the self serve, then come down to our station and want their fluids checked, tires aired up, etc. Well, I don't think you can have it both ways. You either pay for service or you choose to do without it.

Many of our "little guys" are being forced out because of people who want it both ways and that's sad. A lot of them, however, can take credit for their own demise. Someone mentioned the merchant who had to start selling computers and software to keep up with the new technology is a good example.

My Dad stuck with the old "full service" gas station concept long after the self serve stations became the norm and probably would have had to close because of that had he not passed away unexpectedly.

There has been much discussion here about the "Big Box Stores". I shop 'em occasionally but I hate 'em with a passion. I would probably vote on an across the board price increase on EVERYTHING if we could go back to the Mom and Pop stores but that ain't gonna happen. That's not progress.

TBone

 

[jasonf]

I'm with you. I used to do to Lowes/Home Despot. But now go to my local pumbing store. They ae not much to look at, but I feel better giving my money to a family owned store. The prices are not much more, and the service and selection is better. For example, I had to buy a Moen shower valve at Lowes, where as the local plumbing store had a rebuild kit for it. Ther price was $1.00 vs 12.50. Besides they have so many isles of cool stuff to look/play with./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

 

[DocHeb]

<font color=blue>I don't know anywhere locally where I can buy something so simple as a pocket t-shirt to work around the barn. </font color=blue>

Yeah, the Land's End Super Ts fit me "to a tee". They discontinued the tall man sizing for a year - I couldn't find anything like it locally. Happily, they have the tall man size back in the catalog.

I'm not against all Internet shopping. I've hit eBay in the past, and ordered some unusual hardware and tools from the Net. I'll buy something on the Internet if it is unusual, or I can't find it locally. I mostly use the Internet for research. Sometimes the stores give a discount if they know it may save a sale that might go to the Internet. I'd never go to a store to see a sample or display, then buy it off the Internet. Probably for the same reason I ask sales associates if they work on commission (if I'm not buying that day.)

 

[Mosey]

I’ve only bought a couple of things off the internet. The main reason is that if it’s defective (it’s not uncommon at all to get new stuff that doesn’t work), then I can return it much easier and cheaper (don’t have to pay shipping) if I bought it at a local store. I also like to see something in real life and pick it up or sit on/in and try it out it before I buy it.

As for prices, the local hardware stores are a lot higher in price (15-25% more) than places like Lowes or Home Depot, so I can’t afford to buy very much from local hardware stores. I’ve also had a problem with returning a defective item at a local hardware store (see this <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=off&Number=141153&Search=true&Forum=off&Words=turbo%20heater&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=139709>post</A>), so I don’t go to that one anymore (that only leaves me with 2 to choose from). On the other hand, I just spent over $600 on a gas logs fireplace set at a local hardware store. Lowes, Home Depot, and Menards don’t even have any in stock right now (it’s a seasonal item) and don’t carry the model I wanted anyway, so I bought it at the hardware store. It’s still summer, but I want to get it installed and tested before winter, so I got it now. I specifically asked them about their exchange policy if it was defective and they said it was no problem.

That’s a good point about the self serve gas stations. Our way of life has definitely gone backwards on that one. I used to be able to sit in my truck while someone else got their hands dirty and smelly.

 

[TimSullivan]

When I was building our house, I was lucky enough to find a great electric supply house in the next town. The father and two sons run it and will answer any questions you ask. Their prices were competitive with the Lowes and Home Depot on most things. If they were close, the family business got the sale. One day the father asked me how I was wiring my house without buying any wire. I told him that I could buy it 15% cheaper at the DIY stores. He said “You should have told me, I just started a sale on 12-2 wire today at 15% off”.

When I priced the central vac unit my wife could not live without, the DYI stores had to order it at 20% more than the family supply. The family business knew the product and could pull any item off the shelf to show you. They even offered to let me take the different heads home for the boss to try out. I still check the prices on big things but only to help them decide when to have a silent sale.