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Open Discussion: Buying local vs. Economical
So this came up when I was shopping w/ a girlfriend last week. We went to this super cute boutique that carried all sorts of design books, notebooks, and art stuffs. I was about to buy a book, turned it over and saw that it was $35.00 retail. My girlfriend nudges me and says, "Why don't you just get it off Amazon?".
So I put it back and last night, got it from Amazon for something like $12 less PLUS free shipping.
Now, I really like buying from and supporting local boutiques and shops. I'll gladly pay shipping charges and buy something off of Etsy to get something that is original and gives me the "feel goods" knowing that I'm supporting an artist. But in this case, it's the exact same item for less money.
So, where do you draw the line between buying "local" and buying "cheaper"?
Cerclage placed @ 21w6d due to CI (IC)
Re: Open Discussion: Buying local vs. Economical
Good topic! I struggle with this, but at the end of the day, I am pretty economical. We can afford to take certain stances with our money, but not others...
For example, we CAN afford to NOT shop at Wal-Mart. I might go there once a year, but the rest of the time, I'll pay more to support better businesses.
I also buy local when I can, but not if it's really gonna *hurt* my wallet. If the price difference is do-able (10-20%), I'll usually pay more to patronize the local producer. (Especially with food!)
In your case, where the item was exactly the same, I'd be getting mine on Amazon. Seriously, that price difference was WAY too much (~50% higher). Even local sellers need to be realistic to earn and keep their customer's business.
At the end of the day, we're not financially set enough for me to always support my causes. But I try when I can!
MH and I were *just* having a conversation about this last night!! We determined we like to buy local when the store is really one that we can support - i.e. the place offeres unique items, great customer service, etc.
I "buy local" quite often but mostly because I really enjoy the unique shops that are located in my smallish town's downtown. Many of the shops are ones I have shopped at my entire life and I really want them to succeed. There are a few things (mostly books, shoes, baby stuff/toys) that I know I could get cheaper elsewhere (online) but I like instant gratification and hope my purchases will help them be there next year when I need a last minute b-day gift or something.
This came up b/c MH ordered basketball jerseys for his rec league and we decided to use the locally owned/opperated sporting goods store - fully knowing we could get them cheaper online but expecting the store to have good customer service (we wanted to see the quality and colors of the various brands) and thought this place would be able to offer advice on what the other teams usually wear/buy since this was MH's first year of getting a team together.
Anyways - the experience was not great. The guy charged MH more than the marked price (b/c "who knows how long that price had been hanging there" uhhh, this is when I would have walked out... but MH decided $2.50/jersey wasn't a big deal) and then the order was late and the salespersons/owner seemed clueless re: what other teams in the league would be wearing, nor did he seem familiar with the league standards for jersery numbering/placement. This isn't a type of place I would go out of my way to support again.
ditto this point!
I agree with what previous posts have said. I do try to buy local, but it is tough when things are so much more expensive. I am more willing to pay more for local food (from grocery stores to restaurants...we rarely go to national chain restaurants). We don't go to Walmart or Sam's Club very often, but Target is my big, big-box weakness. They have so much cute stuff and great prices.
Though last year for Christmas, I bought all of my presents from shops in my small town. It was something small, but I felt like it helped me do my part.
I actually don't go to Walmart because it is so far away... I don't know if I would shop there if it was closer. I guess I'm not educated enough on why they are so evil. As for Target, I really like the fact that they give millions of dollars every week to non-profits and education. So I don't feel guilty about Target. I hope there isn't a reason to too much!
For me, economical usually will win unless I know the person then I'll throw some business their way. Since things are redunkulously expensive out here, I do shop Walmart/Sam's/Costco...believe it or not they support a lot of local business as well. I buy most of my produce at Costco and most of it is from local farms...Costco is prob the best thing that happened to them, to have a consistent buyer at the same price. I notice a lot local products in Walmart, for example...Maui Babe...they don't sell it on the mainland but they got Walmart to be a distributor (btw Walmart has one of the best distribution channels in the world). A lot of the food items are local as well.
Economies of scale will always win and small business will never be able to compete. If they want a piece of the action, they have to have something unique and also market to that demographic that likes to have 'unique' items...usually the peeps with deeper pockets.
I generally buy local simply because I live in a small city (so I don't travel to buy) and Australia's online shopping sucks. Well, except for books - those I order from Amazon, because even with shipping, it's still a TON cheaper than buying locally - that $35 book you found? Probably $60 in a store here. People are always surprised that I work in a library but only have one bookcase of books at home. This is because books have massive, massive markups.
This reminds me of a "buy American" debate I used to have with my uncle when I was in my early teens. My uncle is rather well off, and used to lecture my mom and the rest of us that we should only buy American-made goods to support the USA. Which is all fine and dandy except that when you're broker than the Ten Commandments (which we were - like to the point where we didn't always know where our next meal was coming from), you just can't afford to buy American when something identical that was made in China is 1/10 the price. I think the buy local debate has a similar problem - it's a wonderful concept, but sadly, it's simply out of reach financially for many families.
I buy local when it is truly local. I love our farmer's markets with fresh cut flowers, fruits, veggies and crafts. They are wonderful.
The local stores ~ gray area. Do they make their products? Carry unique products to the area? Support others in the community? Carry the same stuff that I can buy online, but offer something special within their store? If it is a local book shop that spends money to create a community environment (like reading activities for kids, art projects, craft hour, live music); then, I will pay extra. If it is the same stuff that is everywhere else, I'll go with whichever place is least expensive. I've spent lots of $ on camera gear and studio equipment... mostly online. I know other photographers who shop locally, because they feel like they get better service/support from the local camera place. I have not been impressed with our camera places, so they have not gotten my business.
Newlyweds since 2007
This is an interesting point! I've run into this in our town as well. There are some places where the service isn't great (at one in particular, the man is just out and out RUDE), so I'm not going to go there just because they have a monopoly on their product in our area - I'd rather spend my money elsewhere and get better service/support.
Yeah, I mainly buy economical unless I need it right away and can't wait for Amazon's slower free super saver shipping.
I used to work for Amazon and I never bought anything from them then, even with my 10% employee discount. Now that I don't have the discount anymore, I buy every other thing from them except groceries and clothes =P Go figure!
interesting discussion. i'm with a lot of the pp - we try to buy most of our produce locally, from the farmer's market as much as we can, especially in the summer. as for durable goods, i generally buy wherever is cheapest. we have other reasons for supporting a certain online retailer (ie, they pay the mortgage), so that's our default destination for shopping online - also, the all-you-can-eat 2-day shipping is a plus.
i do support local shops if they are providing a service that i need. eg: i bought bike shoes from a local shop, b/c i got to try on several pairs and choose the ones i like best. it would have been slightly cheaper online. same with my running shoes - i got to have my feet analyzed while i ran barefoot on a treadmill, tried on different pairs, ran around the block several times, and had the option bring them back, worn, if they didn't work out. though the running shoes would have been much cheaper online, i still bought them from the local store.
for consumables (toilet paper, shampoo, etc), it's target all the way. i heart target.
I don't think we try hard enough to buy locally and it's something that would be good to be more conscious about. But because we live on such a small island, only so much can be produced locally.
We recently found out about a small farmer's market within walking distance of our place and I'd love to see what kinds of fruits and veggies are there.
Most of our camera stuff we buy online, only because of the ridiculous markup that the local stores have. Even with the expensive shipping to Hawaii, it's still usually cheaper to buy online. One exception we made was for John's camera. The shop that we got it from was selling it at MSRP, which was very very surprising because most of their stuff is usually marked up between 20-30%.
As far as gifts for friends and family, we always try to get stuff at craft fairs.
Besides directly supporting the local economy and the artist, it's nice for the artist to be able to get 100% of the profit instead of just the 45-50% they'd get if you bought their items from a store.
And our favorite restaurants to go out and eat at, they're mostly local spots.