Do you support your local shops?
 

I’m trying to but man, things from Amazon are so much cheaper! For example, today I bought one HID headlight bulb from the one auto parts store in town. I have shopped there since HS but switched to online shopping when that became a thing. One bulb cost $95 but at Amazon it’s only $66! This may be the last time I’m buying from the mom and pop. Their customer service has always been great just like their inventory but $30 differential for a bulb is nuts. If I can wait a bit, it’ll be Amazon for auto parts too going forward.

I hate to admit it, but I’ve gotten worse over the years for personal stuff. I’ve never liked shopping, other than hardware stores/Lowe’s/HD. I’m in and out.

Being in construction, I buy a lot of stuff at lumberyards, Lowe’s, and Home Depot. The kind of stuff that you can’t buy online.

Consumer purchasing has changed to, have to have it right now and cheap.

There is the element of "does it fit?"

Hope springs eternal.

(see what I did there?)

The bagel shop 5 minutes away... some family-owned local restaurants... that's pretty much it. Everything else is online, or bought from a store that's part of a national or regional chain.

mom and pop auto parts shop all the way........they know their stuff, I'm blessed.

I'll pay more, but they great me by name when I come in for service.

Yes I do. To me, lower cost is far less important as supporting the local community. They know me by name and I get top line service.

I do not have an amazon account.
Going into town to run errands is enjoyable.

Since Covid came along, we have been shopping online a lot more but I still go to Mom and Pops when I can. Amazon is not always the cheapest or best of course, I recently put a pair of Brooks sneakers in my Amazon cart and my credit card app signaled that a much better deal was with another retailer, saved over $40. by paying attention. For misc. auto parts stuff I usually first go to NAPA, as around here they are locally owned.

This is the south bay.

What local shops ?

And that is what happens to local shops when everyone goes online...:mad:

When the local shop gives crappy service and doesn't try to assist me then I have no regret saving money online. If they show some level of caring or service then I don't mind spending a few extra bucks to buy locally.

Living in a rural area without any "local" stores, I do a lot of shopping online. The thing is, it costs more in gas to drive into town and back than I can save by finding a decent deal at a local shop, & that doesn't count the time involved. Most times shopping online and paying the shipping is a lot cheaper.

I support businesses who provide assistance. If I get screwed around, or have my time wasted, I take my business elsewhere.

I expect local parts stores to have what I need in stock. I can order it in too, just as fast and usually way cheaper.

My time is more valuable to me than keeping a local store open that hires rude, incompetent, apathetic idiots. I also live out of town so driving to town to get some $5 item costs $10-20.

Do you support your local shops? - Yep always and I look for products that are not made in China.

I do. I say "I do" hesitantly. If the local shops are way over what I can buy it online for I go for the cheaper option.

But often I can't be bothered remembering what I've bought online and to look out to see that it's actually been delivered. When I can just drive around the corner - got it, and end of subject.

For most hobby stuff you can't just go to a store anymore. Bicycle example... that used to be pretty straightforward what you need to buy and you'd get parts at the LBS. Now? Have you bought anything for a MTB? "Ah, you need a rear wheel? Ok, is it regular, boost or super boost? How about the brakes, disc or rim? Oh, disc, okay - is it 6 bolt or center lock? How many spokes does it have? 28, 32 or 36? What color, black or silver?

Of course things have degraded to the point where you can't even go get something basic like motor oil or printer cartridges locally anymore. 50% of the time I find the shelf with an empty spot with the product and price label staring at me.

The way we do business has changed many times over the years. Malls are dead and so are many local stores. It is unfortunate, because small businesses are a great way to keep money in the local economy and in local families. But that's just retail. Hospitality, construction, services etc. are still there and probably will remain for a long time. You won't be able to order a haircut on Amazon. Even though we all tried. ;)

G

My local bike shops all want mega $$ for the smallest parts, and pcs...let alone the $1500+ starter bikes they sell. I understand the service that I would get, but I have always been a DIY guy, and usually don't need coddled.

As far as hobby shops, I don't even know where the nearest one exists....50-60 miles away ?

yes and some times Amazon is more expensive. I've checked a few times and was surprised.

That said, there are things I can only easily get on Amazon so I definitely use it.

Depends on what it is that I want


Guitars. I can buy online an expensive guitar or other music gear on a zero interest monthly payment plan with free shipping and a no questions asked return policy if i don’t like it. Further, local stores have a lousy selection. So, how can I say no to that deal. I haven’t bought a guitar locally in 15 years at least.

Stores just don’t stock what I want, usually. Remember when you would go into a hardware store and they would have a display of all the current Case knives models?

Remember when there was a hi fi shop on every block?

The marketplace has changed for many reasons.

Basically I buy food locally and I support my local record store with few exceptions

When I lived in NYC it was different. With some effort getting off my butt, I could find almost anything I wanted being offered in a store somewhere but NYC was basically the worlds biggest shopping mall, at least it was then

Local as I can get.
The hardware store is owned by the son of the folks who started it. I have known the family for 40 years.
Local mechanic: I used to work with his dad.
Small used car dealership: we bought our first VW from them in '82. Seven vehicles later, the father has died and his son is the guy who gets my business.
These folks are the ones I do business with, not only because I have known them for a long time, but because they run their businesses well. They treat me with respect, hire good people and treat them well.
Yes, there are things I could buy cheaper elsewhere, but I don't buy a lot so I'm okay with keeping money in my community.

Best
Les

For hardware, parts, horse and farm stuff, some personal stuff, I shop my area. The shops here are locally owned (Ace HW is owned by a friend of mine, as are the tractor supply places, the Mennonite feed stores, engine repair shops, Stihl dealer,etc.) and they all know their customer base very well.

Other than that, I order on line.

I work from home at least three days a week and I enjoy my daily "drive-about" to get out of the house for an hour or so. I shop then or just get a quick lunch.

I don't think I have been in a Mall or big box store (except for electronics) in over a decade.

Man I try! But it just gets more and more difficult. The other day I needed a lower ball joint/control arm for my daughter's Fusion. I found a Moog on Amazon for $47. I call the local parts store that I've dealt with since I was a teen and their price? $81. I told the guy "I try hard to shop local but a $34 price differential makes it almost impossible". The guy says "hang on Nick let me see if I can do any better". He comes back with a price of $51. Now normally this would make a customer happy but I was pissed that I needed to haggle with a company I have done business with for most of my adult life. I'm not talking nickel dime purchases either. I used to buy all of my maintenance items for my skid steers as well as 55 gallon drums of oil from them. I still bought the part but it is getting increasingly harder to buy local.

In their defense, things seemed to go down hill when Advance Auto bought CarQuest.

and I should also say that the price has nothing to do with why I buy online. This is not even an issue because the products I want are not in any stores. If they were, I would likely buy locally because when I want something, i want it now and prefer to have a relationship with the business

Another example, fancy flashlights. The only store locally likely to have any is REI. They have a couple flashlights but there are online stores that carry everything from olight to fenix. Maybe Dick's has some but they are likely to be whatever Gerber sells.

Bikes...mentioned above...good luck getting the tire i want at my local bike shop, and I have some great bike shops. They simply dont stock enough, especially if you are particular about wanting a specific item.....like chain rings...hahah. no way. When I was a kid, most of the stuff I saw in say, BMX magazines that I wanted, were available at my local bike shop thought I do remember ordering some unique parts that required quick 6 to 8 week delivery and C.O.D. as a payment option...Heck, I worked in a bike shop as a student and I remember when we would get all the new purple anodized Ringle parts...it was very exciting to see all that bling from the magazines right there in our showcase for sale. Those days are gone

We try to shop locally. Now that we've moved to the boonies, there's not a lot of shopping available. We have 2 small HW stores within 5 miles, and I get as much as possible from them. There's another that's ~30 miles. Then we occasionally need to go to HD or Lowes which is 50-60 miles away. Other than that, there's a BBQ place and another restaurant and that's about it. We do our grocery shopping in Houston because the stores here have hardly any selection.

We use Amazon a fair amount. I try not to order much offshore junk from Amazon.

As some others have stated, sometimes it's tough to buy local when local is 1.5x or 2x the cost. (which isn't always the case. If I can buy something local for $105 or even $110, but Amazon has it for $100, then local no problem.

and for those of you that buy locally to save a few bucks, do you think about the cost of your time, the money spent on gas, the wear and tear on your vehicle? I do. Call me paranoid, but I even think about the increased risk of getting into a car accident just to buy a new pair of socks that are $2 less...

I try to when convenient for me. Like pretty much all men, I hate going to multiple stores looking for whatever I am going for. More than a few times I go to the local parts stores. We don't have any family owned auto parts stores that I know of. I start at the local NAPA warehouse store, then work my way through the other brands. Often they all carry the exact same Dorman part, garbage. I ask all of them if they can get a AC Delco or a better part, and all that they have is crap.

So off to the internet. Often Amazon might have a listing but be out of stock. I keep digging and eventually find what I need.

I so miss the locally owned hardware store with the family member behind the counter that knows his inventory, and can find what I need. Those stores are just gone from the big box stores competition and internet. I honestly don't see a solution but to pile on and buy what I need from the internet. Amazon sure makes it easy.

Shops can't afford to have a million dollars in inventory sitting in a case or on a shelf that may sell today, 4 months from now or never. Especially these days when the variety of everything available is through the roof.

It used to be that if you wanted a widget, there were 3-4 option available in the US, and Europe may have had 3-4 different options, and Asia may have had 3-4 again, different options. And each of those locations may have had 1 or 2 additional options that were similar to options in the other regions. Now, we can get options from anywhere in the world, and there are 30-40 different options available. Joe Blow's Home Town Widget shop can't stock more than a couple of widgets, and if he orders, he's probably paying a tiny bit less, but then his mark up has to cover his overhead, so his price ends up being more than for us to order online from someplace that has far, far less overhead.

We had bikes a couple of years ago, and did order some parts through our LBS. I also ordered some online. It was a combination of things, I wanted something VERY specific and the LBS couldn't get it or the price was so much more that it just didn't make sense.

I am not sure we even have mom and pops anything anymore around here. Its giant local retailers and giant online retailers.

Id honestly use amazon for a lot of things even if they are more than local. Just hard to beat the convience.

I used to have a local hobby shop I would buy stuff from. Much higher cost and sortof a pain to cross the freeway to get to, still I tried to use them when I could. They eventually closed up of course.

these places need to adapt or die just the reality IMHO.

Amazon car parts aint perfect either. There are fake parts and misrepresented parts. Id rather use a specialty online car parts shop directly. I used to feel compelled to only buy parts from pelican due to this board. Less so these days if another reputable dealer is substantially cheaper. Didnt mind helping wayne get his 3rd 962 or whatever, but with new ownership, the free market reigns.


I recently replaced the timing belt on our van. Online OEM equivelant: 45$, Honda parts vendors online around $80 claiming 130msrp. Local dealership 165$ for just the belt claiming that was msrp. I think they have a different parts counter MSRP designed to really put the screwing to walk ups.

Absolutely, 100%. I buy nothing online. Nothing from Amazon, nothing from eBay, Nada.

Some of the stuff that you buy on Amazon comes from the modern day version of "mom and pop" stores. They just aren't necessarily local brick and mortar stores.

I'm happy to buy from those via Amazon.

I used to purchase from this place, which is, IMO, a mom and pop type store. They have good products and provide great service.
https://www.thescottishgrocer.com/

I can now order from them through Amazon and the stuff is Prime on top of that. I guess I could contact them and find out if it is substantially better for them if I order direct.

I do like ordering from Amazon when it's Prime. The fast, free shipping and no hassle returns are a huge perk.

And on top of everything else, Amazon employs a sheiße ton of people near me. There must be over a dozen various Amazon places within 100 miles of me.

Really, or did you forget the green?

That's very impressive.

I make almost all purchases locally. It is only when I cannot get what I want locally that I go to the internet.

No, I’m not kidding at all. You also won’t find me in a big box store very often, either.

HD came to my town many years ago and nearly killed off our local hardware store. We continued to patronize our local store and they are a solid fixture in town today. They are always my first stop for everything hardware and a lot of houseware stuff. Yes it's more expensive but not by a lot and if it's wrong they make it right immediately. Our NAPA shop is still going strong too.

Covid killed our gym, diner and pet supply so no choices there.

That's impressive.

So nothing online or nothing online from places like Amazon and eBay?

What about small stores that have an online shop, but may be in a town 100 or 1000 or 2000 miles away?

If there's a product that you want, but you can't find it locally, do you just do without or find another product that you can source locally?

Is it that you want to spend your money local or that you want to support small local businesses or is your focus just small businesses or...?

The local shops are mostly all corporate anyhow. Been a long time since I have had an independently owned auto parts supplier .
Charlie . Old jewish guy, who owned a small chain of parts stores . When he closed down and sold off to Carquest , he came by the shop to personally thank us for our years of business.
Prior to their closing, they sent final invoices . I wrote them a check for something like 7k to clear my account . There was a discrepancy for $24.00. After thanking us for years of business, he asked for his 24 bucks . I handed him cash . Old guy was sharp as a tack and probably never let a penny slide .Pretty sure he was a millionaire at his retirement

It’s been years since I ordered anything from a company that wasn’t local. So long ago, I can’t remember. I ordered a few things from Pelican, back when Wayne owned it. I used to buy Audi parts from a dealership in North Carolina that I had a long term relationship with. I doubt I’ve bought anything from either of them in the last 10 years.

When stores like Best Buy and Circuit City started up, I was buying audiovisual equipment from a local store in Tulsa and getting better deals. When Home Depot and Lowe’s hit town, I was still shopping at local hardware stores, HVAC/plumbing suppliers and lumberyards. I recently moved to Dallas, mainly so I could have better local access to the products and services I want at this point in my life.

Not only do I prefer to support local businesses, I prefer to buy products that are sourced locally, as well. For example, when I buy butter, it’s from a Texas company that’s been making it for 100 years, in Falfurrias . I buy honey from local beekeepers. When I go out to eat, I drink locally brewed beers. I buy produce from farmers markets, when it’s in season. Etc.

We need more local businesses, not fewer. We need to make 95% of what we consume in this country. We will never survive as a service economy.

Interesting. I probably place 1 amazon order per day. Last night I ordered 6 items. Ive been doing this since 1999

I have no idea how I could function without it. For example, a music book (basically sheet music type of book)...where am I going to get this? My music/instrument stores stock very little. Am I going to go to a store and have them order it for me after I just spent 2 hours online researching the book I want, reading reviews etc....of course not, im at the place online to order it already so thats what naturally happens.......with basically everything

Went to the gun shop yesterday to get some snap caps.....store doesnt have snap caps (huh? how does a gun store not have snap caps).....back home and onto amazon I go...they will be here tomorrow

I guess my wife would say I have way too many hobbies which require me to buy stuff....

Ebay, I stopped using completely a few years back - with the exception of buying some NOS bike part for a bike I was restoring last summer, and that type of stuff. If I use it at all, its in a last ditch effort to find what i am looking for

I tend to plan ahead, so having local stores order things for me when necessary is just fine. Having been a business owner, I know that no store can carry everything under the sun but they can damn sure usually get it.

I don’t suffer from immediate gratification issues. I have no problem filling out every day with stuff to do.

Apart from consumables, I like to buy things at once, so I tend to select for quality first. For example, I have dress shoes that are 40 years old. Occasionally, they may need to be re-soled. But, with proper care, they will last me forever.

Should I also mention that I avoid buying anything made in China, if it’s humanly possible?

We share similarities.

For example I do not shop at harbor freight. I do not care if i only need to use a tool one time. I buy the best example of that tool that I can find that is not made in china

As a result, I literally still have just about every single thing I have every purchased in the last 50 years.......this will be a fun estate sale for someone when im gone :(

Im the same with shoes too...I just had a pair of Danner hiking boots resoled that I purchased in 1993. Because they were good quality to begin with, I kept them and it made sense to invest another $40 into them. They are now good for probably the rest of my life