[fred cook]

All of the tire stores in my town are family owned, single store businesses. My experience has been that if you go in and start talking price comparisons, they will tell you quickly that the price is the price! There are two of the local shops where I am friends with the owners so have just gone along with the pricing. Probably not going to happen any longer! On the positive side, I usually only buy a set of tires every 4-5 years.