[ckcarr]

Agree with squall_line.

I've spent most of my adult life living in small/tiny towns, primarily on the Western Slope of Colorado.

Buying local, used to be the catchphrase. As much as I try to, it's just not worth the "SALE" of 5-10% off retail, or some of the local "take it or leave it" attitudes, where they almost resent your being there. Sure, I have my local favorites these days, but one fact of life is that I'm not going to make an excessive contribution simply to keep someone in business. I can't afford myself...

Amazon is one of the best things that ever happened to small town consumers. Drinking and on-line shopping are great past times. Sorry also, that these towns lose out on the 10-12% sales tax (once 4%) so they can build Taj Mahal style city buildings, rec centers, police stations...

By the way, I'm working for a small town business that uses Amazon and one of it's many sales models to sell a portion of it's products. It's simply another sales outlet. We keep inventory there, Amazon sells it under their name... We get the profits which flow back into this town. It gives us national and international visibility. I guarantee that's what's going on with the Odyssey batteries, and the profit flows back to the company in it's town.