Local or on line purchase??

How much extra will you pay to buy local? Two, three, four, five times as much? Do you sell your fur for a fifth to support local buyers? I needed a new resister for the blower motor in the PU. $9 shipped on line and $43 dollars down town. I ordered it.

It depends on the product. In your case online for sure. If local store is close to price then local.

yeah thats the thing isnt it. I will pay a couple bucks extra to buy local or a shop i want to support. But there is a line where i just cant afford to spend too much more than a thing is worth.

I have no local stores anymore. I have to travel 16 or 30 miles to get parts. It depends on how bad I need the part. The 30 mile trip takes about a hour and a half. It also cost around $16.00 to drive. So if not need right away I will order on line.

Online. Mower parts are usually half the price of local and that's with shipping.

generally I figure online price +shipping and tax and maybe a few more dollars


more than 4 times more and sorry , I have too many other bills to pay and not enough money to go around to be doing that.

we have one hardware store that , they just don't care how far out of line their price is , they are just employees and the owner has 7 other stores.

a different store he is not supposed to tell customers about sales so he hands me a flier and says did you see our flier , when I look at it I see a coupon for 10-15% off and hand it back to him so he can scan it , he didn't tell me about the sale or offer it without me asking so the letter of corporate policy is followed the franchise is safe.

local gun shop I would need the FFL to order the gun any way , he is almost always with in 20 dollars of the best online price I could find + dealer transfer charge any way if I ask if I can pay cash he will typically let me take the tax off 5%. it's a win for both of us then he doesn't have to pay the credit card machine fee.

this is for small local stores , if the question will I order online or go to Wal-mart , online and done.

I like small local stores. I like to touch stuff before I buy it.

Needed a 20 inch bar for my Stihl 390 I looked on line for prices from 60-75 bucks, went to the local John Deere dealer that sells Stihl products figured 90-100 bucks and I was shocked it was $49.

Local stores are at a disadvantage, but not as much as many would have us believe. We pay high shipping costs (high whether included in item price, such as Amazon Prime, or charged separately) while local stores receive most items in bulk shipments at lower unit costs.

If one orders a considerable amount typically then the shipping and handling becomes a much lower percentage of the total cost. I have ordered a few smaller items that were say $11 on line and shipping and handling was $9 more. Most stores can compete with that, the issue many times they may not have in stock what you are wanting.

I have found that some of the bigger box stores on larger items if they have a truck en route or will be the shipping is free. The last 200 7 foot bamboo stakes I ordered I got from Home Deport. The stakes were 20 cents more each or 40 dollars more then my first choice, however the 1st choice wanted $111 to ship the 200 stakes. Home Depot charged nothing as the truck was part of their normal delivery and the store is 23 miles from my house and they are in my opinion better stakes.

Bryce

I support the Mom and Pop's as much as I can. It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling.........but so does being frugal and saving loot!

I like to buy things local but often the difference in price is just too much. Especially in this area where the oilfield drives the cost of goods up

I hate to say it but I order.online more than not I live in a small town and stuff like auto parts, trapping supplies.and electronics are way cheaper and most stuff would have to be ordered from store anyway.

Furvor: Don't you pay a up front cost for Amazon Prime?

Online. Small companies that don’t evolve will not survive in this new world. Trust me, I know. My business kills it on the service side and takes it in the shorts on the retail side.

I work at a small gas station, we try to be reasonably priced.. It's impossible to compete with sale ptices at bigger stores but most of the time we can be within reason on most items .

I'm setting here right now without any antifreeze on the shelf until Tuesday,. We have an increased demand from not having a stocked auto store in town and everyone was panicking from a cold snap. It's difficult for everyone the customer and the other businesses trying to fill the void.

I needed a side window for my car , slammed the door a tad hard , but not crazy hard and it broke. Must have had a defect or something.

Local , same day at Safelight $325 plus install extra. Ouch.

Online , $17 plus shipping $28 3 day wait.

I toughed it out , waited, got it in 3 days , installed it myself.

Most stuff I buy local , but when there is a HUGE price difference, I will buy online.

Local when if its not too much more. made in the USA if I can find it. Online if the first 2 are not options.

I doubt that the PU blower motor is the same one, one is a probably a cheap Chinese knock off.
Gotta compare apples to apples.

I like to buy local when I can. And I like to buy American made if possible.
Especially bigger stuff. Bought a chipper was about a grand more for American made and I paid it.

Lots of small stuff, hardware stuff, there is only one hardware store around here but its a about 1/2hr drive. I can hit a Fleet Farm (poor inventory) or a Home depot and a menards but its a hr round tip to hit them all and after I do I usually have to mail order it.
Getting to the point I don't even want to try to buy somethings local. Nothing worse than going to the local tractor dealer to get parts (1/2 hr away) and they don't have them in stock and have to order them. Then I have to come back a 2nd time. Its really frustrating in that the parts I typically buy are filters, normal service items. They should have them in stock.

Retail stores that don't keep everything in inventory or have a very small inventory are doomed, why go there if they don't have the stuff 1/2 the time?

I do buy all my chain saw stuff (Husky) from a small local dealer, won't buy it a at Fleet and Farm any more, there inventory is terrible, they were out of bar oil and 2 cycle oil for over 2 months. So I said screw it and went to the small local guy, he always has everything in stock, has a guy who really knows the saws if I have any issues. I've bought another saw from him and a leaf blower since then too.

I bought 50 pounds of potatoes and 50 pounds of onions from a local farm, that has a store, on 10/30/2019. They grow potatoes, greenbeans, cabbage and other vegetables. Yesterday, Diane noticed that the onions say product of Canada on the bag. I thought I was buying locally grown onions.

Keith

If the local parts store has it in stock I'll usually buy it local.
But if the local shop says "it will be here in 10 business days" I tell them no thanks, and buy online.
If these local places won't update their ordering practices to try to be at least a little competitive, I don't feel the least bit guilty not buying local.

I order online a lot. I'm not just saving money, I get more selection and I don't have to drive around to 5 places hoping somebody has what I need. Or, the local place can order it for me - I can order it for me.

I don't see any moral high ground in buying local. Somebody is getting the sale and somebody isn't.

What local place ?

This is not a surprise at all unfortunately.

Most orchards and pumpkin patches around here all truck in extra as they can't produce enough for their demand.

Last year I was up a dead end road deer hunting, and the local Christmas tree farm there had a semi load of trees being delivered. Was kinda surprised as they have several hundred acres of trees.

This is happening at local farmers markets too.

Most people who shop at a local farmers market will do so to spend local , help out a local farmer , consume locally sourced products and not contribute to things being trucked in from a distance. Latest trend , just like the farm to table trend.
Sad thing is people are paying a premium for these products thinking it is local and spending their money to keep it in their community as apposed to getting it at a supermarket which may have products from far away.

Buyer beware......

I like buying local eggs. It's a small scale chicken enthusiast that sells manure covered eggs. They are cheap so I wash the eggs myself. I'm fairly certain the eggs are not trucked in.

I have lived in the same town for 77 years, at one time we had 4 gas station, a drug store, three grocery stores, a theater along with a hardware store, 2 barbers, 2 restaurants and 2 bars.
Now we have 2 bars and 2 restaurants that close Sept first. So know I have to shop on line or drive 30 or 16 miles to shop. Keep shopping on line and you will end up the same way if you live in a small town. JMO

My neighbor has chickens. Keep the eggs the way you get them (in manure) and they don't need refrigeration. The natural coating seals the eggs. I just need to walk next door to get eggs. Very fresh eggs taste excellent. Way , way better than store bought. Most people don't know that eggs in the supermarket may be 6 months to a year old. Huge difference in taste. Just for info , very fresh eggs like that do very poorly hard boiled. They stick to the shell like glue. You lose a lot to the shell , no way around it. Also just for info , Egglands Best brand is popular due to taste
, most people think it is because they are organic , not true , it is because they have a shorter time from being laid to market. Taste is better because they are fresher. When my neighbor's daughter wants to do colored eggs for Easter , she buys them from the supermarket. Otherwise they stick ,very bad.

I buy 50% online unless I need it in a hurry. I save alot too.

Thanks, Cragar for the advice.