Don't shop the internet

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I went back home for the holiday from the big city to my smaller university town in Montana. I was watching the local morning show there and one of the guys (dressed in a cowboy hat of course) was urging the viewers to support the local economy and to NOT shop over the internet. In all the hustle and bustle and wanting convenience I can't believe I hadn't really thought how shopping over the internet probably not only doesn't support the local economy, it probably doesn't even support the national economy(at least partially with the tech support probably being overseas). So join me in shopping as much as you can at the stores in your area. Hey it might help to get out amongst the masses. Shopping at the mall, there was a ton of eye candy that was better than shopping online and surfing for porn.

 

[pills]

I can't take the malls and the shops. Poor service, rude people. In a smaller town it might be different, though. The selection can't be beat on t'Internet.

 

[Lefty]

hey pills,



can you take the loss of public services i.e. police, sanitation,water, road maintenance. not to mention the loss of jobs/careers and the sundry items that go along with?

JUST thought i would ask.

 

[eddielee]

I shop for a few things local, but a lot of my Christmas shopping is on the internet. I can't find all the things I need in my area.

 

[belamy]

You buy wherever you find what you want. And I´m r-a-v-i-s-h-e-d with the possibility of getting what I want from anywhere in the world just by making a little click.
In Barcelona we know about the problems that small stores face today, being the main city of a land with poor natural resources which has been built up for centuries on commerce and trade, and the source of all those problems is still big malls much more than the internet. If something is prone to ruining international economy is not so much the web as the old (ancient!) post WWII American model of growth and suburban lifestyle spreading all over the world.

 

[treanir]

If I can get it locally at a decent price, I will. But some things are either not in stores or ridiculously expensive in comparison to online shops. Supporting the local economy or not, I'm not willing to pay €30 extra.

 

[pills]

hey pills,

can you take the loss of public services i.e. police, sanitation,water, road maintenance. not to mention the loss of jobs/careers and the sundry items that go along with?

JUST thought i would ask.

I doubt the little money I would spend to buy things locally are going to have that much of an impact. What I buy online is not readily available in the stores within walking distance. I don't have a car and I can't take the bus. I have a mild panic disorder caused by a constant "unbalanced" feeling in my head so where the crowds are, I ain't.

But thanks for asking.

 

[jaysizzles]

On one hand I agree with you...I like the idea of patronizing the local shops and stores in order to keep my community alive. On the other, items that I'd only find and be able to buy from a large retailer...I think it's better to shop on-line and at least compare. If I can get my merchandise at a better price including shipping...it still supports the delivery companies, and it helps consumers in the long run because large retailers will have to keep prices down in order to stay competitive.

There are a lot of small on-line businesses and/or specialty shops, that may be in any community (even yours), that would not be able to survive if they had to rely solely on local support. These merchants are adapting to the changing times...and the changes in how consumers shop.

 

[antdak]

I just bought a boxed set of Christmas cards thru the HRC web site! I thought it would be nice to send to my friends, and help support the HRC a little bit!

 

[metta]

That only works if the products were made locally. Most products in stores were made from all over the World. Shopping locally does not mean that you are buying products that were made locally.

 

[Lefty]

metta...there is (in many places) such concepts as local sales tax, shop owner fees, licences, rent which generates more tax base. there is a forest,its true there is a forest...but without the trees what is a forest?
honest, i'm not picking on you...hell, this isn't even my thread. i just would like people to see the ramifications of their actions

 

[thermodynamics]

I often do a cost analysis when trying to get an item. I want it the cheapest I can get it. If that means I shop online often, well, so be it. Only for big, heavy items do I usually go local. Also, clothing or anything I want to see/touch before I buy I'll buy locally (obviously). But I don't get too concerned about supporting local merchants because they often don't have the stuff I'm looking for.

 

[Ontariobear]

If some of the local merchants had treated their (former) customers a little better then we'd still shop there. If I'm looking for more obscure DVDs for my partner and the step-kids I can find them online with free shipping without the rudeness and the crowds. Otherwise I patronize where I'm treated like they actually want me to come back.

 

[Soilwork]

The only things I buy on the internet is books or music.

Never gifts.

I try to get unique design or unusual but practical gifts for people and you can really only get those in small boutiques or design stores. Maybe Art shows... Seldom on the internet.

 

[belamy]

***bump***

 

[secondmonkey]

Most local retailers and especially small shops are obscenely overpriced and have terrible selection. I say screw them. If they go out of business they deserve it. If they can't compete they can't compete. For every local business you don't support you're supporting a local business somewhere else, and there are plenty of internet businesses based right in your local area.

 

[slobone]

There a lot of worthy causes I'm willing to spend time and money on. But helping local storekeepers stay in business ain't one of them. If they can't compete, tough.

 

[elra]

If you really want to support your local businesses, stop shopping at Wal*Mart. That and uh.. if people stopped buying things online I'd have no job!

 

[Spiff]

For me, selection is a higher priority than price. If selection were not important to most of us, then I suppose that we'd all have to settle for buying everything at Walmart in our local town. Speaking of Walmart, you can put much of the blame on them for making all the smaller shops in your local town having to go out of business.

 

[fuzzy64]

I do alot of shopping online, and will continue to do so... I do shop stores regularly at the malls, best buy, target. but I still do major internet purchases--and we OWN a shop too..

Why do I shop online? its easy, you don't have to deal with stupid sales kids--which is the norm at mall stores nowdays, not to mention the geeks that don't know shit at best buy or circuit city..no thats not ALL of the best buy/circuit city employees-- so don't get your feathers all ruffled.. besides, ALL the major stores nowdays have websites where you can order online, if they don't want us to shop online, don't make it available....