Don't shop the internet

[chicagobtm]

small local businesses can choose to put themselves on the internet and go widespread on their own. there is a German deli near where I live, just a little mom and pop shop that has been around for decades and felt they were losing business to large chains so they put themselves on the web and now are national with their website, selling German cheeses and other goods that can be shipped. Hell, with eBay around, ANY shop can do it!

 

[belamy]

small local businesses can choose to put themselves on the internet and go widespread on their own. there is a German deli near where I live, just a little mom and pop shop that has been around for decades and felt they were losing business to large chains so they put themselves on the web and now are national with their website, selling German cheeses and other goods that can be shipped. Hell, with eBay around, ANY shop can do it!

That´s right, and I´m so happy about it

 

[Kirbster]

small local businesses can choose to put themselves on the internet and go widespread on their own. there is a German deli near where I live, just a little mom and pop shop that has been around for decades and felt they were losing business to large chains so they put themselves on the web and now are national with their website, selling German cheeses and other goods that can be shipped. Hell, with eBay around, ANY shop can do it!

This post is dead on. A local business has no one to blame but itself if it struggles in today's economy. It can grow by offering both local and internet shopping. It's not an either-or situation, it's a both-and.

 

[justsimon]

I spend 95% of my money at local stores. I'll go out of town to buy anything I can't find here, but I always try to support the local businesses first. We've fought hard to maintain a community and strong local economy (even refusing Walmart entrance) and I'm happy to spend a little extra money to support it.

 

[twardmo]

I prefer shopping in the stores for a number of reasons:
i can see it/touch it, before i buy it
i get it right then
i don't have to pay shipping
and i can pay cash (i get myself into a mess with the cc's)

 

[hunky]

I never buy and will never buy over the Internet. I love the tradicional way of buying things. Safer, more interesting.

 

[dynk]

I always shop locally, I do shop the net at times when I can not fine an item here, or when the price difference is drastically different (like half the price)

 

[fuzzy64]

for the people who say safer, Im guessing your refering to the theft of credit card numbers... well unfortunately numbers get stolen from stores on a regular basis, and banks, and restaurants..

yeah you don't have to pay for shipping when buying in a store, BUT you do have to pay for gas dont you?

and yeah, if the little guy's business is suffering because of internet shopping, then maybe they should look into opening a website and joining the modern age hmmm?

 

[_AJ_]

i am shopping on the net for a new computer the funny thing is where i am probably going to end up buying it from over ebay is located 5 mins from where i used to live

 

[Swellegant]

Can't you do both? I like to shop online, but I love to shop in person, too. I like to touch things, talk to a salesperson, walk from store to store; but I love eBay, too. I can't stand record stores, so I get my music online, but I love bookstores so I buy my books in person; I love antique shops, but I find more neat stuff online because you have access to five thousand dealers instead of a few dozen. If I have a home repair project in mind but I don't know how to do it or what to get, I go to the local more expensive hardware store with the expert sales staff; if I know what I want and how to fix it, I go to the big warehouse store for a better price.

But you know, I live in a major metropolitan area where there are a jillion little shops and a half-jillion big stores where you can get just about anything you want at whatever price you're willing to pay. But eBay is one of the major local employers, thousands of people work at their corporate complex in nearby San Jose.

In smaller towns, the economic reality is that they're dying. The little agrarian communities scattered all across the country are simply not feasible in today's service-oriented economy, and so they are dying out. Supporting local business instead of giant chains or online venues is good, but its a Band-Aid over the underlying issue.

Like all the tide-breaks and restoration projects going on in Venice can't stop the fact that the whole place is built on rotting poles and is going to have to sink into the sea eventually, the same is happening to small towns all over the place. In fact, it is the ability of small-town shops being able to sell their wares internationally via the web that will keep them from collapsing right away.

 

[belamy]

yeah you don't have to pay for shipping when buying in a store, BUT you do have to pay for gas dont you?

Oh you don´t? How did the product get to the store? And how much more are you paying to that store that you could save by dealing directly with the manufacturer?

 

[secondmonkey]

yeah you don't have to pay for shipping when buying in a store, BUT you do have to pay for gas dont you?

Plus, there's no tax online. That usually pays for shipping.

 

[gefsmith]

HEre's a spin...

I price shop on the internet and then ask the local bricks and mortor to price match...

Most of the time they are happy, I get what I want at the price that I want...

G