Quote:
Originally Posted by TomC
something doesn't sit right about browsing a local establishment, then taking one's business to an online merchant. the local guy has to pay rent/mortgage, taxes, utilities, insurance, sales clerks, and a myriad of other expenses to put his products on display. he does this to hopefully sell his wares. to go in, take notes, do research, try out the item then leave and place an order online just seems unethical. the 'virtual' retailer has done none of the above to make his items available to review - and his lower price is possible in part because he doesn't have these real-life expenses. soon there will be no local people because a business model that is all expense and no revenue is not sustainable. I think if you want place a cyber order, then the whole experience should stay in the cyber-world. If i were bootleggers, or any local merchant, i would be quite bitter about providing a tangible browsing experience - then losing the sale to a faceless web portal over a few dollars.
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A LOT of on-line retailers are small shops just like we have here in the Lakes Region who just so happen to have a strong on-line presence. It's not just warehouses like Amazon (who isn't the only seller on their own site by the way). I always try to support the local business myself, but I'm not going to buy from them if they are non-competitive by a significant amount, the definition of which varies by individual of course. The lines between the local and global markets are fading fast and some of the best local merchants have figured out how to adjust to the competitiveness forced upon them as a result. But that's a completely different subject!