I admit, I’m part of the cause for local retails demise. I buy for two things, quality and price. I’ve found online can give a bigger selection to choose from and at a much better price. An example is a light bulb we use at a local supply house is in the low thirty dollar range. On line I get it for 8 dollars and change. I questioned the guy at the counter, told him I understand they can’t beat or even match the price but could he work with me a little? His answer was, “I suggest you buy them online then”..... needless to say they get very little business from us.
Another example is we buy LED lights directly from a manufacturer in China. Even with the tarrifs in effect now they have held their prices the same to us, absorbing the extra costs themselves. They said most customers pay the 10% more now but we buy a lot of stuff from them. AND they are super nice and appreciative of every transaction we do. It’s called great customer service, even if their English translations aren’t quite right, often being comical.
If a retailer, like chick filet for example, is really nice and has a good product then I can see paying a little more to do business with them. When I go into the local Lowe’s now the staff are all part time and run when they see a customer needing help. It’s typical of large American businesses. Why would I ever pay three times the price for something and feel like I’m bothering the kid that works there? It’s sad, but is much too common from what I’ve personally seen.
