When to Draw the line on buying local???

[maxwelhse]

I feel like we need to redefine "local" as small businesses. Businesses that have not embraced internet sales are going to die off. They must adapt to the changing culture. The ship has sailed on the traditional main street local business. That doesn't mean that the remaining small local businesses have to ask die off but they will have to evolve. Being specialized they sold be able to thrive by selling their expertise along with their products. As noted up thread expert/experienced knowledge is hard to come by and IMO adds significant value.

From recent experience, Sweetwater Sound is a great example of this. Just ordered some stuff from them (Thanksgiving night even) and immediately got an email from a sales rep just to let me know who to contact if there were any issues. Not that Sweetwater is all that small, but they are "local" and I would buy from them again just because the service with a tick better than the other guys. No way I'm driving an hour and half to Fort Wayne to do it though.

 

[KARP]

Had a bad experience with Cotsco, got an estimate for a new garage door and opener, wanted all money upfront and wouldn't put a time-line on the contract. Told him goodbye and called a local installer. He was cheaper and I had installation done in a day and a half. Only asked for 500$ down and the rest when job was done. He also put that he would do the job within 5 business days.

 

[churchmouse]

Had a bad experience with Cotsco, got an estimate for a new garage door and opener, wanted all money upfront and wouldn't put a time-line on the contract. Told him goodbye and called a local installer. He was cheaper and I had installation done in a day and a half. Only asked for 500$ down and the rest when job was done. He also put that he would do the job within 5 business days.

Never ever pay all the money up front.

 

[Cameramonkey]

From recent experience, Sweetwater Sound is a great example of this. Just ordered some stuff from them (Thanksgiving night even) and immediately got an email from a sales rep just to let me know who to contact if there were any issues. Not that Sweetwater is all that small, but they are "local" and I would buy from them again just because the service with a tick better than the other guys. No way I'm driving an hour and half to Fort Wayne to do it though.

Sweetwater ROCKS! And the candy bag in every shipment is a nice touch.

They are so damn good I tried to cancel an order 30 minutes after I placed it. My rep apologized saying "its already been boxed up and is on the way to the truck. But feel free to refuse the shipment if you really dont want it and we can credit your account as soon as it comes back to us. "

And you thought Amazon was fast!

And they definitely are not small. They passed $1B in sales during Covid. So many people were ramping up and buying stuff to go online they couldnt keep up.

 

[thelefthand]

Depends on what I'm buying and who "local" is. Menards, Lowes, Walmart, Meijer, Cabela's, ect. isn't my definition of local. I'll normally buy something on-line just easily as I will buy from any of these places.

If I were buying something like silver (which I presume is for investment purposes), I'd go with the bottom dollar period. The primary purpose of the purchase is financial, so that would dictate that my primary considerations would be the price. Anything you pay above that is a "gift" you're giving the seller. Unless you are a jeweler, or regularly hunt werewolves, I'd be surprised if having a local source for silver ever comes in handy.

If I can find privately owned small businesses to deal with, I support them where I can. I expect them to be 10% higher (or up to $20), but it's worth that to me if I can help them keep their doors open. Not to mention that a lot of their "profit" is normally put back into the community in one form or another. I won't let them rob me blind, but I want them to stay open and make (at least) a comfortable living doing so. This all assumes that the local business does a good job.

 

[HoosierNation33]

My biggest gripe is that buying local just costs too much sometimes. And often it can even be of a lower quality than something mass-produced in China. It get's tough turning down single etsy-moms all the time. Like no...I don't want to buy your bathwater scented candles.

 

[cbhausen]

From recent experience, Sweetwater Sound is a great example of this. Just ordered some stuff from them (Thanksgiving night even) and immediately got an email from a sales rep just to let me know who to contact if there were any issues. Not that Sweetwater is all that small, but they are "local" and I would buy from them again just because the service with a tick better than the other guys. No way I'm driving an hour and half to Fort Wayne to do it though.

I just pre-ordered a Takamine Garth Brooks GB7C acoustic guitar from Sweetwater. Great service for sure. They remembered me and my brother from years ago when we made a trip up there.

 

[maxwelhse]

I just pre-ordered a Takamine Garth Brooks GB7C acoustic guitar from Sweetwater. Great service for sure. They remembered me and my brother from years ago when we made a trip up there.

They just sent me a catalog that I'm hesitant to open... All I needed were filters for my mics, but they could easily sell me many thousands of dollars of amps for sure. Better off to not even look.

 

[oze]

From recent experience, Sweetwater Sound is a great example of this. Just ordered some stuff from them (Thanksgiving night even) and immediately got an email from a sales rep just to let me know who to contact if there were any issues. Not that Sweetwater is all that small, but they are "local" and I would buy from them again just because the service with a tick better than the other guys. No way I'm driving an hour and half to Fort Wayne to do it though.

I worked at Sweetwater for a couple of years (guitar tech and then telephone technical support), and the amount of freedom we were given in order to make things right for our customers was unbelievable to a guy like me who recently retired from a gig in Corporate America. By the way, if you ever are in or near The Fort, visiting the Sweetwater campus is a great way to spend some time (and money) .

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[oze]

They just sent me a catalog that I'm hesitant to open... All I needed were filters for my mics, but they could easily sell me many thousands of dollars of amps for sure. Better off to not even look.

I hear ya! The prices under the employee purchase program are just incredible, and sometimes I just couldn't help myself. The four years to pay with no interest is nice, but I still have two more years before I pay off my final purchase before I left:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...ge-artisan-aged-h-150-vintage-cherry-sunburst

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