Loyalty to local business or to your budget?

[Kevin Dill]

My favorite GM dealership offered to change my diesel fuel filter for $170 total. I asked them if I could just purchase the filter..."yes, it's $75". So I stopped at my local auto parts store..."can have it tomorrow, and it's $54". Amazon had the same AC Delco OEM filter for $34 including shipping. Where does it all lead....or end?

 

[elkyinzer]

My favorite GM dealership offered to change my diesel fuel filter for $170 total. I asked them if I could just purchase the filter..."yes, it's $75". So I stopped at my local auto parts store..."can have it tomorrow, and it's $54". Amazon had the same AC Delco OEM filter for $34 including shipping. Where does it all lead....or end?

With all the aforementioned going out of business and we pay our taxes to Mother Amazon, haha. Maybe joking, maybe not, who knows. Automation is capable of replacing the vast majority of the workforce and here we are worrying about the stupid shit that's on the news. Call me crazy but I think at some point there has to be an industrial de-evolution and a progression back toward local/regional economies beyond what even the most ardent MAGA fans can imagine. I ain't going to solve the world's problems but the future does not look bright in most regards. I shutter, having a 1 year old daughter, at what life could be like in 50 years, but you gotta have faith, right?

 

[Felix40]

This is basically what caused me to some what abandon my local bow shop from buying any gear from them and look for better deals online, with that said I was only using the shop to perform maintenance, that changed as well when they told me 100.00 to change out a bow string. I have since bought a used bow press and have been performing my own maintenance......bow shoots better then it ever did!!!!

Yep I ended up buying enough loop material to last a lifetime online for $10. Then built a bow press to do all my own work. Ive changed out a set of string and cables and done all my own tuning. My bow shoots broadheads and field points together out to 70 yds. The bow press paid for itself the very first time I used it. No idea why i was too lazy to do that sooner.

And just to be clear....my shop charged me $9 for loop material (not to tie a new loop in). And that was after I had been going there and paying to shoot 3d and buying arrows every month that summer. Then the owner goes on a two week trip to New Zealand to helicopter hunt tahr and hunt stag over corn. Rubbed me the wrong way to say the least but Im probably just being a jealous crybaby

 

[Vandal 44]

I am all for getting a good deal and saving money. The local bow shop I frequented was small and had a good selection of stuff so I purchased all my archery gear from him (yes I payed a little more). I would even help out at the store a few Saturdays a month.

I would see guys come in with a bow that they purchased new or used and ask Greg or myself to set it up. They would get upset when Greg would tell them that its going to cost $50 to $100 to tune depending on what needs done. those same customers would buy an arrow rest off AT, Amazon or Ebay and have Greg install it and get made when he would charge them XX $ for labor.

Fast forward Greg closed the shop and the those guys that bought gear from other places have to travel an hour or longer to have someone tune and set up their bows. I laugh when I hear them complain about the crappy job the bow tech guy did at the box store.

Greg was the best at customer service, if someone needed a D loop tied in no charge, if you brought the kids into shoot he would not charge the kids range time. Greg was all about customer service with in reason.

I have my own bow press, draw board, arrow saw, fletching jig, chronograph basically my own bow shop in basement so I don't go to any bow shop for maintenance. I purchased all this stuff over time because I wanted to do my own bow work. The closest bow shop to me is over an hour away so I will order from a few sponsors off Rokslide and from that bow shop over an hour away.

I would say support the local with in reason if you can.

 

[mtnwrunner]

Well...if you want the option to buy stuff local, you'd better buy stuff local.

I try to buy as much stuff locally as I can, because Amazon isn't staying open 20 minutes late for that last minute item that I forgot and isn't telling me if the fishing action on the local lake is worth the drive or not or where the caribou are moving through.

I get that online retailers can beat the local guys on price, but my local guys offer value that online guys can't. My local shop rebuilt my brand new bow after my clueless neighbor dry fired it...no charge, warranted it when they could have said tough luck.

If that had been an online shop, I'd have eaten an $800 bow. I'm now a customer for life.

This^^^^^^^^^^
As someone who has had a local business, hodgeman nailed it. I shop on line and buy local both.......I sort of try and split it even if a have to pay a little more. If you don't support them, they won't be around and in our case, a big box store moved in 10 blocks down the road and put us out of business. And customer service is paramount and means everything to me when I am in a store as well as on line buying.
So, support the little guys when you can.

Randy

 

[MuleyFever]

I shop local and online. I will pay more within reason to support my local shops or eventually they will be gone. The big box store doesn't kill the little guy, the consumer makes that choice.

 

[boom]

The only thing saving the local shops is the “ I want it now!” Mentality.

I buy local if it is a firearm. The paperwork for online is just crap , since I live in CA I like local bow shops fir buying a bow since I’m not super great at bow set up. I’m getting better, so that may change soon

The rest, all bets are off. I’m shopping for the best deal. I don’t poop money.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

For bow work or a bow itself, I'm lucky in the reality the local shop I use the most, is as cheap as anything online. Most accessory's are the same. He is an ace tuner as well. I don't mind to pay more for certain things though as he treats everyone the best he can. And, he does it right. He's been in business for 35 years. Last fall I was in there buying some reloading powder and he was setting up new bow purchases for three guys that drove 4 hours from NC and, 2 guys from VA that drove for 2 hours, just to do business with him. It was good testament on the service he provides. And proof that people will ensure your success in a hunting based consumer business, when they see you doing the best you can to offer them the best deal you can. I'll let budget dictate certain things as well. So, nothing is certain but, I try and support this one guy as much as I can.



The problem I see with most shops is they employee too many people. It seems to me that most of the owners want their own business but, want to work like they are working for someone else on a time clock. As any self employed person already knows, that isn't the way it works if you are to stay in business. And, the prices these type owners showcase tells you if that is the case. So, when I find a local business that is willing to work for it, keeping his prices low to ensure his prices are some what competitive with online offerings, it ensure's I give him my business as much as I can. That-a-way, I don't feel bad when I don't. God Bless men

 

[DenverCountryBoy]

It's not an either/or thing. Having fidelity to your budget will allow you to have more cash in the bank to spend on local services that are not available online. Economies evolve. Businesses that offer value flourish, those that don't go under. In the end, the consumer benefits.

 

[Lawnboi]

I'll support local business if they deserve supporting.

Shoddy work or a poor attitude and I'll gladly spend my money elsewhere.
I end up buying most archery related items from a family shop, but I drive an hour to do it, past many shops that I don't trust or that Iv gotten bad service from in the past.

 

[Dromsky]

I want you guys to consider if what you do for a living can be purchased or contracted from someone for less, most often the answer is yes. I support my local business because I want them there when I need them even if it costs me a little more. I have a friend who is exactly the opposite and prides himself on saving a nickel every chance he gets. I would much rather go to my locally owned hardware store for something than endure another trip to Home Depot and I cringe at the thought of my options being limited to Walmart and Amazon one day. One of you posted about evaluating an item in a store then buying it cheaper elsewhere, that is bs in my opinion and is wanting to have your cake and eat it too.

 

[Glory]

I shop online. I work too hard for my money to give it to someone else "just because".

 

[tttoadman]

I will always try to buy local. I paid an extra $30 per battery yesterday for the truck at my local tire shop. I will ask my local guys to "do what you can for me, but make sure you make some money". I make a point to find the little burger joint in every little town I go to before I will stop at the fast food joint. I do my share of online purchases, but not for the nice stuff that I want to try on and put my hands on. I am fortunate to live in the Portland Metro area, and I can buy about everything local If I want. I buy all of my boots from my local mountaineering shop. I can buy Six Moons and Hilleberg shelters, western mountaineering and feathered friends bags, and even seek outside shelters from my local shops.

I will never be rich shopping the way i do, but I will never be rich mainly because I frequent this site too much!!

 

[Backpack Hunter]

As a small business owner and a consumer I think I see both sides of the situation......most times.
I tend to try to purchase locally first provided there is good service. Being able to get something when I want it is a huge benefit. If the item I am needing will need service in the future keeping the service man in business is a huge benefit to me as well. The knowledge of a product, and even being able to ask an actual person about the product is a huge benefit to me.
If the product doesn't require any of these things and isn't available locally I will find it elsewhere and more than likely shop on price alone.

Esse quam videri

 

[mfllood3800]

At my bow shop- I buy his used bows and that helps us both. I have gotten 3 bows from him over the years, but I get my arrows and other stuff elsewhere and set it up myself. I went asking for a BGold 5 pin slider, he said he could get it. I told him up front I can get this for mid $200's. He later tells me he cant get that deal and to go get it. I usually go to him like this and it works for both us.

There are 2 gun shops in town. This scenario now gets more complicated as it's tough to spend a bit more locally helping out 1 business, and now there are 2.

But when lots of $$ is saved online I go online and use the savings to try and spend in their stores.

I just told the smaller gun store I can get a new Pic rail for my AR for this much $$$ and he came back, ok, buy it from me and I will install it for free. He works with me and therefore I work with him.

The other shop will often omit taxes, which on large purchases saves me the difference.
They know I have online as an option. But they also know I am there to support them

I've bought 11 guns over the years here locally, and one of them wanted me to get my LR rifle from him, but all he had were CA rifles and I wanted a Fierce rifle, so got what I wanted not what he had.
If he has what I want and we work something out- Ill get it from him, if I can help him I will, but each scenario is unique. In the end he is still in business so we must all be doing something right- for now.
But it seems the writing is on the wall...............

"The Times, they are a changing"
Bob Dylan

 

[George]

I got bent over yesterday at the auto parts store, $146 for the little battery for my Polarious.

G

 

[LandYacht]

Those batteries aren’t cheap and the shipping is crazy George


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[idcuda]

I feel like I get better advise and information online (along with the unlimited product variety). It's typically much better than the input I can get from the on-shift guy behind the gun counter. Usually, the only things I find myself buying in a store are archery parts/accessories. And, when I do that, I walk in knowing what I want before the folks in the store get to say a word. I buy all of my bows, kids' bows, sights, rests, etc. in the store, because I want their expertise for the setup. The rest is thru amazon or any other online dealer that helps me save a ton of cash.

 

[George]

Those batteries aren’t cheap and the shipping is crazy George


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You are right, I was just bitching, I thought about shipping after I posted. So I do support my local businesses. Discontinued and last years stuff can go pretty reasonably, locally. That said, Buds and Larry Potterfield have been cleaning up on me lately.

G

 

[Xxtavixx]

If I had a good local place Id be willing to pay 10% more, but I dont have anywhere. With that said, I will buy whatever I can at academy...its just a terrible selection. Most quality items simply cannot be found around here.