Dennis3131 Posted February 12, 2012 Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 (edited) Because of my job relays on people having work and money in my area. I've started buying from my local area again, instead of online but this week it has cost me an extra £38. New wetsuit online £199 I paid £225 thats with 10% discount. Book online £18 I paid £30. so is it better for me to buy online so I can buy more things or buy locally to keep money in my local area? Cheers Dennis Edited February 12, 2012 by Dennis3131 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coupey Posted February 12, 2012 Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 I just don't think REAL shops can compete. What with the overheads, and the need to rent properties in such expensive locations. The internet shops also benefit from economies of scale. You can't beat the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Geoff Posted February 12, 2012 Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 I only buy online if it's something I can't buy locally. Up here the postage on a book, for example, usually wipes out the online saving anyway. When it comes to things like wetsuits, that extra £26 is well worth it to actually try a few of them on. Last time I bought a wetsuit the one I thought I wanted (a Psycho II) just didn't fit properly, but the Psycho 1 was great, and cheaper, so I actually saved money and got a better wetsuit. I've known people search online for an hour to get a £5 saving...that's not even minimum wage for your time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spock Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 i prefer to go local but you get robbed most of the time. i needed 3 fans for work and from the wholesaler i have been using for 10 years, the price was around £270, online the price was around £168. i do make sure they have a bricks and mortar retail outlet though, so i can go hammer on doors if it goes tits up. i'm finding shops would rather sell 5 at 20 quid and make you choke, rather than sell 10 at 10 quid and have happy customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlownAway Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 (edited) I think its a massive problem. In this instance i'm going to look at Tesco's vs a friends local toy shop. They both sell waterpistols. For exactly the same model which has an RRP of £50, tesco's are selling them at £1 over the trade my friend can buy them at - and has had people bring them back and complain that they paid full RRP! He's not over charging, he's just sticking with an RRp price and trying to make a living. Now Tesco's can do that because they are slowly taking over Every market are huge and have unmatched buying power. Why do you think the food in this country is so crap and so expensive! Because people have decided they want cheap not quality - now most local veg shops or butchers have gone out of business if theres a tesco's near by.... and once theyre all gone the prices will be hiked up and the quality will stay low. (Yes i openly have a beef with supermarkets quashing local stores - especially when it comes to food and waterpistols). This is similar with online (only) stores. These are often run by someone who has a job or other source of income and a large garage, with effectively no overheads, compared to other bricks and mortar shops with £20k a year rent, then bills, then this that and the other, not forgetting a wage needed to pay their own mortgage and feed their kids. Why do you think so many kite shops are going out of business? Online only sales are killing them. I am a firm believer that if you have no foundations and a roof to your shop, then you should not be supplied with kit - but only some brands do this. As for the example of Spock.... i'd go with the cheaper option too if it was one local shop vs another local shop for the same product, and you simply found the price online. On a totally different note... regarding local kite shops - if you do go there regularly, and support them, they will in turn support you. I know that for a fact, people who are local/regular customers they get given a discount. They dont even need to ask for it. What they didnt do was turn up and EXPECT it.....like some online shoppers who turn up and dictate that they want a particular kite and want it as cheap as they've seen it online - or they'll go else where - there is only one answer to give them.... Edited February 13, 2012 by BlownAway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smoo Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 There are some schemes where a local currency is issued, which keeps money in the local area e.g. what is the B£? | The Brixton Pound Probably will still cost you more than online shopping though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 I have 2 choices for my heli parts. A £10 drive or £2.50 postage. They come from the same shop. One I'd get today, the other 2 days wait. Also the likes of Currys and Comet slash their online price against their shop price. Go in the shop, have a look then buy it online. I bought my last wetty online and it took 2 go's to get the right size but still a massive saving and isn't that what we have to look at. Our money in their pocket? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Geoff Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 isn't that what we have to look at. Our money in their pocket? Yeah, but as the OP pointed out, it's also about what happens after that. Spend it at the local wetsuit shop and those guys spend it at the local cafe, and they spend it at the local pub, and they spend it on a local band etc etc. Keeping it all moving locally is the idea. Spend it on Amazon, however, and the best case scenario is you're sending your money to a bloke in Dunfermline, but more likely to the US where it will be spent on grease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis3131 Posted February 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 Yeah i'm going to stick with buying local. Going to the butchers tomorrow for my steak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleMonkey Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 Does a Sainsbury's Local count as local????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Geoff Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 (edited) It's all on a spectrum. Shopping with the local butcher keeps the money local, shopping with Sainsbury's keeps it within the UK (ish) and still supports local jobs. Shopping with an online (non-UK) shop can see the money go anywhere. That said, I don't think there's anything ethically wrong with shopping on the internet, I just prefer to support bricks and mortar shops because I appreciate the extra services they offer. The smell of an old bookshop is a big part of it Edited February 14, 2012 by The Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unruly1986 Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 I think that one reason so many shops are going out of business is due to the rubbish customer service nowadays (I'm not talking about kite shops where specialist knowledge is required, I'm talking about Currys and the like). If staff can't be arsed when I ask a valid question about a product, then I'll do more research online and spend online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlownAway Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 but more likely to the US where it will be spent on grease. which we then pay 5 times more to buy it back! From May i know that Bristol is releasing the Bristol pound. I'm certainly supporting the idea. We all appreciate a saving, but the only survivors at the moment are massive corporations - which sucks ... If it was £2.50 for postage or £10 for a drive, i'd drive. It gets me out of the house, It allows me to show off my car/van/motorbike (pick your own) It gets me fit if i cycle (and saves the £10) And then i get to see the guy in the shop who might know of a better/cheaper product anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casey Posted February 15, 2012 Report Share Posted February 15, 2012 The trouble is you get better protection buying stuff on line. I bought a fire from a shop, £600. Salesman told me a load of bullshit, then when I got it home & read the instructions, found out I didn't have what he told me. Couldn't get a refund; took them to trading standards but it was his word against mine. The same shop does on line service which if Ida used I could have got a full refund just because I changed my mind. I'll never buy big things from a local shop again. Butchers, I always always always use our local farm, its more expensive but tastes a world apart & we dont eat that much meat for the cost to be too offputting. However their fruit & veg isn't covered in pesticides which help it travel the world for 3 mths, so I have to get them from the supermarket. Kite stuff. We lost 3 shops here in 18 mths, so finally the message has got home & if my remaining shop had it I'll buy it from them. If the price is different to elsewhere I'll ask if they can match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spock Posted February 15, 2012 Report Share Posted February 15, 2012 The smell of an old bookshop is a big part of it we should have another poll. which is the best for you, marijuana or the small of old books. that bristol pound thing is a good concept but it will be interesting to see how it pans out. does it eventually mean you won't be able to get any aberdeen angus, cornish pasties or melton mowbury pork pies in bristol or is it ok for retailers of suchlike to go out of town to buy thier goods? where is the line drawn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Geoff Posted February 15, 2012 Report Share Posted February 15, 2012 The trouble is you get better protection buying stuff on line. As far as I'm aware the Trade Description Act and payment protection schemes apply identically to online and bricks 'n mortar, you just need to be firm about things sometimes. (On that note, remember extended warranties are usually a rip off, even if the seller offers a 1 year warranty they're often legally obliged to give more than that. If I remember correctly, it's three years for electrical equipment, so if they're offering a 3yr warranty for £20 then you're paying for what they have to do anyway. It's like a restaurant charging extra for hygiene!) Another thing that bugs me is people who presume they're being "ripped off" if a shop charges more than a competitor. Shops will often sell a few items at a loss just to attract trade, so if nobody "rips me off!" then all shops will go bankrupt and we're back to using piglets as currency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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