Save a job, buy local and not online....

[Digit]

I know it is so damn easy to press a couple of buttons on your computer and order things online, but think for a second.

If the price is just the same as buying from the store as buying online, why not support buying from the store itself? In many cases, you can call the store and buy without leaving your home, but the store will get the credit and remain in business.

Of course this does not apply in every case, but it pays to pay attention.
Our jobs depend on you.
Thanks!

[Robbien]

1. A good rule to live by.

A big thumbs up.

[Digit]

2. Thanks Robbien...and more....

Our prices are the same as our online site. We are located in a mall location...I don't want to disclose what our product is for obvious reasons.

Basic economics teaches you that if you pay a certain amount for rent and salaries, that the business can save money with an online site. It is one more step to take it overseas to save even more.

Save our jobs.

[rucky]

3. Gawd I wish some sort of "Buy Local" movement took off...

My wife runs a local boutique (and a web store), and we're both involved in the downtown business community (historic, small town, no chains around the square). It's like pulling teeth trying to convince the Mayor's roundtable to cool down on courting the Big Box stores and start supporting the locals before Downtown turns into a ghost town. I'm explaining to bankers of all people how buying local keeps the wealth in the community and provides better quality jobs (my wife employs 2 single moms and 2 other moms - and they all work around each others childcare schedules, etc). The city doesn't care.

They must all be getting some major construction kickbacks or something.

[Deja Q]

6. The big box phenomenon has been going on for some time.

We're stuck with it. May as well enjoy it.

[rucky]

17. I'm not against competition...

But where there's big strip-mall plazas popping up, consumers (and investors) tend to forget about the mom & pops - and they don't have the resources to advertise all the time. So we're trying to organize a "buy local" campaign and could use some help from the city.

[rosesaylavee]

19. Share this with your mayor and downtown business leaders

http://www.standingupforillinois.org/mainstreet/index.php

This is a program we have in Illinois and the main street orgs set up by the individual cities have helped our local merchants a lot. They do grouse about what's not done - but without these orgs a whole lot less would be happening to bring shoppers to existing downtown businesses. We are fortunate out here as we still have functioning main streets and people come here for the neat boutiques and also for the pleasure of walking door to door from shop to shop just like they did before there were malls. We have two large malls nearby with every big box you can imagine within a 5 mile radius. Downtown businesses need all the help they can get.

Wishing you a prosperous holiday season!

[rucky]

21. Thanks so much!

our town has a Main Street group, but the guy who runs it is clueless. This was VERY helpful. I'm sending him the link.

[rosesaylavee]

23. Have him look at St. Charles and Geneva Illinois

They have some great programs.

[BR_Parkway]

4. Another thing - skip the self checkout, the cashier gets paid to ring

up my stuff, the store doesn't give a rebate for doing that work yourself, so there's no reason on the customer's behalf to cut someone out of a job.

We buy local as much as possible and if I do need something that I can't find locally, I'll try and find a small, independent online before I go to a big box.

[riverdeep]

8. Well, there is a reason.

"there's no reason on the customer's behalf to cut someone out of a job"

Less of a wait in line. Although I only go into self serve when I have a few number of items. If I'm doing a full trip, no way. The machine is slow and temperamental, there's nowhere to put the filled bags, and non-bar code items (like fruit) take forever to enter. Also, after a certain hour, they don't have live cashiers where I'm at, so you don't have a choice anyway. It would be great if they gave a discount for using the machine, say 3% off your total, but they don't.

This is probably the wave of the future. You'll go into a store and it'll be all automated, no human contact whatsoever. The ultimate dehumanized corporation.

[Deja Q]

5. Have you dealt with people from best buy or circuit city?

I'll do my own research and buy online.

I not only save money, I also know what I'm doing so I know I'll get something half-proper.

Most employees wouldn't recognize of a stick of RAM from a stick of gum... (I'll spare ye the parallel between hard-drives and hard- *ahem*...)

[madokie]

7. trouble is not many stores here I want to buy from

all china marts pretty much

[in_cog_ni_to]

9. Too late! I did all of my holiday shopping online as I have done for years. The people from the

online business community need to make a living too. You couldn't pay me to go out to the stores and fight those crowds. I HATE, HATE, HATE shopping.

ALL of my gifts purchased online had FREE SHIPPING and in many cases, were cheaper than if I purchased locally. Walmart and Target are NOT going to go out of business because I buy online. I haven't shopped Walmart in 8 years and I honestly can't remember the last time I was in our Target store. I shop Target.com.:) They seem to be doing just fine without me.:)

[Rosemary2205]

10. IMHO you are probably mistaken regarding jobs.

Even if one orders from a big name, Target, JC Penney etc, a human being does have to pick, box, label, ship and bill for those items. And just think of those those USPS, FedEx and UPS folks with shipping jobs thanks to online trade.

Many people though, do online shopping to acquire unique items not available locally. Many of these unique items come from Americans who started a small business out of their home.

As far as ecologically, online or big box buying is probably a wash. The items must be shipped regardless and millions of individual trips to homes for delivery probably washes with the tradeoff of millions of trips to various stores to purchase PLUS the shipping to get the items to the store to begin with.

[MH1]

13. Also at holiday time, the traffic makes the eco impact of driving to the store worse.

So if under normal conditions it would be a wash, then I would think that during holiday season, online shopping would be better.

The real ecological choice is simply to consume less. Of course that will cost people's jobs, too. That means those workers will have to find a way to live by doing other things.

[in_cog_ni_to]

14. Hell, I can't even find SHOES that fit me in my town.

I have small feet and no one carries a size 5 shoe and if they do, it's not the pair I want.:( Zappos.com ROCKS!!!! They ALWAYS have my size. :loveya:

[Rosemary2205]

15. Oh, no, you didn't!!!

Zappos! 6 extra wide here. Used to have Brennaman shoes that actually measured feet and hand altered shoes if one needed. They would even sell you one size for the left and another for the right if you needed it. Thanks to "one stop shopping", they too have gone to the great beyond - so Zappos is a life saver here!

[Digit]

26. I also wear a size 5 and only wear Dansko clogs with a 2" heel

Due to an old injury, I need a knee replacement. These shoes help me ALOT with my knee situation by keeping my leg straight, and by not varying heel height, it is easier on those joints.

I can find them sometimes at Nordstroms, but oh how I hate the snobs in that store!

I will probably have to get my next pair at Zappos, too.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. I made a resolution to do just that not long ago

and I have rediscovered my community. Can't recommend this enough. Great post!

[Breeze54]

12. I had a job in Cust. Service taking online orders...

so, I don't agree that it takes jobs. At least not all of them.

But I do shop locally when I shop. I don't do Wally Mart for anything.

But I'm not doing much, if any, shopping this year.

[Toots]

16. If you do not support Local Business you do not have local business but

when they rob you there is no longer a reason to support them..If you can find something on line for half of what your local business offers it for then they are robbing you..I don't mind paying a bit more, after all they have a storefront to maintain,electricity, sewer, property tax, etc. but fifty percent is just not acceptable...

[Celebration]

18. Three women robbed at gunpoint

At our local mall. Surprise, surprise. I like online--and many of them are mom and pop businesses.

[sandnsea]

20. Lots of local people sell online

People can look for small retailers to buy from.

http://www.momnpopshops.com

[CRF450]

22. Not really viable for many people because of location.

Right many stuff I shop for are not in any of my local stores and I'm not driving 50 miles to the bigger city where it has better stores. Computer parts are also very expensive from a computer retailer store so I buy from newegg.com for that stuff and some other high end electronics.

[Solar Power]

24. I almost do all my shopping local

I like to pay cash. Owe very little. I do not like even pay with credit. Just pay and go. Recently, because of a couple of late payments, the idiot credit card people shut me down. I had to pay for some airline tickets..Well, I had to get some cash, and find a travel agent..I found one, locally.

[RB TexLa]

25. And the jobs of the people processing the on-line orders and the people who maintain the

computer software and hardware for the ordering? What about their jobs?

[aikoaiko]

27. why do you hate ups deliverers?

:shrug:

[kineneb]

28. I would, if the stores were there.

but the closest town is only 13,000 population, and simply lacks such amenities as a shoe store, art supply store, or real (regular) clothing store.

We are afflicted with the unfortunate ChinaMart, which is none of the above, and has only cheap crap. Stores with better-quality clothing are at least an hour away, so mail order actually saves gas money. We do have a small book store and several good coffee shops (and no Starbucks!).

I mostly just buy groceries at a locally-owned store.

[orleans]

29. i know not everyone can buy local--but i mostly do

and to help save jobs i always make sure i check out at the grocery store with a checker rather than using the do-it-yourself lanes

[soothsayer]

30. local does NOT equal walmart or other chains

[Blue-Jay]

31. What if I live close to an online distribution center?

I really do, BTW.