Triumphrat

Triumphforever

There's a small bike shop in town that sells CanAm and Suzuki. I buy most of my gear there, including tires, oil filters etc. I admit I do browse the internet for prices and reviews on items I intend to buy. Most of it I can buy cheaper online, but not by a lot. The guys in there are very helpfull and personal to do buisness with. I usually ask them for thier best price ( I'm not rich ), and they always give me a discount if they can. It means alot to me to talk to someone, get thier advice, and have the option to return it if I'm not satisfied. The big thing with me though is that I've seen alot of shops close up, including the local Triumph dealership. I can't help but think that if nobody patronizes the local shops then they will shut down and everybody loses.
Chris

deluxe

I would expect most people do anyways

Demonic

Nah, there's a few who try to look out for others, too. Good Christian values, even if they aren't Christian...

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If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.
Isaac Asimov
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deluxe

Question for you Demonic - would you really buy something from a store for $450, if the MSRP was $200, and you could get it for $300 online? If you would that's great,..if you would to support your local business,...ever better.

Just saying I wouldn't. But is your local retailer really looking out for you though, by marking something up so much, knowing that if MSRP is $200, they probably picked it up for $75?

Joemomma

You have been conditioned to believe that price is the only meaning of "value". It is not. Many items are not simply commodities. If I buy my next Les Paul locally from Bonamassa Guitars, I can pick the actual instrument from the wall and find which one suits me best. I can haggle over the price, face to face. I have someone who will be an advocate for my satisfaction if there is a problem. I have kept a portion of my money in my community where it will be spent. There is a shop in business that will hold the store open for me for a last minute purchase, or loan me something when there is an emergency. There is value in face to face interactions, there is value in keeping your community vital and there is value in building relationships. Of course, there is also value in NOT finding out that your $59 Shure SM-58 or $450 Les Paul actually shipped direct from Shanghai, as so many people find out after the sale...

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bferrari

We should all just be government workers, they don't need actual skills, just to know the right political people... like what just happened here in Massachusetts.... omg:

http://michaelgraham.com/archives/ma...o-t-she-fired/

She's not even fired, she is on "medical leave" .... and will get a new job instead. Welcome to the government.

Demonic

No, of course not. That's not the part of your post I was referring to. I was talking about the "I don't care who makes it or where it's from" bit. I DO care who makes it, and where it's from, and if I can, i will buy from ethical companies, or at least avoid companies that I know have very poor social records. I will never shop in Walmart, because of their treatment of their staff, even if something is a couple bucks cheaper from there.

But I also won't pay rip-off prices just to support a local business. I spend what I can afford, and try to follow my own moral consumer code, when I can.

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If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.
Isaac Asimov
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deluxe

Couldn't agree more. But intrinsically, value is an aesthetic as you describe, so value is subjective,...depending on what your worth is as an outcome to satisfaction. Nothing wrong with that,..until you get lip service, your LesPaul neck falls off and you are pissed off. That aesthetic then goes out the window, especially if you could have got one some where else,...maybe for cheaper and better.

Fair market retail value is a thing of the past. Most people (at least in Canada, maybe not the states) are paying way to much for goods and don't know any better. Why? No competition. How? When everyone at the retail level charges the same high prices (by sector) there is no need for competition because there is no price fluctuations. And there doesn't have to be because most people don't know what they should be paying, so they pay.

For many items in Canada, when something goes on sale 50%, in most cases, that represents what the original fair market retail value should have been. I know it, most don't.

Maybe different in other countries.

Triumphforever

Right on Demonic, my sentiments exactly.
Chris

deluxe

Well this is where we are different. But I respect you for taking the stand that you have.