And they want me to shop locally....
I have need of an older style A/C cover. On-line I find new at $130.00 from Amazon and used for $40 thru an E Bay seller. Here at home..I am just off the phone to the local RV dealer/robber...$240.00...
Forum Discussion
Interesting to see how the world changes...100 years ago, very little was available locally, most rural folks shopped from the Sears and Roebuck catalog and waited for stuff to be shipped. The growth of department stores and local retail changed that in the middle of the 20th century. The growth of credit cards and easy access to financing through revolving credit fueled the growth of the big box retailers in the 90's.
Now the Internet has changed commerce again, allowing retailers to avoid the overhead of local stores and the associated staffing and overhead. The website is a storefront that is open 24/7 and requires very little support to stay "on" all the time. So 100 years later we are all back to ordering from catalogs instead of shopping locally.
Even with local stores like RV parts and auto parts, no matter what I want it seems like it's never "in stock" and needs to be ordered from the distributor. Well, if I have to wait, I may as well order from an online retailer and get the item for half the price.
Auto manufacturers have been doing this for years....reduce dealer costs of carrying parts inventory by supplying parts from regional warehouses. I take my truck in to the dealer on a Tuesday, they call me Tuesday afternoon and say I have bad widget and need a new one. I OK the repairs, they order the widget and it arrives Wed from the warehouse. They install the widget Thursday and tell me the truck is ready. So a 1-day repair now takes 3 days. Meanwhile I don't get a loaner, even if it's warranty repair, so I'm on my own to get around for 3 days.
Main Street is not going away, it will just have different kinds of stores on it....change is part of life. I see no reason to overspend on stuff just to keep a store open...that storefront may look pretty but it's not putting food on my table....
Now the Internet has changed commerce again, allowing retailers to avoid the overhead of local stores and the associated staffing and overhead. The website is a storefront that is open 24/7 and requires very little support to stay "on" all the time. So 100 years later we are all back to ordering from catalogs instead of shopping locally.
Even with local stores like RV parts and auto parts, no matter what I want it seems like it's never "in stock" and needs to be ordered from the distributor. Well, if I have to wait, I may as well order from an online retailer and get the item for half the price.
Auto manufacturers have been doing this for years....reduce dealer costs of carrying parts inventory by supplying parts from regional warehouses. I take my truck in to the dealer on a Tuesday, they call me Tuesday afternoon and say I have bad widget and need a new one. I OK the repairs, they order the widget and it arrives Wed from the warehouse. They install the widget Thursday and tell me the truck is ready. So a 1-day repair now takes 3 days. Meanwhile I don't get a loaner, even if it's warranty repair, so I'm on my own to get around for 3 days.
Main Street is not going away, it will just have different kinds of stores on it....change is part of life. I see no reason to overspend on stuff just to keep a store open...that storefront may look pretty but it's not putting food on my table....
