And they want me to shop locally....

I don't go out of my way to patronize local mom and pop's. I haven't bought any bug whips recently either.

romore wrote:
I work in wholesale distribution, we see this all the time. Don't blame the sticks and bricks retailer, we can't supply parts for what Amazon quotes so how can he/she meet their prices? One of Gary's problems stems from the fact he lives in Canada. Right off the bat we are currently enjoying a 13% differential on the dollar, prices in Canadian dollars keep rising. Then there is freight and brokerage again in a devalued dollar. It bloody hurts.:M
A friend owns a Stihl dealership. He recently quoted a customer 41 dollars on a part, the guy told him to stuff it in less than polite terms. He could get it online for 25. A few weeks later the customer returned and apologized, the part cost him 71 bucks delivered to his door.

I agree. In summer we work in a local RV dealer. We make a point of breaking downtge price for the customer so they can see the shipping and brokerage charges which are quite often more than the price of the part. Some understand and some leave but as you say many return to order the part anyway once they investigate the online price and realize that although the shipping charge may be posted the brokerage charge isn't.

Knowledgable staff is a huge asset to the dealer but as staff does change over time sometimes the person helping you may be new.

Hope you find the part you need. Happy trails.

j and a

Mower... I worked at RS one Christmas back around 1977, Back then they had EVERYTHING an electronics hobbyist might like, They had radios, parts, Accessories, Kits, Tools (I still think my RS multi-meter is a fluke). and more. you need a 100uF capacitor, they had it.

Today.. They have cell phones.

To the thread:

I still like to shop sticks & bricks, I get to see it, feel it, and take it home with me NOW not tomorrow, not the day after, but NOW.. That said... Money talks and that other stuff they say walks really lies there stinking (I should know, Shoveled enough of the genuine "Stuff").

Of course some S&B stores have good prices.. I mean if I need a battery for my computer one of the best prices both on and off line is Batteries Plus.

FWIW- the shroud that is pictured has a retail cost of between $100 and $130 ($100 if the it doesn't have the add on strip at the bottom, $128 if it does), but... if I order that from Dometic, I pay around $80 plus shipping for the $100 one (big honkin' markup that), and shipping is $50 via UPS. If I buy it from a different wholesaler, I pay a bit more but they pay the shipping. At some point they will figure that out, and raise the price.

That said- there is a huge range of prices for A/C shrouds- that particular one is the cheapest, but prices do go way up- an old Dometic/Emerson will be near $300, as will an old Armstrong shroud, or any of the Intertherm or Instamatic will be the same, though they are fiberglass, and not ABS or other plastic.

But- there are a bunch of items that I can find online for less than I pay wholesale, then if a customer has shopped around online, they automatically think I am a crook for needing a 30% markup from what I pay. On the other hand, people get upset when I don't have something in stock that you can buy much cheaper at a big box store-I really have to make a profit to keep the lights on and the cats fed.

An example of "BUY LOCAL":
A while back, I needed some PL-259 coax connectors, so naturally I went to my local Radio Shack. I wanted to stock up, because I had some antenna projects in mind. They had 2 of them, and they weren't very good quality. I went on Amazon and found a pack of ten, silver plated and teflon insulated, WITH the adapter for smaller coax, at a good price, with free 2 day shipping.
Please explain why I should wait a week for Radio Shack to charge me more for an inferior product?
Later, I wanted an SO-239 for another project. The local RS didn't have one, but the store clear across town did. I bought it there.
Basically, if you are a CBer or a Ham, forget Radio Shack. they just ain't what they used to be!
The local RV dealer that I have purchased 4 RVs from over the years was recently absorbed by Bretz. I don't go there anymore.
Chrysler gave their local Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep dealership to a Lithia franchise. I will only go there for parts that I can not find anywhere else, or am in a hurry for. I made the mistake of going there for a tailgate cable for my '01 Dodge 1500. Almost $50! THAT won't happen again!
I would really like to buy local, but I get very tired of hearing "Oh, we only stock two of them, and we only have one on hand right now, but if you can come back next week I can order as many as you want."
That's when I go home, get on line, and order as many as I want and get them in 2 days.
Thanks anyway.

Old-Biscuit wrote:

Water-Bug wrote:

PastorCharlie wrote:
A few years back our local stores were advertising to buy local and support the local tax base.....I ask them why when I went into their stores to buy local I find that they were buying from China. They do not even buy from American.

Because of their low volumes, they already pay more wholesale for a product than an online mega-marketer. If they only sold American made products, their prices would be 4X the online Chinese competition.

Think you missed the irony of the post.

I got the irony but also saw the reality of why things are what they are.

Although the big boxes did not help any American retail shot it self with their business model.
The standard American work day encompasses from maybe 5 am to 6 pm.
So the retail store close at 5 maybe stay open later on Fridays. Open for half a day Saturday. Sorry does not work for me.
During High School I worked in an auto parts store, we had four prices. The best price was for our account holders, then came steady customers,(potential account holders),the third higher price was for walk ins. The fourth price was MSRP which was never charged.

skipro3 wrote:
I rarely buy anything other than groceries or landscaping plants in a store any more. All on-line. Mostly on Amazon as there are many 3rd party sellers on there. With Amazon Prime, most everything is shipped second day and now with USPS delivery on Sunday, all the better.
I'm saving a ton of money on gas as well as wear and tear on the car, not to mention my time.

This is the future of retail sales. Local businesses are going to have to reinvent themselves or find that they are going the way of the livery and pony express.

So, what would make me want to go into a store to buy stuff? Well, let's see what the retailers are asking of us consumers; loyalty. Yea, they want US to be loyal to the small businesses in our communities but where's their loyalty to their customers? How about LEARNING your products?? I hate going into a store and the sales staff knows less than I do on the products and worse, couldn't care less. I end up going on youtube to get my advice on how to do stuff. I go to forums like this one to get feedback and experiential advice mostly because I sure can't get it from Mom and Pop RV retailers in my area.
If a local dealer could show even a modicum of interest in me, the guy with the money in his wallet, and my problems and interests and be concerned about how to help me instead of how much he can get away with charging, then their business would stand a chance.

Thirty-four years ago, my high school teacher told the class this is how things will be in the future. None of us believed her then. But, this is exactly how it is now.

Bruce

skipro3 wrote:
I rarely buy anything other than groceries or landscaping plants in a store any more. All on-line. Mostly on Amazon as there are many 3rd party sellers on there. With Amazon Prime, most everything is shipped second day and now with USPS delivery on Sunday, all the better.
I'm saving a ton of money on gas as well as wear and tear on the car, not to mention my time.

This is the future of retail sales. Local businesses are going to have to reinvent themselves or find that they are going the way of the livery and pony express.

So, what would make me want to go into a store to buy stuff? Well, let's see what the retailers are asking of us consumers; loyalty. Yea, they want US to be loyal to the small businesses in our communities but where's their loyalty to their customers? How about LEARNING your products?? I hate going into a store and the sales staff knows less than I do on the products and worse, couldn't care less. I end up going on youtube to get my advice on how to do stuff. I go to forums like this one to get feedback and experiential advice mostly because I sure can't get it from Mom and Pop RV retailers in my area.
If a local dealer could show even a modicum of interest in me, the guy with the money in his wallet, and my problems and interests and be concerned about how to help me instead of how much he can get away with charging, then their business would stand a chance.

You make a good point. Why do we need local mom & pop stores? Amazon will be delivering by drones so we don't need tax money to keep the roads up. Amazon is hiring all the workers (though it is only seasonal) so we don't need the jobs. Maybe they will all close-up and leave. Then we can use our online buying power even more. :S

Then there is the point that Amazon is still a business losing massive amounts of money annually. Yet Jeff B is a billionaire, Wall street loves them, and half the population of downtown Seattle is overpaid to work for them.

There's a fly in this business model somewhere, and it will eventually bite.