Posted on 07/19/2018 4:23:39 AM PDT by US Navy Vet
My wife and I have decided that for this year's Christmas Shopping we will ONLY shop/buy at REAL Brick and Morter LOCAL(w/in 200 Miles) Establishment(s) and we will support local REAL people that we can see and talk too. Amazon and Amazon-like "shopping" just doesn't seen right anymore.
Yeah. I shop to get stuff that I need. I get it where it is cheapest, easiest, and best supported with returns, etc.
This is why I’m honestly surprised to see brick and mortar has not almost completely collapsed already. But it is happening.
That being said, I do like to support the brick and mortar in my small town’s “main street” area. All mom and pop. But when they sell a shirt for $80 that I can by at Costco for $19, well, they ain’t charity.
My 2 cents:
I do that also but will not buy from any establishment where they refuse to say “Merry Christmas”.
Political correctness closes my wallet faster than you can say ‘happy holidays’.
In general, buying local and banking local is the best policy. Even if the goods are made overseas, the labor are the home boys so at least that money stays local.
i always try to buy local gifts. but my kiddos are grown women and know what they want.
This.
I applaud Made In America.
Strangely enough, living in the geographic middle of the United States, shopping brick and mortar leaves much to be desired. 45 min drive to Walmart aint gonna happen. Amazon and its merchants have been getting things right the last few months. This will surely cease once the holiday season is upon us.
We have found out the hidey holes of American commerce here and there locally and give them our business as often as we can. Birthdays and Christmas gifts are purchased with a plan, year round, to avoid the murderous stampedes and idiots phone shopping in the toy store to save $0.49.
The Air Force Marching Band was at our local HS auditorium 4 days ago. Kicking myself for missing that one!
We’ve always done that as we never had a budget that allows on line shopping.
We save our change for the year, kids as well, and put it in the “Christmas Jar”. In November we take it to the bank, find out how much is there and divide it up into envelopes. They draw names and we take a day to go to town and they pick out gifts for their secret Santa. It keeps Christmas low key and they all have reasonable expectations for gifts because they know the budget limitations. The most we ever had was just over $60/kid. No one wants any money spent on shipping;-).
When we are less strained financially I suppose I will face the temptation to shop online, but we use mostly cash anyway due to Dave Ramsey’s envelope system.
I never gave it a thought-we shop local almost exclusively year round. Homeschool curriculum is the exception.
My wife and I chatted and agreed about this over coffee. We already attend the Christmas festivals and plays, but will do all of our shopping brick and mortar this year. Speaking of Christmas plays, last year we attended an excellent one-man production of “A Christmas Carol” starring Charles Dickens GGGrandson, Gerald Roderick Charles Dickens. He travels about, performing this show and other Dickens works, and if you have the opportunity, definitely attend! It was excellent!
My wife and I chatted and agreed about this over coffee. We already attend the Christmas festivals and plays, but will do all of our shopping brick and mortar this year. Speaking of Christmas plays, last year we attended an excellent one-man production of “A Christmas Carol” starring Charles Dickens GGGrandson, Gerald Roderick Charles Dickens. He travels about, performing this show and other Dickens works, and if you have the opportunity, definitely attend! It was excellent!
Same here. They’re too commercialized. We haven’t exchanged gifts or bought for anyone in years. Maybe a bunch of little homemade items taken to the big family get together but that’s it. Even the big get together has been nixed the past two Christmases.
I’m leaning toward making gifts as I can, buying American made from independent businesses be it local/drivable or online. Lots of great small in home manufactures/artists of all sorts of things that would make great gifts, clothes, household goods, foods.
Sure if you are wanting electronics or machinery and the like, or specific designers/makers items, than this idea likely won’t work.
My Husband does that every year.. Christmas is the only time of year he can stand people.
I can’t find what I want locally. Small area, limited shops. Ex. Galco holster. I shop exclusively on line but not much on Amazon..
Mostly traditional products that have been on the marketplace and store shelves for decades.
Because the local stores don't carry them any more.
I tried shopping at B&M retail. They didn’t have anything to sell. Retail executives have killed off retail, the Internet didn’t do it.
Retail executives now consider inventory a bad thing. At the year end inventory, store managers are punished for having any inventory that can be taxed. That’s stupid. How can a store sell something it doesn’t have?
The second thing that has killed B&M retail are the wholesalers themselves.
Wholesalers have taken the profit out of retail. Most retail only has markups of 2% to 10%. Wholesale used to allow retailers a 50% - 100% markup so that retailers could afford inventory.
I’m noticing that many stores now carry a much smaller selection of products and do not carry much inventory. Hardware stores used to have pegs jammed full of products; today you’ll see only only one or two of an item on a hook and there will be a clip on the hook so those two items are kept at the front of the hook. And that’s only of the hook isn’t completely empty.
Hell, I have gone to my local grocery store and found they are out of mayonnaise. Or vinegar. For 2-4 days straight.
And yet we are supposed to feel guilty about shopping online. That mind trick ain't working on me.
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