G
Guest
I know we all want to support our local stores, but I'm just curious what everyone's cutoff is before they order online? In other words, how much extra are you willing to spend to support a local store before it's just too much - 20%? 30%? 60%?
I'm just curious, because this comes up a lot about supporting our sponsors, and I totally agree with that in principle, but where's the breaking point? For instance, I bought a new Velocity T3 pump a couple months ago and was quoted $220 at one of our sponsors. I told him I could buy it for $160 online - his cost was $190. That was one case where I just couldn't justify another $50 (even after shipping) for the pump. Does that mean I'm not supporting our LFS's?
On the other hand, I needed a Mag 7 a couple weeks ago and ended up paying $75 for it locally, even though I could get it for $50 online (plus another $10 or so for shipping). That was a case where the price difference seemed reasonable for the convenience of getting it now and the "warm fuzzy" feeling of supporting our local stores.
I'm curious about this since Jim replied in my VHO group buy post to check our sponsors. I found the bulbs I need at one of our sponsors, but the price is about 60% more than online (and we get free shipping if we pool an order, so that doesn't skew the price any). So now I'm torn - at what point do we go from "supporting" our LFS's to charity?
I'm just curious, because this comes up a lot about supporting our sponsors, and I totally agree with that in principle, but where's the breaking point? For instance, I bought a new Velocity T3 pump a couple months ago and was quoted $220 at one of our sponsors. I told him I could buy it for $160 online - his cost was $190. That was one case where I just couldn't justify another $50 (even after shipping) for the pump. Does that mean I'm not supporting our LFS's?
On the other hand, I needed a Mag 7 a couple weeks ago and ended up paying $75 for it locally, even though I could get it for $50 online (plus another $10 or so for shipping). That was a case where the price difference seemed reasonable for the convenience of getting it now and the "warm fuzzy" feeling of supporting our local stores.
I'm curious about this since Jim replied in my VHO group buy post to check our sponsors. I found the bulbs I need at one of our sponsors, but the price is about 60% more than online (and we get free shipping if we pool an order, so that doesn't skew the price any). So now I'm torn - at what point do we go from "supporting" our LFS's to charity?