Do you feel kind of guilty?

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

SF VIP
Location
The Sticks, Northeast PA.
Like all of you, I used to go to a store and buy stuff. Then one day I ordered some stuff on line. And a few days later, there at my front door; there it was. It cost the same as in the store and I didn't have the hassle of driving and paying for gas. Now, I buy everything, except food, online. The reason I feel guilty is they are closing my local KMart, and a lot of people are loosing their jobs. That's the store where I would have shopped. I liked it. As I said, I know it's not just me, it's economics. But still......
 

I order a lot online especially clothes. I don't buy a lot of clothes anymore since I am not working but if I do need something, I order from QVC as they have what I need in my size. I order from Amazon and Walmart also. Go to Kroger or HEB for milk, etc.
 
I feel bad for the little mom and pop stores that can't find a niche to survive and prosper.

I'm buying more and more over the internet and expect that to continue as I get older.

The internet may, at some point, become the only thing that allows me to live independently and I will never feel guilty about that!

Do what ya gotta do fuzz!!!
 

The little Mom and Pop stores are still out there. It's just that they aren't walk-in stores. The internet has made it possible for many small businesses to sell nation wide, some through Ebay or Amazon. When I receive an item that I bought online, I always use Google to peek at the address where it came from. Sometimes it's a house in a residential neighborhood. Often it is a bay in a small industrial building. These are people who have adapted to a new way of doing business.

The big stores like K-mart are failing partly from poor management. The reasons people buy there are selection and service. So, what do they do when sales fall? They cut back on both. I always compare prices online. If a local store has what I want for a comparable price, I'll go there. But, often what I want is out of stock or not carried. Or, it is priced significantly higher than cost plus shipping elsewhere.

So, i don't feel guilty. The world is changing. Those who adapt will prosper.

Don
 
I prefer to buy online, but some things(like clothes) work out better if I can see them in person first. No guilt, it's just a part of retail business evolving. People lose their jobs, then the eventually find another(sometimes better) job.
 
It does bother me some that so many businesses are going out of business. I still go out to shop once in awhile. They don't have what they used to offline anymore. So that sends me back online...go figure..
 
I live in a town of 1400 people with 1 grocery store, 2 hardware stores, 3 gas stations, 1 sporting goods store, 3 banks and a credit union. I do a lot of shopping on Amazon.
 
I do most of my shopping on line. It's much easier than walking through the stores with my bad back. The best thing is my local supermarket has home delivery with no charge if you order 5 products they advertise and usually they are products I would have ordered anyway.
 
I don't do too much shopping online, but when I do I don't feel guilty. Times are changing with all the new technology for sure.
 
I live in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

I HAVE to shop online. :(

Seriously, the stores here are closing faster than I can keep track of, and only the big-box stores are surviving (for now, anyway). The problem with them is that most of the biggies tend to carry low-quality products, usually made overseas, and I'm at that point in my life that I prefer to pay for quality.

Add in that I don't drive and online shopping becomes a simple solution. Also, the fewer real-life interactions with incompetent clerks, the better.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Like all of you, I used to go to a store and buy stuff. Then one day I ordered some stuff on line. And a few days later, there at my front door; there it was. It cost the same as in the store and I didn't have the hassle of driving and paying for gas. Now, I buy everything, except food, online. The reason I feel guilty is they are closing my local KMart, and a lot of people are loosing their jobs. That's the store where I would have shopped. I liked it. As I said, I know it's not just me, it's economics. But still......
Click to expand...

I don't do much shopping online because the shipping costs usually make all the difference in the price. I know there is a minimum order for free shipping but I'm not about to buy something I don't need.

But I will tell you a story about feeling guilty about not supporting local businesses.

Occasionally I would travel with my family to a city close by in the U.S. for a shopping trip and some fun.

There was a local store owner that asked me why I wouldn't support local business instead.

He goes to Florida every year and that's expensive.

So I just told him I am supporting his business while he is in Florida.
 
Why should I or for that matter anyone feel guilty if the way that they shop results in retail outlets who can't or won't adapt to a changing world go to the wall?

Here a couple of local businesses entered the cyber market place first by advertising on eBay and then with their own websites and have gone from strength to strength.

http://www.halenmon.com/shop/ is one such who also use the Amazon marketplace as do many other often once small dreamy little shops offering something different.

The answer to those who fail to adapt to a changing world and so wither on the vine is once you see a drought then adapt or get out of the way and if you can't adapt then bye bye. You ARE the weakest link.
 
I understand that buying on line is a huge tsunami in the way we buy things. It is easier to buy on line. Yet, when I drive by those boarded up stores, I do feel a twinge of guilt. It wasn't just me, but a lot of people like me. Yeah, somewhere Amazon may be hiring a lot of people, but a part of my community is gone.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I understand that buying on line is a huge tsunami in the way we buy things. It is easier to buy on line. Yet, when I drive by those boarded up stores, I do feel a twinge of guilt. It wasn't just me, but a lot of people like me. Yeah, somewhere Amazon may be hiring a lot of people, but a part of my community is gone.
Click to expand...

Could it be that some of those closures were due to general economic conditions rather than the internet? I guess it depends on what type of business it was. The big stores have hurt a lot of small shops. Now the big ones are struggling with internet competition.

Don
 
And that is precisely what is happening in many cases. It's a case of survival of the fittest. Follow (or lead) The Market or perish. Those who can't or don't - tough.
 
It's a KMart closing. It was 'my' Kmart. When KMart opened, stores like J.J.Newberry tanked. It is the survival of the fittest. But this time, there's just a boarded up old store left. There's nothing here to replace it.
 
I buy lots of stuff online. The selection to choose from is enormous, compared to what you would find in a regular store. In a way, you have the whole world to choose from. Why feel guilty? Things change according to the times.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
It's a KMart closing. It was 'my' Kmart. When KMart opened, stores like J.J.Newberry tanked. It is the survival of the fittest. But this time, there's just a boarded up old store left. There's nothing here to replace it.
Click to expand...

Kmart and Sears seem to be on the verge of disappearing entirely. Last year, my wife wanted a small desk. I found one she liked on the Sears website and ordered it. A few days later we got an e-mail that the order was canceled and they refunded our money, no explanation. So, I found the same one on Amazon and a few days after that it was on our porch. Sears has some serious problems.

Don
 
Traditional Retail is doomed...as more and more people discover the convenience and savings of shopping online. The list of stores closing is growing almost weekly...Sears, KMart, Radio Shack, etc.,etc. When you go to a regular retail store, almost half of the price you will be paying is for "overhead"...real estate, maintenance, employees, etc., etc. I figure I save between 40 and 60% on my online purchases. A couple of weeks ago, the fridge started acting up, and I traced it to a flaky Temperature Control. I found one online for about $45 delivered, and it was an easy fix. Frigidaire and Sears wanted over $120 for the same part....calling an appliance repairman would have been $250, or more. Yes, it's a bit sad to see many store clerks, etc., losing a job, but technology, automation, and overpopulation are combining to create a whole new world. Heck, if people didn't get in the car and drive to the store for every little purchase, it might even slow down air pollution and climate change.
 
In many ways, the way the stores did business contributed to their demise, as in the case of Sears, which has no customer service at all anymore, at least not so you'd notice it. I get a lot of things online for a lot less than I would pay in a store, even with shipping added, as Don pointed out above. K-Mart here is a dump, and just carries junk and a poor selection of that.

I don't feel guilty at all -- if I could go to a local store and get what I want at a reasonable price, I'd probably do that rather than wait for merchandise to arrive.
 
I buy clothes on line because in the stores everything is for teens and 20 somethings. I dress comfortable, casual 99.9% of the time. It is well over a year since I last wore a tie.
It is interesting that when I wanted ceiling fans, both Home Depot and Lowe's had the ones I wanted, but only on line, not in the stores.

Some items like hardware, I like to examine before buying.
 
I don't feel guilty one bit. Kroger is now offering online buying and even have 2 reserved parking places for pick up. I plan on checking it out to see how it works. Both parking spots are usually filled and Kroger folks are putting the bags in their cars. Very fast and efficient.
 

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