Support local independents?

We love to bash everything made in China, yet we throng to the big box stores who ran the local independents out of business in the 90s because they were the first to have the cheap stuff from China under reputable name brands. I still do business with my local auto parts store where all the counter men greet be by name and know what I am likely to be working on. I still do most of my hardware business with my local independent hardware store. When the owner sees me on the street he will go out of his way to stop and chat. Let's hear about your local independent businesses that you support.

I support local merchants,, but when it comes to auto parts you will be hard pressed to find anything made in the USA,,you can put all the American made parts that any of the Auto parts stores have in the trunk of a small car...

I'm right there with you. I came back to
my hometown after 34 years and insist on
shopping at my local hardware store. I go
there first. When the dog and I walk in,
we're greeted as neighbors as well as
customers. I remember going there when I
was in grade school.

(quoted from post at 05:58:35 12/10/19) I support local merchants,, but when it comes to auto parts you will be hard pressed to find anything made in the USA,,you can put all the American made parts that any of the Auto parts stores have in the trunk of a small car...

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Yes Tim, we all know that we forced production overseas, so the local independents have no choice but to carry Chinese. The point is that even though manufacturing is gone we can still support our local retailers.

Well lets see you go there and they don't have your size, have to order it. Small outfits are closed half the time. Afternoon she has to pick kids up at school. Nope can't get it suppler does not have it. Notice they all draw from a small handful of supply houses. Or they tell you go on line and order it, I can do that at home! Service and repair is gone we don't cut glass, nor do window screens, we don't turn brake drums, we don't make battery cables (thier pre packaged). Lets not forget the cleark that is less than helpful and more interested in her text message. Last the guy that handles that is on a golf trip for three days! May be your mileage is better than mine.

And that is the cheap skate's fault more than anything. American buyers want it made in the USA, or as cheap as possible. Guess which one wins?

Big stores little stores they all sell the same stuff,its not like the small stores have their own factory out back.I guess it boils down to how much someone smucking up to you to get your business means to you.Doesn't mean much to me I'm fine with the folks at TSC that sell bolts and hardware for 1/2 the price that small hardware stores and TSC has a better selection and is open more days and hrs each day.Actually have gotten to know some of the help at TSC and they are human too and live in the same local area as everyone else.

Local independent store business hours:
Monday - Friday: 10:00AM - 4:00PM
Saturday: 10:00AM - noon
Sunday: CLOSED

I work from 7AM to 4PM, so in order to support local independent stores I would have to take a half a day off of work. Or, I could just stop at Tractor Supply, Runnings, Lowes or Home Depot on the way home, because they're open.

Some tried extending hours but it was too little too late. They had already driven too many customers away.

I like the idea of shopping where the people there seem thankful for your business and I've only seen that in a small business. Small businesses will often go out of their way to help you with a problem that
big businesses can't or won't. Having said that I shop in both types of business depending on what I'm buying and where the business is located. When I shop I know what I want and where to get it before
leaving the house. I have a pretty short list of places where I buy anything.

So the rumor I heard must be true that stores like Lowes.Walmart and TSC ship their help in from Mars every day.(LOL)Big stores almost always pay more,have better benefits,retirement plans etc etc,plus cheaper prices than the mom/pop operations for customers.So which one benefits the most people in a given area?

Yep.I proudly shop local.Local tire shop,main street NAPA.Local implement dealers.. Don't even do Walmart if I can avoid it.The small local guy is my friend and neighbor. So are their employees.They go to church with us,their kids are in school with mine. By shopping there I help keep them in business. They in turn buy hay from me and hire my services.People wonder why main street is closeing down. It's because of internet shopping and Walmart.

To the greatest extent possible I avoid the big box stores. I tend to use suppliers
exclusively rather than try to save a few cents here and there. Loyalty matters, from the
local tire shop owner doing a 7 pm service call to the auto parts store fixing a hose for
me on Sunday, to the owner of the New Holland dealer coming in 2 hours after closing to get
me a slip clutch, or the grain elevator giving me a couple of tenths off my the moisture
test on my very last half load of beans for the year so I didn't have to drive an extra 40
miles. I pick one vendor and use them exclusively, now I'll ask for the best price, and
best service. If at some point they can not meet my needs either on price or service I may
change, but its an all in kind of change. Only done twice in recent memory.

I support whatever gives me the best value for my dollar.

Stock market investors wanted a greater return on their dollars. THAT is what drove manufacturing to China, and we consumers have suffered ever since.

I too shop TSC and like the staff and buying hardware by the pound. However, it's more a case of options for me. I can't buy 3, 1/8", brass, flat washers there but I can at my local. On the other hand, such small purchases won't keep the lights on. So, I toss business to my local to help keep them open so I have access to the odd bits that bigger stores don't stock.

I frequented Specialty Fasteners in C'ville for the same reason.

Exactly !!! It was North American manufacturers who sent their dies , presses , and machinery to China and Asia to have their products made
there with cheap labour and mega ships to bring the finished product home. All of this cut cost of production and equated to larger profit.

A lot depends on the location of the community itself.

A more remote small town has to be more independent than a town closer to a larger city. My home town is a town of 7,000 population 25 miles from Lincoln, the state capitol. Fifty years ago, it was a close knit community with all the goods and services you could want right in town. Now it's devolved into not much more than a bedroom community for people who work in Lincoln, with the goods and services available more of an emergency nature.

I buy a lot on Amazon and EBay anymore. It's too easy to surf Amazon for a few minutes, find exactly what I want, click on "Buy", and have it delivered to my front door within a couple of days. If I try to buy something locally, I wind up killing a half day trying to find what I want, and then the place has to order it anyway.

I've been in business myself locally, plus I've held local public office and I'd love to deal with local merchants, but like they say, "It ain't like it used to be".

I have had an active account at NAPA for over 35 years, do as much business as possible with the
long time local hardware, buy all feed additives in state, buy parts not available in my town in
the larger town 30 miles away, buy groceries in our home town, buy only American made vehicles, or
at least assembled in the USA I guess would be more accurate. Avoid wal-mart and many such places
like the plauge.

The local feed mill.

The folks who works at Walmart and TSC are my neighbors, friends and family. I would support the independent hardware guy up the street but he charges twice as much, has less selection, and is not open until 10 PM, which is what I need since I do a lot of project late in the evening. I do not care about someone sucking up to me on the street as I never go downtown or walk on a sidewalk, ever.

As far as I am concerned the independents committed business suicide by failing to even try to compete on stock, price, or hours.

The last of the independent auto parts/machine shop stores closed up last fall in the local town of about 26,000 people. There's only one independent appliance/furniture type store I can think of and I've had it with him, have previously bought a dryer and a few pieces of furniture there so last summer I bought a new window A/C to replace my 31 year unit that worked flawlessly but was getting noisy. The new one lasted a month and then it couldn't be controlled from the remote or the control panel, only way you could shut it off was pull the plug. Then I could make it work with the remote only for a couple months before it died. Stopped at the store, salesman said he didn't know anything about them "talk to Al" and left. Who the hells Al? Talked to the manager and got the same" talk to Al response plus the A/C probably got struck by lightening". Finally got a new a/c after about two weeks and it's setting on the counter in the garage, never took it out of the box. The last argument was when does the warranty start? Manager says the date I bought the first one, I didn't like that response so he says OK try it your way. Screw him.
Wish I would have went to Walmart or Menard's to start with.

I do the best I can, You just can'T beat Edmund's Hardware in Antrim NH.If they don't have it it probably aint been invented yet. The old wooden floors creek and may not be level and you may have to turn sideways to get around in places but they know where everything is, even if you don't know the correct name of the item just tell em what your doing. For auto parts it's Sanels or Napa. I get my lumber and building supplies from Beletates in Peterborough and Chainsaws, snowblowers etc. from Tylers small engine in Antrim and garden stuff comes from Agway. I will be buying my Christmas Prime Rib roast from the Hancock Market it will be over $100.00 but I know it will be good come to think of it I better order it now before I forget. My wife does the main grocery shopping at Shaws. But we both drive Toyotas so I guess one aw crap cancels 6 attaboys LOL.

I use the local lumber yard/ building supply store for all major
lumber needs . Have used a local roofing supplier for shingles
for both my garages. Use the local JD dealer for parts and
sometimes use the local NAPA for parts depending on
availability and need. I occasionally buy parts at the big
national stores and I also have bought some parts from
online sources due to price and lack of availability at the local
places. I have found that many local businesses have less
interest in supporting older equipment than in the past, and
this causes people to try new sources out of necessity. The
day of a knowledgeable parts person who has both the time
and interest to help you with more difficult requests is fading
away. Also buy farm supplies and fertilizer local.

Also use local independent insurance agent and local/ regional fuel supplier and local Chevy dealer for the last 2 pick up trucks .

Boy-0- Boy I sure do try to support my local stores but some of them really make it difficult. Like the hardware store where all the employees fill up the parking spaces ...because they got there first! Or the feed store that sends drivers to my farm that are so scuzzy and questionable that I don't want bums like that bringing feed while I am off the farm and they can case the place. Or when they answer the phone in such a slapdash manner that I have little are no confidence that they will get my order right for delivery on Thursday.

I will support my local business ...if it deserves my business. The local Mower shop has gone out of business and is auctioning off every thing on Friday December 14th. In July and August he had my Zero Turn for 6 weeks, waiting for parts. My grass grew a lot during those 2 months. Wonder why he is out of business?

Incidentally, I moved my feed business to a company that calls me every Tuesday for my order, sends out very presentable and well trained drivers, and emails me a confirmation of every delivery....so it can be done.

Sometimes it is really hard to do. I am beginning to see why some order everything from Amazon.
Like the other day I thought I'd pick up a 5/32 chain saw chain file. Was over by home depot so went and looked. They had them 2 in a pack for like $7.00 ? I only needed 1 and was not in a hurry so I passed. I was going into town on Saturday so was going to stop by a local lawn mower saw shop. Well they close at noon ! Went down by Rural King and the sell them 2 in a pack but for a good enough price maybe $ 4.00 ? but were out of the 5/32 of coarse ! Another day at lunch time I had time to swing by a local mower shop up the road from work. They actually had all 3 sizes in stock and sold them per piece. So I bought the 1 I needed as I was tired of messing around. IIRC it was about $ 4.00 for one. I think all were from different countries. I ended up with a Nicholson that was from India ?

Could have gotten exactly what you wanted off ebay with free shipping in about 3 minutes most likely.

Support your local small businesses while they are here or don't gripe when they are gone.
I buy local because with gas and time to go elsewhere it usually evens out. Here in small
town Kansas we have polite and helpful people, cant say how it is anywhere else.

Most of my purchases are online or big box stores. Its a matter of convinence and money. Like other people have said the small local business usually has less selection, reduced hours, and charges more.

Me too.

I've dealt with them a lot back when I was still working at H.T.Ferron and they were still down off Market street.I quit Ferron in 2000 and now have to really need
something bad to fight the US29 North traffic to get there.Plus after Bill's father died it sort of took a step backwards.

I use a local owned and operated tire shop.owners
wife is capable of changing tires and has.she was
service writer for local friendly john deere
dealer,tire shop came up for sale.her n hubby
bought it.
I had a rusted rear tractor rim.had em break it
down,i fixed rim. They put new tube in.it sat 2
days went flat.the owner came out broke it down
said dammit.pinched tube.put new 1 in.i offered
to split bill.he said no my mistake its on
him.they do all my tire work and price tires
fair.they are busy beside him n her they got 3
full time employees

"Let's hear about your local independent businesses that you support."
I live in the country, but my mailing address town has a population of about 600. Okay, local hardware/lumber store has a total of three employees. Two of them will be absent the first day of deer season and they will continue to be absent until they get their deer shot. They are always closed Saturday afternoons and Sundays.
Local tire shop is closed on Saturday afternoons and Sundays also. They might sell you some tires on Saturday, but won't install them on Saturday or Sunday and will put you off until the next week. (More than likely they'll put you off as long as they can)
Hometown grocery store opens at 8:30, closes at 6:00 on weekdays and closes at 3:00 on Saturday. They are closed on Sunday also. There is one checkout counter.
The town high school is still open, the same high school that my mom graduated from in 1946.

If your time means nothing, and gas and tires are free, you made a wise choice.

I shop the independents as much as practical. Local hardware store has a good variety and many prices are suprisingly
competitive with the Big Box stores.

Local auto parts is trickier. Their supplier has mostly imported parts or you don't know until it hits the counter. The chain
stores often have domestic made parts for bearings and such as an option. So what do you do? Do you support the independent who
sells India made parts or buy American made parts from the chain? Yes, the chain has plenty of import parts as well.

Other problem is ridiculous parts markup. Farm/feed supply store with ag parts that want 3X what I can buy online for. I can't
put their kid through college all by myself! I know they're trying to make money but dang!

As others have mentioned, store hours are an issue. Things like to break at 6 p.m. on Saturday or Sunday and guess who will be
open?

What I learned watching the big box stores and local owned businesses is that most of the locally owned businesses were making bank on our backs before the box stores moved in. In fact most of the locals survived the box store by simply dropping prices on average of 15%. Now most of the local businesses were 2nd , 3rd and sometimes more generation businesses. That means they were bought and paid for. Property taxes, building upkeep, insurance, utilities and merchandise was their overhead. So dropping prices was easy and didn't kill profit. Well the kids moved on and didn't stay so at retirement they sold out. The new owner now had a monthly payment for the business and an attitude. That attitude was "I'm my own boss". I can open at 10: and close at 5:. And as someone else pointed out they would have to take 1/2 a day off to shop there. About the only businesses to survive were the one that were open extended hours like the bars. Even the mom and pop cafes that served breakfast and lunch are gone. Most of our locals now have to drive 30 miles to work. So they are leaving town at 7AM and the get home at 6PM. What's open at 7AM? The convenience store. And that's open at 6PM? The convenience store and the bar. Here you can add a small grocery store that's open to 8 and does good business. When the small farms died so did the businesses in town like the COOPs, feed store and elevators. Lot of the meat lockers and small creameries died too. All those employees? They had to get new jobs. Out of town new jobs. No more taking a few minutes to stop in the hardware store and buy that new plug for the bathtub.

I have no sympathy for the mom and pops that failed. Here most didn't fail because of Walmart. The ones that survived the farm crisis also survived Walmart too and but were gone 15 years later when Home Depot and Menards moved in. What they didn't survive was the new owner after mom and pop retired. Heck, another factor most don't look at was the old farmers. They were far to busy to go 30 miles into town when they could get it 5 miles away. Especially when they had crops to plant or hay down. Those 100's of small farmers are gone too and plus they have cars that get 35 MPG.

Whole combination of things killed the mom and pops. But it really wasn't the box stores. Times and things change.

Rick

Good points, 3 miles from me is a Sheetz open 24/7/365 they sell gasoline,diesel,kero,will make food of all different types 24 hrs a day and the food is very good.Two more miles down the road is Walmart open 24/7 maybe closes a couple days a year.Customer Service is the name of the game,no locally owned place comes close to these places.