coyote

These local stores have to survive. Not altruism, but pure selfishness - after all, if there were no local stores to see products close-up, how would we know what product to order online?

Therefore I will always give my local shop a chance to make the deal. In buying my Sony HDTV, I looked in various local shops and brought my wife so she could also experience the products. Once we decided which ones we liked, I went online and got the best prices I could. I then took those back to the local store and gave them a chance to beat the price - which they did.

At their sale price, the 42" was $2300. The stand was $500, then there was tax & delivery. Online I would have saved tax - and the 50" TV was $2150 (it was $2600 in the store).

I ended up saving almost $500, AND I got a 50" instead of the 42" we'd been looking at. In addition, the local store was able to deliver the next morning. They still made some $$$, I got great savings and next-day delivery.... everyone wins!