Commentary: True bargains are found locally

Nowhere is that example better illustrated than with an anecdote that appeared in Reader’s Digest in the mid-1950s (as the prices indicate) and has been cited here before. The message bears repeating, because it’s just as true now as it was a half-century ago:

A customer came into a local hardware store and demanded a discount for a hammer marked $4 by the local merchant because the same hammer was available for $3 from a catalog.

“OK,” said the proprietor. “If they can sell it for that, so can I. Of course, to be fair, you’ll have to give me the 75¢ you’d spend on shipping.”

“Well, that’s true, but it’s still a bargain. I’ll take it,” said the customer.

“Fine,” said the proprietor, putting the hammer on a shelf behind the counter. “You can pick it up on Wednesday.”

Mail-order catalogs were the subject of the illustration above, but the principle is just as true today with online shopping.

Ever picked up a “bargain” on eBay for just $9, only to realize that the seller was charging $8 for shipping? And that the net cost of that “bargain” on the used item just became higher than you’d pay for a brand-new one locally — and have in your hands instantly?

Not too long ago, pundits were predicting the end of the “brick and mortar” stores. We were all going to be doing our shopping online from the comfort of our home and the world would be changed.

Of course, those were the same people who confidently predicted the computer would result in the “paperless office,” and that we’d all be flying to work in our personal aircars by sometime in the 1980s.

Researchers ultimately discovered that people were becoming more aware of the hidden costs involved with shopping away from home:

• Shipping charges.

• Delay, which makes it impossible to enjoy the benefits of a purchase immediately.

• Lack of ability to see and touch or try on the merchandise before a purchase. Those who buy something online or from a catalog and discover it’s not right for them don’t save a thing. In fact, they are often out the cost of the return shipping, leaving them worse off than before they started the process.

• Dollar drain on the local community. Dollars spent locally circulate locally and create local jobs. That’s something to think about when trying to find a job for your teenager next summer.

• Ethical dilemmas. A person who puts on a consumer hat and shops out of town, then puts on a parent’s hat or nonprofit group’s hat and solicits local businesses for contributions to schools, sports teams or local nonprofit goals may wonder why they get a chilly reception. If the only time an owner sees a person in their store is when that person is hitting them up for money or free merchandise, such a reception should be no surprise.

• Taxes. The fewer businesses supported by a town, the lower the revenue base available to support such essential services as police and fire protection.

The cliché that “What goes around, comes around,” has a corollary: “What doesn’t go around, goes away.”

Avoid hidden costs — shop locally.

Rodger Nichols is a longtime journalist living in The Dalles.