There is a growing trend of people going to local stores to 'browse' and try on things, but then they go online and shop for the exact same thing, but for cheaper. I read an article that Best Buy is getting so tired of this, that they start recognizing the people that come in and never buy anything and have started not coming by to 'help' out the customer. I usually try to buy local, if I can, but sometimes the price difference is so huge, that I can't justify spending that much more on something. My latest experience was a pair of Keen shoes. I went to 10 different stores in my area and could not find my size in the style and color I wanted. The shop employees were telling me to just go online and get the shoes, since they couldn't give me what I wanted. I finally did end up going online and getting the exact shoes I wanted. So, what do you do?

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I try to buy local but in a pinch or if a good deal shows up at mommysavers I buy online. I've never comparision shopped between local and online though. With 4 kids it sometimes just easier not necessarily cheaper to buy inline.

I tend to do the opposite. I will price compare between stores online and then go to the local store to buy it to avoid shipping costs. The things that I do buy online are generally through Ebay or I am not able to find in a store locally (we just don't have as many stores here as a larger metro area).

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Seriously, if they would do this everytime I went into that store, I would probably be more likely to buy there. I was just in there not long ago looking at the cameras, I wasn't there more than 1 minute and the sales person was stumbling over his feet to get over to me. I felt like I was ...

Normally, though, if I am searching for something in particular, I will search online and also possibly locally before I purchase it. It just depends on the price and if the price is cheaper online, I will shop that way.

We do this sometimes- when we are really out for a deal. If Best Buy in store has the best deal, or close enough to it, we buy from them.

Often times, after factoring in shipping, it's the same price so we just buy from the store and get the instant gratification.

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Christine's Corner



Mom to Matt, 3 years and Catie, 7 months!

I do this. Sometimes I just want to see the product right in my hands. For example a camera, I might want to make sure the screen is big enough, or the buttons work the way I want. There are usualyl 20 other places online that I can order it from, so I just shop for the best deal. Best buy won't price match any online stores, so why should i spend my money with them??

Same with clothes- I go try them on, to make sure they fit, and get a good look at the color and style on me, but then I will go home and order it ( like from Old navy. ) Often I can try on the style of shirt I want , but I can never find the color- so I have to order online.
I do this with shoes too. I may try on a plain black pair of converse low tops at the store so I can get my correct size, but then I'll go online to zappos and buy the glitter light blue and silver converse. Why- because the stores around here don't have anywhere near the selection that zappos has online.

Have you ever gone into best buy looking for a certain video game? well basically if it wasn't released in the last 2 months, they don' t have it. Trying to find an "older" video game- meaning one that was released at christmastime last year for example is next to impossible. The quest to find "lost in blue" for nintendo DS has been an epic journey. sometimes walmart will have a bargain bin, but basically, I'm not running all over town to find it when I can just get it on amazon.

Shoppers shop online so that they don't have to run around to 20 different stores looking for the best price, thier size, the color they want ect. If more stores offered price matching to the online stores, then people wouldn't be leaving in droves to shop online.

Wasn't it best buy that had issues with people that came in to buy things on sale, and would ignore people who only shopped for sale items? or am I mistaking that with another store?

Some chain stores hurt themselves, too, by making their own items cheaper online. I never buy books or music at a Barnes and Noble or a Borders store unless I only want one small item or I am in a time crunch. I browse these stores all the time, but order online - it's always cheaper and free shipping over $25.

Also, I ordered a book from my local Borders last year - retail $14.95. A week later I got a postcard saying it was no longer available from the publisher. Went to Borders.com (which is really Amazon but I could still use my Borders gift card), found the same book for $12.96, and had it in less than a week. In this case a paid a little more because of shipping, but at least I got the book I wanted, which I couldn't at my local store.

Now, if you are talking about browsing at local independent stores and then buying online, I don't do that. I try to support locally OWNED stores whenever possible. However, in my small town we just don't have that many. I also try to spend my cash in my county - if I have the choice between two locations of the same store, I will always buy in my county - I don't want to give my sales tax dollars to my neighboring county if I can help it.

I did the same thing as you for a pair of Keen shoes.

I buy a lot of things online, most of the time I can get free shipping. As long as I have to spend almost $3 for a gallon of gas and $1-3 to park I will continue to order as much as I can online.

I've heard of this, but a variation -- a customer will go to a mom n' pop shop, get the info they need (on appliances, electronics, for instance), then will go buy it at Best Buy or some other big-box store. It's a shame for the smaller shops where people know their stuff but don't get the business.

I'm not saying that I won't shop online, because we do, but I try to keep it a low % of my shopping. Let's face it, when I go to a local store, rather it by Mom and Pop down the road or a Super WalMart, I am using their time and services. I am dragging in dirt from my shoes for their maintaince department. I am checking out their displays and touching their equipment. And I am using their clerks to help me with knowledge or at the very least to tell me what is in stock in the back. So for me to turn around and then send my business out of the area via internet -- I don't know it doesn't seem that makes the best sense of things in the long wrong. Buying local at the Mom and Pop store does keep the money local. Even buying local at Wal Mart provides a local job.

And you are right. A lot of stores, when you cannot find their items in the store, recommend going online and shopping their online store. In the past, when I worked retail, the store would push their online business. I figured though, if I was pushing online too much than I would push myself out of a job!