Should I support my partner's employer or buy the cheapest?

stmartinsdiver

helcat26 wrote: »

Either a retailer is customer aware and competitive ( by which I mean that the whole package of what they offer is good value) or they should go out of business and good riddance.

I suggest your partner starts looking elsewhere for a job with a better company.

Small, high street and local do not always mean better.

Yes all retailers large or small need to be competitive, but there is no way the small shops can compete on price with the biggest retailers simply because they do not have the buying power. Where they can usually close the gap is on service and convenience, plus of course you can go in and look at whatever what are thinking of buying rather than just shop from website pictures. Much better as suggested in another post is ask the local shop to price match, if they can do this then your problem is solved. If they can't price match then how close can they get? If it's close enough then buy from them, if not then go elsewhere.

tallgirld

I wouldn't pay extra I would buy from the cheapest as long as it's exactly the same product!
Your partner doesn't own the shop so I wouldn't feel bad about it.
Worse case scenario your partner loses her job i'm sure she will get an even better one :-)

Yttesfor

I spent a long time working in high street bookshops where people often suffer the same dilemma.

I always think of it as the price for the actual goods being the same, and the difference goes towards service, convenience, supporting your local community, the chance to look at the goods before you buy and if the shop is any good, a recommendation from someone who knows the products. Depends whether you think the extra price you pay for these things is worth it!

I shop at my local independent bookshop even though the books are often half the price on amazon because they're great guys, they run loads of community events and they know loads about books. Probably wouldn't do that for electrical goods though because I reckon I could work that out for myself, although I might if I wanted a warrenty or something.

The worst thing is when people come in, look at all the products, and then go off to buy it from the internet. You want the service you should pay for it!

dandelionclock30

Ask them to price match, if they wont then get it from where its cheapest.
I've had really bad experiences from a local electrical shop so I would never go back there.

meknowalot-51

I would say you buy from the cheapest option out there as long as the quality is atleast equal to the electrical shop where your partner works.The wife works in retail and more often than not we buy clothes a lot cheaper elsewhere,same quality.I have a brother who's a plasterer and if he's going to charge 30% more than someone else then he's lost our custom.Your not going to retire early and clear all debts by giving it away and feeling guilty,ive said it before,people should toughen up and spend wisely.

grumpycamel

I would pay more if I knew that the pre sale and post sale support I get from the retailer was better than the average or from buying from the internet.
I remember buying one of the first DVD recorders many, many years ago and it was quite an expensive piece of kit. I could have bought it online for £50 cheaper but I decided to buy it from my local retailer who I always received great sales support. They demonstrated the machine and even answered my questions on its long term reliability which they answered that they always looked after their customers. Sure enough 4 months after the warranty had expired, the unit became faulty. I took it down to the retailer to see what my options were and without hesitation they agreed to repair it without charge as they felt it should have lasted longer. They even delivered it back to my house at no extra charge.
Thats what you pay extra for. Good luck with getting that level of service from places like an online retailer.

Jagraf

We live in a relatively wealthy village with some massive houses and very expensive cars. (Its ok, we balance it out lol). The amount of people who set up expensive clothes shops just to rip people off, thinking wealthy people will pay anything, is outrageous. These shops open, have panic sales, then close within a year or two. However, the local butcher has been there for years and years, he's expensive, but his meat is amazing and his customer service second to none.

I would never spend my own money just to line someone else's pockets, job or not. I will pay for quality though, and good value.

ToriTeTo

I realised the hard way, that cheaper isn't always best. Most cheap things are cheap for a reason & don't last, so is often a false economy, as you have to replace it again. My Dad is in the process of selling off his stock & shutting a shop thats been open for over 40 years. he's having to do this, due to people thinking that they can buy better & cheaper in stores that are part of big chains. However, unless they have big deals on, their stock wasn't cheaper, and he'd bend over backwards for any customer, to make sure they got what they wanted, or something better. I've never had that sort of service from a bigger chain. Please people, remember that you're local shops can't survive if you don't use them. I'd rather buy better quality, than cheap cheap things that won't last, and really try to buy from local shops than big chains.

Jagraf

ToriTeTo wrote: »

I realised the hard way, that cheaper isn't always best. Most cheap things are cheap for a reason & don't last, so is often a false economy, as you have to replace it again. My Dad is in the process of selling off his stock & shutting a shop thats been open for over 40 years. he's having to do this, due to people thinking that they can buy better & cheaper in stores that are part of big chains. However, unless they have big deals on, their stock wasn't cheaper, and he'd bend over backwards for any customer, to make sure they got what they wanted, or something better. I've never had that sort of service from a bigger chain. Please people, remember that you're local shops can't survive if you don't use them. I'd rather buy better quality, than cheap cheap things that won't last, and really try to buy from local shops than big chains.

I agree. However unfortunately everyone is also buying on line which means retailers don't have to pay for shop rental, hence the demise of village stores. Restaurants and cafes seem to work, but even they are being taken over by chains.

dstanden

My Dad is in his 70's and considers himself something of a haggler. He always buys from a local branded store, a franchise of Euronics. He would rave about the service and how he had got 'great deals', usually taking at least 30% off the ticket price.

His recommendation was enough to send me there, looking for a 'great deal' on a vacuum cleaner myself. I was shocked at the huge prices in store for items that other chains and Internet vendors were selling for a fraction of the price, many 70% cheaper and no haggling required!

It seemed to me, that they had taken an RRP, loaded it with a ridiculous margin and then done a, "I'll have to ask the manager" and reduced the price by 30% and still made a large markup.

There were very few young customers and some were just paying the shop price without discount, so I left and explained to my dad all about the Internet and how he could do his own research and get the same product for less.

Now he's a happy silver surfer, doing deals and buying at realistic prices. He gets the same product, the same guarantee, the same warranty and delivered usually free as well.

Sure, local stores should be supported but only if they remain competitive. I understand large buying power vs smaller shops, I understand margins, overheads, wages and the need for profit to sustain a business. The moment they start sustaining their existence by fleecing you, is time to shop elsewhere.

I wanted to buy a cleaner, not be taken to the cleaners!