WWW +10, Retail Shops 0

I love Christmas time. It's a fun time of hustle and bustle, and everyone is so stressed about gifts, and dinners, and family disputes. Hilarity ensues, I benefit from it greatly. That's probably selfish, but at least I'm transparent.

I'm proud to report, for two years running, I've denied all local retailers my income. I'm sorry if that offends some of you unionized folks who believe we should support our local business, but that's reality. 90% of local business's won't or can't compete with online pricing. Why is that?

Is the cost of electricity, heat, and water for a storefront that much more expensive than shipping a few million packages from a warehouse for an online retailer? I truly don't know, but I can only assume the costs are similar. So overhead for the local retailers is merely an excuse.

When the local retailer has an Optimus Prime Transformer for $49.99 + Tax and I can purchase it online for $38.99 with Free Shipping and No Tax, what incentive do I have to drive to that retailer, and plunk down more of my hard-earned coin for the same exact product? This makes NO logical sense to me. Nor should it to you. However, some people will argue that we need to support our local retailers, preserve jobs, boost our local economy, etc...

I'm not buying it. Figuratively or literally. Honestly, we aren't preserving anything by supporting our local Wal-Mart or Best Buy. A local specialty shop, sure. But then you're paying for a service or convenience not provided by other retailers and often not found online. It's the personal touch that draws us to such locations. That I understand. But please, explain why I should buy from my local Best Buy instead of NewEgg.com when I can save $10, $20, or even $300 on an item?

There are multiple reasons why I shop online exclusively these days.

1. Convenience: I don't even have to do anything but click some buttons. That's worth it.

2. Price: More often than not, it's cheaper online and I don't have additional costs in gas, mileage, etc...

3. Availability: I can almost always find what I'm looking for online, when a local retailer may not stock an item or have been sold out.

4. Lazy: Yes, I'm lazy.

5. No Crowds: I'm not a people person (surprise!). I despise crowded malls and stores with people groping products that I could potentially purchase.

I could go on... but I digress. I'm probably talking to the wrong crowd anyway. The four people who read this blog are online, and reading a blog. They probably don't care either... :)