I grew up in a rural area, so I probably remember the rustic good old days a little better than many people in Connecticut. We lived in a small town which was the biggest thing around. That isn’t saying much, cause it wasn’t big, but only seemed so because everything around was so small.
If you wanted something up there we had the local stores for everyday things, but if you needed something special you had to drive over an hour to the nearest place with a mall, or you had to order from a catalog. We had two catalog stores in my town, so you could order something and pick it up in a few weeks. A few weeks. It was exciting when I moved to a more urban area and I could get about anything I needed, I just had to pick up a phone book and find out where the store was and drive out to get it.
I was reminded of this recently when I needed a battery for my digital camera. Sure, with one of these cameras you can take a picture then go home and print it out automatically, but without a battery I was dead in the water. I found out my battery had died two days before Christmas. Not good.
So, I jumped on the internet and looked up stores in the area where I could find a new one, fast. What I found out was several stores could get me the battery, but they would have to order it. It would take 3 days to a week, and if I know how things are likely to work, probably longer. No way I was going to have that battery for Christmas Day and other Christmas events. I was out of luck.
The other thing I noticed, when I searched on line for a local battery store was that on line the price was less. They had the same delivery time though. At that moment having the battery was more important to me than price.
It got me thinking. Before the promise of the internet, would there have been a local store that stocked the item I needed? (maybe not, but maybe so) Had the internet been the reason the store that might have met my needs that day had gone out of business because of the unfair competition offered by the internet?
That made me sad, both because I could not get what I wanted in a whole region, but also because I was probably part of the reason local stores were suffering. I too often shop for price and am tempted by getting a real bargain on the internet. (Have you noticed when we talk about things we get on the internet we rarely factor in the price of shipping when we tell people how much we saved?)
So, give that some thought. What thing did you used to be able to buy around here that you still need that you can’t get locally any more? What store that used to meet your needs, and was always there when you needed something NOW that is not there anymore? As you drive by vacant store fronts, do you wonder why the store that was there is not there any more? I do. Or an empty store that used to have a ton of variety and choices that is gone because a big box store moved to town, and now they offer you only what sells the most, in other words, no variety at all.
We need to do our part to make sure our area is vibrant and has a strong local economy. In the short run, sure, you can save buying on the internet, but in the long run, are we shooting ourselves in the foot?
Before it’s too late: Buy local. Support local businesses. Support the local economy.
