Posts Tagged ‘independant’

Buying Independent V Buying from Big Chains – The Big question

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

I personally find it quite hard to decide whether I should buy from the big supermarket who sells things cheaply because they have huge buying power so can get the best deals, or whether I should pay a penny or two more per item but support my local small sellers who would go under without the support of the local people.

On the one hand I have to think of my own pocket don’t I? I mean, if I can save a few pence here and there buying from the supermarkets, I can afford to treat my family to a few extras along the way, and that’s a good thing for us.

The conflict for me is that if we all think like that, then the little shops go out of business just leaving the big chains who then have a hold over us because there’s no one to challenge them. Add to that, the choice issue – with a small seller, if you want something specific they can often get it for you, but a big chain can’t do so because the people working in the shop have nothing to do with the buying process.

The same problem occurs for me when I think about other products too – buying a TV or a Washing machine for example, do I go to the big chain store where they have loads of tellys on display but that’s all they have. Or do I go visit the independent dealer who can’t afford to have them all there on display because it costs too much and he doesn’t have the space, but he can actually offer you a much wider choice range because he can choose to deal with any manufacturer and can get any of their range of products even if he doesn’t normally carry it.

Personally I generally try to choose the smaller independent dealer for the big items like Stereos, Fridges and computers because I think that I get much closer to what I actually want that way as well as supporting the local economy. When it comes to supermarkets however, I’m afraid I tend to go the other way I go for cheaper and all under one roof – mostly for ease to be honest. It’s much harder to have to go to 20 different small stores than to go to one large one each week. Do you have something different that influences your thoughts? I’d love to hear if you think differently to me!

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