Commerce...

Greetings.

I'm running short on time, so I'll make this brief.

I don't want to hear anymore whining or bitching from local companies about e-commerce destroying their business.

I used to work at a "mom & pop" music store. I loved working there. We weren't a very big store, but we had a lot of cool stuff, and our prices were pretty low. I do remember that the owner used to complain a lot, though, about the internet and what it was doing to his business. He lived in fear of the day that Guitar Center, the Wal-Mart of musical instrument retailers, would come to Spokane. Eventually these things led him to voluntarily close his doors. He simply didn't want to do what he thought he would have had to do to stay competitive in the business. Now, I used to think this was a bit silly of him, because it came to pass that Guitar Center did come to Spokane, but contrary to his fears, most of the "mom & pop" stores stayed open. In fact, some new ones even opened up and appear to be thriving. Today, however, I'm starting to really admire his decision.

The thing is, buyers know what they want and they go where they know they're going to get it. Now, admittedly, I buy a lot of stuff from eBay, but that's because I know exactly what I want. I don't need a sales clerk to help me make my decision, and I want to pay as little as possible for my merchandise because I'm a college student with very little disposable income. On occasion, however, I need something right away. I still need to pay as little as possible in these situations, so I always hit up the pawn shop, or I will buy it from Guitar Center if I have to. I do buy things from the little local guys when I find cool stuff in their stores that I can't find anywhere else, or if I'm being impulsive - to me that's their niche. And again, they seem to be doing ok. One store, though, the oldest in town, hasn't seen a dime of my money in years. This is because they offer worse customer service than Guitar Center, and neither their prices, nor their selection warrant my patronage.

I've got the bug recently to re-design my pedalboard. This usually requires that I sell one thing in order to purchase another. I have found the object of my desire, and I don't want to wait for it on eBay. I called around to all of the local stores - including Guitar Center - today, and the only company that had one in stock was the store that hasn't seen my business in years. They had it priced for about $50 more than I can get it on eBay. Now, they match "internet pricing" but not eBay pricing (because of the unpredictability of auction pricing). Traditionally, the "brick and mortar" argument has been "Well, if you buy it on the internet, who are you going to talk to if you have a problem with it?" The problem is, in my experience, when I have an issue with a product, the stores usually just refer me to the manufacturer anyway, so I'm really not loosing anything by buying online. If this store blew me away with consistently excellent customer service, or added some other type of value, I would be glad to get right down there and buy it, but the fact is, they don't do anything to make me want to go there. Even the prospect of having it in my hot little hands today isn't enough to make me fork over the extra money.

The internet is a reality. The local shops have done Ok in the face of it, but a lot of them still have a long way to go. I see signs and stickers all over town that say "Buy Local" and things like that, but honestly, it's not enough that you're my neighbor if you're providing an inferior product/service. I used to feel a little bad about buying so much stuff on eBay, but after today, I'm not going to. I can buy literally ANYTHING I want on eBay - usually at an unbeatable price, and the only inconvenience I have is having to wait a few days for it to get here. The bottom line is, they need to make themselves a lot more attractive if they want my business - or they need to take a cue from my old boss and just close up shop.

I am the Reverend Humpy and I have approved this message.