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To the OP , not to repeat what others are saying but, How do you think the shop owner pays you ? (or do you work for free ?) If he can get $1000 for a cham power to him. It is up to the buyer to do the research. Maybe th ebuyer feels better about supporting a local business, or maybe they feel better about buying the cham at the store and not shipping it through the mail, to each their own. If you go into a nice privately owned store expect to pay FULL RETAIL. In addition to paying the rent, the utilites, all the food, no one mentioned workmans comp., or insurance. Truth is the younger generation has no idea what things cost and think everything should be free. At My last job I managed close to 200 people mostly in their 20's , all I can say is This country is in trouble if this is the future of america.
Mind you there are 20 year olds on here ( myself being one) and I currently live on my own. Pay my own rent. Pay my electric and water and I own four chams. I rescued them all from bad owners and pet stores at decent prices. I also maintain good credit in order to get things I want. Such as my appartment and my car. It's not an easy world out there and your generation screwed it up for us thank you. Mind you I wasent even a thought in time when the Internet came to be. Thank you very much
*Nevermind, neither important nor interesting.
I seriously doubt that!
Some very good points have been made here but I think the most important has not been stressed.
A shop keepers overhead makes <b>NO</b> difference to their consumers. Nor should it.
A shop keepers job is to offer real or perceived value for goods that allow them to make a profit and stay in business. The battlefield of competitive business has changed and not to the advantage of the small guy... or has it?
If you run a small business and would like to succeed your business model needs to be different than the internet merchants with less overhead or the big box stores with huge buying power.
If you simply charge more you're doomed. A customer will come in to purchase the goods, buy them if they want and can afford it, then see that they paid more than others sell the same or similar product for, get furious and never return.
Some think the consumer should care about the small shop and pay more to vote with their wallets. I say the small business needs to provide additional perceived value so the person pays more and is happy about it.
The most successful aquarium shop in Sacramento charges WAY more than every other shop in town. Every aquarium keeper knows it but still go there. Why? Because they add tremendous value. They have found the best suppliers, the best fish, have the knowledgeable employees and a very nice environment. There is a huge perceived value so you don't mind paying more.
Other than finding a profitable niche market a small business needs to differentiate itself so people will pay more and feel good about it. The days of the "General Store" run by ma and pa are long gone folks. The world is changing every day and to succeed you must change with it.
I personally will pay more for an item that is supported and backed by a reputable establishment no matter what size the establishment.
Also a word for those who hate the "big boys" who drive everyone out of business. Home Depot, and many other huge stores started small, found a good scale-able model and grew. They used ingenuity and hard work to get where they are. If you want to compete with them the only thing that is stopping you is a lifetime of work, luck, and ingenuity.
Maybe if you let more of us immigrants in we could make up for the shortfall created by you guys somehow breeding an entire generation of developmentally challenged people?! Just a thought...
All of this gave me a headache.