silencedogood (anonymous) says...

Here is what I think about when I shop for something.
1. Does that store have what I am looking for?
2. is it in a comparable range that I will by it at a local store instead of driving somewhere else.
3. Does that store offer good service and treat their customers with respect.

Often times local stores do no cut the mustard and don't want to go the extra mile to make a sale to a customer. Many local business owners have the 1950's idea that people have to buy from their store because they can't go anywhere else. Well that isn't true anymore.

People complain about new businesses coming in and taking business from established companies. Here are my thoughts about the issue. The old stores have to get better or get gone if they want to stick around. Think about bigger towns. There are store all over the place and they have to compete for your business, which in turn makes it better for the consumer. If there isn't any competition then the consumer loses out. True capitalism at its finest. It is only when we try and regulate it that we start to run in to trouble. So if the car dealer wants my business, then he better offer me more for my money than the guy down the street.

January 19, 2009 at 6:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

LifeGoesOn (anonymous) says...

silencedogood
I think that was the point of the story, maybe you didnt read.

All three support the Chamber of Commerce, Main Street projects, the 4-H clubs of Lyon County, and the Renaissance Program at Emporia High School.Some have adopted families at Christmas, supported local rodeo participants, local beauty pageants, and Lyon County Fair programs, the Flint Hills Tech College, Teachers Hall of Fame, Emporia State University Endowment, The Emporia Arts Council, local sports programs for all ages of students and generally all things that would benefit children in our community.

Are the guys down the street offering that for ya?

January 19, 2009 at 6:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Joe (anonymous) says...

To all of those that shop our community and support it, I say thank you. Also, a special thanks to the citizens that posted this article. Job well done!

January 19, 2009 at 6:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

neighbor (anonymous) says...

I spend where I can get the most for my money, not based on where the retailer is located. Sure it's great that our local businesses contribute to local charities, but I prefer to chose which charity I donate to and how much I give them rather than having it added to my retail purchases. I've tried to buy cars locally, I've not had a salesman prove to me that it is best to spend $2-$3k more here in town than what I can get cars for elsewhere.

January 20, 2009 at 6:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

LifeGoesOn (anonymous) says...

neighbor , sometimes getting the most for my money is taking into consideration the people of Emporia and what benefits they get from my purchase. I also would prefer to chose which charity I donate to but I would rather the extra go to the the things listed above than go to topeka or Wichita's football team or to adopt a family in topeka or wichita as an example. I see people all over donate to good causes, problem is that most are to care for those over seas or other communities, nothing wrong with that I guess but I would rather the monies be put to use right here close to home. Sometimes the price of living in a smaller community means you pay a little more. You couldn't make me live in KCMO or Denver (examples) just so I could save a few dollars on my purchases, and I just dont like to travel that much either.

January 20, 2009 at 6:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

supernanny (anonymous) says...

What a wonderful article. Thank you so much for this!

January 20, 2009 at 8:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

b3bill (anonymous) says...

I agree with silencedogood and neighbor. Emporia businesses have to be competitive on their prices, or I will buy elsewhere anytime I have the opportunity. I also buy online a lot. Spending $100's or $1000's more just to buy in Emporia is not acceptable to me, especially when I may be traveling through towns with businesses having better prices, or if the item is sold online. I'll gladly buy in Emporia, but only if I feel the price is right.

Recently I was buying some rather common hardware for a project. I first checked with a well-known, long-time Emporia business and they had the articles, at over twice the price at other stores out of town with the identical hardware. That amounted to several $100 extra I would have had to spend just to buy in Emporia. The same item was available online at very close to the prices out-of-town.

Spending locally and keeping your money there is sometimes a bit misleading concept. When someone buys a car, for example, only a small amount of the money actually stays locally. The majority of it goes to cover the purchase from the car manufacturer, since the dealer had to buy the car from them. This is true of everything, including off-shore manufactured items.

January 20, 2009 at 9:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

momus (anonymous) says...

Actually, a rather large part of what you spend stays local. Money goes towards the business, its employees, the other local businesses it does business with and our local tax base. People can try and spin behavior any way they want, but it's generally better to shop local. In this economy, its critical to shop local if you want to support things like our educational institutions, tax supported agencies/employees, infrastructure and encourage business expansion (variety/competition).

I know that we live in the era of "ME!", but there are consiquences to our actions, some obvious and some not so obvious. Shopping local generally has positive consiquences for our local economy and our community as a whole. And, while I completly expect some of the "me" crowd to completly disregard the effect that they have on the community as a whole, its always nice for people to exercise leadership by setting the example and supporting our local businesses. That includes local business owners and employees, people who depend on tax dollars for their employment and people that expect infrastructure and tax supported services, as well as people that simply want Emporia's business community to expand and succeed. Shop Emporia, not "first" as a courtesy before you head somewhere else, just shop Emporia.

January 20, 2009 at 10:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

silencedogood (anonymous) says...

@Momus
I agree that it does have a positive effect on our local economy when we shop locally. But if the prices were more competitive and the service was better than the rest, people would buy more and be more loyal to the stores. I am willing to spend a little more money if the store has superior service and the item that I am looking for in stock. You know how often you can go to a store in Emporia and see that they have closed at 5 p.m. or do not have an item that you are looking for? What is a person to do in a situation like that? Don't get me wrong, I love this town and I am all for local and small business, but they have to step it up.

January 20, 2009 at 10:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

oh4theluvof (anonymous) says...

Every business has a different profit margin and it would surprise a lot of people which types of products have only a 10-20% mark-up and which ones have a 300-500% mark-up. Sometimes, the ones that are higher and seem like they would have more wiggle room are just barely covering cost, and freight with very little left for the company, so the company has to rely on selling a lot to make it work. Fortunately, taxes are added on top of that price or they would never sell and cover overhead. These are the retail markets that we could lose at any time because they are more expensive than the look-alikes that box stores can buy at lower costs and that are inferior products. As far as the early closing times, the evening business doesn't pick up for small stores around here enough to pay for the extra utilities and employee wages--it's been tried. It is incredibly inconvenient, but facts are facts. We each have to weigh in our individual preferences and needs and the Emporia market will simply be what we make it when it's all said and done.

January 20, 2009 at 11:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

momus (anonymous) says...

I will echo some of what 4theluvof said, every business has a different margin on products, and the goal of business is profitability. Because their may be different qualities or volumes of products available to different retailers, they may have different profit margins for different products. Or, some retailers may rotate prices on products so one product is lower than their competitors for the short term, while they make up the difference on other products (quite common).

As far as hours of operation are concerned, some businesses close at 5 while others don't. What type of business closes at 5 that don’t have another local alternative? I have a lot of friends in small business, and I know hours of operation are a constant struggle. For those with extended hours, they are easily putting in 55-75 hours per week, and that can get tough on stamina and family life quickly. Instead of focusing on those that don't have extended hours, how about applauding those that do? That sort of recognition may encourage longer hours, but remember, those longer operating ours may mean that ownership isn't always present (service) or that costs may have to compensate for a new layer of management. OR, you could always open up a business to compete with a merchant that you believe isn't providing the prices/service/accessibility you require to shop in Emporia.

Not every business, whether chain, franchise or mom & pop is perfect all the time. However, I shop Emporia, and I honestly haven't found a business locally that hasn't at least tried to meet my needs. I love our community, and I understand that our business community is a big part of what makes Emporia work. However, I understand that behind all of our local businesses (service, restaurants, and retail) are people. Our neighbors take risks and work hard to provide us with goods and services that otherwise might not be available to us. Their toil makes our community run. I know some of them read these blogs (often with a look of horror on their faces from the anonymous beatings they take), and I wanted to say thank you for what you do for our city. It looks like the authors of this article and some of the respondents appreciate what you do, and so do I.

January 20, 2009 at 1:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

b3bill (anonymous) says...

So if buying locally does indeed keep lots of money locally, including increasing the local tax base, what about the concept of local businesses buying everything they can from businesses within the State of Kansas? That should help our local economy as well by increasing the State tax base, so more State money would be available here in Emporia for our schools, our programs, roads, etc.

I've never heard or read about much pressure put on local businesses, or by their own free-will commitment, to buying everything they can from within Kansas. Regardless if the cost is more or if the service isn't as good as at some out-of-state suppliers, purchase from within Kansas anyway. The plea being made to buy in Emporia should be connected with an equal plea to local businesses to buy their products, as much as are available, from within Kansas. That should mean more money available at home too. I'd expect buying within Kansas would receive some attention in newspaper articles or on-air talk shows about local shopping, and local businesses be confronted with it as often as we are about shopping in Emporia.

I want really Emporia to succeed, I think most of us do. I gladly buy here, but not at prices I feel are too high. I don't feel a bit ashamed of shopping outside Emporia, no more than a local business is ashamed of what they may charge for an item.

January 20, 2009 at 1:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

LifeGoesOn (anonymous) says...

b3bill, you say
"I've never heard or read about much pressure put on local businesses, or by their own free-will commitment, to buying everything they can from within Kansas. Regardless if the cost is more or if the service isn't as good as at some out-of-state suppliers, purchase from within Kansas anyway"

I suppose this may work but I think it would be hard to find many of the products you, I and others want that are MADE here in Kansas

January 20, 2009 at 6:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

b3bill (anonymous) says...

LifeGoesOn,

It may be the case that a lot of the products are not made in Kansas, but many are available wholesale within KS. The wholesaler pays KS taxes, their workers do too, etc. It wouldn't have to be only a KS manufacturer that the local businesses should buy from. This idea could be adopted by other cities' local businesses and it would help make a difference in the State tax base, to in turn help provide more money locally.

If a local business is to be the place local folks should buy from, yet the local business is buying their merchandise out-of-state or online outside KS when it is available in-state, it seems like a double standard. They're really not doing all that they can do to keep money local, as discussed above in the form of State tax revenues.

The idea of buying within KS is not a ploy to make local businesses fail. It just seems like a fair request, given all the ongoing requests and KVOE commercials made to the local consumers to buy here to keep the money local.

January 20, 2009 at 7:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

LifeGoesOn (anonymous) says...

b3bill , I can agree with that, it only makes good policy

January 20, 2009 at 8:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )