It is only prudent to get the best deal you can on your purchases, whatever they cost.
This may not mean buying it at the lowest possible price, there are, as many have mentioned other things to factor into the purchase that can mean paying a little extra for somewhat intangible advantages.
You’d be shocked at how little research most people do before making huge purchases. I worked in an electronics store for a while and it was routine for people to come in, ready to spend $1,000, with no idea of what they wanted when it came to brand, features, etc.
My friend is a car dealer and he said that it would blow your mind how many people come in to the dealership without any idea of what vehicle they want or what they want out of it - and buy one that day!
I’m such a research maniac about any potential purchase that the idea blows my mind. I research $20 purchases for a week or more!
There’s also a real generation gap when it comes to buying stuff online. I tried in vain to explain to my parents that they would save hundreds of dollars by buying stuff on Amazon with free shipping while doing their holiday shopping, and they wouldn’t have it.
Although it is a bit of a hijack, this case is different. Eye appeal is a huge factor when purchasing a car, even for the most car educated. For some, it is the only real concern.
I have a friend who once called me
-I got a car.
-Cool, what did you get?.
-A blue one. :smack:
My local store has insane customer service. Their prices are reasonable, although I am sure randwill would be paying less for the same items. It’s the service that keeps me coming back, they go above and beyond, and I am willing to pay for it.
Actually, I had to save for about a year to make the HD TV purchase. That’s why I did the research to find the absolute rock-bottom best price. The people who are willing to spend more than they need to for the pleasure of talking to a salesman, having it right now and helping their local stores show a better profit (to cite a few rationalizations listed here) are the ones who have the money to piss away. Or so it seems to me.
The return issue is a big one for a lot of people, me included. That’s why almost all my online purchases are things like books, DVDs and CDs, cables, and other goods that don’t break down and need to be returned. I also tend to order things small enough that they can be delivered through the postal service. There is no one home in my house during the day most of the time, and that makes deliveries a royal pain in the butt. The last time I ordered a large piece of electronics mail order, this is how it went:
- store promised 3 day delivery via UPS. UPS garanteed delivery on date X, so I arranged to work from home that day.
- product wasn’t delivered. Turns out the truck was delayed due to weather. They promised to deliver it the next day. I arranged to work from home again. Product never arrived.
- I couldn’t stay home the next because of meetings. I got home home, found UPS note saying delivery was attempted, would be attempted again the next day. I phoned the depot, and asked them if they could take it off the truck and hold it there so I could pick it up. Sure thing, they said.
- Next day, go to the depot. Product isn’t there. I get home, find note on my door, 2nd delivery attempt.
- Phone the depot back. Tell them it was on the truck again. They apologize profusely, and promise that this time, for sure it will be in the depot.
- Go to the depot the next day. They bring out my shipment. Except it’s in two boxes, and they only have one. They have no idea where the other is. Must be on the truck.
- I get home, and sure enough, I find a, “Final delivery attempt” notice. Back to the depot the next day, at which point I finally get my full order.
This is par for the course when I have large items delivered. Maybe not that level of snafu, but at the very least I’m always forced to drive to the depot to get my order. Depending on the carrier, the depots are anywhere from 1/2 hr to an hour from my house.
So… I have to wait a long time, I have to jump through hoops to get the package, and if there’s any breakage I have to jump through more hoops to send the thing back. Yuck. The risk of that kind of hassle is easily worth $50-$100 to me to avoid on a $500 purchase. If the local stores can even get in the ballpark, I buy locally.
Now, shopping for DVD’s or books is an entirely different matter. I place an order through Amazon, 3 days later there’s a parcel in my mailbox. End of story. And these days, it’s almost impossible to find the books and DVDs I like locally (generally computer/engineering books, older movie DVDs, novels from out of print authors, etc).
And I’m with the others in saying that if you go to your local stores to sample merchandise and tie up a salesperson’s time, while fully intending to order online, you’re acting somewhat unethically. Or at the least, you’re not being a very good member of your community. That doesn’t mean ‘buy local’. It means don’t consume local resources then order your items elsewhere.
One more, low tech, story.
I bought a bed frame from a catalog. It was pretty fancy, wooden and supposedly rustic. It had a lot of parts, but I’m pretty good at putting things together. When I - almost - finished - I found that they had sent a wrong part, and it didn’t quite go together.
I got on the phone with some actually reasonable customer service people. I sent the bad part back, and, three weeks later, I got another wrong part. One more time and I sent the whole damn very heavy bed back. If I had bought this at a local store, it would be done and fixed the first time.
As for savings, seven years ago, before a trip to Alaska, I decided I needed a digital camera. After a trip to a camera store, with really helpful people, I decided that since I didn’t own a laptop at a time, a digital camera would mean buying a standalone disk also. I wound up getting a film SLR, which worked great. I’m sure I would have saved money online, but I would have wound up with the wrong thing.
Some places do installation. Which can be good for some things.
To answer the OP question, another reason is because some people still don’t trust giving their credit card number over the phone, and some people still don’t trust the net.
Here’s a nifty example of the small minded-ness of some folks.
I was at the kgym the other day and ran into an old co-worker, so we’re shootting the breeze, and he asks me where I’m living.
I tell him, and I tell him “oh, there’s a few pics of the house on my website if you want to take a look”
I have a very easy domain for my personal blog (somthing like ABC.com, but not quite.
The guy looks at me all nervous and asks “you put photos of your house on the net? That’s crazy man! Are you nuts? I don’t trust “that” internet”
I’m explaining to him that its just a few pics, not the Cadbury secret, and he should not be so manic about it. Here’s a guy who doesn’t trust “that” internet, wouldnt order anything online or from a mail order, and is just a scared Sally in general.
The fact of the matter is there are a lot more Scared Sally’s out there than we realize.
I have a co-worker who refers to a couple of electronic items at the store as “The damn machine!” and “The hateful machine!”
Recent Canadian study addresses the OP’s Question: Consumers choose convenience: Speed, familiarity take priority over saving: research