Hypocrisy...or is it?

[tsgstl]

I wouldn't expect anyone to take a hour to listen to this podcast of "this American life" but it is worth the listen.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/490/trends-with-benefits

I am not the best at supporting American made but this gives a great perspective of what happens to small towns once the big factories move out of town. It is not always uneducated moochers trying to take advantage of the system. If we pay 10% less for a foreign made product we will most likely pay twice that in taxes and other things to put food on the table of the people that "would" of made that product here. It's a viscous circle

 

[fresh]

I try to use local print shops whenever possible... But they are ordering full color postcards, etc from the same places I can (4Over, Zoo, etc) so what is the point of that? One place does 2part forms & thermographic printing in house, but I've only sold those items a handful of times.

Don't even get me started on tee shirts. I now just order silk-screen transfers from Ace Transfer and heat-press them myself.

Also, there is a local sign supply guy. Twice I called him and he didn't have what we needed. GREEN calendered vinyl (any shade, it didn't matter) or App tape. What is the point of paying more if they don't have any stock?

And finally, there is THE BEST hardware store in the world a few block by my house. They have every fastener you can think of, and their prices are better than the big box stores.

I will always pay more for someone local. But I also expect their product to be as good as something I can get for less online.

edit: If there are two products, one is made in the USA and one is made in China, I will ALWAYS buy the item made in the USA regardless of price. If I can only afford the one from China, I don't buy it. Seriously.

 

[threeputt]

Sitting with my guys at Starbucks every morning. Solving the world's problems, you know.

So the other day one guy says, "hey'd you see the out of state contractor they got to build that new (fill in the blank....school, bridge, shopping center, etc.)?

Why didn't they use ______________? (our large local general contractor)

Well the truth is the big contractor they mentioned, (our local large contractor) also gets most of it's work out of the area. I mean they could never survive on what my little town can offer up in larger projects.

But....when they are awarded a bid 200-500 miles away, that is somebody else's "hometown". Then their local guys are griping, "hey'd, did you see who they got to build the new school"? etc. Some out of state contractor!

Goes round and round.

Really....Exactly what is "local" anymore? I don't mind accepting work from out of the area. I suppose that means that some sign guy somewhere is crying that he didn't get the work since it was right in his hometown! Boo hoo.

 

[Billct2]

I buy local when I can, I used to support the local "old fashioned" lumber yard, but they went under anyhow. I hate HD & Lowes but often they are my only choice, I have to drive a couple towns away to get to a real lumber yard now.
The one thing I really try to do is buy my materials from a regional full line sign supplier, in my case Garston & Hart Supply mostly. Sure maybe I can save a few bucks on stabilos, xacto blades and vinyl rolls elsewhere, but what happens if they go out, I'll be paying some serious money for sheet stock delivery and other not easy to UPS supplies.

 

[OldPaint]

and you all have CUTTERS/PRINTERS/LAMINATORS all made in china.....your inks MADE IN CHINA, the vinyl you print on..........most is overseas.....iam sure you buy all american))))

 

[John Butto]

Hypocrisy

It was necessary to say this, why?

Do not want to change the subject as far as buying local but it does cover the heading.
Buying a hybrid to save on gas and taxes and to make a smaller footprint on the planet. While the car companies produce carbon to run the factories and the CEO's ride limos and private jets, same goes for government officials in Washington. Music and movie people rally to stop a nuclear plant from being built while they plug in their instruments and microphones to get their electric from fossil fuel plants. If you are getting off the grid, then man up and get off the grid. You run a sign shop that uses vinyl, plastics, inks, paper, all that deteriorate the earth. So when I see a person driving a hybrid I wonder if they also have a biolet composting toilet. So thinking your saving a couple of bucks going 15 miles instead of buying local because you have a hybrid, well that is when it would be time for me to pack it in because dementia has set in.

 

[BobM]

Our local hardware store sells single edge razor blades, a pack of 100, for $11.
If I drive 15 miles down the road to a different town I can get them for $5.45.

I buy them 10 boxes at a time, along with a bunch of other shop supplies.

I've love to not leave town to get what I need, but I'm spending much more than I want to if I don't go out of town.

This is the only hardware store in a town of 15,000 people. So it's not a big store. There's usually 2, maybe 3 customer cars in the parking lot, but when you go in to shop you'll see 10 employees there to jump on, I mean, assist you. I can't walk from the front to the back without being asked by at least 3 different people if they can help me find something.

Perhaps if you took a minute to get to know those 10 people (who are trying to give you good service) they would know you are in the sign business and do some business with you or tell a friend about your business. Perhaps if you introduced yourself to the store owner and explained the price difference he would be willing to meet you halfway and sell you 10 boxes for say $8.50 a box. It's all about networking and getting to know our neighbors. Screw the Walmarts of the world. They cost you more in the long run than you know.

 

[CP Signs]

When it comes to sign supplies, everything is ordered. Nothing close. Ottawa has ND Graphics but that is over 2 hrs on the road for me. They are way more expensive and shipping is ridiculous. Get my stuff from over 10 hrs away with free next day shipping. I do support my small town whenever I can.

 

[Gino]

Ya know, if you think about it..... for years they've been saying buy American, buy American, save American jobs. Now we don't produce anything.

Now they're saying buy local and save local jobs. We're still losing to the same people. What's that tell ya ??

We're a bunch of hypocrites. Otherwise, we'd still be making paint, Chrsitmas lights and much of our military weapons/equipment.

It's very hard to do what we're told, when the people doing all the talking don't follow suit.

 

[Marlene]

driving 15 miles is local. I think most would like to buy local or at least in state. we do our best to shop and buy from people who have bought from us. we have our oild changed at the shop who bought a sign. we eat at restaurants who bought a sign. on of our people gets their hair cut at a salon who bought a sign and so on and so on. it isn't always about the supplies. if a local supplier wants to keep the locals, they can't expect to unless they are good to their customers. there was a time when we bought 3M vinyl in state. the company screwed up orders so often we had to keep a special in box just to follow up on their errors. after a few years of this, it had to end and we now buy out of state. not all local companies are people you want to work with. buy local is a nice concept but only when it works. it isn't about being a hypocrite

 

[TammieH]

I think you have to weigh the cost of the savings...and not just short term savings.
I will not step foot into a huge international big box store that I will not name other to say it begins with "W"

 

[Techman]

I buy local whenever possible excpet,
then they use those friggin rip off rewards cards.
Then I will go online.

 

[David Wright]

Yes it is hypocrisy.

 

[CP Signs]

Also, I remember when we were ready to buy a printer a cutter and laminator. Called the "local" shop and was told the person in charge of that was out. I left all my info including details about the equipement I wanted to purchase. 3 days later I decided to call again. Same story. I emailed that person the details of the order. 2 weeks later still nothing. Picked up the phone ordered everything from a different country and saved $3200 including shipping. I guess my money wasn't good enough for them. So forget ordering local or even in my country, Texas didn't have a problem taking my money. Lol.

 

[David Wright]

Also, I remember when we were ready to buy a printer a cutter and laminator. Called the "local" shop and was told the person in charge of that was out. I left all my info including details about the equipement I wanted to purchase. 3 days later I decided to call again. Same story. I emailed that person the details of the order. 2 weeks later still nothing. Picked up the phone ordered everything from a different country and saved $3200 including shipping. I guess my money wasn't good enough for them. So forget ordering local or even in my country, Texas didn't have a problem taking my money. Lol.

That's your position just because of one bad experience?

 

[GAC05]

Also, I remember when we were ready to buy a printer a cutter and laminator. Called the "local" shop and was told the person in charge of that was out. I left all my info including details about the equipement I wanted to purchase. 3 days later I decided to call again. Same story. I emailed that person the details of the order. 2 weeks later still nothing. Picked up the phone ordered everything from a different country and saved $3200 including shipping. I guess my money wasn't good enough for them. So forget ordering local or even in my country, Texas didn't have a problem taking my money. Lol.

I'd like to have seen the expression on the face of the guy in Texas when he found out they would be paid in loonies......

wayne k
guam usa

 

[CP Signs]

David,,,,, NO,,,, if you read my other post, I try to support my community as much as possible,,,,, but when it comes to sign supplies I don't have much options. And with them it's not just 1 bad experience, it's always the same. Like Marlene said, restaurants we go to, corner store, hair cut, lumber yard, mortgage agent, dealership, contractor and on are all customers of ours. But no sign supplies. The price to pay to be in a small town. But everywhere we go, we know the owners or employees name.

 

[bob]

I make purchases from wherever I get the best deal on the best product. Total deal, not necessarily price alone. If that's down the block or across the planet, it matters not to me. My lack of interest in 'buying local' is total.

In a free market, the best of all economic systems, businesses come and go based on their ability to do business. Loyalty merely because a business happens to be located in your village is, for the most part, misplaced. I my entire little hamlet were to collapse tomorrow because of economic disinterest, it might be an interesting curiosity but it wouldn't have any particular effect on the course of history.

You, me, everyone, remains in business not because of their neighbors, but because of their acumen.

 

[Fred Weiss]

I make purchases from wherever I get the best deal on the best product. Total deal, not necessarily price alone. If that's down the block or across the planet, it matters not to me. My lack of interest in 'buying local' is total.

In a free market, the best of all economic systems, businesses come and go based on their ability to do business. Loyalty merely because a business happens to be located in your village is, for the most part, misplaced. I my entire little hamlet were to collapse tomorrow because of economic disinterest, it might be an interesting curiosity but it wouldn't have any particular effect on the course of history.

You, me, everyone, remains in business not because of their neighbors, but because of their acumen.

Business is business and I deal with who provides me the best combination of quality, price and service with some attention paid to relationships and niceties. When I came to realize that most of my major suppliers were happy to sell equipment and supplies to my customers and were, therefore, my competitors, I got over it and curtailed any sentimental thought of loyalty.

 

[rjssigns]

Thanks to the internet and overnight shipping the world is now "flat".