If it were only so easy.....

Yesterday a reader commented via email on the fact that I promote Amazon.com frequently (I do, Amazon is God’s gift to bibliophiles). She said she has become a proponent of promoting local sellers, and that I should also.

I do shop local, I also shop where I can get things I need. I find that locally there are not the books, crystals, and other paraphernalia I need for many of my hobbies (for instance, items made especially for desert hiking, I get those in Arizona).

But besides all that, think about this a moment. Small, local sellers are good to patronize, don’t get me wrong, however, when you buy from chains or National brands, you DO promote locally. Many people in our area work for Toyota, a Japanese based company. They also work for TJ Maxx, a chain, and Shoe Carnival, another chain. It is not that simple as buying from a “mom and Pop”

I counsel, coach and advise on line worldwide and locally. I don’t tell people not to use the worldwide service. use what works best for you, if I am the best, then you will use my goods and services, and if not, then you won’t. It doesn’t matter where my “storefront” is. Many smart, local, Mom and Pop stores have an online service, they get it, they make themselves available to everyone. When they have the best items and prices, people go to them, and that is what it is all about.

I remembered an email sent by a friend saying to check all labels and buy only products with apples grown in the US. Really? OK, that means that you will never have the products you need, and certainly NOT year round. This is not because of cheap Chinese labor, but because we only grow so many apples in this country. We cannot supply our need for apple juice, apple pie, apple strudel, apples themselves. We can’t. Then there is this little thing called seasons. We get apples from Brazil because it is summer there when it is winter here.

We are a world community and we are all connected. When we buy from anyone, we are helping everyone. When we buy from foreign countries we don’t have to aid them (and we do have to aid others, spiritually and financially). We cannot isolate ourselves from foreign countries. We and they, would not survive. They get what we can supply, and we get what they can supply. There are many items we do not produce here because we don’t want the manufacturing process in our environment, and other countries are happy to produce them. There are items that are too expensive to make here due to lack of natural resources, and visa versa. Seasons, weather, workforce….it all has an effect. Not to mention if we become snobs and cut ourselves off from the rest of the world,  they will hate us even more and we will spend the rest of our existence defending our borders, that is if we can even survive in the first place.

When you stroll into a chain store and buy a camera, your neighbor’s son may have just made his first sale. Locals work at those chains. So what about Amazon? Amazon IS local . It is certainly local to the state I live in, Indiana (a warehouse), and Arizona, Missouri,and other states. Your neighbor may have been smart enough to buy stock in Amamzon, and benefits every time you buy a book.

The old “buy local” concept is one that really doesn’t have a direct effect anymore. Small local stores, if they are quality and market well, will thrive due to customer service, speed, and assistance.

Sometimes people just can’t afford to shop locally. Small businesses can sometimes price themselves right out of the market. I can buy used books on Amazon, and I know of a few local used books stores, but the selection is whatever people discarded (not very good books or the unusual ones I want or need). I can go on Amazon and get just about any book, period. I can download many for free on my Kindle. Since when did being cost conscious or getting the product you need become a crime?

I also have to say that there is a local shop that twice sold me items that were not authentic. It may be lack of knowledge or outright dishonesty, but buying local doesn’t guarantee you authentic, fair price or quality.

We CAN’T limit ourselves to US grown products (well we can but there will be a lot of doing without), or local stores. The world has grown and changed, and just becsue someone is local, doesn’t mean he is the best quality or deal.

There are no simple answers to anything in the world anymore. Be a citizen of the world, support your country as much as possible, yes, but realize we are all connected, so we are all LOCAL.

Peshaui Wequashimese

(C)2013 Dr R M Wolf, may not be used, copied or reproduced without prior written permission.