Tinker...I hear ya! I found a faucet I liked and it was at least 150 dollars less than the store. I have friends who think nothing of going to the local store with the print out from the on line company and asking them if they can meet the price. I would die to do that, too shy...but if you have the guts it seems to work in many cases. You're basically asking them to eat a bit of their mark up, I suppose.
Good luck!

I totally agree with both the above posters. When we were shopping for granite, the place we wound up using matched the price of the competitor. When my daughter was looking for her apartment in Manhatten she saw a place that the realtor listed online. When she went to look, they told her it was higher! I told her to bring them the print out of what they advertised online. She got the lower price.
We all keep talking about how bad the economy is yet I am not seeing extra deals etc. or salepeople taking the extra mile.

I've had more the experience of swisscook's friends. I had a goal to buy everything locally. For each item, I found the best price from a reputable on-line seller, then went to local stores with the print out. I'm happy to say in practially every case, the local stores met or beat the on-line prices. That included hardware from a luxury design center, lighting, sink & faucet, all appliances and harlequin backsplash tiles. The single item I ended up ordering on-line was 2 sheets of small square glass backsplash tile that I could get for a fraction of the cost. The tile place even said if I could get it for that price to go ahead, as they couldn't come close. The customer sevice has been excellent in every case, and I've really enjoyed working with all these friendly local business professionals.
I'm sure many factors come into play, such as where you live, the overhead of the local stores, how you go about it, etc. At any rate, in my case, I can't agree with your post title, as I've had the exact opposite experience. Good luck to you.

I'm with Elba1, on this one tinker. Except for the sink and the knobs and pulls, main lights (because my local places could not get them) everything came from customer friendly, Knowledgeable local businesses. They were more than happy to meet and in most cases, beat online pricing. Did you try and work with them, tinker? Of course it could be a regional thing as well. Somethings I was willing to pay a wee bit more. For the same reason I choose my local bank, family owned grocery store, and local retailers over places like Walmart. For me corporate philosophy is an important consideration. I don't like the big box bully mentality. Just my .02

More power to those who negotiate for better prices with local dealers, but let's at least try not to gouge them, okay? They have a business to run and they can't keep running it (and keep employing people in your area, and keep paying taxes to support the roads, schools, police, etc. in your area) if they run it at a loss.

There's a reason stuff is usually less expensive online: that sink, appliance, or whatever you buy online is not providing jobs for as many people (and none of them are local--many may be in China); it's not helping pay for your local police force, teachers, schools, roads, etc.; and it's not paying rent to keep your local storefronts from being boarded up and vandalized (it may just be paying rent on a warehouse in China). Ten thousand Americans just lost their jobs, and hundreds of storefronts are sitting vacant, because Borders went out of business thanks in large part to Amazon. So I just think it's patriotic to America and to your local community to buy what you can locally--maybe at a discount after negotiation, sure, but not by threatening to walk out if they don't match the online price. If they match that price the money comes straight OUT of your local community.

Our local lighting store helped me figure out what I needed in the kitchen/dining room - I knew nothing about it - and drew it all out for me including specifics on each piece. I came home, looked at our space, considered, looked up stuff online, and went back and talked to them again. At this point my husband came with to see the goods, and we made a couple of refinements. They sent us a bid by email. We did more pondering, and then asked if that was their best price, because it was a bit chokey (Just under $2800!). They took $400 off by email. I went back one more time to take one more look at the stuff we were talking about: recessed lights, undercabinet lights and associated dimmers,etc., pendants, and a ceiling fan/light. Happy that we had what we needed/wanted, I handed over my credit card. Has I been a lighting guru, maybe online would have been OK, but when you need help you should expect to pay for it. By contrast, our new sink is coming from an online source since no one locally had what I wanted or had any expertise in particular to aid me in my search. I'm OK with both decisions. And, of course, the Never MT I learned about here is coming from the online source.

i understand completely. i do strongly urge you though to talk to your local vendors who are providing other services. i was searching for my 36" shaws sink and i found it in the most unlikely place.

while talking with my stone fabricator i mentioned the hunt for my sink. he started talking about a "big, expensive" sink he bought for another customer to install in her kitchen. after a week she called him complaining one of the installers "scratched" it during install. he knew she had done it herself but wanted her to be happy and replaced it. so he tells me to take a look at it. i go in the back with him and low and behold ...it's MY sink! she must have thrown a cast iron pan in the sink to have scratched it but who cares? you just turn that baby around and she's clean as a whistle.

he very generously sold it to me for $700. it's my biggest score!

You never can tell. I got my 30" Shaw farmhouse sink at a local appliance store for only $770. So, it's always worth it to check.

I'm also on the in-between place. If I know exactly what I want and can easily order it online, I will. However, if you want advice and to work with somebody on the purchase, then local is the way to go and it can be worth a bit of extra cost (or sometimes it won't be more).

The one thing I feel strongly about is that it's wrong to use the facilities and knowledge of a local shop and then turn around and buy online. If you do that you need to accept that the local shop may not exist for your use in the future (on the other hand, if I've gone into a local shop and disliked the experience, I again have no problem ordering online).

This is probably a big city thing, but I was able to find almost everything for the remodel locally for less than online, and in more cases, I used the bandwidth and resources of the online sources, more. OTOH, I do a lot of online shopping for smaller things that I don't have time to locate locally, so I feel it works out in the end.

ideagirl2, in our case, there was nothing at all resembling gouging or threats. The gentleman at the luxury home design center told me that there is a bottom line price reputable on-line sellers are supposed to honor to enable local stores to compete. I showed him the hardware prices printout, he looked up on his computer what he could offer, and it was lower than the price I had. That was it. Wherever I went.

I do not mind paying extra for buying locally, esp if there is some advice added in, however, if the markup is excessive, then all bets are off. If an item can be had for $50 online then I have an issue with paying over $200 locally.
When possible, I like to buy local to have a place to touch the item and see how it is made. Often times, I can't find what I see online locally or can't find the right size and color.
I went to buy a sectional and looked locally first. I found a brand and style we liked, but it was pricey. I then went home and did research and found it online in a better style/size for our space and it was approx $1,600 less. The style we saw in the store was the same price online as the one we bought. I am sorry, but that is a little too much markup for us and the salesperson had been emphatic that it was his best price (before we went home and did some checking).
BTW - the people who work for the online retailer, as well as the post office, FedEx, etc... all pay taxes and need their jobs as well. I don't think online shopping is evil at all.

one thing to keep in mind about purchasing fragile and breakable things as the shaw on line. folks have had trouble with theirs - how quick would you get a replacement in the event of cracking or damage in shipping? if you are in the middle of construction and need to do a fast swap on the sink a local vendor will likely be of more assistance. i have bought numerous things on line but intentionally bought the shaw locally (and paid more) in an effort to mitigate against construction delays.

Tinker- I bought that sink. It came with the drain cut out on the right side instead of the left, but I'm okay with that. However, in a continuing streak of bad luck/poor judgement, I accidentally marked on it with a Sharpie. Please let me know if anyone knows how to get permanent marker off of fireclay.

Tinker, I know this is off of the topic, but I was posting your "former" kitchen to my favorites and lost it...could you post it again?....appreciate it~

I should have mentioned, I DO always try to neotiate with local people first, unless I don't have time to shop small stuff. I don't live in a big city at all, a smaller city. I'd be willing to pay a LITTLE extra, but not over $400. I own a business, understand the market-up's and the need to make a profit, but not coming down a little off the suggested retail price is bad business!

A couple houses ago, I bought my appliances all online, I made a mistake ordering, and it was costly shipping in back and getting a new one, this time - the local appliance dealer was a tad bit more, he got my business!

I ordered my sink WELL in advance (but it only took a few days to receive). I unboxed it while the freight company was there.. checked it all over, and signed a release, so if it cracks or breaks, it's our fault and it may delay things a few days.

phoggie, here is the link! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: old/current kitchen

We went to look at a range at a local appliance store and even cooked on it. I was all prepared to deal with them, but when their price came back $2800 more than what I could get with free shipping online, I just couldn't justify it. I even took them a copy of the online offer to show them how far off their price was. Their comment was, "Since we're the only ones around here that sells this, that's the price we can get." I do feel real bad about testing the product in their showroom, but I felt like they were price gouging and just couldn't bring myself to pay almost $3000 more for the same product.

I tried to buy locally for nearly everything but it rarely worked out. In some cases the local places didn't rep what I wanted and couldn't get it. In other cases the online prices with free shipping were too good to beat and the people I worked with on the phone were more knowledgeable and helpful than the people in my local stores -- by far.

No one in Rochester sells Blue Star. Yet. I bought from an appliance store, not some megachain, in another city. They were so nice I wound up getting all my appliances there.

I bought so much from one place that I got to know the person on the phone pretty well. So tell me why I should feel bad about giving my business to that person rather than the local person?

I think this depends so much on local situations. I see ideagirl's point, and as many have stated above, many of us are willing to pay a premium to encourage local business. BUT, this is a two-way street: local businesses should definitely be aware that they are competing for business that is also offered online, often for cheaper, and actively implement the friendly, helpful service that is the big advantage they have over online retailers. Sorry but guilting me into shopping locally is not going to cut it, when I walk into stores that have a huge mark-up and can't be bothered to assist me. I understand the higher costs local business incurs and willingly pays a bit more. Hundreds more? No, because at that point I can't afford it at all. My tactic is to check locally first - go into the store, look around, and see what happens. Unfortunately, I am often ignored and/or treated with utter indifference. At that point my philosophy is that if they don't care to have my business, I'm happy to spend less online.

Dismayed with the price of the Never MT, I used a local option:

vinyl tubing and a 3/8" drill. It did take a little longer than clicking the mouse and entering my cc number, but it was about ten dollars cheaper.

If you are shy about haggling with your local store, send them an email with a link to the online store. Say that you are interested in giving them the business. See if they will match or come close to online price.

I do almost all of my research online and do not use local showrooms or their advice. So I buy where ever the product is cheapest (sometimes local, often online). Almost always the local store has less variety, less knowledge, limited shopping hours and higher prices than what I can find myself.

The service that many local stores provide is giving ideas, talking you through design options, delivering your goods for free, being there to oversee installation, being a human face to discuss any problems or concerns with. Plus, local stores are buying products from the vendors, and have to pay a certain price for that. We had a lady who wanted a farmhouse sink. She found prices online of $1500. The cost for us to order it for her at OUR cost was $1539. For our paperwork, storing the item, loading it back on our truck to deliver with her cabinets, and typing out invoices, we'd be way behind on profit if we matched the online price. I totally understood her wanting to save money - I would, too - and that's what she did. But it's not about gouging the customer... the bottom line numbers are what they are.

I honestly envy people who have the trade-off between good pricing online and good customer service with less competitive pricing locally. In NYC you often pay a premium due to the store's baseline overhead with delivery fees stacked on top and then receive indifferent, rude and even combative service. And poor treatment ranges from the mom and pop shops to large chains to high end retailers. The few who do provide an excellent customer experience are those that I gladly will pay a bit more money to do business with.

I really tried to use local stores as much as I could. I did negotiate with the appliance store to good effect. I intended to order my pendants from a local supplier. They charge not only sales tax (of course) but also freight; the lead time is 7-10 business days; and if I didn't like the lights, there would be a 40% restocking fee. Since they did not have a sample of the light I wanted in the store and I couldn't be sure of the color of the glass from the screen images, it was something of a crap shoot. So I went online. No tax, free shipping, no restocking fee if I returned them. And they are expected to be here in less than 7 business days. I could have tried negotiating with the local light guy, but for an order less than $150, it didn't seem worth it. Oh well.