Good for you, Bob! We often find better deals and service at small, locally owned businesses.

I liked the idea of Home Depot when it first opened, a big store staffed by people who knew their department. And there may be some of those people left. But just as likely now one is likely to get (and I did get) someone who said they don't carry an item when you ask about it, and you find it on the shelf 10 feet away.

There's truth is the old saying 'too big for their britches'.

I shop several small, locally owned businesses and usually find their prices in line and the atmosphere friendly. Given the choice, I prefer the local store as they are the ones supporting my community.

I try to shop locally. But.......there is a fruit and vegetable store that has a deli section and sushi. I go mainly for the sushi. Yesterday, I was short on time and decided to check out the vegetables instead of making the trip to the supermarket which is further away. The vegetables were more money and not good quality. I was surprised as this makes up a large portion of the store.

We used to have a stationery store that also sold school supplies for the elementary school. They would even have packets put together if you told them the teachers name. The cost per item was unbelievably high. I don't even know what they charged for the service of putting it together. So, although I would have loved to patronize a town store, I could see paying $5.00 more for a notebook!

We have a town bookshop. I try to go in at least a few times a year. I will order books from and he can get them quickly.

I go to a family-owned pharmacy. CVS made a few mistakes on prescriptions when my DD's were small, so no thank you to them! This pharmacy also has really cute gift items, they have a compounding center above the store for those who need this.

Bob, our one and only grocery store, Foodlion, has the same business practices as CVS to keep out the competition. In fact, maybe CVS learned it from Foodlion. CVS now sits in a small shopping center as the only business left there. Many of their customers have taken their business to Walgreens where it is more convenient. I hope that CVS being a victim of their own tactics gives you just a tiny little grin.

For the most part I have to agree with what was previously stated about small locally owned businesses. I live in a small historical tourist town. They won't let any big box type stores here because that kills the small businesses. Yet, those locally owned businesses don't carry all those things one needs for day to day living. Just today I ran all over trying to find my daughter a vacuum cleaner belt. Looks like she's going to have to order it online or make that 90 minute round trip herself. Last week I needed a plain ole Mr Coffee coffee maker. Couldnt find one! DH needed a heavy duty extension cord... it was going to cost an arm and a leg, so he had to make that long drive to Lowe's.

Bob, I’m really glad you had that experience. It wasn’t until we moved to Michigan that I really got to experience “locally owned” businesses for the first time and it’s ended up being one of my favorite things about moving here. I hate big business box stores and seldom if ever go into a Kroger or Meijer for groceries. The food we buy is healthier, the stores we buy from actually care about their customers and I believe helping to support small buisnesses is a win win for all involved. Earlier this year, instead just going to Home Depot to buy a new washer and dryer, I decided to shop around and look into the locally owned stores first. We stopped by an appliance store in the next town over, and got a great deal on a set that is highly rated and could never have been matched at the box stores. Granted the prices aren’t always going to be less or at times even competitive with the larger chains but even when they aren’t it’s still worth it to me.

I don't have many small stores around. There was a nursery I liked, but it lasted just 3 years. Home Depot, Lowes and Walmart are within 3 minutes. There is a small Petshop I have been getting my dog food from for the past 15 years. Both Petco and Petsmart opened within 5 minutes from them and are actually closer to me, but I am sticking with them even though they are more expensive.

You're lucky, lukki! (Haha, i kill myself! ;)

In my town, and the next town over, we have only one place to buy an appliance of any kind... a Sears satellite, where what you want probably will have to be ordered.

Sometimes I think how wonderful it would be to live in or near a large city where you have variety. But then I remember the traffic and the noise, and the brightness of a night sky.

This is timely. A friend of mine just posted such a scenario on Facebook yesterday.

We live in rural USA. She was in our local farm supply store (a family-owned chain of probably 6 or 8 in north Missouri) but couldn't find the size of Levi's that she needed. So, while still sitting in the store, she got on-line and ordered them from Amazon. She'll get them in a few days.

Well it's all a mixed bag, isn't it? big chain, little chain, one-of-a-kind -- all can be either great, good, mediocre, or downright awful. There's really no telling unless you step foot in them.

I've heard it said that if you shop a locally-owned business, your dollars stay in your local economy. I guess so, but by how much, I wonder? For example, how much profit does the Food Lion down the street send back to corporate HQ, where ever that is? I have no idea.

What keeps businesses on their best game is competition. The retail scene, especially the grocery biz, is very competitive in urban/suburban California and the easy availability of alternatives is what keeps the experience positive for customers. Rural and small town locations don't have competition to the same extent and so people in these places are stuck with limited alternatives. I avoid the locals of most types when I have a choice.

There's a "local" food store across the street from one of our Whole Foods locations and for the region's premium (free range, organic, air cooled) chicken brand, they're usually $2 plus some more per pound than WF? Seriously? WF's grass-fed beef is local while the local store's comes from abroad. WF almost always has a good selection of wild Pacific salmon, while the local store actually has the nerve to advertise that their salmon is ORGANIC! Seriously? Yeah, farm raised but given organic feed. Sorry, that's far too much BS for me.

Amazon and other online sellers give everyone everywhere a large city shopping experience. Just as the Sears catalog did from the 1890s through the first half of the 20th century.