Originally Posted by
Inpd
If that LBS was near me, I'd go to them for sure. But matching online prices, installing for free and taking the time to help you is too much and I suspect such a store would quickly go out of business.
All these online vendors can offer cheap prices precisely because they don't have the overhead of employing a tech and sales people.
They go out of business when no one shops there anymore. Good, well run shops have a variety of income sources that allow them to keep good staff on hand to offer service like assistance in finding the right component, etc. Online sellers can have significant selling costs as well like shipping, and marketplace selling fees (ebay, Amazon, etc.) which can scrape off nearly 15% of the sales price and keyword advertising expenses that can take another 10% or more of potential margin. Some good local shops CAN be a great and economical resource as long as they have a decent amount of business to cover their overhead. They do go out of business however when no one shops there...