Online shopping from overseas – a consumer’s perspective
I have mentioned a few times on my blog that I do often feel guilt for buying fabric, books and crochet hooks from overseas rather than from Australian retailers. A retailer commented on a recent post that if we don’t support our local shops, we won’t have them, and that she was disappointed when people come into her shop, check out fabrics and books, then brag about buying from the net on their blogs. After thinking about this (a lot) overnight, I feel that I need to respond publicly, even though my blog is really just a simple “show and tell” (with not all that many readers, I might add).
As a consumer, how many of us would pay more than double to buy exactly the same item locally when you can buy it elsewhere? More than double? I’d be happy to pay 10% more, possibly even 15% more to support local business, but for exactly the same item, to pay over 100% more? No.
I do lots of my fabric and craft shopping online. I have two small children. It is convenient for me to research online, get information from retailers and from blogs online, and shop and pay online. If Australian online shopping can provide me with what I am looking for at the same or a comparable price as overseas online shopping, I will buy from the Australian retailer – and I often do. If not? I’ll buy from the overseas retailer.
I will continue to blog about where I buy things, because my blog is a “show and tell” blog, it acts as a personal record, and because I appreciate this sharing of information when I read other people’s blogs. It is how I have found many of the online retailers that I now use. And – it’s my blog! I try to keep it predominately craft and sewing based, but obviously my opinions will creep into it. Because it’s my blog.
I do feel sorry for the Australian retailers (hence my guilt). I understand that they are in a difficult position. It is an issue that they will need to grapple with and come up with creative solutions to in the international world that we now live in. It is something that they no doubt need to band together on and work through with their suppliers. I would definitely be sorry to see Australian retailers close – but blaming the consumer for not supporting them is not going to solve the problem! The reasons WHY consumers are going elsewhere are what need to be addressed.
At this stage there are many craft and fabric consumers that aren’t on the internet, and/or have no interest in shopping online. But that is the way that things are moving. Many brick and mortar stores still provide lots of things that online shopping can never provide – personal service and the ability to touch and feel items and see what they look like “in real life”. Many hold retreats or workshops, really get to know their customers, and form a vital part of the crafting community. For people like myself who can’t get to them very often – online shopping is simply easier. In the past I have often gone to a brick and mortar retailer only to find that they haven’t had the product I’m looking for in stock. Online research takes up less time, petrol and child-care organisation and circumvents this problem.
And the bottom line? I’m not going to pay more than double for exactly the same item that I can buy elsewhere. (Hubby adds that he wouldn’t want me to either).
Totally agree I just bought some books on line after seeing a book in a bookshop here for $59. I was going to buy the book in the store until I saw the price on the back :0 I put it back on the shelf and would have just done without it.
When I got home I did a net search and found the same book for 12.91 pounds ( around $25) from on line and that was with free postage. That I was prepared to pay.
If the store price had been similar to the net price I would have bought from the store. I get that I need to support local business. I do here in the small town we live in. I do most of my shopping here and a little in Pt Pirie and Adelaide.
Absolutely agree with you, Lara – and I HAVE a local business (albeit online). I had a similar book-nearly-buying experience here, with a book that would cost $60 in Melbourne…. would cost me around $25 to buy AND SHIP from the States. (BTW – I’ve also had the experience in one week, of having to wait for LONGER for goodies to arrive from nearby suburbs than it took for parcels to arrive from overseas… go figure?).
We local businesses have to really work on our personal customer SERVICE and the convenience of being local, as well as our uniqueness. I support local businesses as much as possible, and feel guilty every time I spend money in other countries, too – but we live in a global marketplace. As local businesses we have to move with that and become A PART of it, or we won’t survive.
Keep up your fabulous work!
I just had to comment as well. I am all for supporting Australian business but I hate paying double for things too. I can buy fabric on-line for $10/yard but locally it would cost upwards of $20/metre. With the dollar being so strong against the US dollar and even accounting for postage it is still cheaper for me to buy this fabric online. I know there are import cost but still surely that can’t be doubling the cost so why is it so much. I’ve had similar experiences with books as the previous two posters.
One thing though (and this could happen with any online purchase) I had an order from the states that never arrived, even after apparently being sent twice. After many emails back and forth the company now will not respond to me so I have lost $60 to that purchase. I still buy on-line though so it hasn’t deterred me I’m just a bit more careful who I purchase through
I totally agree. It saddens me that local retailers may be suffering due to customers choosing to purchase online and OS but as a consumer I just cannot afford the prices they charge for exactly the same products. And really they are not losing my custom as I would never be able to afford the items in the first place if buying locally was my only option, so I guess I would just be going without.
I do occasionally buy here in Aus in a bricks and mortar store but only if it is something very very special that I simply must have when I see in the flesh or it is dramatically reduced on sale.
I just cannot get my head around the fact that most of the fabrics I am interested in are more than double the price here. I recently purchased a fabric for about $10US a yard including postage. It is available here at $26AU. Now to me that is just crazy. Yes, I would love to support local business more and I do feel guilty buying so much from OS but with a price difference like that I feel I have no other option.
Hi Lara – I totally understand what you are saying – and I am a Craft Book Specialists Retailer with a real shop and an online presence – I know it is hard for us here is Australia – but It all comes down to distance from the UK and USA and the shipping that is charged to get the books here in the first place. I can still order books from the USA and get them shipped here and pay less than what my suppliers are charging me – so go figure!!. But what I can’t stand is some of the bigger mail order groups in Australia which charge even more than the recommended retail – I see it all the time – I won’t name names but I have people come into my shop with the catalogues and ask if I can order them different items and they are amazed when I tell them that that book or item is around $10 to $15 less then quoted in the mail out. – they are taking advantage of the people that aren’t internet savy and mainly in the country areas. I have even looked at buying different fabric from the USA to stock in my kits and at my shop as it is cheaper than buying it wholesale from here in Australia – so until the Wholesalers get the message, I doubt things will change – but when all the retail shops are closed due to lack of business and we are only left with lifeless shops like Spotlight (like them but give me no inspiration or customer service) things will probably remain the same, which is a sad case. Cheers Tania
Oh, I’m totally with you on this, Lara.
Unfortunately the shops get the nasty end of the stick from the wholesalers and distributors. Several people I know who run or work in patchwork shops have commented that they can get fabric cheaper from the US WITH postage than they can from, say, the Leuteneggers rep. Who’s ripping who off?
One wonders about book distributors as well, especially with A&R taking over Borders – will Kinokuniya and the independent books shops be our only choices for fair prices in craft books? I find Kinokuniya in Sydney very cheap and comparable with OS booksellers when you consider the immediate purchase vs a 2 week wait on the post. Unfortunately I don’t live in Sydney…
I think retailers all over the world are having the same problems and I sympathize with them but as a consumer it is cheaper to buy online. I know from talking to a retailer in a local mall that she pays $25,000.00 per “month” for rental space. This price doesn’t include the other things like paying for staff etc, etc. So you can see why some shops charge so much but as a consumer if I can save $100.00 off of one order and that includes the shipping and duties, guess where I’m going to shop. If I was rich then yes I guess there’d be no problem but the money I save is money that goes towards other things.
Also there is the convenience of shopping from the home and saving gas and time to find what I want. If I want a certain item then I just do a google search on it. Sometimes I do a google search on local stores. I no longer consider spending a whole day going from store to store an option. I hate shopping anyway.
I think the prices of many items are highly inflated anyway. I just finished picking up a clock and mirror at a local warehouse type of store for under $20. The mirror had a suggested retail price of $29.99. You know that the store was making money on the mirror and I paid $9.99 so it gives you an idea of the mark-up. When I thought about going into the tie-dye business I did a lot of research on t-shirts. What I found was that you bulk order them for less than $2 each, many of them for just over a $1. It opened my eyes to how much a wholesale manufacturer charges as opposed to a retailer.
I hear you Lara, I would take it a bit further and say that if on-line shopping had been available when mine were little I would have used it a whole lot more that I do now. I hated shopping with little ones in tow. and I like to shop for a good value. It doesnt always have to be the cheapest, but it must represent a good value. But double in retail? that does not represent a good value anywhere.
Having said that, and the previous commenataors talked about this also, it is a very tough world out there for retailers. I know, my husband and I have a small business an independent grocery store IGA. And it stings when local people won’t shop with us.
About 15 years ago, when the megamega retailer Walmart, and then Walmart supercenter, came into a nearby town, we had change the way we did business. In fact, our mantra became: “business as usual…has been cancelled.” We looked at, revised, and broadened our mission statement, stepped up our customer service and small town friendliness, more training for our employees…. We also looked at the cost of labor, the cost of supplies, tracked our known loss (every item that didn’t sell out the door at full retail ie: ad markdown, out of date product, damaged goods, pilferage, and so on.) We did this on an DAILY/WEEKLY spreadsheet. (and still do) We looked at other controllable expenses and searched for every !penny! we could save to put to the bottom line. It wasn’t easy, and still isn’t (for example I can go to Walmart and buy baby formula for less that what we get it from our wholesaler Supervalu (who is the 3rd largest wholesaler/retailer in the US).) It make NO sense, but that is what is and I have no control over it.
This lenghty, and I write it because the retailers in Australia (or anywhere else) will have to change the way they do business if they want to compete…not just in price, but with customer service…, in a global market and stay in business.
It’s not for the feeble but for those who are willing to work hard and CHANGE in order to survive AND thrive. We did and we are. I hope that Lynn from Patchwork will see this and be open to my response.
And Lara, don’t change a thing about your blog, it is my favorite one because it is fresh, you are open, your work is high quality (I recognized this from the first) and of course, your girls are adorable!
warmest regards, Peggyann
p.s. and NOW I know what a nappies are!
Your singing my song Lara. I agree with everything you said but I’m left with a bitter taste in my mouth from what started your post. Why did the women from patchwork in Central Park (Lynn) leave a comment like she did on your lovely post about your latest purchases. To me I don’t believe it’s blogging etiquette to leave such an opinion as a comment on someone elses blog like she did on yours. Does she not have her own blog for this?
Anyway, I often feel the same way when I buy online from OS. It’s mandatory for me to open amazon, A&R, Fishpond and others on my browser, load up the shopping cart, add the postage and then compare. I did this just last week for 4 crochet books and ended up going with Fishpond for $20 more than Amazon just so I can get them quicker. Let’s see what happens.
PS – my cute little local record shop closed down last week with the owner huffing and puffing about itunes and downloading music etc. I politely left with my fire sale CD’s and thought to myself, yep, I buy most of my music on line because I’m still waiting for the CD you ordered from overseas for me…..6 months ago!!!!
I am singing the same song you sing and agree with all the other comments. When we purchase on-line it’s generally not because it is our number 1 choice of how to purchase a product….but there is a major drawcard to buy on-line because it is known to be significantly cheaper.
It’s unfortunate that this means that local shop owners miss out, but this is the way business is going so they need to adapt with these changing consumer needs and find a way to make it work for both parties. Simply screaming “buy from me because i’m local” is not going to work. We want to support local businesses, but not at the expense of our own lifestyle. Paying 100% more for the same item is ridiculous and if retailers cannot see the logic behind why people choose to buy elsewhere then they really are not going to be in business much longer as they don’t understand the needs of their customers to begin with (number one rule of being in business – know your market!!).
keep up the great work, I love your blog.
Hi Girls,
I think you missed my point. I was not crying buy from me, I have a great business, and I do personally buy some things online that I can’t get here.
My point was (and not directed at Lara whom i have emailed, she just made a comment about retailers and I thought I should respond) that some people do not understand that it is wrong to come into a store to check out a book, fabric etc they intend to buy on line just because it is cheaper and don’t want to make a mistake.
By all means buy whatever you like online but all I was saying was that it will be a sad day if there are no shops (that pay taxes and employ people) to go to.
I think that Shops are what makes a City unique.
I think is is always good to put your own opinion out there and hope it creates discussion, which it has.
Lynn
I absolutely agree with you. I would love to purchase more from within Australia, but books and craft supplies are, as you mentioned, about 50% more expensive to buy locally, and this is including the price of shipping from the US or UK. Like you, I would be happy to pay about 10-20% more and support local business but 50% (sometimes more) is just too much.
Lynn, I do agree with you that it is rude for a customer to come into your business to check out the products they intend to buy elsewhere and actually brag to you about it.
Seems that your blog has touched a few thoughts from people all over! I was just blog hopping from Ric Rac and started reading yours. I’m from the U.S. and yes saving $ is important, especially to young families/and fixed budgets too. Isn’t it interesting that there is so much of a price increase for retailers. I understand that they have a huge overhead, but to tell you the truth… they could do more for themselves by also doing an on-line shop from the sounds of it. Seems that maybe if they did go on-line they might be able to cut costs all the way around!
The world would be a lot emptier if we didn’t have all those nice/cute shops around to get idea’s from and to reach out and touch the fabric’s we are thinking about… but, they also need to understand what costs they are passing onto their customers and how that can make or break a persons budget. Times are tough and will get tougher… especially on the business person.
Hang in there, I just cleaned out my patterns and I’m sending them to a friend in Norway! Only around 10 or so…. I cleaned out around 60. Not quite as old as the ones you showed though.
I’ve only just begun doing patchwork, but have already found that it is much cheaper to buy my fabrics from o/seas. Especially the USA.
What I’m paying here for a fat quarter, I’m getting a yard [36 inches] of material and in designs i’m not finding here.
Also the current $us to $au is making it more worth the wait for the stash to arrive.