Needed a part for our pool & try to give the majority of my business to the local Leslie's Pool Supply where I get my water tested.

The part needed was the retaining band for the filter housing. Either the nut of bolt had stripped & it was barely (I assume) holding pressure, and had a very slow drip with the pumps on.

Leslie's lists the part for a bit over $300, not including the washers, spring & nut.

At that point, I'd decided I'd just try to fix it, rather than replace it.
Did a bit of searching & found it on Amazon in the $200 range, then found it on Walmart.com from a 3rd party seller for <$200, with all the ancillary parts included.

Ordered that one & kept the old one, and plan to fix it as a backup, just in case.

Mentioned it the mgr at Leslie's & he was sympathetic, but said they can't price match online vendors. But, that they aren't commission-based & that I should order from wherever is the best deal.
Even referred me to another company that deals in small parts/things Leslie's doesn't carry.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: P250UA5,

Pool Supply stores are da debil....

None of them discount around here, everything is full price so I really have no sympathy, it's like they all are in collusion to hold prices up.

Internet spurs competition, I do buy some big ticket items like filters and housings, new pumps locally, usually when it's on sale or because they will bump the warranty if I get it from Pinch a Penny locally.

17.8% more, 17.9 and I go to Amazon

I try to support local businesses when I can, particularly if it's a one-off, mom & pop store as opposed to a national (or even regional) chain. Especially so if I've done business with them before and they've done right be me. I appreciate the appeal of a lower price as much as the next guy, but I hate what the mass online retailers are doing to local businesses.

A 50% increase over the online price is a bit steep, but in this case since it's essentially a one-time purchase I think I'd go ahead and buy it from Leslie's. Now if it was $3000 vs $2000 instead of $300 vs $200, I'd almost certainly go the other way.

I try to support local, but man it sure can be hard.

Driving home from a weekend away and I realize my wife's car needs new wipers. Up in the middle of the night last night, so I check AutoZone, $53 from them. I check Amazon, $40. Exact same Bosch Icon wiper.

I ordered from Amazon.

Percentage is hard to nail down... It greatly depends on the price.

On a $2 item, 50% more is no big deal.

On a $200 item, 50% is a big deal.

I almost exclusively eat at local restaurants instead of chains, buy most of my basic groceries from the local grocer instead of Walmart, and try to shop at the local hardware store when possible, especially on smaller items.

But on a lot of day to day items, buying in bulk online or from a warehouse store is simply way too cheap to ignore. And for most bigger purchases, especially electronics, tools, gadgets, accessories, etc., then buying online is almost always much cheaper.

I also buy all of my ammo and new guns online, since it's so significantly cheaper.


I ran into this conundrum specifically when stocking my new house with furniture. I really wanted to support a certain local furniture store, whose staff were exceedingly helpful. But when the stuff you're selling is literally 30% more (to the tune of almost $2k) than ordering the exact same thing online, I just can't do it.

(laughs at self and backs away)

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
A 50% increase over the online price is a bit steep, but in this case since it's essentially a one-time purchase I think I'd go ahead and buy it from Leslie's. Now if it was $3000 vs $2000 instead of $300 vs $200, I'd almost certainly go the other way.

It was more like $335 for the band alone vs $182 for the band plus the washers, bolt & spring. Buying the whole kit via Leslie's would've been > $350.

Zero?

I don't run a charity. Either you are competitive, or you aren't.

In order to sell me something, you will have to beat out all other stores on some combination of selection, availability, convenience, reputability, after sales support, and price. I do not care for pre-sale education, as I never trust salespeople to give me best available information.

Lately, local shops fail on all fronts. I can almost always find a wider selection of in-stock items at a better price conveniently delivered to my door. Returns are also low friction now, as most places will offer an RMA and shipping label with no resistance, and most online stores have reputations that precedes them.

Typically, I can have something ordered and on its way within minutes of recognizing my need for such items. It's usually delivered long before I would have ever considered getting in the car and driving out to buy it.

Dave Truong is one of the few local shops that can still deliver on all aspects, so he gets my money still.

FWIW, Leslie's is the largest chain in that business. 930 stores. I don't think "local business" when I see their stores. If they can't compete with online vendors I would have no qualms skipping them. This isn't local Mom & Pop.

To answer the original question, about ten percent, depending on the total cost and perceived benefit of local support.

Depends on the product and how much.

I used to pay $50 more for some guns at my old local gun store, but they had great service and were great people. After transfer fees and shipping it was pretty much a wash so I was willing to pay it. I didnt come from a gun background, so when I first started out they showed me how to strip it, maintain it, some tips on shooting, etc. Let me fondle tons of different ones without bitching, etc.

But around here now some of these are $150 more than I can find online, and the service sucks so screw that

Sure, I occassionally pay more for a local service, product, person, or experience I like.

The Greek restaurant I frequent, for example, would probably have to triple the price to drive me away.

Not that I tell them that, obviously.

Even drinking at a bar or restaurant at all is such a large overpayment as to be near charity as it is.

But we do it for the experience and such, much of the time. The good service, hot hostesses, whatever.

It better be good, consistently.

Vinny's right, you should buy it online, it's a massive chain owned by a private equity company. Pool supply companies are like vampires.

Buy elsewhere for less... They aren't local..

quote:

Originally posted by vinnybass:
FWIW, Leslie's is the largest chain in that business. 930 stores. I don't think "local business" when I see their stores. If they can't compete with online vendors I would have no qualms skipping them. This isn't local Mom & Pop.

To answer the original question, about ten percent, depending on the total cost and perceived benefit of local support.

Leslie's was founded in 1963 by Phil Leslie, Jr. (son of Hollywood comedy writer Phil Leslie, Sr.) in a single location in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. Leslie, together with partner Raymond Cesmat, began the company by opening a chain of swimming pool supply stores in the Greater Los Angeles area.[3]

The two founding partners, Leslie and Cesmat, began fighting over the future of the company in the late 1980s, and Cesmat determined he wanted to sell his stake. In 1987, Leslie offered to buy Cesmat's stock at a prior agreed-upon price, but Cesmat would not accept. Cesmat filed to have the corporation dissolved, and in 1988, a California superior court judge ordered the company be sold. The company was acquired, in a hostile take-over, for $23 million by private equity firm Hancock Park Associates. Leslie received $10 million from the sale of the company but was vocal that the company had been taken from him, as the sale was highly leveraged and court-ordered.[3] Following the sale of the company, managers at most Leslie's stores refused to open their stores in an expression of loyalty to Mr. Leslie. Ultimately, the new ownership and management were able to replace managers of stores that refused to open.[3]

By the early 1990s, the company was again generating profits, and the company listed its stock on NASDAQ. A 1991 initial public offering raised $28 million for the sale of 47% of the company, using the cash to repay debt and fund an expansion of the business.[4] From the beginning of 1989 through the end of 1996, Leslie's grew from 66 to 259 company-owned and operated stores, including 23 stores added in September 1992 through the acquisition of Sandy's Pool Supply, Inc., which Mr. Leslie half-owned and had expanded from just two stores.[5]

In 1997, the company was taken private for $140 million by Hancock, assisted by private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners.[6] In 2010, Leonard Green explored a sale of the company targeting in excess of $1 billion for the company.[7][8] In lieu of a sale, Leonard Green ultimately sold a substantial stake in the company to CVC Capital Partners and GSO Capital Partners.[9]

In 2014, Leslie's comprised over 750 stores, expanding to 910 by 2015. In 2017 Leslie's Poolmart was acquired by L Catterton, which claims to be the largest consumer-focused private equity firm in the world.[10] In February 2020, Michael Egeck assumed the role of chief executive officer.

quote:

Originally posted by vinnybass:
FWIW, Leslie's is the largest chain in that business. 930 stores. I don't think "local business" when I see their stores. If they can't compete with online vendors I would have no qualms skipping them. This isn't local Mom & Pop.

To answer the original question, about ten percent, depending on the total cost and perceived benefit of local support.

True, they're a huge chain. They have 3-5 stores pretty close to my house, 2 of which are practically across the street from each other.
I just meant local B&M storefronts vs online, in the OP.

in today's financial climate, I probably would support up to 20% or 25% but probably not much more than that.

I still shop online, but buy local whenever I can

for some things its just can't be done

I also try to support local whenever possible. For dealer auto parts I worked a wholesale deal with my dealer. Simply explained that I wanted to support his business but I could not justify paying msrp prices. I told him if we could work something out I would buy all my GM parts from him and I have a few GM company vehicles. Others I have dealt with won't budge on their prices period. I agree with 20%-25% max.

I support what I believe would be reasonable profit above costs, including product and B&M overhead. But it's getting increasingly difficult with limited stock (only carrying certain models and such).

In your situation I would order from Amazon because I don't consider Leslie's a local store.

However, it depends. On a small dollar item $2-20, I've many times paid 20-50% more and not even thought about it because I need it now/ want it now/ or just don't care about the price difference.

On large ticket items.....I'll generally pay 10% more to 20% more to both support a local business, and for better service from that business (they took the time to show me why I want this model and not the other model I was considering). Example: my Echo gas pole hedge trimmer, I bought from the local Echo dealer versus HD ship to home as they had the adjustable end one and fixed end in stock and was able to pick up and handle both there and both the adjustable from them.

Generally I prefer to buy local overall and before this pandemic never really looked at ordering things online, shipped to my house, unless I simply couldn't find it local.

I do what I can for the locals:
Groceries from the local small stores.
Local restaurants.
Any other small business if they have at least reasonable prices. This also removes shipping hassles.
And I dont do WalMart but will occasionally do Meijer's.
For me it often comes down to how much whatever I am buying costs to ship.

As much as we possibly can. It’s probably a dollar more than a percentage, though...