But the problem with the big box stores is that it destroys the smaller stores and the specialty stores. We bought stuff there. But it was mostly the House brand which is Kirkland or something like that. They had other brand names but you weren't getting a bargain in any way. You are getting bulk but not a much lower price.
I grew up buying meat from the butcher and bread from the bakery and cold cuts from the deli. You only went to the supermarket for paper goods. Which back in the day was toilet paper because we never bought paper towels. We used rags and were glad to do it.
I just lament the destruction of how my neighborhood used to be. I tell all they hipsters that moved in "You know what you love about this neighborhood....well you killed it by moving here."
I never thought I would be that guy. You know. The guy who complains how everything is changing and turning to shit. Who wants to move to the hills and get away from all of these nasty people. You know.
Sixty Grit.
I feel you brother.
13 comments:
Stay off my lawn, Y*nkee!
Sixty is back!! I have a Polish when I go to Costco. The cafe @ the 2 Costco in San Diego are outdoors, anyone can eat a real cheap lunch.
Sixty still has social skills if for no other reason than to sell his wooden tchotchkas to the unsuspecting tourists.
What's a Polish? You get your shoes shined? A pierogi for lunch?
Polish Sausage w/ kraut..extremely non Yiddish.
In Chicago all the high rise office buildings are cleaned by Polish immigrants working the second shift. Pollacks are hard working mofo's.
I grew up in small town so I have mixed feelings about Walmart and Costco. The small stores in our small town were a mixed bag. Some were great, but some charged high prices for low quality goods. You got to know all the store owners. Some were great, but some were assholes or cranks who didn't give a rip about their customers.
I think these big stores have been bad for society and a lot of people, but good for consumers like me. I feel guilty about going to Walmart but I get over it.
On a side rant, the car I rented last week was a VW Tiguan. It worked great except for a bell that would ding and a message that would appear on the computer screen in the center of the console every time I'd start up to alert me to the fact that I had "exceeded 20 MPH". The message would remain on the screen the entire time I was exceeding 20 MPH only to ping again when I'd slow to stop. Digging through the owner's manual revealed this to be a programmable feature with an opportunity to choose an alert with a written warning for different speeds. Why someone would select 20 MPH for an alert is beyond me.
Unfortunately this wondrous technology did not extend to the light system, which appeared completely manual-as if nothing had changed since the days of the Bug and Karmann Ghia.
Indiana just lost. Not surprising given how poorly they played in the first two rounds. Go Duke!
I understand where Trooper is coming from on this issue. I used to live in SF and it was like living in a small neighborhood around your home or apartment. Within walking distance, just around the corner were nice little specialty stores, groceries, small hardware, interesting restaurants, couple of bars...ok MORE than just a couple, a clothing store and one block away...Golden Gate Park where you could picnic or walk a bit further and go to the de Young Art Museum. Did the stores have the best prices or a really wide selection. Nope. But they were convenient and you got to be a regular there. Just like Norm in Cheers....everybody knew your name. It is the same in the small town that I live in now. Everybody knows you and you know everyone. The stores are not great, but they are there and convenient.
If I lived in the city, I would still shop that way.
I grew up buying meat from the butcher and bread from the bakery and cold cuts from the deli
That's all well and good IF you have a butcher, bakery or a deli. We don't. I would LOVE to have a butcher shop available to buy a cut of veal. Veal????what is that. Unheard of here. Calves liver. No way is that available. Just old tired frozen and refrozen meat in the counter that will do in a pinch and if you want to boil the livin' daylights out of it. Boxes of dishwasher soap at 3 times the cost elsewhere. Cans of tomatoes at 2 to 4 times times cost. The only things that are priced the same as anywhere else are those items that are perishable. Eggs, Milk, Yogurt etc. We do get a great deal on ice cream Umpqua...to die for. I don't blame the store. They can't do any better, so we pay through the nose for crap and are thankful that they are there.
HOWEVER....we have to also use our limited funds wisely. So we shop in bulk, divide meat, vacuum seal, freeze and store items in our pump house so that when winter comes and we are snowed in....we have our own little grocery right out the back door.
Each place is different.
The Mom and Pops are struggling right now in the big cities. Not so much here in little fly over country because we don't have any choices and it costs most people more than it is worth to drive several hundred miles for ordinary shopping. We go about every other month and if we get out of Costco and Winco under $350 or $400 for the trip, it is a miracle.
Things will fragment again. If you can buy in bulk, you can buy a lot online, which makes the big boxes vulnerable to online incursions.
And as good as they are price-wise, when I buy something on Amazon, they're constantly lowering the price if I do a subscription.
So what will be left? Boutique stores, specialty shops, etc.
Best Buy is struggling right now, as they've turned into what those in the warehousing industry refer to as a "showcase" store-a physical place where people come to look and physically compare features before finding and ordering a better deal online.
It's worth a shot to shop on-line first, then see if the store will match the price. I've done that with a local music store. They are more than happy to match price.
A friend used to own a drum store in Florida. He had a guy come in and ask him if he could match the same kit with an on-line shop's price. My friend told him he'd match the deal, so the guy bought it.
My friend told him his kit would arrive in about two weeks and to come back and pick it up. The guy was pissed and said my friend offered him the same deal and wanted to load it up right then. My friend told him he did give him the same deal and, just like the on-line store, his kit would arrive in two weeks. Hah!
Part of it is living long enough to see the past slip away. It happens all the time, to every generation, but unfortunately while there are improvements, a lot of things turn out for the worse.
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