Support your Lfs?

[thelawnwrangler]

I have seen numerous instances where people on this board and others say "support your Lfs" and in saying so imply that one should pay more to do so.

I wanted to get other's perspective here on this topic. Would you pay more for hardware to support your Lfs? Quality livestock ? I'm assuming most wouldn't pay for poor quality livestock just to support the local store.

My personal view is I would pay somewhat of a premium on livestock if it's well kept because I want the store to succeed and on some level I can't get a match online due to shipping. However paying extra for equipment doesn't make much sense because many top manufacturers have MAP and charging above the set price by the manufacturer doesn't seem customer friendly.

My initial gut feeling is to shop vs internet to the penny. I have a grade A shop. So I try to weigh it out and consider how many times he has paid some associate to have a 15 to 30 minute conversation with me and what that is worth to me. Bottom line even with the markup I don't think he is getting rich, and I don't think the store is poorly managed. It is a tough business (really more a hobby business in my opinion). I would like to see it stay a resource to me. I try to remember that when I get sticker shock, and then weigh out what margin I am comfortable with giving them and what makes sense to take the savings.

 

[Stickgal]

Livestock I buy mostly from lfs. We only have one (excluding the chains) within 20 minutes. Two brothers have had this store 20+ years and their fish are healthy and well cared for. I buy equipment mostly online. If there is something I see and like livestock wise online, I give them first shot to get it.