Wednesday, April 11, 2007

shop local or global ?

A few weekends ago, we went to have lunch in a pub with a couple of friends. Not a recipe for civilised afternoon. Amongst the confusion of the afternoon items were lost, including my sunnies.
Bang!
I've had these babies for years, they've been sat on, bent, broken, had screws loose, surviving all the while.

So ok, retrace steps. No glasses anywhere. Being stuck without sunnies is non-optional. So the first instinct is to go and get a new pair. Seeing I liked these so much, I was most impressed by their great grandson that has been trained like a ninja.
So off I go to the nearest sunnies shop to find out that these babies cost AUD$179. Ok, that's reasonable seeing the previous pair was AUD$269. I would have bought them on the spot except that they didn't have the matt black version, only the shiny frame of shame.
So highly disappointed, I take the model number of these sunnies from the shop assistant, thinking that I'll come back and buy these later with my fried retinas in full swing.
But then I look at eBay and spot that I can get the exact pair I want from the UK. With postage included it turned out to be AUD$79, exactly AUD$100 less than the local store's price. And I got these within a week, whereas the store told me that it would take about 2 weeks to get a pair ordered in for me.
Now call me crazy, but why would I ever shop locally for anything like this ever again? All I need to do is go to the store, check it out, play around with it, make sure I like it. Then I'd just jump onto eBay and buy the same thing cheaper. I know that this contradicts the idea of supporting the local economy and helping the corner shop pay rent, but we are not living in a third world country where local support means that much. In this case, it means either saving a 100 bucks or contribute to some unknown shopkeeper's income. Hmm I need the money in the pocket at the moment thanks.
After learning a lesson about global socio-economics and buying the coolest pair of sunnies I've ever owned, my old pair were found behind the couch at a friend's house. Like I said. not a civilised afternoon - but fun!

No comments: