In a small town most people know each other and believe that they are friends. That can be very inconvenient if you seek the best deals. When everyone is your "best friend" they expect you to buy something from them. Fail to and you'll be an enemy. I think we make the same mistakes when buying online. We could buy from one store for so long that we get "attached." And if you buy only from two or three online retailers you lose out on great deals elsewhere. Question: do you buy only from a few stores or any retailer who is selling the "stuff" you need at the lowest prices?
I think buying from wherever is cheapest and most convenient is the best way to go about it. I wouldn't worry too much about hurting someone's feelings if I thought I was going to save by buying elsewhere, personally. I think if they really considered me as their friend then they would match the lowest prices and save me the trouble of having to travel further.
As quality and value for money are more important to me than the lowest prices - I generally do only buy from a few trusted stores - not because I've got attached as such - but when a store consistently offers prices that are not extraordinarily high, always gives good service, is reliable and more importantly - the quality standards remain constantly high regardless of the cost of the item - I can't see much point in switching around trying to save a few bucks here and there - when I've already got what I want - quality and excellent value for money from a store that I can trust. However that doesn't mean that I never check out other stores - because I do and especially those recommended by others who have the same priorities when looking to purchase something - I wouldn't however ever buy anything from a friend - for the simple reason - that if there was a problem - it could cause bad feeling.
This is where network marketing comes into play and 'friends' are coerced into buying form friends at times. I have several friends who have tried to sign me up for Arbonne and I am not interested and it did annoy me that they did try. One did it under a guise of a business deal and invited me for coffee, and then the words Arbonne came out, another plied me with voicemails and Facebook messages. I have no loyalty except to the best product at the best price these days.
I have acquaintances to be honest. You can never really know a person unless they want you to, and you can know them for the entirety of your life, or theirs. I do love lower prices, or more convenient prices, or mates rates, as you would say over here in the UK. But I am still careful about the quality of whatever I am buying. I am more likely to buy from a store, than from a friend.
I am not loyal to any store, if a new and legit store offers cheaper prices then I would switch in a heartbeat. I do feel confident when buying from old sellers that have good service that I have transacted before, but I won't feel guilty making the switch if I get better deals.
I tyr not to be blinded too much by brand loyalty. I do a lot of shopping around for the best deals. Of course, I have a few trusty stores, but I'm not stuck to them like glue and will definitely go elsewhere if I knew I was getting a better deal. Likewise, if a friend were selling something I really wanted and the price was right, I'd go ahead and buy from them.
I try to look around for the best deals. My husband is always annoyed when we go to the mall as I have this tendency to scour every store before purchasing any item. LOL. So it's not really a wise idea to bring along your husband when doing this. Anyway, I love getting the best deals every time! I try to find the rival store and look into their products before deciding on what to buy. I have my own favourite trusty stores in clothes and gadgets. But I still try to look in other stores as sometimes my trusty stores can be quite expensive.
Ugh, this is one thing I definitely don't miss from working in an office. It seems schools here in the United States are always running fundraisers for various reasons, and everyone expects their coworkers to buy from them for each fundraiser. I don't see the purpose in doing that, especially since I don't have children, and wouldn't inflict my nieces' fundraisers on them. It's the same when the co-workers themselves sell products or services. We've got a few in our neighborhood group who are constantly posting their sales links. I have mine on my Facebook profile, and anyone who is interested can go take a peek. I'm sure I could use money more than most of them, but I'm not going to push my items on someone who doesn't want them.
