> If I'm buying a specific physical item, the place that
> charges the most is also the one staffed by ignorant
> idiots with no interest in their customers (assuming
> you can even find one such ignorant idiot to buy
> things off). Most big stores, really. Go to a small
> dealer, and they know what they're doing, they'll give
> helpful advice for free, and the product is cheaper,
> too.
Hmmm, my experience has been much different. Where I come from (east coast US), the big stores are the ones that can afford to buy in bulk and tend to be less expensive than the small mom & pop type store that has to charge full suggested retail because they can't buy the massive quantities that get the large chains such a discount. However, the people in those small stores tend to know their stuff and generally make for a better shopping experience.
Getting gaming books from my local hobby store is a little (and sometimes a lot) more expensive than going to the nearby toy or book chain but I know the people there and they go the extra mile for me (calling me when an item they know I'd be interested comes in and even pulling a copy for me until I have a chance to look at it, for instance).
It's interesting to note that the wholesale cost for the DVD store where I used to work was often higher than the retail cost at the nearby megastore. We'd often go there to buy stock for our store since it was cheaper than the distributor!
Camo
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