Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana

Dear Editor: Shop Local

Dear Editor,

I am not perfect by any means, particularly when it comes to the subject of this letter. At the danger of retracing our steps in what’s probably familiar territory, I again wanted to bring up the subject of Shop Local. I totally understand sometimes it just makes better sense, financially speaking, to shop over the hill in Butte, a bit further in the opposite direction in Bozeman. or up the pass in Helena. Sometimes, if I’m going to be in one of these cities for whatever reason, I might end up doing my shopping at Walmart or some other store. Another way of shopping that often makes more sense, again financially speaking, is online. Although many people already took advantage of the ease and convenience of online shopping, the plandemic, er, “pandemic” of the last several years has probably multiplied that number almost astronomically!

With that said, one thing that is severely lacking, in reference to online shopping, is the human connection. Sure, it’s convenient and all that, but no wonder the world is in the shape it’s in, what with all the greed from faceless corporations like Amazon (I make an Amazon order nearly every month, FYI), even Walmart, eBay, etc, etc.

Off the top of my head, one advantage I can see to shopping local is that, whenever something goes wrong with the item in question, rather than having to go to the trouble of sending it back through the mail for a refund or trying to get it serviced by someone other than the one who sold it, the seller is right here in town. Not only will you get faster service, but you will also most likely get better results; plus, you will get that most needful human connection, for what that’s worth: although, only if you wish!

Often, in a small town like Whitehall, the selection just isn’t what it is in the bigger towns. If you’re going to be in one of those bigger places anyway, it makes good sense to do the rest of your shopping there; I do it too! I’ve heard people complain about the high prices here in town, but it seems to me what these people often fail to consider is the cost these businesses have to eat in bringing us the selection they have. The conveniences that were outlined earlier in this letter must come at a cost! Not only is it convenient for us to shop local, especially with the price of gasoline these days, but we might do a little community building while we’re at it!

Now, before this letter gets too long, I’ll wrap it up by reminding us all (including me) that even though it might cost a bit more in the short term, the long-term benefits could and most likely will be substantial!

Sincerely,

Charles Haddon Shank

Whitehall, Montana

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 03/07/2024 01:06