If I had a couple of hundred thousand more dollars, I’d buy it on the spot, but since I don’t… I’d probably buy it online.

A good combination between the two is idea. Just the other day I delayed a b=purchase at best buy because I wanted to look up some reviews of the product. Turns out, I ended up buying the product online and downloading it:)

Also, like Money Obedience mentioned, I need a store with a good return policy. Since you’re never %100 percent sure how things will fit/feel, I like to know I can return it if need be.

Remember, if everybody consumed a saleperson’s time and then bought online, there would only be online businesses. And personally, I’d rather try the shoes that I’m going to buy before purchasing them. Now if it was a watch or something electronic that I’m well versed in, then I buy online…

So for me, it depends on the product :)

And the answer to that question affects all sorts of decisions from pricing strategies to compensation structures.

The compensation of most store employees is not transparent to consumers in the way that, for example, it is at restaurants, so we can’t really be burdened with that responsibility. But there are more complex structures too, like how does a company sell something online for less than in the store without making an in-store customer (who finds out about it with their mobile device) feel like they aren’t being penalized? As markets continue to fracture and technology becomes more pervasive (guess what my major was), this will be an increasingly difficult problem.

I recently bought a bakers rack for my kitchen online and it was great. It would have been a pain to lug that thing home. Delivery is fantastic!

Sales people love to see me coming-I have a list and I buy it all in one place at one time, if possible. Of course it is usually during the once a year mega-sale!

My body will not allow much clothes purchases online-everything needs to be altered!

…unless it’s alchohol and then i’ll drive to Delaware. PA has all these anitquated (sp) laws about beer and liquor.

Should I call up the store in advance and ask how they pay their employees before trying out a product? Should I stop using coupons because I’d also be taking 10% off of an employee’s earning for the sale?

I think it’s nice, but I don’t think it’s his responsibility.

Turn it back on you….if someone took your time, and you got nothing in return, you would be upset, wouldn’t you? Especially if you potentially lost money in the transaction.

My problem with your story is the fact that roommate went to the store, took the sale person’s time, and then that salesperson lost out on the commission. Since sales people make their money from commission, you basically wasted his/her time, which could have been spent on a customer that intended to buy from him.

Now, if you go in the store, wave off the sales person, do as you please…then fine. Order wherever you want.

But I don’t think it is cool to not even feel bad about taking away the salesperson’s livelihood.

For me it has to do with the service and how much I care about supporting the local guy. If it is a best buy then I have ZERO loyalty.

My husband has bought from Barnes & Noble a few times since Half Price didn’t have what he wanted, the library had a waiting list, and he didn’t want to wait the 5 days for Amazon. In general, neither one of us is very patient, I’m just an even bigger money hoarder so I suck it up, lol.

In this specific case, he had a credit from a previously returned purchase, so he had to buy there instead of online.