Support Your Local Shop?

I am thinking of buying a pair of Shimano 8000 GTE Baitrunners. Now the list price is about £125 a piece but if you shop around you can pick them up for around £75-£80 each. In my local tackle shop they are at list but they are willing to give me 20% off - the pair for £200. Of course that is still £40-odd more than the mail-order places. So what do you do - save money or stop your local tackle dealer going out of business? I feel I ought to support the shop but it's going to cost me £40-odd. What does anyone think?

That`s business Chris, it`s a dog-eat-dog world out there. Go for the cheaper option and get your reels mail order. It`s OK to support your local tackle shop but not when it`s going to cost you 40 quid more for the pair. Maybe if your local shop dropped his prices to match, he`d sell more tackle anyway.

Chris. You could always buy the reels mail order then, with the £40 you save, go and buy a bucket load of bait from your local tackle shop.

Kevan

Chris - Consider the after sales service.
How much might you spend in time & money if there's a problem.
This thread is very similar to the 'do they have to rip us off' one, so its worth looking at that.
Are you paying cash or plastic, negotiate with cash to match mail order price, pay mail order with plastic, try to ensure the card issuer takes the risk, check the issuers minimum for liability.
caveat emptor

If we dont support our local tackle shops and they do hit on bad times because of the internet and mail order where will we get our bait from ?
especially casters, and what about the banter on a saturday afternoon.
They are a big part of angling and i hope they are around for a long time to come even if they are more expensive.

Difficult. I would negotiate remembering p&p. I buy bits from the local as Kevan suggests. Just tonight the kids in our street were hoping to go fishing over the weekend but had no split shot. Our local for the kids closed 4 years ago. I live in West London & although I can get to 3 tackle shops within 5 miles (still 1/2 hour+ drive) they can't as they are off the local bus route.
By the way I gave them my shot, it only cost them their sweets & crisps! lol

Did you also offer to go to the tackle shop for them tomorrow and get some for them if they gave you there pocket money.

good effort David!!!!
my local shop has ripped me off for casters for twenty years-i now buy kit mail order an bollo.....@ to em
sentiments did not come into it ten years ago-why should they now.
personally in Staffs, I find that the ones left offer more kit etc and have usually diversified before going bust-its just another case of the healthier businesses staying afloat

Ray said
"This thread is very similar to the 'do they have to rip us off' one, so its worth looking at that"

No its not Ray, that thread was pointing out that people were overcharging.
If his local shop was trying to sell the reels at £150 each then that would be the same.

Sorry Bob, the boss has already planned my weekend for me - doesn't include fishing I'm afraid. The lads have my split shot now so it's me that has to go & spend my pocket money?
This week, they had been collecting worms in back lane & like most 8 year olds had not put slabs/bricks back. I came round the corner in car resprayed that day, hit slab left out, dislodged other rocks, result 3 x 6" scratches in side. Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!
If we had a local tackle shop they could have bought their bait, therefore my car wouldn't need painting again. Q.E.D.????