Shedding my spending in real life is (really) not all that difficult. I spend on the rabbits of course (who would not spend on them?), and for groceries (as the stand-in "go to the store guy"), but other than that it is living expenses (mortgage, fuel, utilities, clothing). It is the online purchases that make my life interesting: seeds, books, cheese making supplies, Iai related items, the occasional odd thing from an on-line auction house.
Facing me, though, is the fact that companies over the last few years have become active in what they choose to support (this did not just start yesterday, or even last year). I do not fault them for this; this is the way that a free market, capitalistic system is supposed to work. You as a company can choose to have opinions; I as a consumer can choose if I support you or not.
(No, do not bother discussing which companies or which issues. That is not something we do here. The concept remains the same, no matter which companies or what the issues.)
This has left me with a dilemma: where do I spend my money?
Some companies simply do not comment on anything, no matter what. I appreciate them for this (honestly, in my view, that is not the purpose of a business is to sell product. Period. Compete based on quality and price, not on anything else). But others do not. So I have had to get creative.
This has promoted two things. The first is a continuing sense of frugality. I spend less because there are less places to spend it. Convenient, no?
The other is that it has encouraged me to more actively look for other suppliers of the same goods. In some cases there are none - although to be frank with you, that is a great deal less true than what I had anticipated. Turns out there are more suppliers of things I am interested in and need than what I thought. Yes, it means that I might pay a slightly higher price (perhaps some day we can discuss that and if that is really the best thing). It also means on the whole I am supporting smaller organizations and spreading my funds more equitably (which in The Age of The Plague is supposed to be a good thing).
The third (bonus) thing that it has supplied me with is a sense of action.
In today's world, sometimes the individual can feel powerless. Governments, businesses, large groups - all can conspire to drain the individual of the feeling that they can make a change, that they can impact the system.
Yes, my spending is minimal. And it, in and of itself, will not make a difference in the bottom line of most companies. But it does make a difference to the small ones that I support.
And lest you think that it does not make a difference to the larger organizations, watch with almost a sheer sense of horror of the number of businesses that have collapsed since the start of The Plague. Yes, not all of these were due to spending - but many, many were either over-leveraged in order to maintain the customer base or collapsed when their customer base could or would not come.
Never, never underestimate the power that your spending makes as a statement. Were we to recapture the spirit of the buyer, not as needing to be right but as powerful, and business in a position to serve, not to dictate, we would see a very different economic world.
The wife and I got into a DEFCON 1 domestic dispute over this. Without getting into details, my razor blade company saw fit to offer me mortal insult by way of false accusations and insinuations - and I resolved to end my business with them as did many other customers. It was so bad, their stocks tumbled and their sales nose dived.
ReplyDeleteBut the wife does all the shopping and when she saw the product at half price, she stocked up and brought home 5 year’s worth of razor blades. I was livid. She told me to stuff my politics, a bargain was a bargain, and in this prepping business you take full advantage of them when you find them.
That was quite awhile ago and the company may have changed their tune since. Who knows.
It is a balance, is it not Glen? Effective single source suppliers are another issue. That said, we do the best we can with the circumstances we are given.
Delete(If it is any help, if they were 50% off someone was taking a bath, either the retailer or the manufacturer. So in the end, someone learned a lesson.