This is what stores that survive do. This is what stores that fail do. And the challenge with bookstores is that there is not going to be any difference in the quality of the product depending on where you buy it. Decades ago--when Walmart first started to massively expand--people were bashing them for destroying the established businesses. I read an article in Smithsonian Magazine (hardly a pro-capitalism publication) showcasing all of the small businesses who flourished because Walmart brought so much more shopping traffic to their area. The business owners who changed in order to benefit from the rush of potential customers did very well. Those who curled up on a ball of defiance went under.
I can't imagine a bookstore surviving that doesn't become as much of a community and literary center as a retail store. Someone who just wants to buy a book can do so easily and cheaply on Amazon. In New Orleans, I visited a bookstore that was three or four stories high in a building that may have once been a mansion rather than a retail store. Functionally, it seemed to serve as much as a library as a bookstore because there were tables, small desks, comfortable chairs, private reading places, and free coffee available on each floor. I think I remember a donation jar for the coffee. That seemed like an odd business model since plenty of people were drinking coffee and reading for free, and I wondered how that worked out for them.
I don't buy much more than supplements on line and gas at brick and mortar places. Some food at various places where it is the best. It is painful for me to walk around a big box store, or almost anywhere. But I found a ton of rebate coupons from our local Menards. I use a front over the shoulder purse in the summer because I don't wear a coat with pockets then. Anyway the purse had a tone of coupons in it, maybe $70 worth. Fortunately they don't expire but I bet they like it when we lose them for good. So I went wild at the store. I bought Root tone, miracle grow for flowers, permethrin spray for my farm clothes for ticks, lots of coffee, lots of vinegar ( they had a sale)...I got home and unloaded some, but moving is sometimes painful and I thought I could use another hip replacement at the end of the day and didn't finish. So I went out this morning to get the bag with the first four items and could not find it. It was not in the house. So I had to go back to the store to admit that I left the bag and beg for them to believe me. The service desk lady picked up a huge binder and asked what I had left. It was at the top of her list. Apparently I am not the only old person who has done this. But the policy is they restock the items and you have to go and gather them up again. The story gets longer. Suffice it to say I found other items that I had to PAY for, this visit. My daughter works there but had off that day. She said people get almost abusive when they find that their bag is not sitting there waiting for them to return, whenever that may be, and that they have to go get the items. It is a BIG box store. She tells stories of how angry people get over almost anything.
We have used book stores that do quite well. I guess I am not the only person who reads books before they were new age.
I've bought some stuff from them online. Folks on another forum post when Menard's has a big sale on things of interest. Sadly, the nearest one to Virginia is somewhere in West Virginia. If I recall correctly, there must be a hundred of their stores in Wisconsin.
Goodness I would have bought a place in West Virginia but I didn't know they had a Menards. When we went through there it looked like, if you wanted to fix a place up, you would have had to haul all materials in from another state. So many dilapidated buildings but also so many lovely ones with potential.
Like they had tv shows on Alaska, they had some on West Virginia on 'foraging' for mushrooms and gensing. Rather dangerous if you are found on another's territory. But the market was good. If I were 40 years younger, that would have also been a good place for me. the mountains are beautiful.
I once considered moving there, but the area I looked at was ALL mountains. There wasn't a flat piece of ground anywhere. North Carolina (Western) had wonderful mountains that were actually higher than West Virginia, but there were broad valleys there as well. People from New York and Ohio (mostly) moved into Western North Carolina and did what the coal companies did in West Virginia--cut the tops off the mountains ruining everything and causing runoffs and flash flooding. In WV, the reasons were economic and at least provided jobs of sorts, but in WNC, the reasons were purely selfish, They wanted to build at altitude for the view while they ruined everybody else's view and caused ecological catastrophe for the long-time residents there. I did like the people in both places though.
I recently watched a youtube video that came up in my 'recommended videos' about frying the perfect egg. (Of course nothing new was revealed, typical of youtube content. ) One takeaway was that to cook a round or square egg for sandwiches, one can use an egg ring or a (very) small pan. I have egg rings but without fail, the raw egg white will leak out, so I decided to buy a 5.5" round skillet because I am a highly-suggestible sucker. Pan was delivered a few minutes ago by this dedicated and skilled-at-tossing Amazon driver. I don't know why she didn't just hurl it from the street. https://ring.com/share/2fea4333-add7-48d8-a07b-7b69ce0c7872
"Fra-GEE-lay." Must be some Italian $hit. (toss) Good luck with that pan. I have a small one but it's tough to use on a gas stove because the smallest burner is too big for it.
You people are just snobs. We poor folk flip the egg onto a piece of toast with a paper towel under it to absorb the grease.
Did you notice that she nearly walked into the truck? I guess it's hard to see. Maybe we should mount a basketball hoop on the porch so they'd have a target. I'm wondering if any of my spatulas/turners will fit in that little pan. I'll test it out tomorrow.