So, at the store today a couple came in. They were looking at the tarot cards. Before we could even say hi they had out their phones and were price matching on Amazon. Trust me I get it I don’t blame them. Shoot we all do it sometimes. I am the queen of bargain shopping how we find many of our wholesalers. I subscribe to Amazon Prime and have and Echo I love Amazon. That said though I almost never buy a deck or magickal book through them I want the energy exchange. When someone just judges our prices on one thing that we honestly can’t control and never walks past them they miss all the amazing handmade items we consign from local artists, the all natural incense, the hand etched glass ware, candles, statuary, stones, everything else we can truly control the prices of and work very hard to find amazing products at amazing prices.
I love Amazon, I’m a Prime member, even have an Echo. What I didn’t understand as a customer before having our own store is how their prices are so low. One way is that Amazon gets a huge discount from the distributor, publisher, and sets up accounts for print on demand from authors. They can do this because they buy thousands and thousands of a copy of a book, card set, even some rune sets, cds, etc. Your average mom and pop or small business just can’t compete. Many times on these items we already take a massive hit on because wholesale discount is much lower on these items .
So, why should you buy these items then at your mom and pop shop versus Amazon or other big box retailers. Honestly that is a personal choice and trust me when I say I don’t blame you for going for the sometimes lower price when something is on sale on Amazon. But there are major benefits one if at a mom and pop shop items don’t sell they will end up phasing them out. In turn when you come in to buy a deck from us we are going to ask you what your looking for, are you a novice or advance, the difference between oracle and tarot, etc. Same for books, cds. Even when you shop online with us your item is hand selected and packaged. There is an energy exchange both to you the consumer and to the item you are buying. There is no energy exchange at Amazon unless you count conveyor belts ?. When you buy from us the money goes back into the community. A majority of our products come from pagan wholesalers and distributors, fellow small businesses, local artists, and fair trade. When you shop with us or your local shop you support not only a dream but also a community resource.
I’m not saying don’t look for the deal, but if you do first truely think about what you are saving. Even if you decide to buy that item from big box retail then please look past those items and check out our other really amazing items. Otherwise you will miss out on an amazing store and community.
Further Reading shop local vs Amazon
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ianaltman/2015/10/27/what-amazon-is-doing-to-small-businesses/
