6 minute read
WE HAVE WHAT YOU WANT
by Megin Potter
Buying local works. The research is in. Buying local gives you the shopping experience
you want while enriching the lives of the people you know.
Big retailers are scrambling, trying to cash in on consumer buying preferences by looking local. Shop the shelves. You’ll see big corporations using names like “Farmers' Market” printed in rustic fonts on revised labels made to look like what you’d actually find from small local producers. There’s no need to settle for looking local. Get what you want. Buy Local. Here are 10 reasons why: The possibilities are endless and the rewards are plentiful.
1. Personalized Shopping Experience When you frequent a local shop, they know your name and what you like. They also know their products. Most importantly, at local shops they listen. Their livelihood depends on them being good listeners. They can quickly tell you why one item is better for you than another and ensure that you are getting what you want.
2. Friends When you buy from your neighbors, they become your friends. They get to know you a little bit more each time you go into their store. They will often tell you a funny joke, an interesting story, or share the latest gossip. When you buy local, that money is paid in the form
Because of you, they get to make a sale and for each one, they do a little happy dance because you’ve helped them send their kid to college or helped to pay for their 3. Building Your Network Businesses thrive on word-of-mouth marketing. Buying local gives you the chance to spread the word about what you do while you’re doing something else. When you’re at a restaurant, you can mention the amazing cakes you make. When you’re buying a gift, you can hand out your card leading them to your Instagram page.
4. Paying it Forward
Parks, roads, and other community improvements are funded by taxes. aging parent’s healthcare.
of taxes and used to build all the things you want to enjoy in your neighborhood in the future.
5. Creating a One-of-a-Kind Neighborhood
Do you want walkable, bikeable streets to stroll down? Travel around the country and you’ll see why Saratoga is such a special place. Instead of a Main Street, there are lanes of congested traffic leading to massive parking lots outside of ginormous super-mega-warehouse stores, chain stores, and restaurants. Saratoga has a mixture of parks and rural spaces, historic structures, modern buildings and industrial businesses all woven together.
6. Decidedly Good Design
Local shops want your business and will use clever design, their building’s interesting architecture, and individual novel touches to charm and fascinate you. Go where it’s fun to shop. A place where you’re compelled to linger, follow your eyes around the store, and explore.
7. Online Convenience
So, you can’t pop into your local shop or have the time to leisurely stroll down the street? Buy from local makers online. Almost everyone has a website or social media presence, all you have to do is click on it during your next product search.
8. Giving You Less
More isn’t always better. Live easier. Simplify. Shopping local often means you’re getting quality goods, crafted with care. The result is less debt, less hassle and fewer headaches from the mass-produced junk cluttering up your house.
9. Sensual Shopping
We experience the world through our senses, so why would we buy anything without them? Local food gets to you faster, so it is fresher, left on the vine to ripen naturally, and picked at its peak to retain more nutrients. Hold a local tomato in your hand. The flesh is firm but soft, it looks vibrant, smells sensational, and tastes so good you can already hear your family’s praise when you use it in their favorite dish.
10. It’s Smart
We all want to feel confident that we’ve gotten a great product or service at a good price. Stop scrolling through online reviews and trust what your family, friends, neighbors, and big business already know –the smart choice is to buy local.
SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28
Think Big, Shop Small
EARL B. FEIDEN APPLIANCE Family Owned and Operated for 94 Years
In the early 1900’s our company started out by delivering ice and coal. Earl’s home in Latham, NY was the first Feiden appliance store, which still stands today on Watervliet Shaker Rd. The pond on our farm was harvested for ice each winter, then delivered by horse and wagon to local homes to place in their icebox to keep food cold.
When mechanical refrigerators were introduced, Earl Sr. transformed the family garage into a showroom for new electric appliances and radios. As our communities grew rapidly, so did the demand for appliances, and in 1947 we opened a store at Latham Circle which our family still operates on a daily basis; including Earl’s great grandson, Bradley Feiden.
With strong support from local communities, we’ve been able to grow as our neighborhoods have grown. In 1986 we expanded south by opening a store in Kingston, NY, and in 2011 we went north on Route 9 to Clifton Park. Buying at a local store for any business is an investment in your community, and we’re forever glad to be where we are today - being able to o er our services throughout the Capital Region, Hudson Valley, Saratoga to the Adirondacks, while also giving back to many local and national charities.
We are “The Store Good Service Built!” and we pride ourselves on our ability to supply customers with an impressive array of appliances and reliable service. We carry over 50 brands ranging from traditional American brands to the latest innovative products from around the world. As members of the largest appliance buying group in the country, we’re able to o er low prices while maintaining the personal service we have provided for generations.
Our family business now includes 90 employees. Our professional sales associates will help you nd exactly what you’re looking for, our delivery and installation teams are ready for any job, along with our factory trained and accredited technicians o ering in-home repairs.
Stop by Now and See What Sets Us Apart.
