Guess most of the stores know that if anyone from out of town is asking where to shop, most are named as "must sees", whether they have a presence or not online. If anyone is looking for something specific, they start a thread and off they go.
Most of us know when the stores are getting a shipment in, looking for something specific, ask and they tell you when to expect it.
I think there's a catch 22 to the stores being on the forum. ex., Concept announces a huge sps shipment, well I'm not into sps so no need to stop by. Other stores don't announce anything, people stop in to check things out and end up spending money they maybe weren't expecting to.
The Calgary stores have been around for years and are successful with or without the internet. You can get to know the store's staff and they will provide you with info you are looking for. They rely on word of mouth and reputation from their customers. I'm sure they all read the forums to know what people are saying about them, we push enough business their way as it is, why do they need to bother with being a sponsor??
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