Market Research: Buying local vs. online. Please help!

[Mr.nintendo]

- how perishable the item is (fish/coral/frozen food)
- fragility (how easily something is broken during shipment, regardless of whether or not the vendor replaces the item)
- technical aspect of the item (how beneficial would it be to buy local so that you can get some local technical help, the Neptune controller comes to mind)
- ease of shipment (the higher the weight/size of the item, the more it'll cost to ship, ie. salt)
- availability (obviously, if the product is only available at a local shop, or only online, you'd only buy from there)


Perishability is number one for sure, I would never spend a crapload of money for something from an online vendor if it's arrival is questionable.

[sphelps]

I'm adding a couple more since the key point for me weren't provided.

1. Perishable (first thing for me, I don't generally order live goods or perishable items online)
2. Urgency & Availability (second thing is how bad do I need the item and how long can I wait)
3. Price Difference (This should be near the top on everybody's list, it's always about the money)
4. Relationship (the better the relationship with a LFS the more likely you will buy from them even if price is higher and/or delivery is longer)
5. Fragility
6. Technical