The Tipping Point

Gameboy-Possible Gift Spoiler Alert

Whenever possible I try to buy local/support local businesses. At times this saves money, but sometimes there can also be an increased cost. The questions is how much more (if anything) are you willing to pay for the local service.

This came about during my gift hunt. I emailed a friend of Gameboy's who owns a gameporium. He knows what Gameboy likes and responded in less than 12 hours to an email asking for suggestions. In a second round of emails he let me know how much the two games are and how many are in stock.

The frugal in me did some googling to see what the going prices are. I can save $13 on one through an Amazon seller and 1 cent locally at the other. That factors in shipping costs, but not tax. Even if both were more I'd get one from him because of the reccomendation and to support a friend.

But if I decide to get both should I get both from him? Or should I save money on the second game online? Each person's answer will probably be a bit different, depending on available resources and what they value most. Another example would be is the local apple worth the extra $1/lb at the farmers market?

Over the next day or so I'll probably puzzle over this and decide which is more important to me at this instance.