I agree with you in principle giff. In practice it is often a bit more difficult. A few examples.

Prescription eyeglasses locally $400.00. Online $40.00. There's no good excuse for such a huge difference.

My mom drives a Corolla. Turn signal bulb went out. Local place sold her a bulb and some wipers. Didn't offer to install. Mom took it to a local "service station" (who didn't have the bulb). They couldn't figure out how to install it. It's simple, you just have to go through the fender-well. Mom tries to explain, local folks tell her they don't even want to know how to work on a "foreign car". Mom didn't know to tell them that her Corolla was built here in the USA, and their GM cars and trucks were possibly built in Mexico.

Last time I bought tires from a local shop, I had to pick from the brands they carried (only second and third-tier brands), order the tires, wait, pay about what it costs at one of the tire&battery chain stores. The tires didn't last, and everyone who drove the car complained about the brakes. It wasn't until I put on a set of Yokohamas that I put the brake complaints with the tires. For the first week with the new tires, the wife kept "slamming" the brakes.

I could go on, but let me just say that there are a few locals who went out of business of their own accord, and there are a few more still to go.

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Remember, Safety Third!
'99 E300 Turbodiesel, '82 300TD, 1996 12V Cummins Turbo, '94 Neoplan - Detroit 6V92TA