Tom,

I agree with what you said about the consumer choice to support or not support. For the record, about the only thing I buy at Wal-Mart is my annual fishing license because I don't feel like mail ordering it from Annapolis and there's nowhere else in town to buy it. On the other hand, I am a hypocrite like most people. I shop price a lot more than service in general. Sure, I could live in a smaller house and eat beans and rice 3 times a day to save money, but I choose to buy what I want/need and shop the lowest price most of the time. I'm sure in the process I've helped screw a lot of small businesses. I'd have a harder time sleeping, though, if I couldn't pay the mortgage or buy groceries just because I went on a quest to save small businesses with higher prices.

Steve

One of the above posts said that the reason that Wal-Mart is to make money. The most successful businesses that I respect and patronize put the customer first and realize that by doing so they will 1) satisfy and keep the customer, 2) earn a profit and 3) stay in business. The last time that I heard a similar comment about making money was from an oil comapny executive that was trying to justify $3.00+ per gallon at the pump. They made billions of windfall profits while the nation was being crippled by the extreme prices.

People should buy things by considering the business first, then the price. I would guess that if you patronized the list at the left, you will have all your rod building needs filled and rarely have any problems.

Jim