Online vs In-Store

What an exhausting weekend had I, going from craft store to craft store, one city to another, and back out again this morning in search of materials for Friday’s egg coloring party.

And my list wasn’t all that long or complicated – wooden eggs, chalk paints, paint pens, metal leaf, gilding wax.

The local craft store doesn’t feel the same since new management took over, and wanting to give myself access to other stores if I had trouble finding what I needed, I drove out-of-the area.

That turned out to be a smart move because, even though I’d done my homework online – made sure what I needed was available at Store No. 1, I arrived to find the most important item -- the eggs, weren’t the ones I wanted, but I did manage to get chalk paint and paint pens off the list.

Nothing on the list at Store No. 2, but the correct eggs were located at Store No. 3.

The drive, traffic, heat (it was really hot in Redlands), the parking lots filled to overflowing, lines at all three stores was getting to me, so I called it a day on the last items on the list and headed home.

Now I know why I prefer online shopping, had initially thought about it and would have gone that route, except the event was short-noticed and I couldn’t count on delivery in time.

At any rate, not locating gilding wax or metal flakes on Day 1, I bit the bullet and headed to the local craft store this morning.

What I found was a lot of empty shelves in the particular craft section I was interested in.

I don’t think the new owner knows what she’s doing.

Last time I was there, and learned the store was under new ownership, I’d observed in place of the middle-aged guy who kept the place well stocked and knew the store products like the back of his hands, were young high school types.

When I stopped in today, it was a young guy who seemed lost and uninformed.

He’s either a relative the owner put to work, or cheap labor the owner arranged for through school work training.

He did make a call to someone on his walkie talkie, who said they don’t sell metal flakes.

I doubt that. It’s just that the shelf where it should have been was almost completely void of product, and the person just said no as an easy out.

At any rate, I headed home, got on the internet, and found a craft store where wax and flakes could be ordered and picked up tomorrow.

I’ve seen, heard and read a lot about retailers struggling, that we should “support your local businesses”, but the time, the energy, the driving, the inability to find what one needs is off-putting.

This weekend is a perfect example of why I prefer, delivery time permitting, to let the fingers do my shopping.

So off I go tomorrow for yet another drive, to yet another city, to pick up the last of the materials, and then it’s a veggie fajita lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant.