5 Tips for Buying Locally and Supporting Smaller Brands
The good thing about consuming locally made products from local brands is that you are giving back to the community. It is also good to support local brands by purchasing their products to not go bankrupt. In this piece, we have shared five tips for buying locally and supporting smaller brands
1. Ask for a Discount
It is easier to support small businesses when one of your loved ones runs one. If you have never tried to buy from local stores, then you can confirm that what you ask for is what you get. Since some of these people are well known to you, they won’t hesitate to give you a discount if that is what you need to purchase their products.
Most local brands encourage their employees to offer discounts to buyers, especially on items that have stayed in the store for a longer duration. You should not be surprised when a local store offers you 50% off of a given product. They know how to appreciate their clients.
2. Go For Hand-Made Items
Crafted, hand-made, or customized products will always be cheaper. This is one of the reasons you will never have to dig deeper into your pockets to buy locally made items. Locally made products, especially the hand-made ones, are always of the best quality and are hard to find anywhere else. Whether you are looking for candles, furniture, quilts, or lotions, you can always get the best quality at affordable prices.
The reason most of these products will cost less is that the local brands don’t want to deal with middlemen. They make their products and sell them to customers directly. Compared to retailers, local brands have friendly terms that many customers are comfortable with.
3. Go To Farmers Market
Statistics indicate that in the US alone, there are at least 7,000 farmer’s markets, and they sell some of the best products. The false notion is that most of these markets only focus on selling produce. The truth is that most of these markets are put in place to sell local businesses.
From these markets, you can purchase things like jewelry, pottery, clothing, etc. The prices are good, and the quality is excellent because most of the time, you will be purchasing from the craftsmen without dealing with middlemen.
Due to this, they don’t have any problem selling your items at friendly prices. Many of them have websites that you can buy from in case you can’t reach their spot, such as a boho boutique clothing store. However, shopping at these local markets is one of the best ways to help support local businesses.
4. Purchase From Local Bakery
Did you know you can support local brands by purchasing snacks from local bakeries? These are small businesses that make their products and sell them to the locals at fair prices. You don’t have to look for big brands because they also make the same products and sell them at inflated prices because they engage a lot of middlemen.
Another trick is that the local bakeries will always get their ingredients and other supplies from local dealers. Thus, by buying from them, you will be supporting local farmers and other dealers.
5. Join Food-Buying Club or Co-op
If you have never heard of a co-op, it is a form of organization created by individuals that come together for common advantage. There are two forms in which food-related co-ops can come; food-buying clubs and co-operative grocery stores. A co-op grocery is jointly owned by its members and can either be closed or open.
Closed or open means it can be open to the public or not. If it is closed, then only members can shop there. Any person who is willing can become a member, but they have to pay a small fee. These groups are mainly created by friends, families, or neighbors looking to support local brands. This is something you should consider joining if you want to buy locally and support the community around you.
Closing Thoughts
Those are some of the many ways to support local businesses. While there is nothing wrong with buying products from big, established brands, there is a need to support someone who is trying to achieve success. They will always give you products of the best quality at affordable prices. Do you have any better ways to buy locally and support smaller brands? Kindly share in the comments below.