I agree that if everyone test-drove their binos at a local dealer,
then ordered from a catalog, there will soon be no local dealer.

Well, there's no fear that people like me (who want instant
gratification) will go to a catalog rather than a retail outlet, but
the small, specialty dealer vs the big, generalized outlet struck a
nerve.

The unintended consequence that I've observed with buying the common
items at, say, a F___ M____ (no names) is that the small, specialized
stores that carry those less common items along with the common stuff
lose their 'bread and butter' support. Then, when a consumer needs a
specialty item that can't be found at a big outlet, she/he suddenly
finds that the neighborhood specialty store has gone out of business.

I first noticed this trend when I needed Root-tone (a gardening product
used to help establish plants from cuttings). I can find pots, potting
soil, and fertilizer anywhere, but no Root-tone. While searching for
Root-tone, I realized that there were no specialized gardening stores
anywhere in my Seattle neighborhood! The cost of having to drive
across town to find a relatively standard gardening item surely cost
more than the pennies I save buying pots from F___ M___. But now I
don't have any choice about buying pots from F___ M___ since there's no
neighborhood gardening store to patronize.

Maybe it could be called the Tragedy of the Commons. Oops, I think that
phrase is taken.

What does this have to with birds anyway? I saw a House Sparrow in the
F____ M____ parking lot the other day. Close enough?

Kelly Cassidy