I recently bought a pair of used skis to go along with my ski pass. I also purchased poles recently during an eBay sale and that meant all I needed were boots. The boots were something I wanted to try on, so that meant finding a store nearby despite not having anywhere to ski for hundreds of miles.
The story
I went to a ski shop and had them fit me. All their boots were pretty expensive, around $300. I tried on a pair that were on clearance for $320. Yes, skiing is expensive. The saleswoman taught me all the stuff I needed to know and I learned that I had been wearing too large boots in the past. After finding the right size I told her I would look at some ski bags and then checkout. While I was looking around I found the boots for $60 cheaper on eBay. At that point I was in a tough situation because I didn’t want to abandon the saleswoman nor did I want to pay more than necessary. Furthermore, I would have to fly the boots across the country, so that was another benefit to purchasing online. I went to the checkout line and asked if the store matched prices. They said they could only do so for brick and mortar stores. So I told the saleswoman that I would order the boots online and gave her a tip for her help. She was really happy and I was happy that I wasn’t overpaying. I do feel sorry for brick and mortar stores though, I’m contributing to their decline.