re: #45 NO SMOCKING GUN!

Yep, they are.

Here, in Czech Republic, I can certainly understand why.

I found a Casio G-Shock GW-M-5610-1 for sale for the equivalent of $118 USD - not too bad here. But, it was for sale at an online retailer in the city of Olomouc, about 60 miles from my location.

So I went to my local watch retailer and politely inquired if they’d do price matching (a not-uncommon practice with major US retailers). Well, they looked at me as if I’d just announced that I’d arrived from Mars.

My local retailers price on the exact same watch works out to $196 USD. So…..after finding out they won’t do price matching (for reasons best known to themselves), I took a trip to Olomouc, to the online retailer’s pick-up location, and got it.

Even with the train trip, I still ended up saving over $65.

Brick-and-mortar retail here is gonna end up getting eaten alive by internet shops, largely because traditional retailers here simply don’t know how to compete.