Quote Originally Posted by OakLeaf View Post
What I'm really bad about is ordering parts through the bike shops closest to me, when I can drive another 25 miles and have them now. Stuff like cleats, cassettes, chains. I make an excuse that it's still a "local" bike shop (even though they have three locations and an online presence). But... my communities are pretty depressed. The city where the bigger shop is located, not so much. I'll try to do better this year.
I do something similar: I find what I want online, then go to my LBS and buy it or ask them to order it for me if they don't have it. I did ask if they still make a profit on special orders, and they said they do.

If I find clothes online or in a catalog that I like, I check TE for them first. (the clothes I wore for my wedding were from TE!) (oh, and so were the clothes I wore when we got engaged and went ring shopping) (and so was the bike gear I was wearing when we rode our bikes to the courthouse to get our marriage license!)