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Does shoping online hurt local business?

Does shoping online hurt local business? - Thursday, February 21, 2008 at 5:57PM EST

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Thursday, Feb 21, 2008 @05:57pm EST

Point click and buy.

It's easy to buy things on the internet and it could be cheaper.

Some business owners in our neighborhoods say it’s driving them out of business.

Tudor books here in Kingston is reaching the final chapter of it's 30 year history.

Owner Lynn Gonchar says, "Closing down is difficult. I loved owning this bookstore."

Gonchar says online book sales are taking a big bite out of her sales.

She says websites like Amazon dot com, are causing small book stores like hers to shut down.

Gonchar says, "They can't give you something to touch and feel, they can't let you look at the book and talk about the book."

She thinks online shopping could take sales away from other locally owned businesses next.

But the problem apparently doesn't stop there.

Business owners say when you shop online, you don't pay local sales tax, and they say it's not good for the area.

Pro Image is a sports clothing and memorabilia store in the Wyoming Valley Mall.

Owner Michael Steinberg says online shopping chips away at the local tax base.

Steinberg says, "Whenever somebody buys on Ebay on the computer, or somewhere online, none of those people are paying taxes to support the Wilkes-Barre school system."

He also says shopping online may be easy, but it hurts local business, and will eventually trickle down to the taxpayer.

"Unless people shop here and support merchants, the property taxes are going to go up," says Steinberg.

A thought shared back at Tudor book store.

Gonchar says, "All of the things that state taxes go for are lost, then who's going to pay for them except the citizens."

A reality Gonchar hopes will sink in, before more businesses are cleaned out like hers.

Tudor books moves out by the end of march.

The store plans to have one more book signing by a popular author before the closing.
 


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